Sources of Information Flashcards
Why do we not base beliefs solely on personal experience?
Because we have no comparison group.
When does a confound occur?
When we believe on thing caused an outcome when in fact other factors changed as well.
How are differing personal experiences explained?
Behavioural research is probabilistic. Inferences are not expected to explain all cases all of the time.
What are the two rough categories that biases of intuition fall into?
Thinking the easy way and thinking what we want to think.
What are the 3 biases within the “thinking the easy way” category?
The good story, the present/present bias, and the pop-up principle.
What is the good story bias?
Accepting a conclusion because it “makes sense.” E.g., Freud’s idea of catharsis.
What is the present/present bias?
The failure to acknowledge absences while still acknowledging all present stimulus. E.g., paying attention to those who got better after blood-letting but ignoring those who got better without, or got worse with.
What is the pop-up principle?
Things that come easily to mind tend to guide our thinking.
What is the pop-up principle also known as?
The availability heuristic.
What are the three biases/biased practices that fall within the “thinking what we want” category?
“Cherry-picking” the evidence, asking biased questions, and being overconfident.
What is “cherry-picking evidence”?
To seek and accept only the evidence that supports what we already think and what we want tot think.
What is confirmatory hypothesis testing?
Selecting questions that would lead to a particular, expected answer. AKA Confirmation bias.
Why is overconfidence the sneakiest of all biases?
It makes us trust our reasoning more and makes it more difficult for us to initiate the theory-data cycle.
What 5 techniques can researchers use to guard against the pitfalls of intuition?
Create comparison groups, conduct rigorous studies, test their hunches with systematic empiricism, strive to ask questions objectively, and to accept data provisionally.
Which authorities should not be trusted?
Self-proclaimed authorities.
