A situation-modulated minimal change account for causal inferences about causal networks. Issue 12 (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Moyun; Sun, Jinrui
• Is Part Of: Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. Volume 73:Issue 12(2020)
• Page Start: 2403
• Page End: 2411
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Causal networks -- the Markov assumption -- causal inferences -- dynamic situations -- the situation-modulated minimal change account; Psychology, Experimental -- Periodicals; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals; 150.72405
• DOI: 10.1177/1747021820965226
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1747-0218

Abstract

Although causal Bayes networks are applicable to examining causal inferences about different static objects and about a changing object with different states, previous studies investigated the former, but not the latter. We propose a situation-modulated minimal change account for causal inferences. It predicts that dynamic situations are more likely to elicit minimal revisions on causal networks and adherence to the Markov assumption than static situations. Two experiments were conducted to investigate qualitative causal inferences about causal networks with binary and numerical variables, respectively. It was found that qualitative causal inferences were more likely to adhere to the Markov assumption in dynamic situations than in static situations. This finding supports the situation-modulated minimal change account rather than the other alternative accounts. We conclude that dynamic situations are more likely to elicit minimal revisions on causal networks and adherence to the Markov assumption than static situations. This conclusion is beyond the previous predominant view that causal inferences are apt to violate the Markov assumption.