2 thinking critically with psyc
- 1. Thinking Critically with Psychological Science 1
- 2. Thinking Critically with Psychological Science The Need for Psychological Science The limits of Intuition and Common Sense The Scientific Attitude The Scientific Method FAQS About Psychology 2
- 3. Impression of Psychology Hoping to satisfy curiosity, many people listen to talk-radio counselors and psychics to know about others and themselves. http://www.photovault.com http://www.nbc.com Dr. Crane (radio-shrink) Psychic (Ball gazing) 3
- 4. The Need for Psychological Science Intuition & Common Sense Many of us believe that intuition and common sense are enough to bring forth answers about human nature. Although intuition and common sense may aid queries, they are not free of error. 4
- 5. Limits of Intuition Personal interviewers tend to be overconfident of their “gut feelings” about job applicants. Taxi/ Getty Images 5
- 6. Errors of Common Sense Try this ! If you were to fold a piece of paper (0.1 mm thick) 100 times, how large do you think its thickness would be? 800,000,000,000,000 times the distance between the sun and the earth. 6
- 7. Hindsight Bias Hindsight Bias is the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon. We tend to believe, after learning about an outcome, that we would have foreseen it. We knew that the dot.com stocks would plummet, only after they did. 7
- 8. Overconfidence We tend to think we know more than we actually do. How long do you think Anagram would it take to unscramble WREAT WATER these anagrams? ETYRN ENTRY People said about 10 seconds. On average they GRABE BARGE took about 3 minutes (Goranson, 1978). 8
- 9. Psychological Science 1. How can we differentiate between uninformed opinions and examined conclusions? 2. The science of psychology can help make these examined conclusions, which lead to our understanding what people feel, think, act, as they do! 9
- 10. The Scientific Attitude The scientific attitude is composed of curiosity (passion for exploration), skepticism (doubting and questioning) and humility (humbleness to accept when wrong). 10
- 11. Critical Thinking Critical thinking does not blindly accept Courtesy of the James Randi Education Foundation arguments and conclusions. It examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, assesses conclusions. The Amazing Randi 11
- 12. Scientific Method Psychologists, like all scientists, use the scientific method to construct theories that organize, summarize and simplify observations. 12
- 13. Theory Theory is an explanation that integrates principles, organizes and predicts behaviors or events. For example, low self-esteem contributes to depression. 13
- 14. Hypothesis Hypothesis is a testable prediction, often induced by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject or revise the theory. People with low self-esteem are apt to feel more depressed. 14
- 15. Research Observations Research would require us to administer tests of self esteem and depression to people. Individuals who score low on self- esteem measures and high on depression tests, would confirm our hypothesis. 15
- 16. Research Process 16
- 17. FAQ Q1. Can laboratory experiments illuminate everyday life? Ans: Artificial laboratory conditions are created to study behavior in simplistic terms. The goal is to find underlying principles that govern behavior. 17
- 18. FAQ Q2. Does behavior depend on one’s culture? Ans: Even when specific attitudes and behaviors vary across cultures, as they often do, the underlying processes are much the same. Ami Vitale/ Getty Images 18
- 19. FAQ Q3. Does behavior vary with gender? Ans: Yes. Biology determines our sex, and then culture further bends the genders. Yet in many ways women and men are similarly human. 19
- 20. FAQ Q4. Why do psychologists study animals? Ans: Study of animals gives us understanding of many behaviors that may have common biology across animals and humans. 20 D. Shapiro, © Wildlife Conservation Society
- 21. FAQ Q5. Is it ethical to experiment on animals? Ans: Yes. To gain insights to devastating and fatal diseases. All researchers who deal with animal research are required to follow ethical guidelines in caring for these animals. 21
- 22. FAQ Q6. Is it ethical to experiment on people? Ans: Yes. Experiments that do not involve any kind of physical or psychological harm that is beyond normal levels encountered in daily life can be carried out. 22
- 23. FAQ Q7. Is psychology free of value judgments? Ans: No. Psychology emerges from people who subscribe to a set of values and judgments. 23 © Roger Shepard
Editor's Notes
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