Thinking, Reasoning and Problem Solving

Drawing upon research originally cited in Ken Manktelow’s highly successful Reasoning and Thinking (1999), this textbook reflects the revolutionary changes that have occurred in the field in recent years – changes stemming from the huge expansion in research output as well as new methods and explanations.

The main areas covered are probability judgment, deductive and inductive reasoning, decision making, hypothetical thinking and rationality.

In each case, the material is almost entirely new, with topics such as the new paradigm in reasoning research, causal reasoning and counterfactual thinking appearing for the first time. The book also presents an extended treatment of decision making research, and contains a chapter on individual and cultural influences on thinking.

Thinking and reasoning are key activities for human beings. In this book a distinguished set of contributors provides a wide readership with up-to-date scientific advances in the developmental psychology of thinking and reasoning, both at the theoretical and empirical levels.

This book brings together the latest research on how such experiences of thinking influence cognition and behavior. The chapters present recent theoretical developments and describe the effects of these influences, as well as the practical implications of this research.