Reasoning Flashcards
Affirmation of the consequent
A logical fallacy: it asserts that if a conditional statement is true and if the consequent is true, then the antecedent must also be true (i.e., given that if A, then B is true and that B is true, it is a fallacy to conclude that A must be true)
Antecedent
The condition of a conditional statement; that is, the A in If A, then B.
Atmosphere hypothesis
The proposal that the logical quantifiers used in the premises of a categorical syllogism create an ‘atmosphere’ that predisposes participants to accept conclusions having the same quantifiers.
Attribute identification
Determining which attributes are relevant to the formation of a hypothesis.
Categorical syllogism
A syllogism in which logical quantifiers relate categories A to B in one premise, relate B to C in the other premise, and relate A to C in the conclusion.
Conditional statement
An assertion that, if an antecedent is true, then a consequent must be true: a statement of the form if A, then B.
Confirmation bias
When trying to determine whether a hypothesis is correct, the tendency to look only at evidence that is consistent with the hypothesis.
Consequent
The result of a conditional statement; the B in if A, then B.
Deductive reasoning
Reasoning in which the conclusions follow with certainty from the premises.
Denial of the antecedent
A logical fallacy: it asserts that, if a conditional statement is true and if the antecedent is false, then the consequent must also be false (i.e., given that if A, then B is true and that A is false, it is a fallacy to conclude that B must be false).
Inductive reasoning
Reasoning in which the conclusions follow only probabilistically from the premises.
Logical quantifiers
Elements such as ‘all, no, some’, and ‘some…not’ that appear in statements like All A are B and Some C are not D.
Mental model theory
The theory that participants judge the validity of a syllogism by imagining a world that satisfies the premises and seeing whether the conclusion is satisfied in that world.
Modus ponens
A rule of logic: if a conditional statement is true and if its antecedent is true, then its consequent must be true (i.e., if the conditional statement if A, then B is true, and if the antecedent A is true, we can infer that the consequent B is true).
Modus tollens
A rule of logic: if a conditional statement is true and if its consequent is false, then its antecedent must be false (i.e., if the conditional statement if A, then B is true, and if the consequent B is false, we can infer that the antecedent A is false).