Exam 1 Flashcards
Mindfulness
Striving for awareness, presence, or purposefulness non-judgmentally and/or engaging deeply in life in all that we do
First Instinct Fallacy
The idea that it is best to follow one’s “gut feeling”
Availability Heuristic
The estimation of the likelihood of an event by how easily it comes to mind (ex. we are designed to remember the bad so therefore we are most likely to remember the bad/incorrect)
Individual Differences
The variations in thoughts, emotions, personality etc.
Reciprocal Determinism
The tendency for people to mutually influence each others behavior (ex. mimicking someone’s actions)
Naïve Realism
The belief that we see the world exactly as it (i.e. the assumption that “seeing is believing”
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to seek evidence that supports ones hypotheses/belief
Disconfirmation Bias
The tendency to seek evidence that is inconsistent with the disliked/rejected hypotheses/belief
Belief Perserverance
The tendency to stick to ones initial belief even with evidence
Scientific Skepticism
The ability to evaluate claims with an open mind, persuasive evidence, and the willingness to change ideas mind
Correlation-Causation Fallacy
The idea that “correlation implies causation” in which two events that have a correlation have an established cause-and-effect relationship
Principle of Parsimony
The principle that the simplest explanation that can explain the data is to be preferred
Heuristics
Referred to as a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgements quickly and efficiently (ex. you see an individual wearing a hoodie in a dark alley and you decide to walk faster)
Experimental Designs
Refers to how participants are allocated to the different groups in an experiment
Hedonic Treadmill
A metaphor for the human tendency to pursue one pleasure after another
Base Rate Information
A statistic used to describe the percentage of the population that demonstrates some characteristic
P.T. Barnum Effect
Phenomenon that occurs when individuals believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them (ex. horoscopes, astrology etc.)
Falsifiability
Logical possibility that an assertion, theory, and/or hypothesis can be shown to be false
Occam’s Razor
The concept that if two explanations account equally well for a phenomenon, one should generally pick the simpler one
Descriptive Statistics
Used to describe or summarize the characteristics of a sample or data set (the basic features of the data in a study)
Inferential Statistics
Used to try to reach conclusions that extend beyond the immediate data alone (allow to make predictions from the data)
Biases
To feel or show an inclination or prejudice for or against someone or something
Representative Heuristic
Estimating the likelihood of an event by comparing it to an existing prototype that already exists in one’s mind (ex. police who are looking for a criminal may focus on the black population)
Independent Variable
Characteristic of an experiment that is manipulated or changed by the researcher
Dependent Variable
The variable that is being measured or tested in an experiment
Confound Variable
Factors other than the independent variable that may cause a result
Correlation Design
Investigates the relationship between two variables without manipulating them in anyway
Illusory Correlation
The phenomenon of perceiving a relationship between variables even when no relationship exists
Control Group
The group that does not receive the manipulation or treatment in an experiment
Experimental Group
The group that receives the manipulation or treatment in an experiment
Random Assignment
Random sorting of a group of people into two separate groups
6 Principles of Critical/Scientific Thinking
- Ruling out Hypothesis
- Understanding that Correlation is not Causation
- Falsifiability
- Replicability
- Understanding that Extraordinary Claims require Extraordinary Evidence
- Occam’s Razor
