The effect of thematic content on cognitive strategies in the four-card selection task

Prior studies have indicated that thematic materials facilitate reasoning on the four-card selection problem, a task that assesses ability to evaluate logical conditionals of the “if-then” form. Recently, however, attempts to replicate the thematic effect have failed. The present study investigated four content materials to determine which facilitated reasoning. Introductory psychology students were required to determine which card(s) needed to be “unmasked” in order to determine the truth or falsity of conditional rules. Thematic materials did not facilitate reasoning compared with abstract materials. Evidence for both matching and verification bias was obtained, but neither was sufficient to account for all selection patterns. Subjects may thus be using “cognitive short-circuiting” strategies, of which matching bias and verification bias are but two examples.

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