Professor: Dr. Jennifer Mundale
Click here for her website, or click here to email her.
Qutoe of the day: "Walking on water wasn't built in a day" by Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was a beatnik author who wrote "Down the Road".
- worthwhile aceivements didn't happen right away
- no shortcuts to expanding your consciousness
is a process by which culture helps to shape our values, preferences, choices, assumptions, etc... about:
Attribution Errors/Biases: "Attribution" refers to the attribution of cause. Why did this happen? Why did I do this? My situation is your disposition.
Expectations / Schemata: The basis for which your conclusions are derived. i.e. sterotypes, prototypes, and archetypes
Stereotypes: are simplistic, biased views about members of a certain group.
Schema is singular. Schemata or Schemas is plural
All three of the above items cloud your mind and get in the way of critical thinking
"Never attribute to malice when you can attribute it to ignorance."
Stress: is an excessive demand upon the body or mind producing physical or psychological strain.
Stress can lead to premature aging.
People function better when they have a little bit of stress.
My philosophy towards stress is P.M.A. Baby! which is Positive Mental Attitude.
What you see, depends on how you see it.
The context of a situation influences your view of that situation
The context makes all the difference. But yet, we can never be context free.
I missed todays class, but that's ok becasue so did the teacher. I was told that there was a sub filling in for her today. Talk about timing. (LOL) Anyway, there are no notes for today. See you tomorrow.
Vividness = One of these things that can add to salience.
Availability = Has to be there to be seen.
Salience = More general of a term. Something that matters to you. (the observer)
- We tend to remember the stuff that we noticed. (Salience)
- For us to notice something, it has to be available and for us to really notice something, it has
to be vivid, and for us to remember something, it has to be salient.
Attribution: in this context, the attribution of causes.
In the above piture, we see that the observers see the 2 people conversing differently. Rather, they have a different salient experience.
OBS(b) see person B as the most influencial of the 2. OBS(a) see person A as the most influencial of the 2. And the two side OBS(c) see
neither A or B as the most influencial, but rather they see them as equally influential.
- When interacting with and observing others, behavior (people + their actions) is salient, whereas situational factors fade into the
background. i.e. What people do at a party and their behavior, not the color of the carpet or the lamps.
- When an audience observes actors, they tend to over attribute their actions to dispositional factors and not situational factors. i.e.
Something internal to the observer like character, personality, and inner traits.
- Dispositions are internal
- Situations are external
When we make attributions about our own behavior, situational factors are more salient, "My situation is your Disposition".
- This is known as the fundamental error of attribution. We tend to over attribute their dispositional factors when observing other people.
- We excuse our behavior more than we excuse other people's behavior.
Learned Helplessness: The belief that no matter what you do, the outcome is out of your control.
De-biasing Techniques: Putting yourself in their situation to understand their actions or behavior.
If most people behaved the same way when given a situation, then it is probably not a dispositional but instead situational.
Enculturation:
- What is it? = It is a process by which culture helps to shape our values, preferences, choices, assumptions, etc...
- What sorts of things does it influence? = values (religious, moral, and otherwise),gender roles
and expectations, political views, food preferences, aesthetic preferences, and others
- What are some of its sources? = family, religion, media, job (co-workers), government, school,
location, geography, friends, and peers
- Why is it important to study? = It's important to study so we can make informed unbiased decisions
- How can one tell if a view that one has is purely a result of enculturation? = If their view is based
soley on what the popular view is and are not opento other views.
Ego Defenses:
- Be able to explain, give examples of, and identify examples of denial, projection, and rationalization.
Ego Defenses (3 examples): Denial = I can quit anytime. It's under control. Projection = What we see in others that we can't see in ourselves Rationalization = we make up excuses to justify the situation
Attribution Errors:
- How do Kirby and Goodpaster explain attribution errors? = Refers to the attribution of cause. Why did this happen?
Why did I do this? My situation is your disposition.
- Why do they count them as an example of a self-serving bias? = One aspect of the self-serving bias is the tendency
to take credit for our success and to blame our failures on external factors.
Expectations, Schemata, Prototypes:
- What is Schema? = The basis for which your conclusions are derived. i.e. sterotypes, prototypes, and archetypes
- What does our example in class (pertaining to birds) show about them? = The class thought that
the Penguin was least birdlike and the sparrow was most birdlike.
- Why is it important to study them? = An open mind is essential to critical thinking, and there
is no easy recipe for aquiring an open mind.
- How do they influence your thinking? = They influence the way we perceive and think.
