Lecture 9- reasoning 2(kev)

Question 1

who created the Wason task and when

Answer 1

Peter Wason (1966)

Question 2

what does the wason selection task used to perform

Answer 2

• Used to study performance on conditional reasoning propositions/arguments/problems

Question 3

what is - Conditional proposition in relation to the wason task

Answer 3

• Conditional proposition (if P then Q):
  o e.g., If a card has a vowel on one side of it, then it has an even number on its other side
• type of questioning

Question 4

what is the method of the wason selection task

Answer 4

• pps presented with 4 cards
• • Conditional proposition (if P then Q):
    o e.g., If a card has a vowel on one side of it, then it has an even number on its other side
• Participants asked:
  o Which two cards must be turned over to discover whether the following rule is true?
  o Rule: If a card has a vowel on one side of it, then it has an even number on its other side
• Choice of cards determines performance

Question 5

what are the typical results of the wason selection taskk

Answer 5

 ~ 70% of participants choose ‘E’ and ‘4’ cards
 ‘E’ and ‘4’ cards chosen ~ 70% of time
this is the logical choice but not the correct choice

Question 6

why are cards e and 4 wrong to select on the wason selection task

Answer 6

permits affirmation- by choosing E (Modus ponens)

choosing ‘4’ card doesn’t permit denial of consequent (modus tollens) conditional inference (‘not Q’)

Question 7

what is the logical choice of cards

Answer 7

o E’ and ‘7’: logical (correct) choice of cards
 Choosing ‘7’ permits check of whether (logically-valid) modus tollens (denial of consequent) conditional inference can be made
• ‘not Q’ (i.e., ‘not an even number’)
 Turning over ‘7’ (not an even number) card permits check of proposition’s truth
• If vowel on ‘7’ card, then proposition is false
• If consonant on ‘7’ card, then proposition is true

Question 8

what is a more relATABLE version of the wason selection task called

Answer 8

Drinking age’ version of WST

- Rule: If a person is drinking beer (P), then they must be over 18 (Q)

Question 9

what are the results of the drinking age version of the WST

Answer 9

o Results: most (~ 90%) participants chose logically correct cards most of time (~ 90%)
 ‘Beer’ and ’16’ (‘p’ and ‘not q’) cards should be turned over to establish truth of ‘rule’ (proposition)

Question 10

o Why did logical reasoning improve on the drinking age task ?

Answer 10

 People are familiar with real world rules and laws, so can reason correctly about propositions that involve them (Evans & Over, 1996)

Question 11

what is negation

Answer 11

• Research evidence of reasoning being poorer when propositions involve negation (‘not’)

Question 12

how did wason 1965 experiment about negation

Answer 12

Sentence Verification Task

Question 13

what are the results of the Sentence Verification Task

Answer 13

o Participants slower at drawing correct (logical) or incorrect (non-logical) conclusions for propositions/arguments involving negative than positive statements/elements
o Reasoning about alternatives is cognitively-taxing

Question 14

what is are the issues with the Sentence Verification Task o negatoion

Answer 14

• Competence:
  o Reasoners untrained in logic tend to solve problems at above chance levels
• Bias:
  o Reasoners often respond to non-logical features of tasks
• Content:
  o Logical reasoning dependent on task content
• Knowledge:
  o Prior experience affects logical reasoning

Question 15

what is rationality

Answer 15

• Hallmark of ‘good’ thinking and reasoning
• Thinking consistent with, or based on, logic
• Concerns methods not outcomes of thought
  o How we reason, not what conclusions we draw
• Rationality not same as accuracy
• Irrationality not same as error or bias
  o Accuracy and bias/error are outcomes of thinking

Question 16

what is bounded rationality

Answer 16

• Theory to explain rationality given *cognitive (and external?) *constraints

Question 17

what is an example of bounded rationality

Answer 17

., limited working memory capacity

Question 18

what does simon 1957 say about bounded rationality

Answer 18

reasoning considered rational if it violates normative standards (e.g., logic) but achieves personal goals
o Given cognitive and external constraints (e.g., time pressure), our reasoning still allows us to function pretty successfully in the world

