Can valid inferences be suppressed?

A recent demonstration that even the simplest valid inference can be suppressed casts doubt on the theory that people have mental inference rules in their minds (Byrne, 1989a). A recent defence of mental inference rules claims that the suppression relies on inconsistent and incoherent premises (Politzer & Braine. 1991). Mv aim in this article is to show that this alternative account is falsified by data from the experiments it was designed to explain. Consider the following premises: If she meets her friend then she will go to play. She meets her friend. What follows? Most people make the valid inference:

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