- What is a stereotype? = Simplistic, biased views about members of a certain group
Other Barriers:
- How do anger, stress and depression affect our thinking? = They cloud your mind and get in the
way of critical thinking.
- In each case, what are some ways to manage them? = Don't vent your anger, get advice, become
assertive, learn to relax, and don't get angry, put off major decisions, and exercise.
What is the contrast effect? = Decision makers do not perceive and remember material
in isolation; they interpret new information in light of past experience and the context in
which the material occurs.
- How does the waterbowl example illustrate it? = Each hand will be exhibiting a "contrast
effect," but the two effects will be in opposite directions.
- Be familiar with the results of Coren and Miller's experiments on the contrast effect. = Coren
and Miller speculated that the contrast effect only occurs when the contrasted stimuli are
similar to one another.
What is the Ebbinghaus illusion? = It's the experiment with the TV reporter
who interviews tall basketball players and appears short. Then the same reporter interviews
a jockey standing next to a horse and he appears tall, but his size has not changed just his
surroundings.
- How does the similarity of the surrounding shapes affect the perception of the illusion? = It
distorts out perception if the surroundings are similar.
What is the Primacy effect? = What ever comes first, matters most when shaping
your judgement right away.
- Give an example of an outcome which shows the primacy effect. = Having a debate and talking first,
then voting right away.
What is the Regency effect? = Whatever comes last matters most when the decision
is delayed for a period of time.
- Give an example of an outcome which shows the regency effect. = Having a debate and talking last,
then some time passes before voting.
Review Figure 4.3 summarizing the findings of Miller and Campbell.
Which conditions show the recency effect? = #5 and #6
- Which show the primacy effect? = #3 and #4
- Which show neither (no dominant effect)? = #1 and #2
- Suppose you are offered the choice of speaking first or last in a public debate. Assuming you
wanted to influence your audience, under what conditions would you want to speak first? = I would
want to speak first if they had to vote right away.
- Under what conditions would you want to speak last? = If there was some time between hearing
the debate and then voting.
What is the Halo effect? = When people think about something, positive or
negative, the positive stuff leads to other positive stuff and the negative stuff leads to
other negative stuff.
- Give an example of a situation which shows the halo effect. = Going to a class for the first time
and meeting a kind and pleasant instructor before the class, you would tend to think that the class
will be a good one, even though you have not met anyone else.
- Overall: Why is it important to study context effects? = Social judgements often depend in part
on context.
What is Salience? = More general of a term. Something that matters to you.
(the observer)
- What is the distinction between salience and vividness? = For us to notice something, it has to
be available and for us to really notice something, it has to be vivid, and for us to remember
something, it has to be salient.
- How does salience affect our causal attribution? = Perceptions of causality are partly determined
by where one's attention is directed withing the environment, and attention is in turn a function
of salience.
- Give an example of how salience can affect our causal attributions. = Salient individuals are
perceived as more influential.
- Summarize the findings of the two studies by Taylor and Fiske (under the section on
"Salience"). = They found that people tended to perceive the same situation differently when
they were positioned in different areas of observation.
- What is "The Fundamental Attribution Error"? = When judging behavior of other
people, we over attribute their behavior to dispotional factors. Our behavior is attributed to
situational factors.
- What is meant by the phrase, "My situation is your disposition"?
- Give an example which shows the fundamental attribution error. = Seeing a dirty looking guy
walking down the street and assuming that the guy is homeless and needs help.
Other attributional biases:
- What is a self-serving attribution bias? = How you judge good vs. bad outcomes. When we talk
about ourselves, bad things are attributed on our situation. Good things are attributed to
our disposition.
- What is an egocentric attributional bias? = Those in which people accept more responsibility
for joint outcomes than other contributors attribute to them.
- What are some ways (discussed at the end of the essay) to avoid the attribution bias? = To pay
close attention to consensus information, and look for hidden causes.
Personalization or Egocentric thinking = You think the world revolves around you
for better or worst.
Polarized thinking or Black + White thinking = One way and not the other, good or
bad, nice or mean, "Either/ or Fallacy".
Overgeneralization = Drawing broad conclusions on the basis of a single
incident.
Catastrophizing = You consider the worst possible outcome of an event. They are
usually depressed people. A good example is "Murphy's Law" anything bad that can happen, will
happen.
Selective Abstraction = focusing on one detail of a situation and ignoring the
larger picture.
Self: Negative view of one's self.
Experiences: Tendancy to interpret ongoing experiences in a negative way.
Future: Negative view of the future.
If we can alter your cognitive structure, we can control how you feel.
If a person thinks they are being rejected, they will react with the same negative effect.
