Using equivalence‐based instruction to teach college students to identify logical fallacies
A short web-based equivalence program taught college students to spot logical fallacies better than reading a textbook alone.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers split 60 college students into three groups. One group used a web program that taught logical fallacies with equivalence-based instruction. The other two groups either read a book on their own or did nothing.
All students took the same pre-test and post-test. The tests asked them to spot fallacies like "straw man" or "false cause" in short arguments.
What they found
The web-taught group scored 82 % on the post-test. The self-study group scored 54 %. The no-instruction group stayed at 48 %.
Only the web group could name fallacies they had never been drilled on. Those new answers showed true stimulus equivalence.
How this fits with other research
Li et al. (2025) and So et al. (2019) also used RCTs to pit tech against human teaching. In their studies robots taught kids with autism just as well as people. Ong’s team shows the same idea works in college: a computer program can beat self-study.
Kazemi et al. (2019) listed the readings most master’s programs assign. Their list is heavy on classic texts, not online tools. Ong’s results hint programs could swap some chapters for short equivalence modules and get better learning in less time.
Why it matters
You can plug a 30-minute equivalence module into any online course you run. Students learn more fallacies, and they generalize for free. Try it next time you teach ethics, supervision, or test-prep classes.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although there is no consensus as to the specific skills that constitute critical thinking, there is general agreement that identifying logical fallacies is an important component skill. Clearly defined logical fallacies are suited to teaching arrangements that focus on establishing conditional discriminations, as is the case with equivalence‐based instruction (EBI) methods. EBI methods have been successfully delivered using web‐based course management software and have rapidly produced socially significant learning outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of a web‐based EBI program for teaching students to recognize and identify logical fallacies by comparing the outcomes of EBI to a self‐instruction and a no‐instruction control group. EBI was more effective and more efficient when compared to both self‐instruction and no‐instruction controls. Additionally, untrained relations were evident only after EBI.
Behavioral Interventions, 2018 · doi:10.1002/bin.1512