MAJORITY AND MINORITY INFLUENCE, TASK REPRESENTATION AND INDUCTIVE REASONING

One hundred and fifty-five participants had to solve a ser oi 2-4-6 li ke reasoning problems (Wason, 1960), in which they were told which hyp othesis a majority (or a minority) proposed, as well as which example was used for the test. In a 2 X 2 design, participants were also told that the problems allowed either one single correct answer or several possible answers. Results show that, when the source is a majority and the problem allows one single answer, most, participants adopt: the s ource's hypothesis and use confirmatory testing. On the contrary, it i s when the source is a minority and the problem allows several answers thar most participants give alternative hypotheses and use disconfirm ation.