Conditional Reasoning: The importance of individual differences

This paper was presented at Syposium on Mental Models, Madrid, November 1998In this study, we explore the relation between different measures in psychometric ability tests (verbal comprehension and reasoning) and performance in Wason's selection task (Wason, 1966, 1968). We also examined whether or not good and poor verbal comprehenders, according to a Spanish version of Gernsbacher's Battery Comprehension, differ in their performance in a experimental conditional task. The results of the experimental study reveal that the DAT-VR psychometric test is a good predictor for performance in Wason's selection task. The results also showed that there are no differences between good and poor verbal comprehenders. Finally, logical performance was influenced by the content's rule and the experimental instructions. These results may be explained by the semantic theories and do not support the formal theories of conditional reasoning.En esta investigación se estudia la relación entre diferentes puntuaciones obtenidas en tests psicométricos que miden distintas habilidades cognitivas (comprensión verbal y razonamiento) y la ejecución en la tarea de selección de Wason (Wason, 1966, 1968). También se analizó si sujetos con puntuaciones altas y bajas en la versión española de la Batería de Comprensión de Gernsbacher, se diferenciaban en su ejecución en la tarea experimental de razonamiento condicional. Los resultados de esta investigación experimental han puesto de manifiesto que el tests psicométrico DAT-VR es un buen predictor de la ejecución en la tarea de selección de Wason. Los datos obtenidos también indican que no hay diferencias entre sujetos con puntuaciones extremas en las pruebas de comprensión. Finalmente, la ejecución lógica estaba influída por el contenido de la regla y las instrucciones experimentales. Estos resultados podrían ser explicados en el marco de las teorías semánticas y no apoyan las teorías formales de razonamiento condicional

Conditional reasoning with narrative contexts: the role of semantic and pragmatic factors

This work was presented at Fourth Biennial Conference of the AUSTRALASIAN COGNITIVE SCIENCE SOCIETY, celebrated in the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 26-28th September, 1997The main objective of this experiment is to determine in what way the subjects´s knowledge of the real world modulates their performance in a conditional reasoning task with narrative contexts, in line with previous experimental studies (Cheng & Holyoak, 1985 and Holyoak & Cheng, 1995) The empirical frequency (Valiña, Seoane, Gehring, Ferraces & Fernández-Rey, 1992; Valiña, Seoane, Martín, Fernández-Rey & Ferraces, 1992; Valiña, Seoane, Ferraces & Martín, 1996a, b) was manipulated. This refers to the frequency with which empirical relation expressed between the antecedent and the consequent of the premises on conditional arguments occurs in the real world. This relation could occur always (deterministic), sometimes (probabilistic) or there could be no specific relation between antecedent and consequent (without specific relation). In this respect, we consider the deterministic relation similar to a relation of empirical necessity (the relation expressed in the conditional statement always happens); while the probabilistic relation presents a character of empirical possibility (which only happens sometimes in the real world

Pragmatic factors in conditional reasoning with narrative texts

This work was presented at Nineteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, celebrated in Stanford University, California, August, 7-10, 1997In this study the role of pragmatic knowledge in conditional reasoning was investigated (Cheng & Holyoak, 1985; Holyoak & Cheng, 1995). We tried to precisely determine the importance of the variable which we refer to as “the probability of empirical frequency" (Valiña & cols. 1992a, b; Valiña & cols. 1996a, b) This refers to the frequency with which the expressed relation between the antecedent and the consequent in conditional sentences occurs in the real world. If, as is proposed by the Theory of Mental Models (Johnson-Laird, 1983; Johnson-Laird & Byrne, 1991), people elaborate representations of the real world, it would be expected that reasoning with conditional sentences in which "empirical possibilities" are expressed will be different from the reasoning involved with statements which imply "empirical neccessities" (Byrne & Johnson-Laird, 1992). The results are not consistent with theories based on formal rules of inference

Pragmatic factors in conditional reasoning

* This paper was presented at the NINTH CONFERENCE OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY - ESCOP, celebrated at the University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany (September, 4-8, 1996). A posterior version of this work was published in J. Hoffmann & A. Sebald (Eds). Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (p.142). Pabst Science Publishers (Lengerich)We investigated the importance of pragmatic factors in conditional reasoning. The performance of 54 subjects was examined, with the four basic inferences of Modus Ponens (MP), Denial of the Antecedent (DA), Affirmation of the consequent (AC) and Modus Tollens (MT), on the usual three-answer format. The empirical relation in the real world between antecedent and consequent of the premises on conditional arguments (probabilistic, deterministic and without relation) and scenario availability (available versus non-available), were manipulated. The results showed that: a) the scenario availability is not sufficient in itself to explain differences in performance, but affects the subjects' degree of confidence in their conclusions; b) there is an interaction between availability and logical structure of rules on correct performance. The results support the semantic theories of conditional reasoning and are not consistent with theories based on formal rules of inferenc

