Examining the influence of anecdotal stories and the interplay of individual differences on reasoning. (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rodriguez, Fernando; Rhodes, Rebecca E.; Miller, Kevin F.; Shah, Priti
• Is Part Of: Thinking & reasoning. Volume 22:Number 3(2016)
• Page Start: 274
• Page End: 296
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: Anecdotal stories -- thinking dispositions -- scientific communication -- evidence evaluation skills -- scientific reasoning; Thought and thinking -- Periodicals; Reasoning (Psychology) -- Periodicals; 153.43
• DOI: 10.1080/13546783.2016.1139506
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1354-6783

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In two experiments, we explored whether anecdotal stories influenced how individuals reasoned when evaluating scientific news articles. We additionally considered the role of education level and thinking dispositions on reasoning. Participants evaluated eight scientific news articles that drew questionable interpretations from the evidence. Overall, anecdotal stories decreased the ability to reason scientifically even when controlling for education level and thinking dispositions. Additionally, we found that article length was related to participants' ratings of the news articles. Our study demonstrates that anecdotes can discourage scientific reasoning while also pointing to the potential influence of article length on judgements of quality.