Correct Intuitions Research Articles

Debiasing System 1: Training favours logical over stereotypical intuiting

AbstractWhereas people’s reasoning is often biased by intuitive stereotypical associations, recent debiasing studies suggest that performance can be boosted by short training interventions that stress the underlying problem logic. The nature of this training effect remains unclear. Does training help participants correct erroneous stereotypical intuitions through deliberation? Or does it help them develop correct intuitions? We addressed this issue in four studies with base-rate neglect and conjunction fallacy problems. We used a two-response paradigm in which participants first gave an initial intuitive response, under time pressure and cognitive load, and then gave a final response after deliberation. Studies 1A and 2A showed that training boosted performance and did so as early as the intuitive stage. After training, most participants solved the problems correctly from the outset and no longer needed to correct an initial incorrect answer through deliberation. Studies 1B and 2B indicated that this sound intuiting persisted over at least two months. The findings confirm that a short training can debias reasoning at an intuitive “System 1” stage and get reasoners to favour logical over stereotypical intuitions.

From bias to sound intuiting: Boosting correct intuitive reasoning

Although human thinking is often biased by erroneous intuitions, recent de-bias studies suggest that people's performance can be boosted by short training interventions, where the correct answers to reasoning problems are explained. However, the nature of this training effect remains unclear. Does training help participants correct erroneous intuitions through deliberation? Or does it help them develop correct intuitions? We addressed this issue in three studies, by focusing on the well-known Bat-and-Ball problem. We used a two-response paradigm in which participants first gave an initial intuitive response, under time pressure and cognitive load, and then gave a final response after deliberation. Studies 1 and 2 showed that not only did training boost performance, it did so as early as the intuitive stage. After training, most participants solved the problems correctly from the outset and no longer needed to correct an initial incorrect answer through deliberation. Study 3 indicated that this sound intuiting sustained over at least two months. The findings confirm that a short training can boost sound reasoning at an intuitive stage. We discuss key theoretical and applied implications.

The smart intuitor: Cognitive capacity predicts intuitive rather than deliberate thinking

Cognitive capacity is commonly assumed to predict performance in classic reasoning tasks because people higher in cognitive capacity are believed to be better at deliberately correcting biasing erroneous intuitions. However, recent findings suggest that there can also be a positive correlation between cognitive capacity and correct intuitive thinking. Here we present results from 2 studies that directly contrasted whether cognitive capacity is more predictive of having correct intuitions or successful deliberate correction of an incorrect intuition. We used a two-response paradigm in which people were required to give a fast intuitive response under time pressure and cognitive load and afterwards were given the time to deliberate. We used a direction-of change analysis to check whether correct responses were generated intuitively or whether they resulted from deliberate correction (i.e., an initial incorrect-to-correct final response change). Results showed that although cognitive capacity was associated with the correction tendency (overall r = 0.22) it primarily predicted correct intuitive responding (overall r = 0.44). These findings force us to rethink the nature of sound reasoning and the role of cognitive capacity in reasoning. Rather than being good at deliberately correcting erroneous intuitions, smart reasoners simply seem to have more accurate intuitions.

The unifying power of scientific theories. An alternative proposal from structuralism to Kitcher’s explanatory pattern

Kitcher has satisfactorily explicatedunification using his particular approach to scientific explanation. However, we believe that his perspective has certain problems, which have been inherited by more recent approaches to the topic. Specifically, the requirement of stringency of patterns that Kitcher proposes to determine the unifying power of an explanatory pattern undermines the typical and peculiar heterogeneity we can find in different applications of unifying theories. We will show how this topic can be better addressed by the perspective built by metatheoretical structuralism without sacrificing any of Kitcher's correct intuitions.

Experienced physician descriptions of intuition in clinical reasoning: a typology.

