Scientific and statistical reasoning summary first exam (UvA, second year, first semester, bachelor psychology)
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Course
Scientific and Statistical Reasoning (7202A701XY)
Institution
Universiteit Van Amsterdam (UvA)
Book
Critical Thinking
This is the summary I made for the SSR first exam, I do want to point out that this doesn't contain the statistical parts, but only the lectures about scientific reasoning and the book chapters. It helped me get a high grade so it will hopefully help you too. Good luck fellow student! :)
SSR I
Recognizing argumentation
Critical thinking: Attitude + knowledge + thinking skills
Thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed
- Critically (thinking): Evaluating the outcomes of our thought
processes
- Automatic (nondirected thinking): Sorts of thinking that are not
engaged in for a specific purpose (very little conscious evaluation)
o Attitude: Shapes how individuals’ approach/evaluate problems
and engage with different perspectives
o Knowledge: Knowing what you are talking about
o Thinking skills: Using skills that are thoughtful and effective for
the context and type of thinking task
Reasoning, analyzing arguments and reflection
- Cognitive process instruction: Education approach focused on
teaching students the cognitive processes that underlie learning,
problem-solving and critical thinking
o This can help people improve how they think
Learning critical thinking:
1. Explicitly learn the skills of critical thinking
a. E.g., learning how to analyze and evaluate arguments
2. Develop the disposition for effortful thinking and learning
a. Many errors occur not because people can’t think critically,
but because they do not
b. Develop the habit of planning (not thinking impulsively)
i. Planning how you will think and act (before doing it),
self-regulation
c. Flexibility, persistence, willingness to self-correct and admit
errors, being mindful (critical disposition)
3. Study in ways that increase the probability of trans
contextual transfer (structure training)
a. E.g., applying argument analysis and evaluation skills to both
research as well as applied topics
b. Learning strategies that enhance the ability to apply
knowledge or skills learned in one context to different, often
unfamiliar, situations or contexts
4. Make metacognitive monitoring explicit and overt
a. Metacognition: Knowledge of what we know (or what we
know about what we know) and the use of this knowledge to
direct further learning activities
b. Actively assessing and reflecting on your own cognitive
activities while learning or performing a task
i. It involves being aware of your understanding,
strategies, and progress in real-time (self-awareness)
,Scientific reasoning: Reasoning about science
- Reasoning processes that permeate the field of science (inductive,
deductive, abductive)
o Look out for reasoning errors
- Reasoning does not cause scientists to spontaneously converge on the
best theories. It causes them, rather, to elaborate and vigorously
defend mutually incompatible competing theories
o Scientific reasoning does not inherently lead to consensus but
instead fosters a landscape where different theories are
proposed, defended, and contested
- Argumentative theory of reason: The argumentative theory predicts
that reasoners, when they produce arguments, are biased and lazy
o But when they evaluate others’ arguments – particularly
arguments that challenge their views – they are demanding but
objective
- Principle of scientific reasoning:
o Do not fool yourself, you are the easiest to fool
You must be honest, and be able to admit it when wrong
You must guard yourself (and others) against your own
biases, desires etc.
o Make mistakes for all to see
Others might help with the correction of your mistake
Steps in argument assessment:
1. Develop a critical disposition
a. Many errors occur not because people can’t think critically, but
because they do not
b. Flexibility: Being able to change how you think (especially
when new facts are presented),
i. Seeing things from other point of views
c. Persistence: Willingness and ability to keep at a task
d. Willingness to self-correct and admit errors: Don’t justify
your mistakes, but learn from them
i. Self-justification: Rationalize or defend their actions,
beliefs or decisions (even with lots of counterarguments)
e. Being mindful: Needing to think carefully, directing your
attention to the processes and products of your own thoughts
f. Consensus-seeking: Predisposed to seek ways in which
consensus among group member can be achieved
i. Consensus: Openness in thinking that allows members
of a group to agree on some aspects of a solution and
disagree on others
ii. The goal is to allow other people and yourself to
express doubts while working toward a solution that
can be achieved
2. Learn to recognize (the elements of) arguments
, a. Giving an argument is to attempt to persuade by giving
(good) reasons
i. Explanations are attempts to illustrate why something
is the case, not that something is the case (NOT
intended to convince)
ii. Rhetoric is any verbal or written attempt to persuade
solely through the power of words used (attempting to
motivate by other means)
1. Relies on persuasive power of certain words
b. An argument is a claim (conclusion) that is supported by a
claim (the premise)
i. An argument is a set of propositions (factual content of
a sentence) consisting of
1. Several premises
2. A conclusion
c. Identifying arguments
i. A sentence can contain several propositions
ii. Not every sentence is a proposition
iii. The same sentence may contain different propositions
depending on the context
1. “I am the best” said by you is different from it
being said by your friend
iv. A declarative sentence usually contains more
information than just the proposition/factual content
1. Rhetoric, implicature, explanations
d. Recognizing conclusions and premises:
i. Main point of the text: Conclusion
1. Indicators: Therefore, hence, thus, so etc.
ii. Reasons for why this conclusion is true: Premises
(argument)
3. Learn to reconstruct arguments
a. What are the reasons given by the author for this conclusion
i. Search for indicators (therefor, since, because)
ii. Rewrite as needed (argumentation scheme)
1. Standard form (line between conclusion and
premises is inference bar)
2. Intermediate conclusions: A conclusion that is
derived from a set of premises and is used as a
steppingstone to reach a final conclusion
iii. Conclusions & assumptions may be implicit
(conversational implicature)
1. Look at the premises to see what the conclusion
might be
2. Even controversial premises are premises
3. Context helps identify implicit
conclusion/premises
iv. Remove unnecessary material (details etc.)
1. Indicator words are not taken into the standard
form
2. Exclamations are not premises
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