Is everyday experience dysfunctional for the development of conditional reasoning?

Abstract

According to “Comprehension theory” improved performance on invalid conditional syllogisms is a function of the ability to dissociate from a biconditional interpretation. Given that biconditional interpretation is typically used in inferring from everyday conditionals (i.e., circumstantial conditionals), the accumulation of everyday experience should reinforce its usage rather than weaken it and, hence, be dysfunctional in solving invalid conditional syllogisms. This study examines the hypothesis that certain kinds of experiences that are unique to schooling account for improved performance on invalid problems with age. The study estimated the independent effects of age and schooling in Grades 5 and 6 on scores obtained on invalid conditional and class syllogisms. The results point to a negative, albeit very small effect of out-of-school experience and to a considerable positive effect of schooling. Hence, contrary to other cognitive tasks in which schooling operates in the same direction as out-of-school experience, in this case, it apparently breaks daily-life interpretational habits and therefore is crucial for the developmental process.