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UT Knoxville PSYC 110 - Psychological Science vs Pseudoscience

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Slide 1Slide 2Psychology DefinedChallenges of PsychologyCommon Sense?Scientific TheoryHuman BiasPseudoscienceWhy do we believe it?Fighting FallaciesWhy does it matter?Chapter 1: Psychology and Scientific ThinkingChapter 1: Psychology and Scientific ThinkingPopular Psych Myths•We only use 10% of our brains•It’s better to express anger than to hold it in•The polygraph test is an accurate means of detecting lies•Opposites attract•Full moons cause crime and craziness•A large proportion of criminals successfully use the insanity defense•Some people are right-brained or left-brainedPsychology Defined•Scientific study of the mind, brain and behavior•Multiple levels of analysis•Psychology faces unique challenges other sciences do not faceChallenges of Psychology1.Actions are multiply determined2.Psychological influences are rarely independent of each other3.Individual differences4.People influence each other5.Culture influences behaviorCommon Sense?•Common sense can lead us astray•Naïve realismoBelief that we see the world precisely as it is•Psychology as a scienceoScience subjects our observations to rigorous testsScientific Theory•Theory: Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world•Hypothesis: specific prediction derived from the explanations•Misconceptions:1. A theory explains one specific event2. A theory is just an educated guessHuman Bias•Science attempts to protect us from bias•Confirmation biasoSeeking evidence that supports our beliefs and denying evidence that contradicts them•Belief perseveranceoSticking to initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts themPseudoscience•A set of claims that seem scientific but are not•Lacks the safeguards against confirmation bias and belief perseverance•Pseudoscience warning signs1. Overuse of ad hoc immunizing hypotheses2. Lack of self-correction3. Overreliance on anecdotesWhy do we believe it?•Our brains are predisposed to make order out of disorder and find sense in nonsense.1. Apophenia: perceiving meaningful connections among unrelated phenomena.2. Pareidolia: seeing meaningful images in meaningless visual stimuli.Fighting Fallacies•Recognize logical fallacies to combat pseudoscience1. “Emotional Reasoning” fallacy2. “Not me” fallacy3. “Bandwagon” fallacyWhy does it matter?•Pseudoscience presents us with three main dangers: 1. Opportunity cost: what we give up2. Direct harm3. Inability to think scientifically as


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UT Knoxville PSYC 110 - Psychological Science vs Pseudoscience

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