THE LINDA PROBLEM REVISITED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COGNITIVE-EXPERIENTIAL SELF-THEORY

Results from four experiments (N = 548) support the hypothesis from co gnitive-experiential self-theory (GEST) that the resistance of the not orious Linda conjunction problem to solution can be attributed primari ly to its simultaneously concrete and unnatural context. The experimen ts demonstrated that the influence of other variables, such as problem order; event likelihood, within-versus between-protagonist context, a nd statistical sophistication, although important, cannot account for the robust influence of the combination of the concrete-abstract and n atural-unnatural dimensions. The implications of the demonstration tha t virtually everyone has intuitive knowledge of the conjunction rule a re discussed, in addition to cuing effects, narrative processing, and methodological issues that have produced serious distortions in the in terpretation of previous research.