Chapter 1 Lilienfeld: Psychology and Scientific Thinking

Question 1

What is psychology?

Answer 1

The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior

Question 2

What are the lower levels of analysis in psychology tied to?

Answer 2

Lower rungs of the latter are closely tied to biological influences

Question 3

What are the higher levels of analysis in psychology tied to?

Answer 3

Higher rungs are tied closely to social and cultural differences

Question 4

Why is it hard to pin down one cause in psychology?

Answer 4

Because psychological influences are rarely independent of each other

Question 5

Look at these two phrases:

“actions speak louder than words”
“a pen is mightier than a sword”

do you agree with them?

What do they reveal to us about trusting common sense?

Answer 5

You cannot trust common sense because it can lead us to believing to opposing things (looking closer at the phrases above you can now see they contradict each other)

Question 6

Naive Realism

Answer 6

when we “see the world as it is”
leads us to believe incorrect conclusions about human nature

Question 7

Confirmation Bias:

Answer 7

tendency to seek out evidence that supports our beliefs and deny, dismiss, or distort, evidence that contradicts them

Question 8

Psuedoscience

Answer 8

set of claims that seems scientific but isn’t

Question 9

what are the 3 crucial warning signs of pseudoscience?

Answer 9

1. Overuse of Ad Hoc immunizing hypothesis
2. Lack of self correction
3. Over reliance on Anecdotes

Question 10

What is the Ad Hoc Immunizing hypothesis

Answer 10

Loophole that defenders of the theory use to protect their theory from falsification

Question 11

What is an anecdote?

Answer 11

“I know a person who….” second hand evidence
“I felt less…..” first hand evidence

Question 12

Pseudosciences rely on _________

Answer 12

Anecdata / anecdotal evidence

Question 13

Patternicity

Answer 13

The tendency to perceive meaningful patterns even when they are not there

Question 14

How does Patternicity impact us?

Answer 14

Can cause us to attribute abnormal significance to coincidences that are a result of chance

leads us to believe conspiracy theories

Tends to influence us to see meaningful images in meaningless visual stimuli (ex: clouds as figures)

Question 15

Why does pseudoscience impact us?

Answer 15

It causes us to feel a sense of control in a world full of unpredictability

Question 16

Terror management theory:

Answer 16

Theory that

Question 17

Emotional reasoning Fallacy:

Answer 17

Error of using emotions as guides for evaluating the validity of a claim

Question 18

Bandwagon Fallacy:

Answer 18

Error of assuming a claim is correct just because many people believe it

Question 19

Not me Fallacy:

Answer 19

Error of believing that we are immune from error in thinking that affect other people

Question 20

Bias Blind spot:

Answer 20

Unaware of your own bias but keen to others

Question 21

Why is Pseudoscience a concern?

Answer 21

1. Opportunity costs (seeking ineffective treatment)
2. Direct Harm (can cause dreadful harm)
   ex: Candace New Maker 10 yr old rebirthing
   therapy
3. Inability to think scientifically as citizens

Question 22

Scientific skepticism:

Answer 22

Approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind but insisting on persuasion evidence before accepting them

Question 23

cynicism:

Answer 23

dismissal of claims before given the chance to be adequately evaluated

Question 24

Carl sagan 2 claism

Question 25

Features

Question 26

Critical thinking:

Answer 26

Set of skills for evaluating all claims in an open minded and careful fashion

Question 27

Scientific thinking:

Answer 27

Set of skills to help overcome our biases

Question 28

What are the 6 principles of scientific thinking?

Answer 28

1. Ruling out rival hypothesis
2. Correlation isn’t causation
3. Falsifiability
4. Replicability
5. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence
6. Occams Razor

Question 29

Functionalism:

Answer 29

Understanding thoughts feelings and behavior

Question 30

Structuralism:

Answer 30

Uses introspection

Question 31

Behaviorism:

Answer 31

Uncover general principles of learning that explain all behaviors (observable behavior)

Question 32

Cognitivism:

Answer 32

examine role of mental processes on behavior

Question 33

Evolutionary Psychology:

Answer 33

seeks to explain psychological traits of naturally selected adaptations

Question 34

Basic Research:

Answer 34

Examines how the mind works

Question 35

Applied research:

Answer 35

Examines how we use basic research to solve how the world works