Rational Explanation of the Selection Task

M. Oaksford and N. Chater (O&C; 1994) presented the first quantitative model of P. C. Wason's ( 1966, 1968) selection task in .which performance is rational. J. St B T Evans and D. E. Over (1996) reply that O&C's account is normatively incorrect and cannot model K. N. Kirby's (1994b) or P. Pollard and J. St B T Evans's (1983) data. It is argued that an equivalent measure satisfies their normative concerns and that a modification of O&C's model accounts for their empirical concerns. D. Laming (1996) argues that O&C made unjustifiable psychological assumptions and that a "correct" Bayesian analysis agrees with logic. It is argued that O&C's model makes normative and psychological sense and that Laming's analysis is not Bayesian. A. Almor and S. A. Sloman (1996) argue that O&C cannot explain their data. It is argued that Almor and Sloman's data do not bear on O&C's model because they alter the nature of the task. It is concluded that O&C's model remains the most compelling and comprehensive account of the selection task.