A Priori True and False Conditionals

The theory of mental models postulates that meaning and knowledge can modulate the interpretation of conditionals. The theory's computer implementation implied that certain conditionals should be true or false without the need for evidence. Three experiments corroborated this prediction. In Exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive science 2017-05, Vol.41 (S5), p.1003-1030
Main Authors: Quelhas, Ana Cristina, Rasga, Célia, Johnson‐Laird, Philip N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Cognition & reasoning
Conditionals
Deductive reasoning
Experiments
Female
Humans
Judgment - physiology
Logic
Male
Mental models
Middle Aged
Models, Psychological
Modulation
Possibilities
Problem Solving - physiology
Psychological Theory
Young Adult
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Summary:The theory of mental models postulates that meaning and knowledge can modulate the interpretation of conditionals. The theory's computer implementation implied that certain conditionals should be true or false without the need for evidence. Three experiments corroborated this prediction. In Experiment 1, nearly 500 participants evaluated 24 conditionals as true or false, and they justified their judgments by completing sentences of the form, It is impossible that A and ___ appropriately. In Experiment 2, participants evaluated 16 conditionals and provided their own justifications, which tended to be explanations rather than logical justifications. In Experiment 3, the participants also evaluated as possible or impossible each of the four cases in the partitions of 16 conditionals: A and C, A and not‐C, not‐A and C, not‐A and not‐C. These evaluations corroborated the model theory. We consider the implications of these results for theories of reasoning based on logic, probabilistic logic, and suppositions.
ISSN:0364-0213
1551-6709
DOI:10.1111/cogs.12479