Being Wrong

Question 1

According to Kathryn Schulz (author of Being Wrong), what is a primary reason we
sometimes have difficulty retrieving the memories of times we’ve been wrong?

Answer 1

Our memories are not mentally organized in a way where all mistake/error memories are stored together -> database design flaw!!

Question 2

Jason tells his friend Chidi that he doesn’t believe the 1969 moon landing was real, and that he is sure it was staged by the government. Chidi responds by explaining the evidence that shows the moon landing was real, and Jason insists that the
evidence is cooked and the staged even is simply true. Chidi throws up his hands and decides Jason just isn’t capable of understanding what he is trying to teach him. What concepts from Being Wrong do you recognize in this example?

Answer 2

• Cuz its true Constraint
• The Idiocy Assumption
• The Ignorance Assumption

Question 3

In the book Being Wrong, Kathryn Shultz argues that certainty precedes doubt. By
this, she means that certainty precedes doubt…

Answer 3

• cognitively (i.e., when we are presented with a new piece of false information, we initially accept it as true and only later reject it as false)
• developmentally (i.e., young children have the ability to be certain, and they only develop the ability to doubt as they get older)
• evolutionarily (i.e., only more advanced species show the capacity to doubt)

Question 4

Andres is a doctor and a smoker, and his friend Rodrigo can’t understand how Andres could smoke considering that he is a medical professional and therefore knows all the health risks. What psychological concept best explains why Andres continues to smoke, despite knowing that it is unhealthy?

Answer 4

Cognitive Dissonance

Question 5

Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 5

the discomfort a person feels when their behavior does not align with their values or beliefs