Replication: Knowledge and Luck

Abstract

Is a belief true when it is due to a lucky guess? This study replicated Turri and colleagues' (2014) study investigating how we make judgments of others' knowledge (i.e., what they know). In this replication, 97 participants completed a short survey that compared three different conditions-one in which the character made the right decision due to their knowledge ("Knowledge"), one in which the character made the right decision due to a lucky guess ("Gettier"), and one in which the character was wrong ("Ignorance"). It was found that subjects attributed knowledge and reasonableness to the characters depending on the condition they were in. Subjects attributed higher knowledge ratings to the characters in the Gettier condition than in the Knowledge and Ignorance conditions. However, ratings for reasonableness, the soundness of the character's conclusions, were higher in the Knowledge condition than the Gettier and Ignorance conditions. Overall, findings were in line with the Turri et. al (2014) study, demonstrating that these effects can replicate. We also found support for an additional hypothesis for gender differences in knowledge ratings: the female character ("Emma") was rated lower in knowledge that the male characters ("Darrel" and "Gerald") regardless of the condition.