Who Is Rational?: Studies of individual Differences in ReasoningIntegrating a decade-long program of empirical research with current cognitive theory, this book demonstrates that psychological research has profound implications for current debates about what it means to be rational. The author brings new evidence to bear on these issues by demonstrating that patterns of individual differences--largely ignored in disputes about human rationality--have strong implications for explanations of the gap between normative and descriptive models of human behavior. Separate chapters show how patterns of individual differences have implications for all of the major critiques of purported demonstrations of human irrationality in the heuristics and biases literature. In these critiques, it has been posited that experimenters have observed performance errors rather than systematically irrational responses; the tasks have required computational operations that exceed human cognitive capacity; experimenters have applied the wrong normative model to the task; and participants have misinterpreted the tasks. In a comprehensive set of studies, Stanovich demonstrates that gaps between normative and descriptive models of performance on some tasks can be accounted for by positing these alternative explanations, but that not all discrepancies from normative models can be so explained. Individual differences in rational thought can in part be predicted by psychological dispositions that are interpreted as characteristic biases in people's intentional-level psychologies. Presenting the most comprehensive examination of individual differences in the heuristics and biases literature that has yet been published, experiments and theoretical insights in this volume contextualize the heuristics and biases literature exemplified in the work of various investigators. |
Contents
1974 | |
1980 | |
Performance Errors and Computational Limitations | 1980 |
The Inappropriate Norm Argument | |
Clues from Individual Differences | |
The Problem of Rational Task Construal | |
Honoring Sunk Costs | |
Summary of Framing and Sunk Cost Results | |
Models of Selection Task Performance | |
Conclusions | |
Thinking Dispositions and Decontextualized Reasoning | |
The Fundamental Computational Bias | |
Has Human Irrationality Been Empirically Demonstrated? | |
References | |
Author Index | |
Other editions - View all
Who Is Rational?: Studies of Individual Differences in Reasoning Keith E. Stanovich Limited preview - 1999 |
Who is Rational?: Studies of Individual Differences in Reasoning Keith E. Stanovich No preview available - 1999 |
Who is Rational?: Studies of Individual Differences in Reasoning Keith E. Stanovich No preview available - 1999 |
Common terms and phrases
alternative analysis analytic intelligence argued argument evaluation assumption Baron base rate Bayesian behavior belief bias biases literature chapter choice cognitive ability Cognitive Psychology computational limitations conjunction fallacy context correlations Cosmides covariation decision theory decontextualization deontic descriptive models deviations discussed displayed domain epistemic Evans example experiment experimenter false consensus effect framing effect fundamental computational bias Gigerenzer goals heuristics and biases hindsight bias human rationality indicates individual differences intentional stance intentional-level interpretation irrationality Journal Kahneman Linda Problem logic Meliorist metacognitive need for cognition non-normative nondeontic normative model normative rationality normative response normative/descriptive gap not-Q Oaksford optimal overconfidence overconfidence effect Panglossian patterns perfect rational performance errors positive predict prior belief probability processes projection Psychology reflective equilibrium selection task significantly situation social Stanovich & West Stanovich and West statistical reasoning strategy subjects sunk cost syllogisms System Table task construal tendency theory thinking dispositions Tversky understanding/acceptance principle variables variance versions