WGU D265 critical thinking reason and evidence

WGU D265 critical thinking reason and evidence – course requirement solution Confirmation Bias - a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence How to Identify Sources of bias Incomplete information intentional deception influence from past personal experience intentional persuasion to strengthen a position common types of cognitive biase - Bandwagon - Anchoring - The Dunning-Kruger Effect - The Sunk Cost Fallacy Bias - Optimism and Pessimism Bias - The Framing Effect Bias - Confirmation Bias - Reactance - Self-Serving Bias - Hindsight Bias [ Bandwagon effect Believing or even performing an action based on the fact that the people around you are also doing or believing the same thing. Anchoring Focusing a little too much on the first bit of information you are given when making a decision. Dunning-Kruger Effect Involves the overestimation and underestimation of one's abilities. sunk cost fallacy (bias) Involves the refusal to abandon a thought or investment that is not rewarding or possibly even damaging simply because we have invested a lot of time, thought, energy, effort, or even money into it. Optimism and Pessimism Bias The tendency to overestimate how likely a positive outcome will occur, especially if we're in a good mood. We also have the tendency to overestimate the negative outcome of an event if we are not happy or in a bad mood. Framing Effect Involves drawing a number of different conclusions about something, based on the different ways the exact same data is presented. Reactance the need to do the opposite of what someone requests. Self-Serving Bias the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors Hindsight Bias the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it Principle of Charity Before we evaluate the validity or strength of an argument, we should try to interpret it in the best possible light. Why is it fundamental to understand the principle of charity? - One reason has to do with our goals in having reasoned discussions. - Another reason has to do with simple strategy, if you are indeed interested in winning a debate. - The final reason is a moral reason for following the principle of charity. Cognitive bias The way we naturally categorize and make sense of the world around us. Alief An automatic belief-like attitude that can explain how our instinctual responses can conflict with our reasoned-out beliefs. Why is it important to recognize cognitive bias? It can help to mitigate negative effects on our thinking. Awareness of learning common ways the human mind can go astray can help us avoid errors in our own reasoning and spot such errors in others' reasoning. Heuristic A rule of thumb, a ready strategy, or a shortcut Algorithm bubble The curated and personalized version of online reality that a website shows you when you log on. Availability heuristic A process where in the mind generalizes based on what is available to it rather than on what is objectively true. Irrational decision making allows irrelevant biases, emotions, and environment to influence our decisions