How causal information affects decisions

Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications

Table 4 Percentage of subjects selecting each answer for the control questions in Experiment 4

Common effect	A. Red	B. Green	C. Red+green	D. Blue
Causal text	4.1	5.4	89.2	1.4
Causal diagram	1.7	2.4	92.0	3.8
Common effect and common cause	A. Blue	B. Green	C. Red+green	D. Red+blue
Causal text	2.1	6.3	69.4	22.2
Causal diagram	3.0	5.0	81.1	11.0
Causal chain	A. Vop	B. Ker	C. Ant
Causal text	16.6	78.6	4.8
Causal diagram	23.4	70.2	6.4

Correct answers are bolded, and answer order was randomized during study. For the causal chain question, answer A is the first node in the chain and a parent of the correct answer