1 / 12

How do psychologists answer questions?

How do psychologists answer questions? . Module 2 . Stinger . 1. Why is psychology “fuzzier” than hard sciences? 2. Why do psychologists struggle to be accepted as scientists? (Why not just do theoretical and philosophical work and throw empiricism to the wind?)

chiko
Download Presentation

How do psychologists answer questions?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. How do psychologists answer questions? Module 2

  2. Stinger • 1. Why is psychology “fuzzier” than hard sciences? • 2. Why do psychologists struggle to be accepted as scientists? (Why not just do theoretical and philosophical work and throw empiricism to the wind?) • 3. Why can’t we just rely on intuition and common sense in understanding the workings of the human mind? • 4. What does the term “Hindsight is 20/20” mean? • 5. How does “Hindsight is 20/20” apply to the scientific method?

  3. Thinking Critically With Psychological Science • Why are the answers that flow from the scientific approach more reliable than those based on common sense and intuition? • How do psychologists use the scientific method to construct theories? • The limits of intuition and common sense • Intuition can lead a person astray • Some questions are not intuitive • How big is paper folded 100 times? • How many people need to be in a group in order to have a 50% chance of sharing a birthday? • Notions of common sense err also

  4. The Hindsight Bias • Doctors see cause of death as self-evident if presented with both a case study and an autopsy, but have trouble predicting death without the autopsy (Dawson, et al 1998) • Slovic and Fischoff( 1977) and Wood (1979): Psychology studies SEEM like common sense • Does absence make the heart grow fonder? • Out of sight out of mind? • Anecdotal evidence exists to support both claims. • witnesses much more sure of suspect if they are told which one is being suspected. • Wells and Bradfield (1998):all students made false identification after watching a grainy video, but the ones who were told they did it right recalled greater confidence • Post hoc ergo propter hoc • Describes better than predicts

  5. Common Sense • We are all observers of behavior • Science proves a human “need to belong” • Sometimes common sense is wrong • Familiarity breeds contempt? • Dreams predict the future? • Pre menstrual syndrome involves emotionality? • Overconfidence • We think we know more than we do • We are more confident than correct • Underestimation of unscramble task (Goranson 1978)

  6. Unscramble task • How long would it take you to unscramble • Wreat -> Water • Etryn -> Entry • Grabe -> Barge • Now unscramble OCHSA

  7. Predicting our Own Behavior • Collegians predicting voting behavior, dropping a class, calling home, etc. were correct 71% of the time. (Vallone 1990) • Tetlock (1998) • Asked experts to predict political, economic, and military situation five years out • Experts asked to recollect after five years • The more confident the expert felt, the less correct he was (80%+ confidence = 40%- correct) • Despite getting things wrong, they could all justify the ways in which they were right.

  8. Stop and Review • Give evidence for the saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” • Give evidence for the saying “out of sight, out of mind” • Why might you be able to find evidence for both of these? • What, then, does common sense tell you about these terms? • How might you go about testing them?

  9. The scientific attitude • Testing claims • Moses (test the claims of the prophet) • James Randi and the Aura seers • Meteorites? • Skeptical but not cynical • Humility: the ability to reject your own ideas • “The rat is always right!” • Critical Thinking • Examine assumptions • Discern hidden valuse • Evaluate evidence • Assess conclusions

  10. Surprising findings! • Massive brain loss in early life has minimal long-term effects. • Within days, newborns recognize their mothers’ odor and voice. • Brain damage can leave a person able to learn new skills yet be unaware of them. • Diverse groups report similar levels of personal happiness • Electroconvulsive therapy is a good treatment for sever depression.

  11. What you believe, but is wrong • The midlife crisis is a psychological phenomenon. • Mothers suffer from “empty nest syndrome.” • Sleepwalkers are not acting out their dreams. • Sleep talkers are not talking through their dreams. • Past experiences are not indelibly and permanent recorded in our brains and cannot be access in full through hypnosis. • Most people do NOT suffer from low self-esteem. • Opposites do not attract.

  12. Exit Ticket and Homework • Exit Ticket • What common perception can YOU test using a scientific attitude? How would you test it? • Homework • Review your notes. • Define the following and give an example of each. • Hindsight bias • Critical Thinking • Write three questions that you wish to know more about.

More Related