Deck 8: Critical Thinking and the Internet

Question 1

Which statement is true concerning the information available on the Internet?

A) The Internet has led to a great increase in information available to people, so it necessarily increases the examination of differing viewpoints in people.
B) The Internet has increased the amount of information available to people, and research shows that people can handle the large amount of information available.
C) Some psychologists think that the vast amount of information available on the Internet may contribute to "information overload" in users.
D) For much of Internet web-placed information, other information is provided by the website to help the user evaluate the quality of the information provided.

Answer 1

Some psychologists think that the vast amount of information available on the Internet may contribute to "information overload" in users.

Question 2

The Telepatherapy mock website describes how one of Dr. David Shainberg's clients knew through a dream that Shainberg's father needed surgery. Which kind of evidence does this provide for the occurrence of telepathy in psychotherapy?

A) Statement of authority, which provides strong support for the claim
B) Anecdote, which provides weak support and cannot be replicated
C) Commonsense belief, which most therapists would endorse
D) Scientific evidence, which provides fairly strong support

Answer 2

Anecdote, which provides weak support and cannot be replicated

Question 3

PsycINFO is _____________ kind of Internet resource.

A) not a high-quality
B) a web-placed
C) a web-based
D) a web-targeted

Answer 3

a web-based

Question 4

Ruscio (2006) proposed that people play basic roles as part of conspiracy theories. According to Ruscio, people who believe the scientists who claim that Earth's climate is changing because of human activity enact the role of _____ in the conspiracy theory that global warming is a hoax.

A) conspirators
B) saviors
C) dupes
D) co-conspirators

Question 5

The question of whether the information in a website is factual is MOST related to which CARE criterion?

A) Credibility
B) Accuracy
C) Reasonableness
D) Evidence

Question 6

The fact that most of the citations of research and supporting information in the mock Telepatherapy website are not very recent raises questions about the _____ of the site.

A) relevance
B) reasonableness
C) accuracy
D) credibility

Question 7

In contrast to conspiracy theorists who add assumptions and complexity to their theories as a way to account for claims not supported by data, scientists depend on _____ to try to keep their theories no more complicated than required to account for the data.

A) parsimony
B) economical prediction
C) testability
D) falsifiability

Question 8

According to the text, the invention of the Internet and the _____ both led to great changes in the information available to people of their time.

A) printing press
B) Industrial Revolution
C) telephone
D) telegraph

Question 9

Which classic role is NOT enacted by people involved in conspiracy theory phenomena as studied by Ruscio (2006)?

A) Conspirators
B) Dupes
C) Saviors
D) Government officials

Question 10

Some climate denier conspiracy theorists argue that if there are any scientists who doubt that human activities are causing global warming, then it cannot be true-that is, either all scientists agree or it is not true. These climate deniers are committing which thinking error?

A) Parsimonious thinking
B) Circular reasoning
C) Black-and-white thinking
D) Arguing from ignorance

Question 11

If a website is has an address that ends in ".com" and seems to be promoting a product that is supported in a one-sided way, then this raises questions about which CARE criterion?

A) Credibility
B) Accuracy
C) Reasonableness
D) Evidence

Question 12

Plausibility is most related to which of the criteria for judging the quality of websites?

A) Evidence
B) Reasonableness
C) Accuracy
D) Credibility

Question 13

Conspiracy theorists claimed a government cover-up about a supposed landing of aliens in Roswell, New Mexico. Which thinking error do conspiracy theorists commit when they do not accept convincing evidence that refutes this claim?

A) Belief perseverance
B) Illusory correlation
C) Black-and-white thinking
D) Arguing from ignorance

Question 14

The emphasis on intuition in the mock website about Telepatherapy is MOST closely related to:

A) quick-response Type 1 thinking.
B) deliberative Type 2 thinking.
C) critical thinking.
D) rational-analytic thinking.

Question 15

Compared to information on the Internet, the text points out that traditional newspapers and news organizations:

A) are no better than blogs and informal information sources on the web.
B) are more biased than bloggers and informal information sources on the web.
C) report the news in a more timely fashion than bloggers and informal information web sources.
D) serve a gatekeeping function for information often lacking in web sources.

Question 16

The research by Sam Wineburg and his colleagues on students' ability to identify fake news on the Internet has shown that _____ are deficient in the ability to identify fake news.

