Lesson 6: Questioning SOCI 108 - Thinking Critically about Social Issues Spring 2012

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2. 2 What is Questioning? See what I just did there? What? Never forget the importance of �why�

3. 3 Learning Outcomes Recall the ways that humans come to have knowledge Define empirical Ask a variety of levels of critical thinking questions

4. 4 How do you know what you know? Intuition Common sense Authority Tradition

5. 5 Intuition Where does this come from? Ex: Truthiness

6. 6 Common Sense can steer us wrong True or False: U.S. black/white income gap has narrowed significantly in recent years. The ratio of black-to-white family income has consistently been around 55-60% ever since the major civil rights laws were passed in the 1960s. There has been some fluctuation, but not much (Farley 1995, in Farley 1998).

7. 7 Sociology and Common Sense True or False: On average, men have a higher tolerance for both pain and temperature extremes than women do. On average, women tolerate pain, heat, and cold better than men do when physiological tests are performed. However, U.S. culture socializes men to be �tough� more than it does women�so women may often act wimpier!

8. 8 Sociology and Common Sense True or False: Most homeless people choose to be homeless. Only ~ 6% of homeless people are that way by choice (Kendall 2000). 40+% of homeless adults are actually employed. (Population Review Bureau supplement). Over 1/4 of homeless women get that way fleeing domestic violence.

9. 9 Sociology and Common Sense True or False: Teenage pregnancies have increased dramatically since the 1950s. Actually, they decreased over past half century; teens less likely to marry/start family. Percentage of teen pregnancies involving unmarried teens increased dramatically (but even that has been dropping since the early 1990s). (Kendall 1996)

10. 10 Authority Where does this come from? Where does legitimacy come in? Weber�s three types: Legal-rational Traditional Charismatic

11. 11 Empirical Science Empirical � observable through one or more of the five senses Sight Hearing Smell Taste Touch Does California exist empirically?

12. 12 Empirical An empirical question is answered by observing and analyzing the world? What are the standardized test scores of 9th grade algebra students? Why do people commit suicide in some societies more than other societies?

13. 13 Cause and Effect Social sciences often look for things that cause other things We know that: Size causes length of life (smaller dogs live longer than larger dogs) Fertilizer on your lawn causes a greener lawn Lower education causes lower income

14. 14 Correlation ? Causation Often we confuse causality with causation Correlation, sometimes called association Relationship between two or more variables Increases in ice cream sales correlates with an increase in violent crime

15. 15 Science Science describes repeating patterns Pseudoscience describes idiosyncratic (peculiar) phenomena that are non-reliable and non-repeatable Often appears to be scientific

16. 16 Skeptical Debunking or teasing out the truth through the use of critical thinking Always be skeptical

17. 17 Errors and Hits Errors are false assumptions Type 1 error: believing a falsehood Type 2 error: rejecting a truth Hits are correct assumptions Type 1 hit: Not believing a falsehood Type 2 hit: Believing a truth

18. 18 While investigating a claim ask yourself: What is the quality of the evidence supporting this claim? A fuzzy photograph My best friend�s wife said this� What are the credentials and background of this claimant? A writer for the National Enquirer Dr. Phil (re: a diet) Does the �thing� work as claimed? Does Miss Cleo have the right to answer all the time or just some of the time?