Psychological Test

[46AND2]

I'd be interested to hear the psychological explanations for the choices, as it seems more like a logic problem than a psychological one. I see a couple of you mentioned some possibilities. Would be interesting to see the writeups for the most common responses.

 

[bhsmte]

I'd be interested to hear the psychological explanations for the choices, as it seems more like a logic problem than a psychological one. I see a couple of you mentioned some possibilities. Would be interesting to see the writeups for the most common responses.

Correct answer is A and 7. It does appear to be a test for confirmation bias.

A and 4 and then just A are the most common answers.

https://www.socialpsychology.org/teach/wasona.htm

 

[Notedstrangeperson]

bhsmt: I think OP might be hoping for a few more replies before someone gives away the answer.

 

[bhsmte]

bhsmt: I think OP might be hoping for a few more replies before someone gives away the answer.

My bad, couldn't help myself, these sorts of tests are intriguing to me.

 

[46AND2]

Correct answer is A and 7. It does appear to be a test for confirmation bias.

A and 4 and then just A are the most common answers.

https://www.socialpsychology.org/teach/wasona.htm

I disagree with the answer. Nothing in the test said the card could not have letters on both sides. Ergo, the D could also have a vowel, potentially falsifying the statement.

 

[Sophrosyne]

I would start with the 7, if it had a vowel on the other side then it would prove it wrong for sure not to mention if true it would have to have something other than a vowel. The other 3 cards could have anywhere from 0-3 correct and if the number was even 1 correct it wouldn't prove the other 2 cards are correct until you look at them so you could end up having to turn over all 3 of them and then the 7 to make sure of the premise which would have to be done anyway plus the 7 card at the end.

 

[bhsmte]

I disagree with the answer. Nothing in the test said the card could not have letters on both sides. Ergo, the D could also have a vowel, potentially falsifying the statement.

Exactly what I thought as well, which is why I chose to turn them all over, even though you are right about the 4.

 

[46AND2]

Exactly what I thought as well, which is why I chose to turn them all over, even though you are right about the 4.

It appears that it was an error (or intentional omission) in the OP. The website specifies that each card has a number on one side, and a letter on the other.

 

[sfs]

Because of Labor Day, I wasn’t able to post yesterday and won’t be able to post much today.

However, I was rather interested in the results of a certain psychological test and so I’ve decided to post it here to see which choice those who debate with me would choose.

According to the test you are shown:

and you are told “All cards with a vowel on one side have an even number on the other.”

Which card or cards do you turn over to determine whether this statement is true?

How to think about the problem depends on unstated context.

1) If "all cards" refers to the set of cards shown, then previous comments apply: turning over all cards but the 4 will determine the statement's truth or falsity.

2) If these are a sample drawn from a larger population of cards, then there's no combination of cards you could turn over that would establish the truth of the statement. The correct procedure would still be turn over all but the 4, since any of those three could establish the statement's falsity, and failing that would increase the probability that the statement is true.

3) (Real-world science context): I wouldn't turn over any cards until a funding source had been identified that would cover this study, plus overhead.

 

[Zosimus]

Thanks to all who participated. As some have already mentioned it the Wason Psychological Experiment and details can be found at Psychology Classics: Wason Selection Task (Part I) » Psychology In Action

The point of the test is that most people select A and 4. However, 4 is not a good choice because it cannot possibly falsify the thesis regardless the outcome.

Under the original design the correct answers are A and 7 because it explicitly said that all cards have a letter on one side and a number on the other. Since I left that part out, I can see the logic of those who selected D as a card to be chosen. Kudos to you.

 

[Zosimus]

Thanks to all who participated. As some have already mentioned it the Wason Psychological Experiment and details can be found at Psychology Classics: Wason Selection Task (Part I) » Psychology In Action

The point of the test is that most people select A and 4. However, 4 is not a good choice because it cannot possibly falsify the thesis regardless the outcome.

