The elusive thematic‐materials effect in Wason's selection task

A series of three experiments was conducted to examine the possible facilitating effect of thematic materials in Wason's selection task. The first two experiments attempted to replicate the major studies indicating such an effect. Experiment 1 failed to replicate the findings of Wason & Shapiro (1971), and the results of Johnson‐Laird et al. (1972) were not replicated in Expt 2. In support of a memory‐cueing hypothesis, improved performance was found in Expt 3 for an implication rule that was a part of our subjects' past experience. The present results are discussed both with respect to the other studies concerning the effect of thematic content in this task and in the context of a memory‐cueing explanation for the thematic‐materials effect.