Conflict detection and social perception: bringing meta-reasoning and social cognition together

摘要

Research on implicit conflict detection suggests that people are sensitive to violations of logical principles. When they make reasoning errors, their epistemic radar presumably detects an anomaly. This study tested conflict detection using novel measures: self-report measures of how much reasoners struggled when solving a problem and whether they considered an alternative response, and social inferences of what they believe other people would respond. Moreover, this study tested whether these social inferences are informed by how much conflict people feel when trying to decide on an answer themselves. Results show 1) that reasoners in general are conflict-sensitive, even when they are incorrect; but 2) this sensitivity is greater for correct vs. incorrect responders; and 3) the experience of conflict influences social inferences, such that reasoners are less likely to believe that other people share their response when they themselves considered an alternative response when trying to solve a problem.