The role of falsification in hypothesis testing

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to examine how people search for evidence in their hypothesis testing, that is, how people search for evidence to test whether or not their hypotheses are true. In chapter 1, we outline the strategies people use when testing the truth of their hypotheses, the ftinctions of hypothesis testing, and the relevance of hypothesis testing to the debate about human rationality. We review the literature of experimental work carried out in the standard test bed for hypothesis testing in reasoning research - the 2-4-6 task.