The Broad Reach of Multivariable Thinking
Simple explanations are very often inadequate and can encourage faulty inferences. We examined college students’ explanations regarding illegal immigration to determine the prevalence of single-factor explanations. The form of students’ explanations was predicted by their responses on a simple thre...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Windsor
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Informal Logic |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7639 |
| _version_ | 1797855867607973888 |
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| author | Deanna Kuhn Anahid Modrek |
| author_facet | Deanna Kuhn Anahid Modrek |
| author_sort | Deanna Kuhn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Simple explanations are very often inadequate and can encourage faulty inferences. We examined college students’ explanations regarding illegal immigration to determine the prevalence of single-factor explanations. The form of students’ explanations was predicted by their responses on a simple three-item forced-choice multivariable causal reasoning task in which they selected the strongest evidence against a causal claim. In a further qualitative investigation of explanations by a sample of community adults, we identified positive features among those who scored high on this multivariable causal reasoning task. We consider limitations of single-factor reasoning and means of encouraging more comprehensive explanations to support claims.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:30:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2fb7360b95ba47e2a25394eed69db2d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0824-2577 2293-734X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:30:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | University of Windsor |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Informal Logic |
| spelling | doaj.art-2fb7360b95ba47e2a25394eed69db2d72023-03-30T17:00:03ZengUniversity of WindsorInformal Logic0824-25772293-734X2023-03-0143110.22329/il.v43i1.7639The Broad Reach of Multivariable ThinkingDeanna KuhnAnahid Modrek0Thomas Jefferson University Simple explanations are very often inadequate and can encourage faulty inferences. We examined college students’ explanations regarding illegal immigration to determine the prevalence of single-factor explanations. The form of students’ explanations was predicted by their responses on a simple three-item forced-choice multivariable causal reasoning task in which they selected the strongest evidence against a causal claim. In a further qualitative investigation of explanations by a sample of community adults, we identified positive features among those who scored high on this multivariable causal reasoning task. We consider limitations of single-factor reasoning and means of encouraging more comprehensive explanations to support claims. https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7639causal reasoning, explanation, sociopolitical views, multivariable thinking |
| spellingShingle | Deanna Kuhn Anahid Modrek The Broad Reach of Multivariable Thinking Informal Logic causal reasoning, explanation, sociopolitical views, multivariable thinking |
| title | The Broad Reach of Multivariable Thinking |
| title_full | The Broad Reach of Multivariable Thinking |
| title_fullStr | The Broad Reach of Multivariable Thinking |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Broad Reach of Multivariable Thinking |
| title_short | The Broad Reach of Multivariable Thinking |
| title_sort | broad reach of multivariable thinking |
| topic | causal reasoning, explanation, sociopolitical views, multivariable thinking |
| url | https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7639 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT deannakuhn thebroadreachofmultivariablethinking AT anahidmodrek thebroadreachofmultivariablethinking AT deannakuhn broadreachofmultivariablethinking AT anahidmodrek broadreachofmultivariablethinking |