The effects of negation mode, syllogistic invalidity, and linguistic medium on the psychometric properties of deductive reasoning tests

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between certain formal (logical) properties of syllogistic items and the psychometric properties of the items. The formal properties of negation mode, syllogistic invalidity, and linguistic medium (symbolic versus verbal) were varied in 16 syllogistic tests. When administered to large samples of college-educated adults, the tests had difficulty levels that were in consonance with previous findings relative to the content and validity of syllogisms. However, the variable of negation mode had the greatest effect on test means. The study expands on previous studies of negation by analyzing negative propositional equivalents in the syllogistic context. These equivalents include term negation in addition to the more familiar verb negation.