PSY 308 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Confirmation Bias

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 308
• Professor: Dana Williams

Document Summary

Reasoning: using our knowledge about one or more related statements that we can reasonably believe are true to determine if another statement (the conclusion) is true. Conclusion: an inferential belief that is derived from other statements. Logic: the branch of philosophy that states in detail the rules for deriving valid conclusions. Premises: the factual statements that allow the inference of logical conclusions. Illogical: conclusions in deductive reasoning tasks that are not in account with the rules of logic. Personal logic: the informal rules (personal beliefs) we use to formulate valid conclusions. Inductive reasoning: collecting observations and formulating hypothesis based on these observations: the conclusion is probably true if the premises are true, reasoning up. Deductive reasoning: using knowledge of two or more premises to infer if a conclusion is valid: the conclusion must be true if the premises are true, e. g. All dogs are animals, all animals have four legs. Therefore, all dogs have four legs: reasoning down.