chapter 2 lecture and textbook Flashcards
personal experience and what is the problem with it
we learn a lot about the world but it’s not reliable
The problem with personal experience is that there’s no comparison group
example of a comparison group
Ex: “Pho75 is the best soup in the Philly it leaves you feeling full and happy.” Is it really the soup, or is it because you walked after (exercise), socializing with friends, etc. The feeling good could be because of a bunch of things (confound)
the comparison group would be to do everything the same except change the bowl of soup
If your experience is not the same as research, does that mean its wrong?
no If your experience is not the same as research, it doesnt mean its wrong; research is probabilistic
how is intuition biased?
It is swayed by good stories (the scared straight program), what easily come to mind (the media influences what we are exposed to. ex: We always hear about shark attacks, but we are more likely to be killed by a shark than a cow. or heart disease being the most common cause of death, but homicide is always talked about), focusing on evidence we like (conformation bias), biased about ourselves being biased, and trusting authorities.
confirmation bias
Seek out evidence for what you already believe
Ex: participants were given a DNA test and told them they had the depression gene or didn’t (this was fake). Participants who were told they had the gene scored higher on the depression scale because they went back in their minds to find evidence that verified the test result.
what makes us trust our faulty reasoning?
Most of us think we are less biased than others. Part of learning to be a scientist is learning not to use feelings of confidence as evidence for the truth of our beliefs
are people more likely to believe people with more money and power?
yes
what is a comparison group?
enables us to compare what would happen both with and without the thing we are interested in
