The effect of negation on deductive inferences.
Research shows that negation can suppress the activation of propositions presented explicitly in text, but does negation have a similar effect on propositions that can be inferred? That is, does negation inhibit the inference process? Four experiments investigated whether a deductive inference that produces a negated conclusion (therefore not a) is made as readily as a similar inference form that yields an affirmative conclusion (therefore a). A combination of naming latencies, verification times, and reading times indicate that negation does not affect the deductive inference process itself, although it may inhibit the activation of inferred concepts.
Lea
R Brooke
RB
Department of Psychology, Macalester College, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55105, USA. lea@macalester.edu
Mulligan
Elizabeth J
EJ
D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading