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Mental Models in Deductive Reasoning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2014

Juan A. García-Madruga ,
Francisco Gutiérrez ,
Nuria Carriedo ,
Sergio Moreno  and
Philip N. Johnson-Laird
Juan A. García-Madruga*
Affiliation:
National Open University(UNED)
Francisco Gutiérrez
Affiliation:
National Open University(UNED)
Nuria Carriedo
Affiliation:
National Open University(UNED)
Sergio Moreno
Affiliation:
University of Granada
Philip N. Johnson-Laird
Affiliation:
Princeton University
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Juan A. García-Madruga, Dpto. de Psicología Evolutiva. Facultad de Psicología. UNED. 28040 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: jmadruga@psi.uned.es
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Abstract

We report research investigating the role of mental models in deduction. The first study deals with conjunctive inferences (from one conjunction and two conditional premises) and disjunctive inferences (from one disjunction and the same two conditionals). The second study examines reasoning from multiple conditionals such as: If e then b; If a then b; If b then c; What follows between a and c? The third study addresses reasoning from different sorts of conditional assertions, including conditionals based on if then, only if, and unless. The paper also presents research on figural effects in syllogistic reasoning, on the effects of structure and believability in reasoning from double conditionals, and on reasoning from factual, counterfactual, and semifactual conditionals. The findings of these studies support the model theory, pose some difficulties for rule theories, and show the influence on reasoning of the linguistic structure and the semantic content of problems.

En este trabajo presentamos varios estudios que investigan la construcción y manipulación de modelos mentales en el razonamiento deductivo. El primer estudio trata sobre inferencias conjuntivas (formadas a partir de una conjunción y dos condicionales) y disyuntivas (formadas a partir de una disyunción y los mismos dos condicionales). El segundo estudio examina la construcción e integración de modelos y el razonamiento a partir de problemas de condicionales múltiples como: Si e, entonces b; Si a, entonces b; Si b, entonces c. ¿Qué se puede concluir entre a y b? El tercer estudio aborda la representación y el razonamiento a partir de los condicionales con a menos que y su comparación con los condicionales formulados mediante si, entonces; sólo si; y a menos que. Por último, brevemente, se presenta la investigación llevada a cabo sobre el efecto de la figura en el razonamiento silogístico, el efecto de la estructura y la credibilidad en los condicionales dobles, y las diferencias en el razonamiento entre los condicionales fácticos, contrafácticos y semifácticos. Los resultados de estos estudios apoyan la teoría de los modelos mentales, plantean dificultades a las teorías de reglas y ponen de manifiesto la influencia sobre el razonamiento de la formulación lingüística, la estructura y el contenido semántico de los problemas.

Keywords

deductive reasoningmental modelsconditionalsrazonamiento deductivomodelos mentalescondicionales
Type
Research trends
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , November 2002 , pp. 125 - 140
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002

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