Belief Bias Effect In Category Syllogistic Reasoning: Evidence From Eye-Movement

In reasoning process, the people form based on the existing knowledge experience to the current inference content understanding or the belief, these understanding or belief then influence the inference process, causes the conclusion and the response has the deviation, this kind of cognition phenomenon named belief bias. The domestic and foreign scholars have conducted massive research to the category syllogism, have obtained rich empirical study material, and have formed several very influential theories. However, the existing research technique is also quite unitary, are mainly uses the written records working the form, lacks to the real-time monitoring. In order to advance the research in this domain, the present research employs a conclusion-evaluation paradigm. With the eye-movement recording and analysis technology, we did a more in-depth, detailed study to reveal the belief bias effect in category syllogistic reasoning. The experiment is a 2×2×2×2 four factor repeated measure experimental design, in which independent variable includes: model complexity (simple, complex), conclusion validity (valid, invalid), premise believability(believable, unbelievable) and conclusion believability(believable, unbelievable); The dependent variable includes the correct response rate, the total time watching topic, the first and the second time through the areas of interesting, the re-reading times of the interest in areas of interesting. The experimental process controlled by E-Prime software program. Experimental subjects came from the Nanjing Normal University, the 31 postgraduates, including 15 men, 16 women.Results: First, due to variance analyses of many dependent variables, the main effect of the model complexity achieves the significance level. Under the simple model condition, the correct response rate higher than that under the conditions of complex model, the time or the number of re-read times of complex model is longer or more than under the simple model conditions There have existences of interactive effect between model complexity and the other three independent variables in reasoning process. Second, premise believability influence category syllogism processing. There existed interaction between premise believability and conclusion believability, and with conclusion validity, the effect of conclusion validity when the premise is believable is bigger than it when the premise is unbelievable. Third, main effect of conclusion believability existed universal in each kind "figures", "mood" category syllogism. There interacted between conclusion believability and the form validity.Conclusions: (1) In the category syllogism, the model complexity, the premise believability, the conclusion believability and the conclusion validity have universal influence, which reflect the existence universality of the belief bias effect. (2) The unbelievable information aroused more concerns when material breach of the usual thought, which will led to neglecting the logical of reasoning itself.(3) The experimental result supported the selective processing model. Mental model theory and selective processing model theory to a certain extent have been verified by the results of this study. The former can explain that the model complex main effects, as well as the correlation that the conclusion believability and the validity produce in the complex model, but cannot explain the correlation that in the simple inference produces. The latter can explain that the premise believability main effect as well as with the other factor's correlation, to once more scans thee the time forecast also to obtain the corrfirmation. The forecast of re-inspection time at premise has been verified.