In this paper, I discuss whether in the Wason selection task, where subjects are asked to select evidence for evaluating a conditional, the most common response is indeed as irrational as many psychologists have maintained. My account of subjects’ performances focuses on (i) how the task is understood by the subjects and (ii) whether their performances can be seen as cases not so much of conditional reasoning, as of hypothesis testing. On this basis and in accordance with Grice’s account of indicative conditionals, I suppose that normally people understand the conditional as involving a “strong” connection between the antecedent and the consequent. Whenever the inference to such a connection is not blocked, subjects will inductively test whether it holds, as they do in ordinary life with reference to wider domains than the narrow one provided by the experimental context. Thus, relative to their goals, their performance could be considered as rational.

La razionalità del rispondere non logicamente. Il caso del Wason Selection Task

LABINAZ, PAOLO
2008-01-01

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss whether in the Wason selection task, where subjects are asked to select evidence for evaluating a conditional, the most common response is indeed as irrational as many psychologists have maintained. My account of subjects’ performances focuses on (i) how the task is understood by the subjects and (ii) whether their performances can be seen as cases not so much of conditional reasoning, as of hypothesis testing. On this basis and in accordance with Grice’s account of indicative conditionals, I suppose that normally people understand the conditional as involving a “strong” connection between the antecedent and the consequent. Whenever the inference to such a connection is not blocked, subjects will inductively test whether it holds, as they do in ordinary life with reference to wider domains than the narrow one provided by the experimental context. Thus, relative to their goals, their performance could be considered as rational.
2008
Pubblicato
http://store.torrossa.it/resources/an/2239208
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
labinaz DEF_epi.pdf

Accesso chiuso

Tipologia: Documento in Versione Editoriale
Licenza: Digital Rights Management non definito
Dimensione 85.59 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
85.59 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11368/2759599
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 0
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 0
social impact