Linear syllogisms present two premises, each describing a relation between two terms. The individual's task is to infer the relation among the three terms of the linear syllogism, and then answer a question about one or more of these relations. For example, "John is taller than Bob. Sam is shorter than Bob. Who is the tallest?" Students of reasoning have engaged in a vigorous debate regarding the representations and processes used by subjects solving linear syllogisms. This experiment was intended to isolate the source of conflicts in reported data sets for the linear syllogism problems. Eighteen adult subjects received linear syllogisms under instructions designed to yield speeds commensurate with error rates of about 10%. Latency and error data were analyzed both separately and jointly. The analyses revealed that the source of the conflicts in the literature is the failure of researchers to appreciate the complex interrelationships between latency and error rate. When these interrelationships are taken into account, the conflicts disappear. (Author/NCR)