Non-bayesian inference: causal structure trumps correlation. Bes, B., Sloman, S., Lucas, C. G., & Raufaste, E. Cogn Sci, 36(7):1178–1203, 2012.
doi  abstract   bibtex   
The study tests the hypothesis that conditional probability judgments can be influenced by causal links between the target event and the evidence even when the statistical relations among variables are held constant. Three experiments varied the causal structure relating three variables and found that (a) the target event was perceived as more probable when it was linked to evidence by a causal chain than when both variables shared a common cause; (b) predictive chains in which evidence is a cause of the hypothesis gave rise to higher judgments than diagnostic chains in which evidence is an effect of the hypothesis; and (c) direct chains gave rise to higher judgments than indirect chains. A Bayesian learning model was applied to our data but failed to explain them. An explanation-based hypothesis stating that statistical information will affect judgments only to the extent that it changes beliefs about causal structure is consistent with the results.
@Article{Bes2012,
  author      = {Bes, B\'en\'edicte and Sloman, Steven and Lucas, Christopher G. and Raufaste, Eric},
  journal     = {Cogn Sci},
  title       = {Non-bayesian inference: causal structure trumps correlation.},
  year        = {2012},
  number      = {7},
  pages       = {1178--1203},
  volume      = {36},
  abstract    = {The study tests the hypothesis that conditional probability judgments
	can be influenced by causal links between the target event and the
	evidence even when the statistical relations among variables are
	held constant. Three experiments varied the causal structure relating
	three variables and found that (a) the target event was perceived
	as more probable when it was linked to evidence by a causal chain
	than when both variables shared a common cause; (b) predictive chains
	in which evidence is a cause of the hypothesis gave rise to higher
	judgments than diagnostic chains in which evidence is an effect of
	the hypothesis; and (c) direct chains gave rise to higher judgments
	than indirect chains. A Bayesian learning model was applied to our
	data but failed to explain them. An explanation-based hypothesis
	stating that statistical information will affect judgments only to
	the extent that it changes beliefs about causal structure is consistent
	with the results.},
  doi         = {10.1111/j.1551-6709.2012.01262.x},
  language    = {eng},
  medline-pst = {ppublish},
  pmid        = {22734828},
  school      = {Laboratoire CLLE-LTC, Universit\'e de Toulouse, Pittsburgh.},
  timestamp   = {2012.11.19},
}

Downloads: 0