Comparing Measures of Individual Differences in Performance of Conditional Reasoning

This work was presented at 10th EUROPEAN MEETING OF THE PSYCHOMETRIC SOCIETY, celebrated in Santiago de Compostela, Spain (15-18th July, 1997). This study examined the following issues: 1) The relation among different measures in psychometric ability tests (verbal comprehension and reasoning), computerised measure of comprehension skills and the subjects´ performance in a experimental task of conditional reasoning, 2) Whetehr or not good and por comprehenders sistematically differ in their performance in Wason´s selection task (Wason, 1966, 1968) and 3) The differential influence of rule content and instruction on the subjects´ performance in the selection task. 154 undergraduate students each completed three psychometric ability tests (DAT-VR, PMA-V and PMA-R), and a spanish versión of Gernsbacher´s Comprehension Battery. Subsequently each subject was given three problems corresponding to the content of the theree different rules (abstract content, thematic-premission and thematic-norm) and the instructions were also manipulated (verification/falsation vs. violation) (Valiña & cols., 1996). The results showed that: a) Performance in Wason´s selection task with abstract and thematic-permission content in terms of logical index is related to measures of the DAT-VR, b) In terms of differential analyses it was found that the logical index was considerably better in the higher reasoning-verbal group (DAT-VR) with abstract content and thematic-permission, but differences were not found in performance among good and por verbal comprehenders (PMA-V and Gernsbacher Comprehension Battery) or subjects with high and low scores in the PMA-R, and c) For he logical index and the matching index the principal effects of the content of the rule and the instructions were registere

Wason´s selection task: Content effect, instruction effect or both?

This paper was presented at the THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THINKING. British Psychological Society. Cognitive Psychology Section. University College London. August, 1996"This experiment explores the effect of the scenario’s availability, instruction (true/false vs. violation) and presentation order on performance in different versions of Wason’s selection task. Each subject was given three problems corresponding to the content of the three different rules (abstract content, thematic-permission and thematic-norm). The main analyses are presented in terms of matching and logical index (Pollard and Evans, 1987). The matching and logical index were influenced by the contents of the rules. Also there exist an interaction between instructions and content in the logical index. In the abstract version, as in the thematic-obligation, the logical indices are superior on the individuals that receive violation instructions, whilst that in the thematic-permission the best performance was registered with true/false instructions. The results are not consistent with syntactic theories of human reasoning, and are discussed in terms of pragmatic and semantic theories of human reasoning

Adaptation of the Profile of Mood States into Spanish with a sample of athletes

El POMS es un cuestionario para la medida del estado de ánimo, con aplicaciones en diferentes ámbitos, particularmente en el entorno deportivo. En un trabajo preliminar (Arce, Andrade y Seoane, 2000), el POMS fue traducido al castellano y administrado a una muestra formada por 374 estudiantes. Teniendo en cuenta criterios tanto psicométricos como semánticos, algunos de los items de esa versión inicial tuvieron que ser reformulados y dos de ellos fueron eliminados. En el presente estudio se examinaron las propiedades psicométricas de la versión resultante, con 63 items, en una muestra de 216 deportistas. Mediante análisis de items y análisis factorial, el cuestionario fue reducido a 48 items, que abordan 6 estados de ánimo: Cólera, Depresión (estado deprimido), Tensión, Fatiga, Vigor y Amistad. Los coeficientes de consistencia interna de los factores oscilaron entr e 0.76 (Amistad) y 0.91 (Cólera). Además, se han comparado las puntuaciones de deportistas con las obtenidas por una muestra de 268 estudiantes universitarios que no practicaban deporte. Se encontraron diferencias significativas entre deportistas y no-deportistas en Cólera, Tensión, Vigor y Amistad. Las diferencias observadas entre ambos grupos en Depresión no resultaron significativas. Ambos mostraron también puntuaciones similares en FatigaThe POMS is a questionnaire for the measurement of moods, that has shown to be useful in different settings, particularly in sports. In a preliminary work (Arce, Andrade & Seoane, 2000) the POMS was translated into Spanish and administered to a 374 students’ sample. Considering both psychometric and semantic criteria, some items had to be replaced and two of them were eliminated from the original scale. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the 63-item POMS version with a sample of 216 athletes. Using item and factor analyses the questionnaire was shortened to 48 items measuring six mood factors: Anger, Depression, Tension, Fatigue, Vigor, and Friendliness. Reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s Alphas) for the factors ranged from .76 (Friendliness) to .91 (Anger). Besides, athletes’ scores were compared with the scores obtained b y a sample of 268 non-athletes. Significant differences were found between athletes and non-athletes on Anger, Tension, Vigor, and Friendliness. The observed differences between both samples on Depression were not significant. They also showed similar mean scores on FatigueS