Under the original design the correct answers are A and 7 because it explicitly said that all cards have a letter on one side and a number on the other. Since I left that part out, I can see the logic of those who selected D as a card to be chosen. Kudos to you.

 

[Elendur]

It appears that it was an error (or intentional addition) in the OP. The website specifies that each card has a number on one side, and a letter on the other.

Indeed, that was the assumption I implicitly added before I reread the OP and noted that it was missing.

 

[46AND2]

interesting, also, that at least 101 of 128 university students originally given the test, got it wrong.

ETA: Second source stated that only 4% got the right answer. Also read about a followup test they used with alcoholic drinks and drinking age--same problem, essentially-- and 72% got it right, since we are used to finding exclusions when it comes to underage drinking. Pretty interesting.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Because of Labor Day, I wasn’t able to post yesterday and won’t be able to post much today.

However, I was rather interested in the results of a certain psychological test and so I’ve decided to post it here to see which choice those who debate with me would choose.

According to the test you are shown:

and you are told “All cards with a vowel on one side have an even number on the other.”

Which card or cards do you turn over to determine whether this statement is true?

All of them. Cause that would provide the biggest test sample

 

[Notedstrangeperson]

Under the original design the correct answers are A and 7 because it explicitly said that all cards have a letter on one side and a number on the other. Since I left that part out, I can see the logic of those who selected D as a card to be chosen. Kudos to you.

In theory 7 may not work either, since IF it had a constonant on the other side it wouldn't really confirm or disprove the statement.

 

[46AND2]

In theory 7 may not work either, since IF it had a constonant on the other side it wouldn't really confirm or disprove the statement.

It is a POTENTIAL falsification, therefore you have to turn it over. The fact that it might not falsify it, is irrelevant. The fact that it is incapable of confirming the statement is also irrelevant.

 

[selfinflikted]

Because the 4 has no potential to falsify the statement, anyway.

While true, my natural curiosity would have me turn them all over, barring any rules that forbade it.

 

[anyathesword]

Too tired to think...

 

[OllieFranz]

Because of Labor Day, I wasn’t able to post yesterday and won’t be able to post much today.

However, I was rather interested in the results of a certain psychological test and so I’ve decided to post it here to see which choice those who debate with me would choose.

According to the test you are shown:

and you are told “All cards with a vowel on one side have an even number on the other.”

Which card or cards do you turn over to determine whether this statement is true?

I just saw this thread and I am answering cold. I'll catch up on the previous responses before my next post.

The A and the 7 have the potential to falsify the statement by presenting a card with a vowel and a non-even (odd) number. The other two cards, no matter what is on the other side do not affect the truth or falsity of the statement.

Nothing short of examining the entire deck can prove the statement. The statement is exactly the eqivalent of a scientific statement such as, for example, "All swans are white."

If you examine every swan in Germany and find them all to be white the statement is true for Germany. If you examine every non-white bird in the Bronx Zoo, and none of them are swans, the statement is true for the Bronx Zoo.

Finding a white owl, either by examining owls or by examining white birds tells you nothing about the existence or non-existence of non-white swans. Finding a black swan in Australia falsifies the the statement, not only for Australia, but for the entire Universe.

 

[46AND2]

How to think about the problem depends on unstated context.

1) If "all cards" refers to the set of cards shown, then previous comments apply: turning over all cards but the 4 will determine the statement's truth or falsity.

2) If these are a sample drawn from a larger population of cards, then there's no combination of cards you could turn over that would establish the truth of the statement. The correct procedure would still be turn over all but the 4, since any of those three could establish the statement's falsity, and failing that would increase the probability that the statement is true.

3) (Real-world science context): I wouldn't turn over any cards until a funding source had been identified that would cover this study, plus overhead.

I considered #2, also, but used the assumption that all cards referred to the ones shown, since it didn't make a difference in which cards to turn over.

lol @ #3.