SSH 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Fee Tail, O. J. Simpson, Confirmation Bias
17 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
In general, for a belief to be r/j/r to believe, it would have to be based on enough of the right kind of evidence (i) what kind is appropriate depends upon the context (ii) How much is enough depends on the context. O. j simpson case -> criminal code: found him not guilty. Civil court: found him guilty of wrongful death . Most importantly, how much evidence we need is determined by how high stakes the situation is. Ways a belief can be irr/unj/unr (i) motivational errors: being unduly influenced by what we want to be true or false, rather than focusing on the relevant evidence. Failing to weigh all available evidence properly: ignoring some of the available evidence. Disconfirmation bias: under-valuing contrary evidence, handling counter arguments poorly, and thinking over-critically of contrary evidence. Confirmation bias: over-valuing supporting evidence, lacking sufficient criticism of confirming evidence. Misuse of psychologically available evidence: giving too much weight to memorable, striking or vivid evidence.
