PSYC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Pseudoscience, Confirmation Bias, Belief Perseverance
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PSYC 101 Full Course Notes
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A scientific theory is an explanation for a large number of findings in that natural world. Generate predictions regarding new data we haven"t yet observed. Hypothesis: testable prediction derived from a scientific theory. Theories are general explanations, hypotheses are specific predictions derived from these explanations. Misconception 1: a theory explains one specific event. Misconception 2: a theory is just an educated guess. Science as a safeguard against bias: protecting us from ourselves: 2 traps into which scientists can fall under: Confirmation bias: the tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them. Belief perseverance: the tendency to stick to our initial belief even when evidence contradicts them. Science is not perfect but it"s one of the best tools we have: Knowledge is tentative and potentially open to revision. Knowledge changes rapidly after a paradigm shift. Science does not prove anything but it can falsify.
