Chapter 1
- Commonsense psychology- nonscientific data gathering that shapes our expectations and beliefs
and directs our behavior toward others.
- Understanding of the characteristics and limitations of commonsense psychology may help you
become a better psychological scientists- if only it clearly demonstrates the need for a more
scientific approach to understanding and predicting behavior.
- Commonsense psychologists, our ability to gather data in a systematic and impartial way is
constrained by two very important factors: the sources of psychological information and our
inferential strategies.
- Commonsense beliefs about behavior are derived from data we collect from our own experience
and what we have learned from others.
- Data we collect from in our everyday lives have been generated from a very small sample of
behaviors, and the conclusions we draw from them are subject to a number of inherent
tendencies, or biases, that limit their accuracy and usefulness.
- The sources of our commonsense beliefs about behavior can be unreliable, and the explanations
and predictions that we derive from them are likely to be imperfect.
- Our language is filled with these kinds of conflicting, commonsense adages, and commonsense
psychology does not help us known which one to use to predict behavior in any single instance.
- The data that is gathered by commonsense psychologists come from sources that seem credible
and trustworthy- friends & relatives, people in authority, people we admire, reports from the
media, books we have read, and so forth- but these sources are not always very good ones for
obtaining valid information about behavior.
- Psychological information particularly when it is offered by people we like respect or admire is it
typically accepted within question. once we believe we know something we tend to overlook
instances that might disconfirm our beliefs and we seek instead confirmatory instances of
behavior.
- This has been termed the confirmation bias. If you believe what the full moon brings out
psychotic behavior (the word lunacy comes from the Latin word for the moon), you will notice
and remember instances when people acted abnormally while the moon was full an you will
ignore the many, many more instances in which no unusual behavior occurred.
- it is also unlikely that anyone can completely avoid assimilating some myth superstitions Ann
pop psychology explanations for behavior.
- Interestingly, only the latter superstition-- Fear of Friday the 13th -- has produced any supported
scientific documentation (Box 1.1).
- research has shown that we are more likely to believe information if it comes from certain types
of individuals: people who are popular, attractive, high in status, seemingly expert, or who
appear highly confident are more powerful sources of information than others are.
- But other people are not our sole source of data about psychological processes. We gather a lot
of information about behavior from our own observations and interactions with others in the
conclusions we draw from them.
- Children learn very early that their smiles and vocalizations are rewarded in that touching a lit
candle or a hot stove can have a very negative consequences.
- Commonsense psychology- nonscientific data gathering that shapes our expectations and beliefs
and directs our behavior toward others.
- Understanding of the characteristics and limitations of commonsense psychology may help you
become a better psychological scientists- if only it clearly demonstrates the need for a more
scientific approach to understanding and predicting behavior.
- Commonsense psychologists, our ability to gather data in a systematic and impartial way is
constrained by two very important factors: the sources of psychological information and our
inferential strategies.
- Commonsense beliefs about behavior are derived from data we collect from our own experience
and what we have learned from others.
- Data we collect from in our everyday lives have been generated from a very small sample of
behaviors, and the conclusions we draw from them are subject to a number of inherent
tendencies, or biases, that limit their accuracy and usefulness.
- The sources of our commonsense beliefs about behavior can be unreliable, and the explanations
and predictions that we derive from them are likely to be imperfect.
- Our language is filled with these kinds of conflicting, commonsense adages, and commonsense
psychology does not help us known which one to use to predict behavior in any single instance.
- The data that is gathered by commonsense psychologists come from sources that seem credible
and trustworthy- friends & relatives, people in authority, people we admire, reports from the
media, books we have read, and so forth- but these sources are not always very good ones for
obtaining valid information about behavior.
- Psychological information particularly when it is offered by people we like respect or admire is it
typically accepted within question. once we believe we know something we tend to overlook
instances that might disconfirm our beliefs and we seek instead confirmatory instances of
behavior.
- This has been termed the confirmation bias. If you believe what the full moon brings out
psychotic behavior (the word lunacy comes from the Latin word for the moon), you will notice
and remember instances when people acted abnormally while the moon was full an you will
ignore the many, many more instances in which no unusual behavior occurred.
- it is also unlikely that anyone can completely avoid assimilating some myth superstitions Ann
pop psychology explanations for behavior.
- Interestingly, only the latter superstition-- Fear of Friday the 13th -- has produced any supported
scientific documentation (Box 1.1).
- research has shown that we are more likely to believe information if it comes from certain types
of individuals: people who are popular, attractive, high in status, seemingly expert, or who
appear highly confident are more powerful sources of information than others are.
- But other people are not our sole source of data about psychological processes. We gather a lot
of information about behavior from our own observations and interactions with others in the
conclusions we draw from them.
- Children learn very early that their smiles and vocalizations are rewarded in that touching a lit
candle or a hot stove can have a very negative consequences.