Background Diagnostic intuition is a rapid, non-analytic, unconscious mode of reasoning. A small body of evidence points to the ubiquity of intuition, and its usefulness in generating diagnostic hypotheses and ascertaining severity of illness. Little is known about how experienced physicians understand this phenomenon, and how they work with it in clinical practice. Methods Descriptions of how experienced physicians perceive their use of diagnostic intuition in clinical practice were elicited through interviews conducted with 30 physicians in emergency, internal and family medicine. Each participant was asked to share stories of diagnostic intuition, including times when intuition was both correct and incorrect. Multiple coders conducted descriptive analysis to analyze the salient aspects of these stories. Results Physicians provided descriptions of what diagnostic intuition is, when it occurs and what type of activity it prompts. From stories of correct intuition, a typology of four different types of intuition was identified: Sick/Not Sick, Something Not Right, Frame-shifting and Abduction. Most physician accounts of diagnostic intuition linked this phenomenon to non-analytic reasoning and emphasized the importance of experience in developing a trustworthy sense of intuition that can be used to effectively engage analytic reasoning to evaluate clinical evidence. Conclusions The participants recounted myriad stories of diagnostic intuition that alerted them to unusual diagnoses, previous diagnostic error or deleterious trajectories. While this qualitative study can offer no conclusions about the representativeness of these stories, it suggests that physicians perceive clinical intuition as beneficial for correcting and advancing diagnoses of both common and rare conditions.

Optimal frequency filtering of auscultation sounds

Most of the auscultation sounds do not reveal any significant single-frequency components, and their acoustic energy is concentrated in the low frequency region—up to about 100 Hz, falling even below the threshold of hearing. Such character is determined not only by the vibroacoustic behavior of sources, but mostly by high damping introduced by the sound transmission path through tissues underlying the skin surface. The contained diagnostic information is very subtle, and thus it can be easily masked by internal or external noise sources. Not all of those corrupting signals can be efficiently blocked, hence frequency filtering is the most obvious solution for improving the diagnostic capabilities. Many various filtering strategies and techniques were developed and implemented in both acoustic and electronic stethoscopes, however they are based primarily on (not always correct) intuition and subjective evaluation, without implementation of any accurate and objective measurement means or optimization algorithms. The present study introduces various signal to noise ratio (SNR) measures, applicable for different examination cases. Frequency filtering optimization strategies, for maximizing the values of the introduced coefficients for different heart and lung auscultation sounds, are presented.Most of the auscultation sounds do not reveal any significant single-frequency components, and their acoustic energy is concentrated in the low frequency region—up to about 100 Hz, falling even below the threshold of hearing. Such character is determined not only by the vibroacoustic behavior of sources, but mostly by high damping introduced by the sound transmission path through tissues underlying the skin surface. The contained diagnostic information is very subtle, and thus it can be easily masked by internal or external noise sources. Not all of those corrupting signals can be efficiently blocked, hence frequency filtering is the most obvious solution for improving the diagnostic capabilities. Many various filtering strategies and techniques were developed and implemented in both acoustic and electronic stethoscopes, however they are based primarily on (not always correct) intuition and subjective evaluation, without implementation of any accurate and objective measurement means or optimization algori...

Summum Bonum of Higher Education and its Ever Expanding Horizon

The individuality and personality of the learner must be known before he is taught or subjected to behaviour modification. The teacher should have a thorough knowledge of the interests, aptitudes, attitudes, intelligence and creativity of a learner in order to play a key role in pushing the student to higher achievement. For the proper and effective communication between the teacher and the taught we have to have a proper and unique method. We have to think when and where the learning experience has to be provided. Education cannot be static and fixed or unchanging. It has to be planned according to the changing circumstances and needs of a particular society or nation (Mangal S.K., 2004).Education is not pumping in but pumping out the knowledge potentialities in an individual. This dynamic process is an inevitable thing without which there is no education. Throughmany years of experience many things are crystallised into the knowledge bank of a person. This cranial accumulation is digested and stored in every person. Different types of experiences are accumulated and formed in the brain-mathematical knowledge, literary knowledge, logical knowledge, philosophical knowledge etc. Argumentative ability is another important ability in education. Vedas are the best example of this. Vedas and Upanishads are formed in the wide jungles from great rishis - means one who ignites Agni - the Agni of knowledge in a person. Veda means to analyse a thing in different angles and reach a conclusion (Bhagavan, 1993). This type of method ignites and cherishes the branches of all types of knowledge. Vedic mathematics is an example of this. More than the speed of a computer it calculates everything in a lightning speed. Mere analytical knowledge is nothing. But it must be mingled with correct and proper intuition. Shree chakra is an example of this. Without this nobody in this world can think about digital system which is transforming the physical world into a marvellous area of development.