Question 19

how is our reasoning said to be rational

Answer 19

• Our reasoning is, to some extent, rational
  o e.g., we try to make informed judgements
• But, we don’t have cognitive resources to understand everything we encounter
• Also, we often don’t have (or wish to devote) sufficient time to reasoning
  o e.g., due to lack of interest in topic
  o Non-cognitive factors arguably at play
  o e.g., motivation

Question 20

what are the 2 types of rationality

Answer 20

• System 1: reasoning according to achieving one’s goals and meeting one’s needs
• System 2: reasoning according to normative standards

Question 21

who proposed the 2 types of rationality

Answer 21

(Sloman, 1996)

Question 22

explain system 1 of slomans 2 types of rationality

Answer 22

• System 1 (Sloman, 1996)
  o Goal-directed rationality
   ‘Rationality 1’ (Evans & Over, 1996)
   Rapid, automatic (often pre-conscious) process influenced by beliefs, background knowledge, prior experience and learning
   e.g., taking quickest route home from work
   Rational in achieving one’s goals, but doesn’t conform to principles of logic
  o Rational reasoning that serves everyday needs
   e.g., taking route to work that’s objectively-longer but avoid likely traffic ‘black-spot’
   Rapid, automatic reasoning based on beliefs, learning and prior knowledge
  o Aware of outcome of thought process but unaware of thought process itself (Sloman, 1996)

Question 23

explain system 2 of slomans 2 types of rationality

Answer 23

• System 2 (Sloman, 1996)
  o Rule-based rationality
   ‘Rationality 2’ (Evans & Over, 1996)
  o Adhering to logic
   Slow, deliberative, conscious process linked with complex cognition (e.g., task planning, hypothetical thinking and counterfactual thinking)
  o Rational reasoning that conforms to principles of logic
   Slow, deliberative reasoning involved in complex cognition (e.g., task planning)
   e.g., drawing conclusions based on good evidence
  o Aware of thought process as well as outcome of thought process (Sloman, 1996)

Question 24

what evidence did evans and over provide for the 2 types of ratinality

Answer 24

• Belief bias effect:
  o When conclusion hard to draw (logically), belief about syllogism dominates inference made
  o Relying on prior belief consistent with System 1 reasoning, but not consistent with System 2
  o Thus, implies non-logical reasoning
• Explicit and tacit thought processes?
  o Tacit: task-specific and resistant to training
  o Explicit: general and depend on practice/training
• Abstract version of Wason Selection Task
  o Cards chosen before being confirmed; longer inspection times for chosen cards
• 2 reasoning systems used sequentially?
  o Non-conscious process for Wason task card choice then conscious logical justification process
• Belief bias in syllogistic reasoning
  o Prior believability of claim’s conclusion affects logical reasoning performance

Question 25

how are you able to test the dual systems theories

Answer 25

• Possibly ways to test dual-systems theories:
  o Time pressure to induce System 1 reasoning
  o Instructions to induce System 2 reasoning

Question 26

what do dual systems provide us with evidence about

Answer 26

• Provide neat (intuitive?) explanation of how we reason pretty effectively in everyday life
• Explains why reasoning often non-rational when judged against principles of logic
• But, little empirical support (claims based on review of existing work), so largely untested
• Possible testing methods
  o System 1 induced by time constraint/time pressure
  o System 2 induced by instructions (‘think carefully’)

Question 27

are we non rational thinkers

Answer 27

• Depends on how rationality defined
• We typically don’t (explicitly, at least) conform to logic principles in daily reasoning
  o e.g., non-cognitive factors have impact
• But, we often draw correct conclusions and make good decisions about complex things
• So, we generally seem to be rational by System 1’s standards if not by System 2’s

Question 28

what are the - Dual-systems theory of rational reasoning

Answer 28

o Systems 1 and 2: differential conformity with logic