Construction and psychometric analysis of a questionnaire for the evaluation of public transportation

El objetivo central del presente trabajo consistió en la construcción y análisis psicométrico de un cuest i o n a rio para la evaluación del sistema de autobuses urbanos por medio de sus usuarios. Se re a l i z a ron dos estudios. En el pri m e ro, se partió de un cuestionario inicial compuesto por 25 ítems. El análisis psicom é t rico permitió reducir el número de ítems a tan solo 16. En el segundo estudio, que fue realizado con una mu e s t ra rep re s e n t at iva de la población urbana ga l l ega, se encontró que los 16 ítems se agru p aban en 6 fa c t o res estadísticos en los que ap a recen re c ogidos los siguientes aspectos re l evantes del sistema de aut o buses urbanos: paradas de autobús, info rmación al usuario, cumplimiento de hora rios, pro fe s i o n a l i d a d de los conductores, suficiencia del servicio, estado de los autobuses, acondicionamiento para pobl a c i ones especiales y sat i s facción con el servicio. La consistencia interna fue de .8410 y la validez de .68The aim of this work has been the construction and psychometric analysis of a questionnaire for the evaluation of the urban bus system from the user perspective. Two studies have been carried out. In the first study, an initial version of the questionnaire with 25 items was administered. Through psychometric analysis the number of items was reduced to 16. A representative sample of the urban Galician population participate in the second study. It has been found that those 16 items could be grouped into 6 statistical factors, which comprise the following urban bus system relevant aspects: bus stops, information to users, timetable fulfilment, bus-drivers´ professionality, service sufficiency, buses condition, special populations conditioning, and service satisfaction. Scale internal consistency and validity values were .8410 and .68, respectivelyS

Mediators linking insecure attachment to eating symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis

In the last two decades, the number of studies focused on the mediators connecting insecure attachment with Eating Disorders (EDs), at both clinical and sub-clinical level, has considerably increased. However, there has not been a systematic synthesis of this literature to date. To fill this gap, the current meta-analytic review aimed at identifying and quantifying the extent to which mediators contribute to the explanation of this relationship. The present study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42017076807). A comprehensive search process in seven different electronic databases retrieved 24 studies that examined how insecure attachment leads to ED symptoms through mediation analysis. Standardized regression coefficients of the indirect and total paths of 21 mediation models were pooled. Studies were coded and ranked for quality. We found evidence to show that maladaptive emotion regulation and depressive symptoms had the highest effect size for mediation (mediation ratio [PM] = 0.71). Further, body dissatisfaction, neuroticism, perfectionism, mindfulness and social comparison had significant, but moderate to low mediating effects (PM = 0.21–0.58). The methodological quality of these studies was mostly low to moderate and potential areas for development were highlighted. Our findings support the direct targeting of these psychological constructs in prevention programs and treatment of EDs. Future investigations addressing the time sequence between the variables will provide valuable clues to untangle the prospective contribution of each variable on the development and maintenance of eating pathology.Dr. Takkouche would like to thank the Regional Ministry of Education, Universities and Vocational Training (Consellería de Educación, Universidades y Formación Profesional) (ED431C 2018/20), Santiago de Compostela, SpainS

Spanish adaptation of the Profile of Mood States (POMS)

El POMS (McNair, Lorr y Droppleman, 1971) es una lista compuesta originalmente por 65 adjetivos, destinados a medir siete factores de estado de ánimo: Tensión, Depresión, Cólera, Vigor, Fatiga, Confusión y Amistad. Aunque ha sido diseñado para el ámbito clínico, su uso se ha extendido a otras áreas de la Psicología. Los resultados más concluyentes con el cuestionario provienen de las muestras que son comparables en edad y nivel educativo con los estudiantes universitarios de Estados Unidos. En este estudio se ha llevado a cabo la traducción del POMS al castellano y una primera aplicación a una muestra de 374 estudiantes universitarios. El análisis psicométrico de los datos ha revelado que algunos de los adjetivos han sido interpretados por los sujetos como indicadores de un estado de ánimo diferente al que originalmente les correspondía, siendo el factor Confusión el más difícil de replicarThe POMS is a 65-item, adjective rating scale for the measurement of seven mood states labelled Tension, Depression, Anger, Vigor, Fatigue, Confusion and Friendliness. Although it has been designed for clinical settings, his use has become popular in other Psychological areas. The most concluyent results with the POMS come from samples which are comparable to those of the United States university students in terms of age and educational level. The aim of this study has been the translation and a preliminary administration of the scale to a 374 Spanish university students’ sample. The psychometric analysis revealed that, relative to the original description of each mood state, some of the adjectives have lost their original meaning and have been associated to a different mood factor. One of the seven POMS scales, Confusion, was not replicated successfullyS