The Reasoning Test Psychologists Still Can't Explain

Why do almost all of us struggle with a simple reasoning test, yet get it right the moment it’s about a pint in a pub? This week, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens take on the Wason Selection Task, one of the most intensely studied problems in the history of psychology. 

They unpack why a rule involving letters and numbers can feel strangely difficult, while the exact same logic becomes immediate and instinctive when it’s about people, rules, and catching someone out. 

From counterexamples and conditional statements to confirmation bias and the limits of human reasoning, they reveal why we rarely look for what proves us wrong. Along the way, they tackle a bigger question: did reasoning evolve to uncover truth, or simply to help us get along?
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Video Producer: Oli Oakley 
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe
Producer: Simona Rata
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn
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00:00 Intro
02:23 Cancer Research UK
03:36 The reasoning test psychologists still can't explain
05:12 Can Hannah pass the Wason selection task?
08:15 Does changing the context make it easier?
12:34 Who are the people who get the original test right?
16:20 Modus Ponens 
22:12 Why did humans’ reasoning ability evolve?
24:52 The most common responses to the test
31:45 How quickly can Hannah guess the rule?
34:50 The enigma of reason 
37:17 Confirmation bias 
38:28 The deficit model 
44:10 Michael’s idea for electing a fair government 
45:02 Civilian panels and town halls
48:00 What is phatic communion?
52:00 Where ‘goodbye’ came from
57:40 Outro