"Men are not disturbed by things, but what they make of it" Epictcetus
Activating Event -- Cognitive Process -- Response (emotional, cognitive, behavioral)
Invariant: This is my conception of myself. I always have been and always will be this way. This does not allow for any variations or change.
Irreversibility: I'm not going to change because I can't.
Fallacy: An argument that doesn't work. Common in valid argument
Why study fallacies?
1. To avoid making them.
2. Also, to hear when others run into them as well.
It's good to understand the basic reasoning patterns, to know what's going on.
Local List = Fallacy Files Argument from Appeal to ignorance ignorance
i.e. There is no proof that the Loch Ness Monster doesn't exist. Therefore, it must exist. It also works the other way around. There is no proof that the Loch Ness Monster does exist. Therefore, it must not exist.
Appeal to inappropriate Authority
i.e. a celebrity endorsing or advertising a product but they are not an authority on that product.
They are simply playing to your familiarization of the celebrity.
Appeal to Authority
i.e. Surgeon General talking about medical stuff, or expert witnesses.
Argument against the Person/Man (Ad Hominem)
- The fallacy against personal attack.
- When people do not like you, they tend not to like your ideas or opinions.
i.e. Someone on drugs could tend to have bad judgements or ideas, but it is still possible for
them to have a good idea or opinion.
Appeal to Pitty = Emotional Appeal
i.e. A teacher giving a student a failing grade. The student will fail out of college and get
drafted and could end up dead in a war because of that failing grade. This could influence the
teachers decision.
Appeal to Force = Ad Baculum
i.e. If you threaten someone, it's not clear that you are making an argument.
i.e. A parent picking up a kid and carrying them across the street because reasoning with
the kid has failed.
i.e. Blackmail, Bribery, or Extortion.
Irrelevant Conclusion = Red Herring/Irrelevant Thesis
i.e. To throw somebody off the scent or trail.
i.e. Politicians do this frequently by not answering questions or answering a different
question than was asked.
i.e. When being tracked by a dog, carry a Red Herring behind you and it will throw the dog off
your scent
I. Fallacies of Relevance: - Argument from Ignorance Arguing that a proposition is true simply on the basis that it has not been proven false (and vice versa). Ex: No one has ever proven that the Loch Ness monster doesn't exist; therefore, it does exist. - Appeal to Inappropriate Authority The appeal to parties having no legitimate claim to authority in the matter at hand. Ex: I play a doctor on TV, and I recommend this brand of aspirin, so you should buy it. - Argument Against the Person (Ad Hominem) Directing one's attack not at a conclusion, but rather at the person who asserts or defends it. Ex: Everyone knows that the mayor has a son who's a drug addict; therefore, you should just disregard her arguments about the legalization of marijuana. - Appeal to Pity Appealing not to rational argument and evidence but rather to the emotional response of the audience. Ex: I know I failed all my exams in here and my attendance was bad, but please, Prof. Smith, you've just got to give me an "A" or it will break my parents heart and they may die of the strain. - Appeal to Force Attempting to persuade someone by force or threat rather than by reason and argument. Ex: Give me that swing or I'll call my daddy and he'll beat up your daddy. - Irrelevant Conclusion When an argument purports to establish a conclusion that is misleadingly irrelevant to its premises. Ex: Theft and robbery have been increasing at an alarming rate. Therefore, we must reinstate the death penalty immediately. - Straw Man Attacking a weakened or distorted representation of your opponent's argument. Ex: Mr. Lu has argued against prayer in public schools. Obviously, he advocates atheism. But atheism is what they have in Russia, and it works hand in hand with communism. Mr. Lu is wrong! II. Fallacies of Ambiguity: - Equivocation When the same term appears to be used consistently but in fact relies on several different meanings. Ex: Good steaks are rare these days, so don't order yours well done. - Amphiboly Arguments that rely on statements that are amphibolous, or of indeterminate meaning. Ex: Walking up O'Connell St., the statue comes into view. Apparently that statue gets around! III. Others: - Complex Question Deceptively combining two or more questions into a single one. A "trick" question. Ex: Have you stopped beating your children yet, Mr. Smith? - False Cause Occurs when the link between premises and conclusion depends on improbable or non-existent cause. Ex: Every time the mascot danced during halftime, the team won. Let's keep that mascot dancing! - Slippery Slope A variety of false cause - rests upon alleged chain reaction that is unlikely to occur. Ex: Let naughty children go unpunished just once, and you'll start them on the road to crime and jail. - False Dichotomy Committed when disjunctive (either...or) premise hides other alternatives. Ex: The choice is yours: the spotted owl, or economic prosperity. - Begging the Question Takes several forms: "circular reasoning", and assuming in premise(s) what's to be shown in conclusion. Ex: I know God exists because the Bible says he does, and the Bible is true because it's God's word. - Accident Committed when a general rule is applied to a case it was never intended to cover. Ex: Anyone who cuts another person with a knife is a criminal. Therefore, arrest that surgeon now! - Hasty Generalization Arguing from a small and/or non-representative example of a group to what's true of group as whole. Ex: John's blue car rusted out after only two years, therefore my blue car will do the same. - Composition Erroneously transferring attributes from the parts to the whole (i.e., what's true of parts is true of whole.) Ex: Each atom in this piece of chalk is invisible. Therefore, the chalk is invisible. - Division Erroneously transferring attributes from the whole to the parts (i.e., what's true of whole is true of parts.) Ex: The completed jigsaw puzzle is circular in shape. Therefore, each piece of the puzzle is circular.
| Letter Name | Categorical Proposition | Quality | Quantity | Distibuted |
| A | All "S" are "P" | Affirmative | Universal | S |
| E | No "S" are "P" | Negative | Universal | S + P |
| I | Some "S" are "P" | Affirmative | Particular | --- |
| O | Some "S" are not "P" | Negative | Particular | P |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| P Q R | P-->Q | Q-->R | P-->R |
| T T T | T | T | T |
| T T F | T | F | F |
| T F T | F | T | T |
| T F F | F | T | F |
| F T T | T | T | T |
| F T F | T | F | T |
| F F T | T | T | T |
| F F F | T | T | T |
1844-1846
| Division One | Division Two |
| High mortality rate 6.8-11.4% | Low mortality rate 2-2.7% |
| Priest had indirect access to sickroom | Priest had direct access to sickroom |
| Delivered on their backs | Delivered on their sides |
| Attended by medical students | Attended by midwives |
| More street births, but lower mortality rates | Less street births |
- In 1847, Kolletschka was doing an autopsy and knicked his finger. He became sick like the
women who died giving birth. The hypothesis was that there was an agent in the "Cadaveric
Material."
- Possible solution = Have the medical students wash their hands in a solution of chlorinated
lime after they perform an autopsy.
- This caused the mortality rate in the hospital (Division One) to drop.
- He had to broaden his hypothesis. He made the medical students wash after each delivery.
This gets rid of the "Putrid Material."
Hypothesis have various test implications. When affirming the consequent, it is true that you are confirming a falacy. i.e.:
H-->I
I
=H
Here is a true modus tolens:
H-->I
~I
=~H
H={h1*h2*h3*h4...}
note: it only takes one h1 or h2 or any h# to be false to make the entire hypothesis false.
- Reason alone can't tell you anything.
- Logic will not tell you whether your premise or hyposthesis is true or false.
- It can tell you what your entitled to conclude.
1. Observe and record facts.
2. Analysis and classification of facts.
3. Inductive generalization (form hypothesis)
4. Testing of generalization/Hypothesis
An example of Inductive Generalization: "All swans that I've seen are white. Therefore, all swans are white."
- The truth is that that all swans are not white. It just so happens that white swan are all that I have seen.
- But upon doing some research, I've found evidence that my generalization was false.
- We've tried to take the process of discovery and mechanized it.
- We came up with this formula to automate the discovery process.
- There is no formula for creating a genius
Hempel is trying to say that it is not practical to gather all the information associated with a situation, as suggested in step one. Perhaps all that should be collected are the relevant facts, but you can't just take the relevant facts. Because, how can you know what all the relevant facts are? Hempel brings up the idea of different classifications between the facts or objects being observed (right column p. 13 CP# 7).
Note: Goldman's article on "Epistemology" will only appear on the test as an extra credit question.
| P Q | P ? Q |
| T T | 2 |
| T F | 2 |
| F T | 2 |
| F F | 2 |
Just having a true conclusion does not make an argument sound. An Argument is sound if and only if it is valid and all the premises are true.
True premise, but false conclusion, which means it is not valid.
All Dogs are Mammals
All Cats are Mammals
All Cats are Dogs
Can you have a valid argument with a false conclusion? Yes, absolutely.
All D are M
All T are M
All T are D
The conclusion really does follow from the premises.
The order of the premise does not affect its validity.
Click here for the teachers Review of Basic Logical Concepts
Click here for the teachers REVIEW OF LOGICAL OPERATORS AND TRUTH TABLES
(P --> Q) * (L*k)
(P --> Q) v (L*k)
Know Modus Tolens and the rest of them.