The effect of personality on reasoning

Abstract

The ability to reason depends on intelligence, but preferences for different sorts of reasoning may depend on an individual's personality. The possibility is unlikely if reasoning is akin to a formal proof in logic. But, such effects are predicted from the theory that reasoning is a semantic process of envisaging possibilities consistent with the meanings of premises and knowledge. Certain inferential problems are ambiguous in the sense that they admit both an inductive and a deductive conclusion. This paper establishes a relation between personality and reasoning about problems such as: 'If you follow this diet then you lose weight. Ann did not lose weight. Why not?' The answer can be a valid deduction, such as: Ann didn't follow the diet; or else an inductive explanation, such as: Ann had a metabolic problem. According to the 'big five' model of personality, highly conscientious individuals who are also less open to experience should focus on the possibilities consistent with the premises, and tend to make a deduction, whereas those who are open to experience and not very conscientious should go beyond these possibilities, and tend to make an induction. To test this assumption we conducted 3 studies. As hypothesised, Study 1 showed that individuals who are high in openness to experience but low in conscientiousness tend to make inductions whereas those individuals with the opposite profile tend to make deductions. Study 2 replicated the effect when participants perceived themselves as high in openness to experience and low in conscientiousness, or vice versa. Study 3 replicated the effect with experimentally induced attitudes. The attitudes were induced by asking participants to recall episodes in their lives in which they were open to experience and not conscientious, or vice versa. The results confirmed our predictions, corroborating the semantic view of human reasoning and the effects of personality traits on reasoning. Openness to experience and conscientiousness, as either long-standing traits or as temporary perceptions, affect reasoning. ©2013 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.