Human Factors and Behavioral Science: Retrospective Reports Reveal Differences in People's Reasoning

Reasoning, the ability to draw conclusions or inferences from given information, is a prized intellectual talent. Reasoning is known to be associated with successful learning of mathematics.1 A "reasoning * Bell Laboratories. °Copyright 1983, American Telephone & Telegraph Company. Copying in printed form for private use is permitted without payment of royalty provided that each reproduction is done without alteration and that the Journal reference and copyright notice are included on the first page. The title and abstract, but no other portions, of this paper may be copied or distributed royalty free by computer-based and other informationservice systems without further permission. Permission to reproduce or republish any other portion of this paper must be obtained from the Editor.