Attention and reasoning : a task-switching investigation of the mental model theory

Abstract

Despite the fact that most theories of reasoning agree on the main role played by limitations in WM capacity in reasoning performance, little research has been directed to elucidate how the executive processes that deal with these limitations contribute to complex mental operations such as calculation or deduction. The present thesis aims to demonstrate how the methods employed in the investigation of one such executive process, namely, attention switching, may help to shed light on some debated questions about the way people tackle reasoning problems. Particularly we are interested in those questions referring to the influence of attentional limitations in the ease with which reasoning problems can be solved.