Ch.4: Knowledge, evidence, and errors in thinking Flashcards
Theories about knowledge
- Rationalist
- empiricist
- Structure of the mind (Kant)
Rationalists
- claim that most human knowledge and truth derives from reason.
- like the Greek philosopher Plato
Empiricists
- claim that truth and knowledge are derived through empirical evidence collected by our physical senses.
- Empiricism is the opposite of rationalism
Structure of the mind
- Our experience of reality depends on the structure of our minds.
- NOT a matter of reasoning or empirical evidence
-= more prone to certain perceptual and cognitive errors.
Knowledge
-information or experience we believe to be true and for which we have justification or evidence.
Cognitive Error in thinking
• Our perceptions of the world around us may easily be skewed by social influences.
Perceptual Error in thinking
• Our brains construct a picture of the world, fills in missing info with our expectations
–>◦ Example: war of the worlds that was spoken over the radio and people believed it.
Probability errors
probability of making a wrong decision
Self-serving biases
- misperception that we are in control
- tendency to overestimate ourselves in comparison to others
- tendency to exaggerate our strengths and minimize our weaknesses
Self-fulfilling prophecy
- Causing something to happen b/c you believe it will
- influences events leading to the outcome that ultimately leads to it happening
Errors in thinking
- Cognitive and Perceptual
- Social Errors and Biases
Misperception of random data
-We make meaning when there are none.
–>Confirmation bias
◦ Example: when you look at the clouds or lights in the sky and trying to explain them or connect them to things that we know.
Types of Cognitive and Perceptual Errors in Thinking
- Perceptual
- Misperception of random data
- Probability
- Self-serving biases
- Self-fulfilling prophecy
Social Error & Biases make people…
- perceive the world differently and groups from the way we do in isolation
- Groups can systematically distort both the gathering and interpretation of evidence
“One of us/one of them” error
bias error
• We tend to treat those similar to us better than those who are different than us.
◦ (Holocaust)
Types of Social Error & Biases
- “One of us/one of them” error
- Societal expectations
- Group pressure and conformity
- Diffusion of responsibility
Diffusion of responsibility
social error
- If responsibility is not explicitly assigned to us, we tend to regard it as not our problem but as belonging to somebody else.
- Much more likely to come to someone’s aid if we are alone then if we are in a crowd.
- Bystander effect .
Group pressure and conformity
social error
-perceive the world differently and groups than you would alone
-Groups can distort the way we see things and influence us to do things we normally wouldn’t
◦ (Asch Experiment–> diff. size lines)
Matt Carington Case
- Boy dies from too much water
- ppl don’t call 911 for long time b/c told not too
Epistemology
How we know what we know
Paradigms
- Our world views
- shaped by our understanding of truth and the ultimate sources of knowledge
Evaluating evidence
-Credibility: Education, Experience, Reputation, Accomplishments
-Accuracy: Consistency
of evidence
Limitations of EVIDENCE
- Direct experience and False Memories
- Hearsay
- Expert/Personal testimony
False Memory Syndrome
- mind fills in gaps with things that didn’t actually happen
- Ex: witnesses of the Challenger explosion dramatically altered their memories of the disaster
Language and False Memory
-using certain words elicit different emotions or ideas
-EX: Speed of car accident; most dramatic words–>least –“collided”(45)
“bumped” (40)
“hit” (35mph)
“contacted” (32mph)
Anecdotal Evidence
- Personal testimony.
- Unreliable because it may be exaggerated or distorted.
-Ex: eye witness testimony
Expert testimony
-one of the most credible sources of evidence, but not foolproof B/C
#1) Experts (within all fields) disagree with one another. #2) Experts can be biased.
confirmation bias
when you look for evidence that confirms your assumptions and reject evidence that contradicts them.
Credible research resources
Book, Scholarly peer-reviewed journal article, newspaper/magazine, website: .org, .gov, and .edu
