Glossary / Lexicon

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Reasoning in the context of psychology refers to the cognitive process that involves the organization of information or knowledge to reach conclusions, solve problems, and make decisions. This mental process is foundational to human thought, enabling individuals to analyze information, deduce implications, and apply knowledge to new situations.

Reasonig is the process of drawing conclusions from principles and from evidence Cognitive process(es) used in transforming given information, called premises, into conclusions. Reasoning is often seen as a special kind of thinking. A particular type of problem solving that involves making inferences.

Description

In psychology, reasoning is studied as a part of higher cognitive functions that guide complex thought processes. It can be broadly categorized into two main types: deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning involves deriving specific conclusions from general information or premises, while inductive reasoning involves drawing generalized conclusions from specific instances. Each type of reasoning has distinct characteristics and applications, and they are used differently depending on the situation at hand.

Application Areas

Reasoning is crucial across various domains:

• Educational Psychology: It is integral in learning environments to develop and assess students' abilities to apply logic to academic challenges.
• Clinical Psychology: Understanding reasoning processes can help in diagnosing and treating cognitive impairments and decision-making deficits.
• Organizational Psychology: In work settings, reasoning is key to problem-solving and decision-making processes that affect productivity and innovation.

Well-Known Examples

In psychological studies, classic tests such as the Wason task or syllogistic problems are used to assess reasoning abilities. These tests challenge individuals to apply logical rules to reach conclusions and are used to study how reasoning can be influenced by biases or cognitive capacities.

Treatment and Risks

Faulty reasoning can be seen in various cognitive disorders and mental health issues, where individuals may struggle to make logical conclusions or connect thoughts coherently. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) often addresses these issues by helping individuals develop better reasoning skills, which are crucial for everyday decision making and problem-solving.

Similar Terms

In psychology, similar terms related to reasoning include 'problem-solving', 'critical thinking', and 'cognitive processing'. Each relates to how we understand, manipulate, or apply information in cognitive tasks.

Articles with 'Reasoning' in the title

• Abstract Reasoning: In the psychology context, abstract reasoning refers to the cognitive process involved in understanding complex concepts, solving problems, and making inferences that do not rely directly on physical or concrete experiences but instead use . . .
• Analogical reasoning: Analogical reasoning means drawing inductive inferences that specify a fourth (D) term that projects a relationship found between the first two (A and B) terms into the third (C) term of the analogy, in problems of the form A is to B and C . . .
• Conditional reasoning: Conditional reasoning that which occurs when the reasoner must draw a conclusion based on an if-then proposition, example: is if she behaves that was, then maybe she has a problem
• Conditional reasoning tests: Conditional reasoning tests: Conditional reasoning tests refer to tests developed to reduce inaccurate responses and get a more accurate picture of a person’s tendency to engage in aggressive or counterproductive behavior
• Deductive reasoning: Deductive reasoning refers to the process of reasoning from one or more general statements regarding what is known to reach a logically certain conclusion- drawing conclusions from facts or from only the given premises- reasoning from a kno . . .
• Emotional Reasoning: Emotional Reasoning refers to the belief of something- because it "feels" true, ignoring contradictory evidence. Example: "I just know that we lost our basketball game and it was all my fault, and no one among my team can convince me otherw . . .
• Prosocial moral reasoning: Prosocial moral reasoning refers to the thinking that people display when deciding whether to help, share with, or comfort others when these actions could prove costly to themselves
• Transductive reasoning: Transductive reasoning refers to the errors in understanding cause-and-effect relationships that are commonly made by preoperational children. Other /More definition: Transductive reasoning is reasoning from one particular fact or case to a . . .
• Componential approach to the study of reasoning: Componential approach to the study of reasoning refers to an approach to cognitive psychology in which performance on a task is analyzed into its component cognitive processes
• Conventional moral reasoning: Conventional moral reasoning refers to moral thinking based on a Desire to please others or to follow accepted rules and va lues.
• Everyday reasoning: Everyday reasoning refers to mundane reasoning that differs from formal reasoning in its use of implicit premises, multiple solutions, personal relevance, and possible emotional
• Hypothetico-deductive reasoning: Hypothetico-deductive reasoning refers to a style of problem solving in which all possible solutions to a problem are generated and then systematically evaluated to determine the corr- ect answer(s) - In Piaget"s theory, Hypothetico- . . .
• Postconventional moral reasoning: Postconventional moral reasoning refers to moral thinking based on carefully examined and self-chosen moral principles.
• Belief-desire reasoning: Belief-desire reasoning refers to the process whereby we explain and predict what people do based on what we understand their desires and beliefs to be
• Counterfactual reasoning: Counterfactual reasoning refers to the ability to reason about an event that is contrary to fact.
• Formal reasoning: Formal reasoning is defined as the type of reasoning in which the form of an argument, not its semantic content, is crucial-. reasoning about problems with explicit premises, finite solutions, and well-defined operations
• Inductive reasoning: Inductive reasoning: Inductive reasoning refers to reasoning that involves drawing conclusions that are suggested, but not necessarily true- the process of reasoning from specific facts or observations to reach a likely conclusion that may . . .
• Mental models approach to the study of reasoning: Mental models approach to the study of reasoning : Mental models approach to the study of reasoning refers to the idea that reasoning proceeds with general-purpose cognitive processes used in the construction of mental representations
• Moral reasoning: Moral reasoning refers to the cognitive component of morality- the thinking that people display when deciding whether various acts are right or wrong.
• Pragmatic reasoning schemas: Pragmatic reasoning schemas are general organizing principles or rules related to particular kinds of goals, such as permissions, obligations, or causations
• Preconventional moral reasoning: Preconventional moral reasoning is a moral thinking based on the consequences of one's choices or actions

Summary

Reasoning in psychology is a fundamental cognitive process that involves forming conclusions, solving problems, and making decisions based on available information. It's a key area of study in cognitive psychology, highlighting how individuals interpret and think about the world around them.

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