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Chapter 1 Guide
Chapter 1: Psuedoscience in Psychology
46
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
04/14/2009

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Term
List 5 reasons why it's important to study human behavior scientifically:
Definition
1) Common sense can be wrong. 2) Science can prove things that might seem preposterous. 3) Quick fixes and miracle cures lack support. 4) Self-help books lack scientific proof. 5) Popular psychology can be misleading.
Term
Science:
Definition
A toolbox of skills that people sue so that they don't mislead themselves.
Term
Communalism:
Definition
Willingness to share your findings.
Term
"Disinterestedness":
Definition
Objectivity in evaluating evidence.
Term
Confirmation bias:
Definition
Tendency to find support for your belief instead of pure truth. Not actively seeking that information, but just automatically using it.
Term
Belief perserverence:
Definition
Letting contradictory evidence "bounce off of you" so that false beliefs continue to thrive.
Term
Oberg's dictum:
Definition
'Keep an open mind, but not so open that you believe everything you hear.'
Term
Describe this principle of critical thinking-- Extraordinary Claims require Extraordinary Evidence.
Definition
Ask yourself if a claim contradicts what we already know, then consider whether the evidence for the claim is sufficient.
Term
Describe this principle of critical thinking-- Falsifiability.
Definition
It must be possible to disprove a claim, or science can't measure it.
Term
Describe this principle of critical thinking-- Replicability.
Definition
A finding must be replicable, or else it does not matter.
Term
Describe this principle of critical thinking-- Ruling out rival hypotheses.
Definition
There may be a better explanation than yours for a certain behavior.
Term
Describe this principle of critical thinking-- Correlation isn't causation.
Definition
Just because two things are related doesn't mean they cause each other.
Term
Overuse of Ad Hoc Immunizing Hypotheses:
Definition
Escape hatch or loophole that defenders of a theory use to protect their theory from falsification.
Term
Lack of Self-Correction:
Definition
Proponents cling to incorrect claims despite contrary evidence.
Term
Exaggerated Claims:
Definition
Psuedoscience tends to claim a miracle then refuse to back it up.
Term
Overreliance on anecdotes:
Definition
Anecdotes are the weakest form of evidence because they are difficult to prove.
Term
Absence of connectivity:
Definition
A claim doesn't follow current thought trends, and also doesn't have evidence.
Term
Psychobabble:
Definition
Using "scientific language" to make a product sound better.
Term
Compare rational and experiential thinking.
Definition
Rational: Slow, Hard work, logical reasoning. Experiential: Fast, emotional, irrational.
Term
Emotional Reasoning Fallacy:
Definition
Error of using our emotions as guides for evaluating the validity of a claim.
Term
Bandwagon fallacy:
Definition
Assuming that a claim is correct because many people believe it.
Term
Either-or fallacy:
Definition
Error of framing a question as though we can answer it in only one or two extreme ways.
Term
Not-me Fallacy
Definition
Error or believing that we're immune from thinking errors that afflict others.
Term
Bias Blind Spot:
Definition
Lack of awareness of our biases, coupled with an awareness of others' biases.
Term
Burden of Proof Fallacy:
Definition
Assuming that since someone else does not believe your claim that they should be the ones to prove it's truth.
Term
Rumors Don't Equal Reality:
Definition
Well, they don't. :)
Term
Failures are Rationalized:
Definition
There are excuses for the times things didn't work out, and the focus is on the times it did work.
Term
Appeal to Ignorance:
Definition
Error of assuming a claim must be true because no one has shown it to be false.
Term
Appeal to the person:
Definition
Source A makes claim X
There is something objectionable about Source A
Therefore claim X is false
Term
Hasty Generalization:
Definition
Error of drawing a conclusion on the basis of insufficient evidence.
Term
Peer review:
Definition
Mechanism whereby experts in a field carefully screen the work of their colleagues.
Term
Connectivity:
Definition
Extent to which a researcher's findings build on previous findings.
Term
Scientific skepticism:
Definition
Approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind, but insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them.
Term
Pathological skepticism:
Definition
Tendency to dismiss any claims that contradict our beliefs.
Term
Astrology:
Definition
Psuedoscience that claims to predict people's personalities and futures from the precise time and date of their birth.
Term
Critical thinking:
Definition
Set of skills for evaluating all claims in an open-minded and careful fashion.
Term
Risky Prediction:
Definition
Forecast that stands a good chance of being wrong.
Term
Occam's Razor:
Definition
Implies that we should generally select the simplest of two explanations when two explain data equally well. Note that it is possible to take Occam's razor too far.
Term
Third Variable Problem:
Definition
Case in which a third variable causes the correlation between two other variables.
Term
Variable:
Definition
Anything that can vary.
Term
Metaphysical claims:
Definition
Assertions about the world that are unfalsifiable.
Term
Transcendental Temptation:
Definition
Desire to alleviate our anxiety by embracing the supernatural.
Term
Terror Management Theory:
Definition
Theory proposing that our awareness of our death leaves us with an underlying feeling of terror with which we cope by adopting reassuring cultural world views.
Term
Pareidolia:
Definition
Tendency to perceive meaningful images in meaningless visual stimuli.
Term
Apophenia:
Definition
Tendency to perceive meaningful connections among unrelated phenomena.
Term
Oppurtunity Cost:
Definition
Investment of time, energy, and effort in a questionable treatment that can lead people to forfeit the chance to obtain an effective treatment.
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