A) middle school students, but not high school or college students,
B) both middle school and high school students
C) middle school, high school, and college students
D) non-student adults more so than students

Question 17

The chapter example of "Pizzagate" and the related aggressive actions of Edgar Welch at the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria were used to illustrate the:

A) need for news organizations to correctly interpret news stories before they publish them on the Internet.
B) consequences of accepting a fake news story and a false conspiracy theory encountered on the Internet.
C) influence of social learning on the aggressive behavior of a man who encountered misinformation on the Internet.
D) importance of helping individuals to learn how to find the information they need on the Internet.

Question 18

In general, which kind of web resource is likely to have better quality control over the quality of the information it provides?

A) Web-placed
B) Web-based
C) Web-interfaced
D) Web-entrenched

Question 19

The tendency of people to respond to online invitations from "Who's Who" advertisements illustrates the common problem with critical thinking of a:

A) lack of critical thinking skills.
B) lack of knowledge of the rules for reasoning well.
C) lack of a skeptical attitude.
D) failure to metacognitively reflect on one's goals.

Question 20

The degree to which a website provides reference citations and descriptions of studies to evaluate a claim concerns which criterion symbolized by a letter in the mnemonic "CARE"?

A) C
B) A
C) R
D) E

Question 21

Which assumption, if considered, is the MOST serious and unwarranted assumption made in the description of the mock website Deep Mind Therapy that would likely change a critical thinker's decision about whether to use it?

A) High-quality research has shown it to be effective.
B) It is really based on the ideas of C. G. Jung.
C) Mandalas are a real mode of expression found around the world.
D) C. G. Jung and Sigmund Freud agreed about the nature of the unconscious mind.

Question 22

The Deep Mind Therapy (DMT) mock website claims that people using DMT can contact the spirits of dead people through the unconscious. Given what is scientifically known about the human mind, the MOST accurate description of this claim is that it is:

A) plausible.
B) implausible.
C) explained by quantum mechanics.
D) reasonable and indisputable.

Question 23

The mock website Deep Mind Therapy (DMT) refers to the brilliant and innovative psychologist C. G. Jung as supporting DMT. This statement is MOST like which kind of evidence?

A) Anecdote
B) Testimonial
C) Commonsense belief
D) Statement of authority

Question 24

Regarding the plausibility of Telepatherapy, the critical thinker would agree MOST with the statement that Telepatherapy is:

A) plausible because psychotherapists have made statements consistent with it.
B) plausible because some research by psychoanalysts has supported it.
C) implausible because its paranormal claims are inconsistent with ideas from physics.
D) plausible because any open-minded person would be willing to consider its claims.

Question 25

The mock website says that the Telepatherapy website is accessed through mindshelpingminds.com and seems to be promoting sale of a course for training in therapy that it also claims is effective. This raises the MOST concern about:

A) how careful the source is in providing credible information.
B) the accuracy of the information that is provided.
C) a possible conflict of interest and the reasonableness of the claims.
D) the quality of testimonials provided as evidence.

Question 26

The Deep Mind Therapy mock website states that it is "based on the work of the brilliant Swiss psychologist C. G. Jung." This statement is MOST related to the criterion for judging the quality of site in terms of the:

A) clarity and relevance of the arguments made.
B) reasonableness of the information provided.
C) accuracy of the information on the website.
D) credibility of the source and information.

Question 27

The citation for the work of Carl Jung (1875-1961) to support Deep Mind Therapy mock website raises questions about the:

A) credibility of the website's source because the work is not current.
B) accuracy of the website because the work is not current.
C) reasonableness of the website because Jung's training was as a psychotherapist.
D) quality of the evidence provided by Jung because his claims are extreme.

Question 28

For scientific-minded psychologists, the claims on the mock website about the effectiveness of Telepatherapy would be MOST convincing if:

A) a famous, living psychologist endorsed the ideas of Telepatherapy.
B) the research on its effectiveness was based on randomized trial experiments.
C) more scientific case studies had been conducted on Telepatherapy.
D) a large correlational study showed that people who used the therapy tended to improve.

Question 29

The Deep Mind Therapy mock website discusses how spiritualistic contact with the dead allows access to the unconscious mind and raises questions especially in relationship to the website's:

A) reasonableness.
B) accuracy.
C) credibility.
D) conflicts of interest.

