The Wason selection task is a classic experiment in cognitive psychology that has been widely used to study reasoning in humans. Developed by British psychologist Peter Cathcart Wason in the 1960s, this task has been fundamental to understanding how people process information, make decisions and solve problems in everyday situations.
Understanding the Wason selection task
The Wason selection task consists of presenting participants with a logic problem based on simple conditional rules. In its most classic form, participants are given a conditional rule of the type "If A, then B", and are asked to determine which cards they should turn over to check whether the rule is true or not. For example, they may be presented with the following situation:
- Rule: If there is a vowel on one side of the card, then there is an even number on the other side.
- The cards on the table have the letters E, K, 4, and 7 written on one side.
Participants must choose which cards to turn over to determine if the rule is true. In this case, to verify the rule, it would only be necessary to turn over the card with the letter E and the card with the number 7. If the letter E does not have an even number on the other side and/or if the card with the number 7 does not have a vowel on the other side, the rule does not hold.
What does Wason's selection task show about reason?
Wason's selection task has been used to study the capacity for deductive reasoning in humans, that is, the ability to apply logical rules and draw valid conclusions from given premises. Through this task, several common biases and errors in human reasoning have been identified.
1. Confirmation of hypotheses (confirmatory bias)
One of the main findings of Wason's selection task is hypothesis confirmation bias, which refers to the tendency of people to search for information that confirms their beliefs. preexisting rather than looking for evidence that refutes them. This is manifested in the task when participants choose to turn over only the cards that they believe will confirm the rule, ignoring those that could prove the opposite.
For example, in the previous case, some participants could choose to turn over only the card with the letter E and the card with the number 4, assuming that finding a vowel on card E and an even number on card 4 would confirm the rule, without taking into account that to verify the rule You also need to see what is on the other side of cards K and 7.
2. Confirmation bias for the null hypothesis
Another revealing aspect of Wason's selection task is confirmation bias for the null hypothesis, which refers to people's tendency to not to consider evidence that would disconfirm a hypothesis. This bias is observed when participants do not turn over cards that could refute the given rule, even if the evidence on those cards is crucial to determining whether the rule holds or not.
For example, in the case above , some participants might ignore the card with the number 7, as they implicitly assume that there is no vowel on its other side. By not turning it around, they could miss the opportunity to identify a possible lack of compliance with the rule.
3. Suboptimal search strategies
In addition to cognitive biases, the Wason selection task has also shown that people tend to use suboptimal search strategies when faced with reasoning problems. Instead of following a systematic and exhaustive approach to exploring all possible combinations to verify the rule, participants often focus on specific cards without considering the full set of available information.
This tendency to apply Limited search strategies can lead to errors in reasoning and incorrect conclusions, since ignoring certain cards misses crucial information that could alter the evaluation of whether the rule is true or not.
Applications and relevance in the field of psychology
Wason's selection task has been used not only to investigate human reasoning, but also to understand broader aspects of cognition and decision making. This classic experiment has been adapted and modified in numerous studies to explore different dimensions of reasoning, such as problem solving, perspective taking, and moral judgment.
In addition, Wason's selection task has been contributed significantly to the field of cognitive psychology by providing insights into how people process information, about common biases and errors in reasoning, and about the mechanisms underlying decision making.
Conclusions
In summary, the Wason selection task is a powerful and versatile instrument for investigating human reasoning and the cognitive processes involved in solving problems based on conditional rules. Through this task, cognitive biases, errors in reasoning, and suboptimal strategies have been identified that influence the way people analyze information and make decisions.
Understand the findings derived from the task. Wason's selection process is not only essential to advance the study of human cognition, but also to apply this knowledge in various fields, such as clinical psychology, education, and decision making in organizational and social contexts.