Explanatory coherence in social explanations: A parallel distributed processing account.

Abstract

This article studies the impact of explanatory coherence on the evaluation of explanations. Tested were 4 principles of P. Thagard's (1989) model for evaluating the coherence of explanations. Study I showed that Ss preferred explanations that accounted for more data (breadth) and that were simpler (simplicity or parsimony). Study 2 demonstrated that Ss thought an explanation was stronger when it could, in turn, be explained. Study 3 showed that the evaluation of explanations is comparative, affected by the availability of good alternatives. These results were then successfully simulated using Thagard's connectionist implementation of his model of explanatory coherence. The data and the simulation, taken together, strongly support the model

Cited by (14)

1. Explanation in artificial intelligence: Insights from the social sciences
   Miller, Tim · 2019 · Artificial Intelligence
2. Temporal construal.
   Trope, Yaacov, Liberman, Nira · 2003 · Psychological Review
3. A Function of Form: Terror Management and Structuring the Social World.
   Landau, Mark J., Johns, Michael, Greenberg, Jeff, Pyszczynski, Tom, Martens, Andy, Goldenberg, Jamie L., Solomon, Sheldon · 2004 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
4. Explanation and abductive inference
   Lombrozo, Tanya · 2012 · The Oxford Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning
5. Explanatory Preferences Shape Learning and Inference
   Lombrozo, Tania · 2016 · Trends in Cognitive Sciences

See all 278