@article{(Open Science Index):https://publications.waset.org/pdf/11486,
	  title     = {Probability and Instruction Effects in Syllogistic Conditional Reasoning},
	  author    = {Olimpia Matarazzo and  Ivana Baldassarre},
	  country	= {},
	  institution	= {},
	  abstract     = {The main aim of this study was to examine whether
people understand indicative conditionals on the basis of syntactic
factors or on the basis of subjective conditional probability. The
second aim was to investigate whether the conditional probability of
q given p depends on the antecedent and consequent sizes or derives
from inductive processes leading to establish a link of plausible cooccurrence
between events semantically or experientially associated.
These competing hypotheses have been tested through a 3 x 2 x 2 x 2
mixed design involving the manipulation of four variables: type of
instructions (“Consider the following statement to be true", “Read the
following statement" and condition with no conditional statement);
antecedent size (high/low); consequent size (high/low); statement
probability (high/low). The first variable was between-subjects, the
others were within-subjects. The inferences investigated were Modus
Ponens and Modus Tollens. Ninety undergraduates of the Second
University of Naples, without any prior knowledge of logic or
conditional reasoning, participated in this study.
Results suggest that people understand conditionals in a syntactic
way rather than in a probabilistic way, even though the perception of
the conditional probability of q given p is at least partially involved in
the conditionals- comprehension. They also showed that, in presence
of a conditional syllogism, inferences are not affected by the
antecedent or consequent sizes. From a theoretical point of view these
findings suggest that it would be inappropriate to abandon the idea
that conditionals are naturally understood in a syntactic way for the
idea that they are understood in a probabilistic way.},
	    journal   = {International Journal of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences},
	  volume    = {2},
	  number    = {7},
	  year      = {2008},
	  pages     = {751 - 759},
	  ee        = {https://publications.waset.org/pdf/11486},
	  url   	= {https://publications.waset.org/vol/19},
	  bibsource = {https://publications.waset.org/},
	  issn  	= {eISSN: 1307-6892},
	  publisher = {World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology},
	  index 	= {Open Science Index 19, 2008},
	}