Diferencias individuales en razonamiento hipotético-deductivo: Importancia de la flexibilidad y de las habilidades cognitivas.

Individual differences in hypothetic-deductive reasoning: Importance of cognitive skills and flexibility.
Recent investigations show that people’s differential performance when solving reasoning tasks is due
to differences not only at computational level, but also at the rational or intentional level. This study is
within the framework of this context and it specifically analyses individual differences in hypotheticdeductive
reasoning, taking into account the characteristics associated with the task itself (content and
instructions) as well as the individuals’ differential characteristics. Two hundred and seventy-six students
from the University of Santiago de Compostela participated in this study. Several psychometric
tests were administered and participants were requested to solve various reasoning tasks. The results
obtained confirm that, in effect, the differences between competent and non-competent reasoners are
observed at both the above-mentioned levels: cognitive skills and abilities (algorithmic level) and cognitive
flexibility (intentional level).