Children's and adults' judgments of the certainty of deductive inferences, inductive inferences, and guesses.
Children and adults rated their own certainty following inductive inferences, deductive inferences, and guesses. Beginning in kindergarten, participants rated deductions as more certain than weak inductions or guesses. Deductions were rated as more certain than strong inductions beginning in Grade 3, and fourth-grade children and adults differentiated strong inductions, weak inductions, and informed guesses from pure guesses. By Grade 3, participants also gave different types of explanations for their deductions and inductions. These results are discussed in relation to children's concepts of cognitive processes, logical reasoning, and epistemological development.
Pillow
Bradford H
BH
Northern Illinois University, Department of Psychology, Room 400, Dekalb, IL 60115, USA. pillow@nih.edu
Pearson
Raeanne M
RM
Hecht
Mary
M
Bremer
Amanda
A
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008128:Logic; D008297:Male; D018187:Personal Construct Theory; D011337:Probability Learning; D011340:Problem Solving; D002666:Psychology, Child; D055815:Young Adult