BARRIERS TO REASONING RATIONALLY When logic and intelligence
BARRIERS TO REASONING RATIONALLY When logic and intelligence fail us.
OBSTACLES TO REASONING Need to be right, win an argument Mental laziness Not using dialectical thinking Television?
AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC The tendency to judge the probability of an event by how easy it is to think of examples or instances. Examples: Deaths by tornadoes Plane crashes Terrorist attacks People get worked up over events that are unlikely to happen, yet ignore dangers that are harder to visualize, yet happen more often.
CONFIRMATION BIAS The tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms one’s own belief. Find fault with evidence or arguments that point them in a different direction. Examples: Politicians Corrupt police officers Bad jury members Do not use dialectical reasoning
MENTAL SET BIASES Mental set – The tendency to solve problems using procedures that worked before on similar problems. Mental sets can be useful because they make learning and problem solving efficient. Problems with mental sets - Not being able to solve a new problem, because you can only think of ways you have solved things before. Examples: Child pulling on door Early astronomers – everything revolves around Earth
HINDSIGHT BIAS The tendency to overestimate one’s ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known. I knew it all along. See an event that occurred as having been inevitable. Winner of an election Doctor knowing what caused a patient’s death A historical event Personal examples
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, or when a person’s belief is incongruent with his or her behavior. Tension is uncomfortable, so we are motivated to reduce it. People will resist or rationalize information that conflicts with their ideas. Smokers Tanners Civil War South “All men are created equal”
WHEN DO WE TRY TO REDUCE DISSONANCE? 1. When you need to justify a choice or decision you made freely Buyers remorse 2. When your actions violate your self-concept Are you nice, funny, smart, etc. What happens when you are not? 3. When you put a lot of effort into a decision, and the results are not as great as you wanted Justification of effort – the harder you work to reach a goal, the more you will try to convince yourself that you value the goal, even if it is not so great. Hazing, military
WHAT WE DO TO REDUCE DISSONANCE JUSTIFYING!!!! Example: Smoker who knows that it is harmful, but feels that it helps handle stress. Plus they are addicted. 1. Change conflicting behavior to make it match attitude Quit smoking 2. Change conflicting cognition to justify behavior Smoking is not that bad, research is wrong (confirmation bias) 3. Form new cognition to justify behavior Form a new attitude that smoking “light” cigarettes will reduce his health risks. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=bp 39 q. Sdy. Tc 4
HOW DO WE AVOID COGNITIVE BIASES? When people make important decisions, they are likely to use dialectical thinking. When people complete tasks they have expertise in, biases are diminished. Once we understand a bias, we may be able to diminish it! Some people have the ability to think more clearly than others… Are they more intelligent? ? ?
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