Chapter 2

Question 1

Pitfalls of Relying on Experience

Answer 1

a. Confounds: Something you observe may have a hidden cause; we are not able to control for multiple, co-occurring effects on our moods or behaviors
b. No comparison groups: reasonable group is needed to evaluate info without bias
i. Ex: radical mastectomy believed to be best treatment for breast cancer

Question 2

Probabilistic Research

Answer 2

a. An experiential counterexample doesn’t disprove the research
i. Honda FIT example

Question 3

Pitfalls of Intuition

Answer 3

a. Falling for a good story, relying on availability, focusing on present outcomes, confirmation bias, bias blind spot and overconfidence
i. Present/present bias
1. Focus on positive instances more than negative ones
ii. Confirmatory hypothesis testing
1. Tendency to consider only evidence that supports a hypothesis, inflicting asking only the questions that will lead to expected answer
iii. Bias blind spot
1. Believe we are not biased

Question 4

Types of Sources

Answer 4

a. Empirical journal article: Report original methods and results in detail
b. Review article journal: Summarize a collection of patterns of results from the literature
i. Meta-analysis: effect size (quantitative)
c. Full length books and chapters in edited books: Invited authors, overview of previous research

Question 5

Parts of Empirical Journal

Answer 5

1. Abstract: Concise summary of the article
2. Introduction: Topic, background, goals
3. Method: How it was conducted
4. Results: Data and tables
5. Discussion: If supported hypotheses
6. References