Logical intuitions or matching heuristics? Examining the effect of deduction training on belief-based reasoning judgments.

ABSTRACT: When individuals are asked to evaluate the believability of the conclusions to valid or invalid arguments, they often endorse valid conclusions at higher rates than invalid ones. This effect of validity on belief judgments-the "logic-belief effect" -is considered evidence of intuitive logic. However, recent studies challenged this interpretation by demonstrating that "pseudo-logical" arguments interfere with belief judgments in the same way as valid logical structures do. This finding suggests that a simple heuristic that relies on the matching of constituent propositions, rather than sensitivity to logical validity per se, may lead to the logic-belief effect. To further test this matching heuristic account, across two experiments, we instructed participants to evaluate the conclusions of

SUBMITTER: Ghasemi O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12589337 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature