Bell ringer:
Is Psychology different
than common sense or
intuition? What do you
think?
Limitations of
intuition/common sense
When Obama got elected, how
many of you knew he was going to
win all along?
How many people have gotten a test
back and got an A (or an F) and
after getting it back said you knew
this is what you were going to get?
How many people remember 9/11?
Who thought they should have
evacuated the second tower right
away? Why?
Who thought that people in
Chicago and LA should evacuate
important buildings also?
Hindsight Bias
I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon
The tendency to believe, after
finding out the outcome, that one
had foreseen the outcome
How many of you can unscramble a
word pretty easily (like ex. below)
Can you do it in under 15 seconds?
WREAT=WATER
Unscramble this word
ETRYN
ENTRY
Harder than it looks???
Overconfidence Bias
People have a tendency to think they
know more than they do
People think they can predict their
own behavior and abilities at a level
higher than they actually can
Point to remember
Hindsight and overconfidence bias
lead us to overestimate our intuition.
Scientific Inquiry help us discern
reality form illusion
Critical Thinking
Psychology and the scientific attitude prepares us to
think smarter
Critical thinking: the process of deciding what to
believe and how to act based on a careful evaluation
of the evidence
Examines assumptions, discern hidden values,
evaluates evidence, assesses conclusions
Critical thinkers are constantly asking questions and
thinking deeper
Summary
Write about a time you used
overconfidence or hindsight bias
when believing something
Write about a time you used critical
thinking skills to make a decision.