Test Bank for Psychological Science, 6th Edition, Michael Gazzaniga.pdf
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Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (RU)
Psychologie
Algemene Inleiding In De Psychologie (SOWPSB1GE06N)
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Literatuur week 1
1.1 Psychological Science Is the Study of Mind, Brain and Behavior
Pysochological science is the study, through research, of mind, brain and behavior. Mind refers to
mental activity (this includes the perceptual experiences; sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch). Mental
activity results from biological processes within the brain. Behavior describes the totality of observable
human (or animal) actions.
1.2 Psychological Science Teaches Critical Thinking
One of the hallmarks of a good scientist is amiable skepticism. An amiable skeptic remains open to new
ideas but is wary of new ‘scientific findings’ when good evidence and sound reasoning do not seem to
support them. The ability to think this way – to systematically question and evaluate information using
well-supported evidence – is called critical thinking.
Being a critical thinker involves:
- Looking for holes in evidence
- Using logic
- Reasoning to see whether the information makes sense
- Considering alternative explanations
- Considering whether the information might be biased
1.3 Psychological Science Helps Us Understand Biased or Inaccurate
Thinking
We want to make sense of events that involve us or happen around us. Our mind are constantly trying
to make sense of the information we receive. Sometimes we get things wrong and see things that are
not there. Often we see what we expect to see and fail to notice things that do not fit our expectations.
A few major biases are:
- Ignoring evidence (confirmation bias)
o People show a strong tendency to place great importance on evidence that supports
their beliefs. One factor that contributes to confirmations bias is the selective sampling
of information.
- Seeing relationships that do not exist
o In our desire to find predictability in the world, we sometimes see order that does not
exist. Believing that events are related when they are not can lead to superstitious
behavior.
- Accepting after-the-fact explanations
o Because people expect the world to make sense, they often come up with explanations
for why events happen. They do so even when they have incomplete information. One
form of this reasoning bias is known as hindsight bias. We are much less successful at
predicting future events, comparing to our explanations why something happened.
When we know the outcome of an event, we interpret and reinterpret old evidence to
make sense of that outcome.
- Taking mental shortcuts
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