Exam 7: Psychology in Action: Thinking Critically About the Media

You caution a friend about eating so many foods that are high in fat content.Your friend replies that his grandfather ate all the bacon and cheese he wanted,and he lived to be 93.Which of the following is the BEST explanation for your friend's error in reasoning?

Because reports in the popular media tend to be made uncritically and with a definite bias toward reporting "astonishing" findings and telling interesting stories,a critical reader must be _______.

A psychologist finds that most of the juvenile delinquents at the facility where he counsels have parents who are smokers.If he concludes that parental smoking is the reason for these teens' behavior and poor choices,then he has

A researcher found a relationship between the crime rate in a large city and the phases of the moon and incorrectly concluded that the gravitational pull of the moon caused this crime behavior.This researcher's error is due to his failure to distinguish between _______ and causation.

If a television ad tells you that a "life coach" can map out your entire career and financial future if you log­on and pay for three half-hour Web-based sessions,

On a daytime talk show,a television actress relates how she cured all three of her children's hyperactivity by using a special diet and exercise regime.She explains that interested parents can buy her book detailing this "cure" online starting today.As a critical thinker,evaluate this actress' claim of curing her children's hyperactivity.

A psychologist visiting a classroom concludes that one of the children is depressed because the child is quiet and unresponsive.Actually,the child has the flu.The psychologist has made what error?

A theater reported that their highest beverage sales this year occurred during showings of The Great African Desert.However,we cannot conclude that the film affected beverage consumption because

At least ten testimonials or case examples are required in order to validate the claim of a product or treatment.

After seeing a friend of yours being uncharacteristically quiet,you decide that your friend must be depressed.You later find out that your friend is not depressed but sleepy from staying up all night working on a term paper.You made this error because you failed to distinguish between observation and inference.

Psychic advisers promoted in TV commercials tend to make use of the human tendency to consider personal descriptions accurate if they are stated in general terms,which is called the

If students who complete a study skills course raised their grade point averages,can we conclude that the course caused their improvement?

When reading the claims of makers of home biofeedback machines,sleep-learning devices,subliminal CDs,and the like,it is important to

Regarding the use of examples,anecdotes,single cases,and testimonials in advertising,which of the following statements is TRUE?