Theory and Evidence

Part 1 Theory and evidence: the role of mechanism and alternative accounts in formal-operational, causal, and scientific reasoning; disconfirming and anomalous evidence. Part 2 Experimental evidence: when non-humane indices replace or override covariation: experiment 1, experiment 2; beliefs about covariation and causal mechanisms - implausible as well as plausible: experiment 3, experiment 4, experiment 5; assessing internal and external validity: experiment 6; evaluating explanations in light of alternative accounts: experiment 7, experiment 8; rendering implausible causes plausible: experiment 9, experiment 10; deciding whether abnormalities refine a theory or call it into question: experiment 11, experiment 12; disconfirming mechanism and covariation components of a theory: experiment 13; confirmation, disconfirmation, and differing views of scientific inquiry: experiment 14, experiment 15; spontaneous generation of appropriate tests, causal mechanisms, and alternative hypotheses: experiment 16.