in this result, as participants usually chose cards to confirm their hypothesis, instead of eliminating it. THOG Task Wason devised yet another task, called the THOG task, to further his studies in psychology of reasoning. In this task, participants were shown cards with a white diamond, a black diamond, a white circle, and a black circle. They were then given a rule, and instructed to choose which of the cards would be a THOG, which were not, and which could not be classified. The THOG task required subjects to carry out a combinational analysis, a feat an adult should be able to accomplish, using reason and logic. That being said, half of the participants answered the problem incorrectly. Approach to experimentation Peter Wason took a rather unconventional approach to his studies. When running experiments, he took a more active approach. Although he had some lab aides, he insisted on being present when experiments were run, so he could actively watch the subjects’ behavior throughout the process. It is also said that Wason infused a clinical psychology atmosphere into his study by asking his subjects how they felt about the experiment itself, as well as the results delivered. These evaluations were recorded and placed in his papers, giving them a more personal and unique feel than many other academic papers of the time. Wason’s goal was to discover new psychological phenomena and new aspects of human behavior, and not only to test his own hypotheses. Publications Wason wrote the following books: Thinking and Reasoning, (co-edited with P N Johnson-Laird, 1968) Psychology of Reasoning: Structure and Content, (with P N Johnson-Laird, 1972) Thinking: Readings in Cognitive Science, (co-edited with P N Johnson-Laird, 1977) The Psychology of Chess, (with William Hartston, 1983). References 1924 births 2003 deaths English psychologists Academics of University College London Alumni of University College London 20th-century psychologists Burials at Highgate Cemetery People from Bath, Somerset British Army personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Armoured Corps officers British Army officers English people of Scottish descent Academics of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Oxford