Sorte, Virtude, e Anulabilidade Epistêmica

http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2016v20n2p179 Duncan Pritchard has suggested that anti-luck epistemology and virtue epistemology are the best options to solve the Gettier problem. Nonetheless, there are challenging problems for both of them in the literature. Pritchard holds that his anti-luck virtue epistemology puts together the correct intuitions from both anti-luck epistemology and virtue epistemology and avoids their problems. Contra Pritchard, we believe that there is already a satisfactory theory on offer, namely, the defeasibility theory of knowledge. In this essay we intend (i) to examine Pritchard’s anti-luck virtue epistemology, and (ii) to defend the defeasibility theory of knowledge as an alternative to Pritchard’s theory. We will provide the reader with reasons for believing that the defeasibility theory is better than Pritchard’s theory because the former is more economic and more ecumenical than the latter, since it goes without non-epistemic notions and remains neutral as for the internalism vs. externalism debate.

Conditioning using conditional expectations: the Borel\u2013Kolmogorov Paradox

The Borel–Kolmogorov Paradox is typically taken to highlight a tension between our intuition that certain conditional probabilities with respect to probability zero conditioning events are well defined and the mathematical definition of conditional probability by Bayes’ formula, which loses its meaning when the conditioning event has probability zero. We argue in this paper that the theory of conditional expectations is the proper mathematical device to conditionalize and that this theory allows conditionalization with respect to probability zero events. The conditional probabilities on probability zero events in the Borel–Kolmogorov Paradox also can be calculated using conditional expectations. The alleged clash arising from the fact that one obtains different values for the conditional probabilities on probability zero events depending on what conditional expectation one uses to calculate them is resolved by showing that the different conditional probabilities obtained using different conditional expectations cannot be interpreted as calculating in different parametrizations of the conditional probabilities of the same event with respect to the same conditioning conditions. We conclude that there is no clash between the correct intuition about what the conditional probabilities with respect to probability zero events are and the technically proper concept of conditionalization via conditional expectations—the Borel–Kolmogorov Paradox is just a pseudo-paradox.

Do People Understand the Benefit of Diversification?

Diversification — investing in imperfectly correlated assets — reduces expected volatility without sacrificing expected returns. While the expected return from a diversified portfolio is just the weighted average mean of its constituent parts, the expected variance is less than the weighted average variance of its constituent parts. We demonstrate that very few people have correct statistical intuitions about the effects of diversification. Many people, especially those low in financial literacy, believe diversification increases the volatility of a portfolio because they conflate the predictability of individual assets with the aggregate predictability of the portfolio. Additionally, most people, but especially those high in financial literacy, believe diversification increases the expected return of a portfolio. These errors lead people to construct investment portfolios that mismatch investors’ risk preferences. The fact that people do not understand the benefit of diversification may partially explain why investors are poorly diversified, despite valuing risk reduction.

Non-Representational Mathematical Realism

This paper is an attempt to convince anti-realists that their correct intuitions against the metaphysical inflationism derived from some versions of mathematical realism do not force them to embrace non-standard, epistemic approaches to truth and existence. It is also an attempt to convince mathematical realists that they do not need to implement their perfectly sound and judicious intuitions with the anti-intuitive developments that render full-blown mathematical realism into a view which even Gödel considered objectionable (Gödel 1995, p. 150).</p><p>I will argue for the following two theses: (i) that realism, in its standard characterization, is our default position, a position in agreement with our pre-theoretical intuitions and with the results of our best semantic theories, and (ii) that most of the metaphysical qualms usually related to it depends on a poor understanding of truth and existence as higher-order concepts.

