Citation

Johnson SG, Ahn W. Cogn. Sci. 2015; 39(7): 1468-1503.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Yale University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/cogs.12213

PMID

25556901

Abstract

Knowledge of mechanisms is critical for causal reasoning. We contrasted two possible organizations of causal knowledge-an interconnected causal network, where events are causally connected without any boundaries delineating discrete mechanisms; or a set of disparate mechanisms-causal islands-such that events in different mechanisms are not thought to be related even when they belong to the same causal chain. To distinguish these possibilities, we tested whether people make transitive judgments about causal chains by inferring, given A causes B and B causes C, that A causes C. Specifically, causal chains schematized as one chunk or mechanism in semantic memory (e.g., exercising, becoming thirsty, drinking water) led to transitive causal judgments. On the other hand, chains schematized as multiple chunks (e.g., having sex, becoming pregnant, becoming nauseous) led to intransitive judgments despite strong intermediate links (). Normative accounts of causal intransitivity could not explain these intransitive judgments (Experiments 4 and 5).

Language: en