Exam 1: A: Psychology As Science: Thinking Like a Researcher

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Belief perseverance is the tendency to maintain a belief despite encountering contradictory information.Beliefs remain intact by interpreting information in a way that does not invalidate the original belief.In the case of Santa Claus,this belief is often one associated with important,cherished memories of one's childhood and family.Accordingly,it is not one that is easily dismissed,even in the face of evidence that Santa Claus does not exist.Rather,people alter their perceptions in a way that maintains the belief in Santa Claus,while incorporating enough of the truth that they remain in touch with socially acceptable perceptions (and some semblance of reality).

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Both the availability and representativeness heuristics represent biases in human thinking.These mental shortcuts are used when processing information and making decisions.By employing heuristics,people save time and energy and they free up cognitive resources for other tasks.However,both the availability and representativeness heuristics lead to processing errors.The availability heuristic is the tendency to assume that events that are easiest to recall occur most frequently.For instance,those things that make the biggest impact on one's memory are likely to be given disproportional weight.People may assume that plane crashes are more frequent than car crashes,because examples of plane crashes are salient in their memory.However,this bias obscures the fact that many more people die from car crashes each year.The representativeness heuristic is the tendency to judge an outcome by how similar it is to the "typical" example of that event.An individual who "looks like a criminal" may be more likely to receive a conviction from a jury,because he/she is representative of that mental category.An individual who does not look like a "typical" criminal may be judged less harshly,as jurors have trouble associating that person with the schema they hold for that category.

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Thinking is fraught with flaws and biases.These include (but are not limited to): the availability heuristic,representativeness heuristic,better-than-average effect,overconfidence,hindsight bias,confirmation bias,focusing effect,"what you see is all there is" phenomenon,and belief perseverance.Science counters these natural fallacies by requiring empirical evidence collected through systematic observation,experience,and/or measurement in order to make claims.By using science as a foundation,people are better able to evaluate claims,avoid biases,and make more objective and well-informed decisions.In doing this,however,people are made aware of the flaws,biases,and unscientific nature of their own thinking.It is often uncomfortable for people to accept that they are incorrect.Accordingly,by using science,our errors are brought to light and our arrogance (about being correct)is controlled.