6 thinking + reasoning

• What are the two types of reasoning discussed in cognitive psychology?

  Inductive and deductive reasoning
• What is the role of context in reasoning?

  It influences how conclusions are drawn
• How long has the study of human thinking been a concern for philosophers and psychologists?

  At least 2,000 years
• What is the distinction between reasoning, decision making, and problem solving in psychology?

  They are seen as separate areas
• What did Johnson-Laird and Byrne argue about deductive reasoning?

  It is central to various activities
• What does inductive reasoning often yield?

  Plausible conclusions
• What is the nature of deductive reasoning?

  Conclusions are necessarily true
• What is a syllogism?

  Two premises and a conclusion
• What is the significance of a valid argument form?

  If premises are true, conclusion is true
• What is the difference between truth and validity in reasoning?

  Validity refers to the form of the argument
• Why is the argument "All dogs have tails; The president of the US is a dog; Therefore, the president of the US has a tail" considered valid but not true?

  The argument form is valid, premises are false
• What is belief bias in reasoning?

  Being swayed by believability over validity
• What did Evans, Barston, and Pollard (1983) find about belief bias?

  Clear evidence of belief bias
• What do logical operators do in propositional logic?

  They connect premises to reach conclusions
• What is the major premise in conditional reasoning?

  If p then q
• How does propositional logic differ from everyday language?

  It only allows true or false values
• What is modus ponens?

  If p then q; p; therefore, q
• What is modus tollens?

  If p then q; not q; therefore, not p
• What is the affirmation of the consequent?

  If p then q; q; therefore, p
• What is the denial of the antecedent?

  If p then q; not p; therefore, not q
• What methods can be used to assess human performance in reasoning?

  Generation tasks and evaluation tasks
• What did Evans, Newstead, and Byrne (1993) find about reasoning performance?

  Modus ponens is drawn almost universally
• What must any proposed theory of reasoning account for?

  Competence, errors, and content effects
• What do abstract rule theories suggest about human reasoning?

  People have rules for logical thinking
• What is the comprehension component in Braine's abstract rule theory?

  Converting premises into mental representations
• Why is modus tollens considered harder than modus ponens?

  It requires applying multiple rules
• What is an invited inference?

  Assuming a reverse conditional relationship
• What are the limitations of abstract rule theories?

  They ignore context and individual differences
• What are the key components of reasoning in cognitive psychology?

  • Inductive and deductive reasoning
  • Conditional reasoning
  • Valid and invalid inferences
  • Role of context in reasoning
  • Human performance on reasoning tasks
  • Abstract rule theory
• What are the types of inferences associated with conditional reasoning?

  1. Modus ponens (MP)
  2. Modus tollens (MT)
  3. Affirmation of the consequent (AC)
  4. Denial of the antecedent (DA)
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of abstract rule theories?

  Strengths:

  • Provides a framework for logical reasoning
  • Identifies rules that govern reasoning

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Lacks clarity on comprehension component
  • Ignores context and individual differences
  • Limited to propositional reasoning
• What factors affect human reasoning performance?

  • Competence
  • Errors (biases)
  • Content effects