ABSTRACT
Julie struggles and incorrectly completes an arithmetic word problem, but easily completes the same problem (2×30+157), when it is abstracted from the word problem. Tom quickly identifies the logical fallacy in an evolutionary argument that contradicts his religious beliefs, but accepts the validity of another, equally flawed, argument that supports his beliefs of creationism. In an everyday problem situation where Kevin is trying to perform competently on a task that is performed (with others with whom he is having difficulty getting along), Kevin focuses in on the task to be performed when the problem occurs at school, but focuses on the interpersonal difficulty when solving the same problem at home. After watching the first half hour of a movie for which he paid $10, Todd is utterly bored but refuses to leave the theater because (so his argument goes) he’d be “throwing money away.” Later, after Sophie argued that he should view the situation more logically, Todd realized that the costs he already sunk should not influence his current decision, so, together with Sophie, he walked out of the theater.
