title: A relevance theory of induction.
abstract: A framework theory, organized around the principle of relevance, is proposed for category-based reasoning. According to the relevance principle, people assume that premises are informative with respect to conclusions. This idea leads to the prediction that people will use causal scenarios and property reinforcement strategies in inductive reasoning. These predictions are contrasted with both existing models and normative logic. Judgments of argument strength were gathered in three different countries, and the results showed the importance of both causal scenarios and property reinforcement in category-based inferences. The relation between the relevance framework and existing models of category-based inductive reasoning is discussed in the light of these findings.
authors: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208-2710, USA. medin@northwestern.edu
authors: Douglas L
authors: DL
authors: Medin
authors: John D
authors: JD
authors: Coley
authors: Gert
authors: G
authors: Storms
authors: Brett K
authors: BK
authors: Hayes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D011582:Psychological Theory