From alienation to capability deprivation: Reconstructing a sociological concept

Among sociology’s normative narratives, alienation figures as one of the most captivating, influential and contested. Anchored in Hegel and Marx, the idea of alienation generated valuable theoretical and empirical tools for explanation as well as offering a normative critique of modernity. However, I argue that the concept of alienation needs to be reconstructed, suggesting that it can be renewed via Amartya Sen’s idea of capability deprivation. The article seeks to accomplish the dual task of showing what capability deprivation can replace in the standard accounts of alienation and what can be productively retained. It reconstructs alienation’s normative core, discussing it within the context of Sen’s and Nussbaum’s versions of capabilities. Having already inaugurated a novel research program in economics and political philosophy, the article proposes that the capabilities approach can contribute to improving sociological reasoning on pressing social problems and can serve as an explanatory partner to sociology’s scientific tools. I argue, therefore, that the explanatory power and normative appeal of the concept of alienation has waned considerably and that whatever correct intuitions about human sociality supported it and gave it its impetus for several decades no longer continue do so.

Product Line Extensions: Analysis, Insights, and Intuition

Line extensions – variants of existing products with new appearances, functions, or forms – constitute a significant fraction of products launched each year. While line extensions typically share components with existing products and, therefore, require lower development costs (as compared to new products), they can also cannibalize the demand of existing products. Thus, the choice of an appropriate set of line extensions is an important issue for a firm. In a seminal paper, Ramdas and Sawhney (2001) model this problem by incorporating both the supply- and demand-side implications of line extensions. We build on this work by further investigating the operational issue of selecting a subset of line extensions from a potential set, with the aim of maximizing profit. Our results for the basic model of Ramdas and Sawhney (2001) include a polynomially-solvable special case and an effective heuristic for the general version. Motivated by practical considerations, we analyze two variants of the basic model: one in which the cardinality of the line extensions is constrained, and the other in which a limited budget is available. We derive a variety of interesting insights on the inherent tradeoffs in the selection of an optimal set of extensions. A key driver of the optimal fraction of extensions is the ratio of the component-specific development cost to the labor cost. The optimal fraction of extensions is a concave and decreasing function of this ratio. Another critical parameter is the density of the product-component bipartite graph – the optimal fraction is an increasing function of this density. We also compare two common discount policies for the material cost of producing the extensions: an all-unit quantity discount and a marginal quantity discount. The marginal discount (resp., all-unit discount) is better when (i) the density of the product-component graph is low (resp., high) or (ii) the density of the product-component graph is modest and there is a large (resp., small) difference between the undiscounted, per-unit prices of the two policies. The percentage markup (i.e., ratio of profit to cost) of the optimal solution is a concave function of the upper bound on the cardinality of the selected line extensions (resp., available budget) and a decreasing function of the ratio of the component-specific development cost to the labor cost. On a carefully designed survey instrument, we observe that (i) only about half of the decision makers demonstrated the correct intuition about the role of product development cost and density of the product-component graph, (ii) almost no one correctly predicted the impact of the discount strategy. Thus, our analysis and results can provide a strong, rigorous foundation for managerial decisions.

How to elicit sound probabilistic reasoning: Beyond word problems

AbstractBarbey & Sloman (B&S) conclude that natural frequency theorists have raised a fundamental question: What are the conditions that compel individuals to reason extensionally? We argue that word problems asking for a numerical judgment used by these theorists cannot answer this question. We present evidence that nonverbal tasks can elicit correct intuitions of posterior probability even in preschoolers.

