Studies and Experiments
Wason Selection Task
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Peter Wason introduced this logic puzzle in 1966 to test how people reason about conditional (if-then) rules. Given four cards showing a letter or a number on their visible face, participants must choose which cards to turn over to test a stated rule, a task that is logically identical whether framed in abstract terms or in a familiar, socially meaningful scenario, letting researchers isolate how content and framing affect reasoning separately from the logic itself.
Facts
Key FindingIn Wason's original abstract version of the task, fewer than ten percent of participants selected the two cards that actually test the stated rule, a low success rate replicated again in 1993; the same logical structure produces much higher, sometimes near-ceiling, performance when the rule is framed as a familiar social or permission-checking scenario rather than an abstract letter-and-number rule. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Wason Selection Task
Wikimedia FoundationExplanations of performance on the task sectionQuote, Explanations of performance on the task section
In Wason's study, not even 10% of subjects found the correct solution, which for the specific criteria of this problem, would be the 8 card and the red card.
1. Wikipedia: Wason Selection Task
Wikimedia FoundationWason's account of participant errorsQuote, Wason's account of participant errors
Wason also ascribes participants' errors on this selection task due to confirmation bias.
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