Wason selection task

What it is

Even simple "if P then Q" rules are often tested the wrong way: people look for confirming cases rather than the cases that could falsify the rule. The Wason selection task shows this, and it links to confirmation bias.

Related

• Confirmation bias bias
  The Wason selection task is the classic demonstration that people look to confirm rules rather than test them.
• Affirming the consequent fallacy
  The Wason selection task shows how often people test "if P then Q" by looking for confirming cases, which is the pattern behind this fallacy.
• Belief bias bias
  People judge logical validity by whether they like the conclusion, which obscures structural errors.
• Affirming a disjunct fallacy
  Everyday "or" and "if" statements are often misread, which simple-logic puzzles expose.

Appears in

• The 99 thinking errors in Rolf Dobelli's The Art of Thinking Clearly#63: Simple logic

References

• Wikipedia: Wason selection task en.wikipedia.org
• The 99 thinking errors in Rolf Dobelli's The Art of Thinking Clearly en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia: List of cognitive biases en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia: Cognitive bias codex en.wikipedia.org

More in “What it means: finding patterns and stories”