Logical intuition is not really about logic.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Reasoning and Decision Making

Background:

• Research suggests intuitive reasoning capacity, termed 'logical intuition,' where logical validity influences belief judgments.
• It remains unclear if this intuition stems from sensitivity to logical structure or superficial features.
• Previous findings show conclusion validity interferes with belief judgments, implying rapid access to logical information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether intuitive reasoning is driven by logical features or superficial structural alignments.
• To differentiate between genuine logical intuitions and those based on surface-level cues.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments (N=113, 137, 254) presented participants with logical and pseudological arguments.
• Participants judged the validity or believability of conclusions from arguments.
• Argument types included modus ponens, affirming the consequent, denying the antecedent, and modus tollens.

Main Results:

• Pseudovalidity interfered with belief judgments as much as real validity across all experiments.
• This effect was consistent across simple and complex argument structures.
• Intuitive inferences appear to be driven by superficial structural features, not logical validity.

Conclusions:

• The intuitive inferences influencing belief judgments are not 'logical intuitions.'
• Reasoners rely on superficial structural features that coincidentally align with logical validity.
• This challenges the notion of automatic logical intuition in human reasoning.