Critical and Scientific Thinking in Psychology

Question 1

Define: Critical Thinking

Answer 1

Ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence.

Question 2

Does critical thinking involve emotions in assessing claims and making judgments?

Answer 2

No

Question 3

1.Critical and creative thinking begins with wondering why, and…

Answer 3

Asking questions

Question 4

2. Vague or poorly defined terms can be misleading, which is why researchers always start with…

Answer 4

A Hypothesis

Question 5

2. A Hypothesis leads to explicit predictions about what will happen in a particular situation. What is used to better define subject matter in the hypothesis?

Answer 5

Operational Definitions

Question 6

2. Define: Operational Definitions

Answer 6

Specify how the phenomena is to be observed and measured. (ex. anxiety may be defined operationally as a score on an anxiety questionnaire, and a threatening situation may be defined as threat of electric shock)

Question 7

3. What would be lazy thinking in accepting a conclusion?

Answer 7

Accepting a conclusion without empirical evidence. One must find out what evidence supports or dismisses their argument, and ask how reliable all forms of evidence are.

Question 8

4. Define: Assumptions

Answer 8

Assumptions are beliefs that are taken for granted.

Question 9

4. Define: Biases

Answer 9

Biases are assumptions that keep us from considering evidence fairly, or avoiding it altogether.

Question 10

4. A willingness to risk disconfirmation in their hypothesis forces scientists to take negative evidence seriously and to abandon mistaken assumptions. Any scientist is not a true scientist if they do not include what in their hypothesis?

Answer 10

• The Principle of Falsifability*
• A scientist must predict what WILL happen, and what WILL NOT happen if their hypothesis is correct.
• A hypothesis stated in a way that it can be disproved by counter-evidence

Question 11

4. We are vulnerable to violating the Principal of Falsifability in everyday life. How?

Answer 11

Confirmation Bias
-the tendency to look for and accept evidence that supports our own theories and assumptions, and dismiss or ignore evidence that contradicts our beliefs.

Question 12

5. Why is it best to leave emotional reasoning out of critical thinking?

Answer 12

• emotional conviction alone makes arguments worse
• we feel threatened when our beliefs are challenged, and keeping a level head is most important in these types of situations

Question 13

6. A common form of oversimplification is Argument By Anecdote. What does that mean?

Answer 13

It means you are generalizing from a personal experience, or a few examples, FOR ALL PEOPLE. Scientific thinkers need more evidence than a couple of stories before they draw sweeping conclusions.

Question 14

7. What is the goal of a Hypothesis?

Answer 14

The goal of a hypothesis is to arrive at a Theory:

• an organized system of assumptions and principles that explains a set of observations and how they are related.
• Theories make as few assumptions as possible and account for many empirical findings.

Question 15

8. Why is secrecy a no-no in science?

Answer 15

Scientists must know where you got your ideas and how you tested them, so others can challenge you if they think your findings are wrong.

Question 16

8. Researchers must tolerate uncertainty and avoid drawing conclusions until many researchers have __________ and verified their findings.

Answer 16

Replicated