Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Psychophysiology. 2024 Jun;61(6):e14532. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14532. Epub 2024 Jan 28.
Teleological reasoning is the tendency for humans to see purpose and intentionality in natural phenomena when there is none. In this study, we assess three competing theories on how bias in reasoning arises by examining performance on a teleological reasoning task while measuring pupil size and response times. We replicate that humans (N = 45) are prone to accept false teleological explanations. Further, we show that errors on the teleological reasoning task are associated with slower response times, smaller baseline pupil size, and larger pupil dilations. The results are in line with the single-process extensive integration account and directly oppose predictions from dual-processing accounts. Lastly, by modeling responses with a drift-diffusion model, we find that larger baseline pupil size is associated with lower decision threshold and higher drift rate, whereas larger pupil dilations are associated with higher decision threshold and lower drift rate. The results highlight the role of neural gain and the Locus Coeruleus-Norepinephrine system in modulating evidence integration and bias in reasoning. Thus, teleological reasoning and susceptibility to bias likely arise due to extensive processing rather than through fast and effortless processing.
目的论推理是指人类在自然现象中看到目的和意图的倾向，而实际上并没有。在这项研究中，我们通过测量瞳孔大小和反应时间来评估三种关于推理偏差如何产生的竞争理论，从而检验在目的论推理任务中的表现。我们复制了人类（N=45）容易接受错误的目的论解释的结果。此外，我们还表明，在目的论推理任务中的错误与较慢的反应时间、较小的基线瞳孔大小和较大的瞳孔扩张有关。结果与单一过程广泛整合理论一致，直接反对双加工理论的预测。最后，通过使用漂移扩散模型对反应进行建模，我们发现较大的基线瞳孔大小与较低的决策阈值和较高的漂移率相关，而较大的瞳孔扩张与较高的决策阈值和较低的漂移率相关。研究结果强调了神经增益和蓝斑-去甲肾上腺素系统在调节证据整合和推理偏差方面的作用。因此，目的论推理和易受偏见的倾向可能是由于广泛的处理而不是快速和毫不费力的处理而产生的。
