Lazing Thinky

1. Lazing Thinky

2. Demonstration • Write all the letters of the alphabet.

3. Routine Thinking & Verification • Write all the letters of the alphabet. z y x w v u t s r q p o n m l k j i h g f e d c b a

4. Demonstration • You hear gunshots on your block. Later, you learn that there was a murder down the street from your house. An adolescent is dead. What happened?

5. Short-cuts to Causality • You hear gunshots on your block. Later, you learn that there was a murder down the street from your house. An adolescent is dead. Did you say drugs or gangs?

6. Demonstration • Rate each statement on a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 10 (completely agree). • Each person in the US should be treated equally under the law. • Elderly persons should have seats reserved for them on public transportation. • To remedy disadvantages, some minorities should be given preference in hiring. • Gay and lesbian partners should receive the same government protections and benefits that heterosexual partners receive. • Kids under 15 who commit crimes should be punished the same as adults.

7. Categorical Thinking & Philosophical Inconsistency • Rate each statement on a scale of 1 (completely agree) to 10 (completely disagree). • Each person in the US should be treated equally under the law. • Elderly persons should have seats reserved for them on public transportation. • To remedy disadvantages, some minorities should be given preference in hiring. • Gay and lesbian partners should receive the same government protections and benefits that heterosexual partners receive. • Kids under 15 who commit crimes should be punished the same as adults.

8. Demonstration • One day you learn that your neighbor is a convicted sex offender. The next day you read in the newspaper that your neighbor won an award for service to children. What do you think about the neighbor’s service?

9. Change New Information to Fit Pre-set Categories • One day you learn that your neighbor is a convicted sex offender. The next day you read in the newspaper that your neighbor won an award for service to children. What do you think about the neighbor’s service?

10. Demonstration • Yes or No? • Since family and friends often distract students from studying, it would be best to discourage students from seeing these people. • I have remained in a dating relationship even though I felt stuck or felt like I was no longer in love. • Generally speaking, Californians are more likeable than other Americans.

11. Need to Belong & In-group/Out-group • Yes or No? • Since family and friends often distract students from studying, it would be best to discourage students from seeing these people. • I have remained in a dating relationship even though I felt stuck or felt like I was no longer in love. • Generally speaking, Californians are more likeable than other Americans.

12. Demonstration • What colors are your nearest neighbors’ front doors? What color are the room number signs next to the doors in this building?

13. Bad Memories • What colors are your nearest neighbors’ front doors? What color are the room number signs next to the doors in this building? Innocent Man Exonerated After 30 Years In Prison BJ Austin, KERA News (2011-01-04) DALLAS, TX(KERA) - After spending 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Cornelius Dupree was exonerated in a Dallas courtroom Tuesday morning . . . Dupree's Innocence Project lawyer Nina Morrison says mistaken eyewitness identification put an innocent 19 year old man in prison for 30 years.

14. Demonstration • On the next slide, there will be three images. Describe what you see.

15. Demonstration

16. Demonstration • On the next slide, there will be three images. Describe what you see.

17. Salient Stimuli

18. Demonstration • Which statement in each set is more understandable? • Mission Accomplished vs. • Major combat operations are now over • That guy changes his views when new facts come along vs. • That guy is wishy-washy a. The killer should suffer like the victim vs. b. The killer should be taught empathy for persons he hurt

19. Emotions Control Thinking • Which statement in each set is more understandable? • Mission Accomplished vs. • Major combat operations are now over • That guy changes his views when new facts come along vs. • That guy is wishy-washy a. The killer should suffer like the victim vs. b. The killer should be taught empathy for persons he hurt

20. Demonstration Will your grade in this class be in the top 25%, second 25%, third 25%, or bottom 25%? Are your friends generally more or less attractive than the average person?

21. Obsessed with Self, Self-bias, & In-group Bias Will your grade in this class be in the top 25%, second 25%, third 25%, or bottom 25%? Are your friends generally more or less attractive than the average person?

22. Lazy Thinking People, even scientists, are “Lazy Thinkers.” • One goal of education is to undo obstacles to rational thinking. • Human thinking is “boxed in” by these cognitive restrictions: • Routine thinking, verification • Short-cuts to causality • Categorical Thinking, philosophical inconsistency • Change new information to fit pre-set categories • People must belong to others, in-group/out-group • Bad Memories • Salient Stimuli • Emotions control thinking • Obsessed with self/self bias/in-group bias

23. Lazy Thinking • Can you read this?Olny srmat poelpe can.I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

24. Problems with ThinkingMore Terms • Overgeneralization: concluding that what is true for some cases is true for all cases • Selective Observation: looking only at things that are consistent with our preferences or beliefs or that catch our attention • Illogical Reasoning: jumping to conclusions or arguing on the basis of invalid assumptions • Resistance to Change: reluctance to change ideas in light of new information

25. “Weird Things”: Problems with Thinking • Theory influences observation • The observer changes the observed • Equipment constructs results • Anecdotes do not make a science • Scientific language does not make a science • Bold statements do not make claims true • Heresy does not equal correctness • Burden of Proof • Rumors do not equal reality • Unexplained is not inexplicable

