PSY 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Santa Barbara City College, Misanthropy, Positive Psychology
Document Summary
Folk theories and scientific theories are mutually compatible. Fletcher (1995) argued that theories of science that take folk theories into account have the potential to generate ideas beyond common sense. Opportunity to illustrate the fallibility of lay thought. There"s often the difference between folk and scientific theories where the action is. For example, myers and diener (1995) included the idea that wealthy people are happier than one of the happiness theories (see also myers, On a more practical level, recognizing the similarity and difference between folk and scientific ideas can further the goals of individual health science by demonstrating what everyday people really know or don"t know about. Even if a folk theory appears to be factually incorrect, it can serve as a good starting point to help people understand the theory of science. Examining folk theories specifically helps us to understand how and when psychologists got people wrong.