Concept substitution: A teaching strategy for helping students disentangle related physics concepts

To be effective, physics teachers need both content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, which includes knowledge of student conceptions and effective teaching strategies. Although much information is available on student conceptual and reasoning difficulties in physics, much less information is available on how to remedy such difficulties. In this paper I describe a teaching strategy, concept substitution, which is useful when student difficulties arise from a failure to distinguish distinct but related physics concepts. By using the topic of electric circuits as the context, I show how this strategy enables the teacher to identify and build on students’ correct intuition, while enabling students to distinguish among related concepts. I also illustrate the complexity of the conceptual change process, including the presence of intermediate conceptions while the process is taking place.

Réaumur «métallurgiste»

Roland Eluerd : Réaumur as a metallurgist. A study of Reaumur's metallurgical works, eminently worthwhile, shows that on the rare occasions on which they were published, they were revised by the publishers in such a way as to alter their meaning, because his correct intuitions concerning the nature of steel contradicted accepted theories. In addi¬ tion, they were written in a way which tried to combine an attention to the workmen's particular vocabulary, the need for a scientific use of language and a desire to be accessible to as many readers as possible. Thirty years before the Encyclopédie, Réaumur's work on metallurgy already revealed all the tensions created by these generous but contradicctory aims.

An Analogy‐Based Computer Tutor for Remediating Physics Misconceptions

Abstract We describe a computer tutor designed to help students understand physics concepts. The tutor uses a teaching strategy called “bridging analogies” that previous research has demonstrated to be successful in one‐on‐one tutoring. The strategy is designed to remedy misconceptions by appealing to existing correct intuitions, and extending these intuitions by encouraging analogical thinking. Students were videotaped while using the program and were encouraged to think aloud. The strategy was successful in changing beliefs for some students. We outline suggestions for improving the tutor using artificial intelligence technology.

The accessibility of Universal Grammar in adult language learning

This paper investigates whether Universal Grammar (UG) is accessible to adult language learners. If adult acquirers have consistent access to intuitions of grammaticality in cases where the relevant constraints are underdetermined by the native language, this suggests that Universal Grammar continues to function in adult acquisition. Advanced Korean adult acquirers of English were given a test of grammaticality judgements on English wh-movement sentences, where the relevant constraints are thought to derive from principles of UG. Since Korean does not have syntactic wh-movement, correct intuitions cannot derive from native language transfer. Analysis of the results and comparison with native speaker results suggests a complex picture of the function of UG in adult language acquisition; however, clear UG effects were found.

Locke's Doctrine of Substance*

In this paper I intend to discuss a series of views about substance. I take as my starting point certain things locke says about substance, argue that there are a number of logico-linguistic pecularities in his view, claim that the basic intuition is correct but that locke's final pronouncements are wrong, canvass three other possible but incorrect attempts to accommodate this correct intuition, and then sketch what I take to be the proper way to embrace the intuition. Finally I indicate what changes in lockean doctrine would be needed if Locke wanted to hold (what I think is) the correct doctrine of substance. My conclusion is: not many.The places where Locke is most explicit about his views on substance are the Letters to Stillingfleet. The value of these letters as against Locke views in the Essay has been sometimes depreciated, but it seems clear that the views expressed in the Letters are merely a making explicit the views held in the Essay.

The cerebrosides of brain tissue

Since the work of Thudichum, evidence has existed that there was more than one cerebroside. On the basis of physical properties and analyses, Thudichum distinguished two cerebrosides, phrenosin and kerasin. He had the correct intuition as to the points of difference of the two cerebrosides, and suggested that this difference was in the nature of one component, namely, the fatty acid. As far as he worked, the other components were identical in all cerebrosides. Unfortunately his method of separation was imperfect. Therefore, each fraction contained a large portion of the other. When the fatty acids were obtained, they analyzed approximately for a stearic acid, which Thudichum named neuro stearic acid. Subsequent workers improved the methods of purification particularly that of phrenosin; this permitted the isolation of the fatty acid, cerebronic acid. This acid was identified by Thierfelder as an hydroxy pentacosanic acid, C25H50O3. The further work on cerebrosides brought nothing new as regards their stru...