Question 30

The testimonial in the mock site for Deep Mind Therapy (DMT) about how DMT helped a man get in touch with his unconscious mind provides:

A) good support for DMT, because it is the personal experience of someone who has been treated with DMT.
B) no support for DMT, because it is not an argument in the strict sense.
C) questionable support for DMT, based on untested assumptions about the unconscious mind.
D) good support, because Jung studied with Sigmund Freud, who was an expert on the unconscious mind.

Question 31

The mock website for Deep Mind Therapy seems to have been written by a webmaster or some unidentified person. This raises the MOST serious question about the site's:

A) credibility.
B) accuracy.
C) reasonableness.
D) lack of supporting evidence.

Question 32

Dr. Reed was reported to have conducted an experiment in which he asked pairs of workshop attendees to imagine a psychic connection with their partners and then verbalize their thoughts. He found that the pairs produced some striking similarities in their thoughts. What is the BEST interpretation of this finding?

A) The pairs of attendees were exhibiting a telepathic connection because of the similarity of their verbal statements.
B) The pairs did not have a telepathic connection because of the implausibility of ESP and problems with the quality of the study.
C) Telepatherapy works, but it cannot be proven that a telepathic connection exists.
D) A statement of authority in support of Telepatherapy by Dr. Reed should lead people to conclude that it is effective.

Question 33

The citation of research by Jung (1875-1961) without other more recent research citations on the Deep Mind Therapy mock website raises questions about the _____ and _____ of the site.

A) credibility; reasonableness
B) evidence; accuracy
C) reasonableness; relevance
D) relevance; credibility

Question 34

On the Deep Mind Therapy mock website, the evidence that BEST provides support for the effectiveness of mandala drawing in helping people consists of the:

A) testimonials of patients who have used mandala drawing.
B) presumably scientific research studies Jung reported in his book on use of mandalas.
C) facts related to Jung having studied with the pioneering psychotherapist, Sigmund Freud.
D) facts about similarities among mandalas found in cultures around the world.

Question 35

The approach of the Deep Mind Therapy mock website, which involves contact with the spirit world through a medium, raises questions MOST related to the website's:

A) credibility.
B) accuracy.
C) reasonableness.
D) quality of supporting evidence.

Question 36

The mock website for Deep Mind Therapy has spelling errors. This raises the most serious question about the website's:

A) credibility
B) accuracy
C) reasonableness
D) lack of supporting evidence.

Question 37

Which is NOT a valid criticism of the testimonials supporting Deep Mind Therapy (DMT) in the mock website?

A) Inadequate background information about the persons making the testimonials does not allow for verification.
B) The information from the testimonials may be unique to the person, not representative of others, and so not generalizable.
C) Only positive, supporting testimonials are provided.
D) The testimonials say nothing about how each person believes that he or she was helped by DMT.

Question 38

All of the following are plausible alternative explanations for why people reported in the testimonials that Deep Mind Therapy worked for them EXCEPT

A) functionality of information
B) credibility of the source
C) relevance of the information
D) reasonableness of the information

Question 39

The presence of a grammar error at the beginning of the Deep Mind Therapy mock website raises questions especially about the:

A) credibility of the information in the site.
B) accuracy of the information in the site.
C) reasonableness of the information in the site.
D) evidence supporting the site.

Question 40

A common problem with the inclusion of testimonials as support for treatments in websites such as the mock website for Deep Mind Therapy is that testimonials:

A) are not balanced, showing a confirmatory bias for the ones included.
B) show only that everyday individuals have found the treatment useful.
C) make it seem as if the treatments are not useful for all kinds of people.
D) occur mostly in web-based sites and reduce the credibility of such sites.

Question 41

Explain how conspiracy theories and fake news stories on the Internet have emerged as a serious problem in recent years.

Question 42

What does the mnemonic "CARE" stand for, and how is it related to guidelines for the critical evaluation of information discussed earlier in the book? More specifically, explain how each of the words corresponding to the letters in the CARE mnemonic corresponds to questions used in the CARE approach and how they relate to relevant information discussed earlier in the book.

Question 43

The mock website Deep Mind Therapy states how, in his book Mandala Symbolism, Jung described an American woman interested in psychology who came to study with him. Although she had never painted before, she painted mandalas that contained similar themes, including those of the alchemists from hundreds of years before. What is the limitation of this kind of evidence?

A) Case studies may be unique to the individual and so not generalizable.
B) Testimonials may be biased in support of Deep Mind Therapy.
C) Correlational studies show relationships but cannot show cause and effect.
D) Field studies cannot show cause and effect.