Related Experiment Videos
Processing of logically valid and logically invalid conditional inferences in discourse comprehension
Aaron W Rader1, Vladimir M Sloutsky
1Department of Psychology and Center for Cognitive Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA. awrader@earthlink.net
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|February 6, 2002
Summary
Mental models theories accurately predict how people process conditional statements (if-then). Both valid modus ponens (MP) and invalid affirming-the-consequent (AC) inferences occur during discourse comprehension, supporting this theory.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics
- Logic
Background:
- Conditional reasoning is fundamental to human cognition.
- Two main theories, syntactic and mental models, offer competing explanations for processing if-then statements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test predictions of syntactic versus mental models theories of conditional inference.
- To determine if people draw both valid (MP) and invalid (AC) inferences.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using priming and recognition tasks.
- Participants processed short stories with conditional premises in either MP or AC form without explicit conclusions.
Main Results:
- Evidence supports the occurrence of both modus ponens (MP) and affirming-the-consequent (AC) inferences.
- Premise forms (MP and AC) successfully primed their respective conclusions.
- Participants mistakenly recognized conclusions for both MP and AC arguments, indicating inference generation.
- AC inferences were not attributable to interpreting conditionals as biconditionals.
Conclusions:
- Findings align with mental models theories, which predict the generation of both MP and AC inferences.
- Syntactic theories, predicting only MP inferences, are not supported by the results.