26. “Weird Things”: Problems with Thinking • Failures are rationalized • After-the-fact reasoning • Coincidence—Odds of co-occurring events are often high, we pay attention only to salient events • Representativeness—what are the underlying factors that might explain events? • Emotive words and false analogies • Ad Ignorantiam • Ad Hominem and Tu Quoque • Hasty Generalization • Overreliance on Authorities • Either-Or

27. “Weird Things”: Problems with Thinking • Circular Reasoning • Slippery Slope • Effort Inadequacies and the Need for Certainty, Control, and Simplicity—we need security and are lazy thinkers • Problem-Solving Inadequacies—we are not rational and seem to “need” causes • Ideological Immunity

28. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Discover (not assume) Causal Relationships • We cannot know whether a phenomenon causes another to occur or change unless the relationship between the two has been systematically observed . • Systematic observation requires consistently measuring the phenomena that may be related. • Measurements of phenomena are called variables. • Variables are classified as “Independent” (the causIng) and “Dependent” (the causeD). Y X

29. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Discover (not assume) Causal Relationships Independent Variable: A measured thing that as it changes may cause another to change (CausIng). Dependent Variable (Topic Variable): A measured thing that may change in response to changes in another (CauseD). X Y Independent Dependent Variable Variable (A relationship that researchers think exists) Y X

30. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Discover (not assume) Causal Relationships An independent variable has caused a dependent variable to change when these conditions are met: Necessary: a) Association—changes in variables occur in tandem b) Time Order—change in the independent variable occurs prior to that of the dependent variable; value of independent variable is set prior to value of dependent variable c) Nonspuriousness—associated changes in the variables are NOT coincidental or caused by changes in a third variable *** Helpful: d) Mechanism—a plausible reason that the independent variable should affect the dependent variable e) Context—specification of conditions that permit or favor the occurrence of the causal relationship

31. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ c) Nonspuriousness—associated changes in the variables are NOT coincidental or caused by changes in a third variable A spurious relationship is one where • Coincidence created the appearance of a relationship such as when bad things happen after seeing 111 added to 555 • a third (extraneous) variable causes two others to change in tandem, making it look like they are causally related. + Education Crime Z - Y Education Crime + + X Size of City

32. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Test Ideas Against Empirical Reality You are a sociologist, meaning that you attempt to explain what actually occurs in the social world—not what ought to occur or what “The Divine” intended to occur. Test hypotheses with data. • Plan and Carry Out Investigations Systematically (marked by thoroughness and regularity) Use good methods and statistics. Avoid salient cases and anecdotal information. • Do not Become Personally Invested in Your Results Your beliefs and emotions may pick topics of interest, but science demands dispassionate analysis.

33. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’

34. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Document all Procedures and Disclose them Publicly a. You will be more honest when you disclose to others b. The community of scholars may evaluate and assess your claims • Clarify Your Assumptions for Your Audience The world is big and complex, a study is small and simple, so we must make assumptions (that are informed by sociological knowledge) to start and/or make sense of a project. E.g., Persons with low income in my study are poor. Assumption: Low income equals low wealth Rather than: Wealthier persons can afford to not earn much E.g., After finding that spanking increases juvenile delinquency… Assumption: Kids interpret violence as appropriate Rather than: Rationally see violence as effective

35. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Specify the Meanings of Your Terms a. Broad concepts must be operationalized in research: “Abused Kids” becomes “Persons under 15 who were hit or slapped with enough force to leave a mark after an hour.” b. Explicit definitions help give the scope and generalizability of the research (This is one way that research articles become dry and boring, unlike what humans prefer)

36. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Maintain a Skeptical Stance Toward Current Knowledge a. Research is often limited by: errors, funding, scope, bias

37. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’

38. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’

39. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Maintain a Skeptical Stance Toward Current Knowledge a. Research is often limited by: errors, funding, scope, bias b. Phenomena under study may have changed For example: George Wallace was a Democrat “I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. Richard Nixon was a Republican “Scrubbing floors and emptying bedpans has as much dignity as the Presidency.” c. There are multiple possible causes for phenomena For example: One study may find that lower IQ leads to poverty, what else might?

40. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Maintain a Skeptical Stance Toward Current Knowledge d. No single project is enough All research is limited, the world is too big to be captured in one project This takes some burden off the researcher—you cannot do it all Avoid “slamming” reports that do not study everything e. Recognize your own Limitations

41. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Respect the Community of Scholars No individual can do it all, so sociological knowledge resides in a community and its repositories of research Burden of Proof?

42. Ten Ways Sociologists Overcome ‘Lazy Thinking’ • Your Work Should be Embedded in Previous Research and Theories a. Your research must begin where the community of scholars left off. Everything must be grounded in what has gone before--So use others’ findings and theory! b. You should work to see if others’ findings hold up. Sociology has replication built into almost every project—red flag unexpected findings. c. Help others avoid “lazy thinking”--educate them on how your research may support or contradict the prevailing scholarly views of the social world.