Incorrect conditional reasoning among adults: Competence or performance?
Henry Markovits · British Journal of Psychology · 1985
Two groups of university students were given paper‐and‐pencil conditional reasoning tests. One group received problems based on a simple p r̊ q relation, while for the second this relation was embedded in a paragraph describing other relations of the form a r̊ q. Results showed that overall performance was better for the second group, confirming previous studies. However, detailed analysis of response patterns indicated that the effect of adding information of the form a r̊ q varied according to performance on an initial problem used to evaluate spontaneous conditional reasoning. These results are consistent with the idea that incorrect conditional reasoning in adults may be at least partly due to a basic lack of competence.