Exam 1 Study Guide
LER 312 Exam 1
Intuition/ Direct- Access Knowledge:
Knowledge derived immediately via channels that may or may not involve the normal senses
Hunches, gut feelings, first impressions
Probability= # of favorable outcomes/ # of possible outcomes
Ex: What are the odds two people in a class of 24 people will have the same birthday?
Authority:
“Knowing” something because a trusted authority says it is true
Reason:
We can use logic to arrive at conclusions
Beliefs based on logic, are developed before a person has direct experience with the phenomena at hand
Called the priori method for getting knowledge
Experience:
Our experience with the world provides invaluable information
This can be influenced by cognitive biases
Cognitive Biases
Empiricism: learning things directly through observation or experience, and reflecting on experience
Integral part of science, can go wrong
Belief Perseverance: keep holding a belief, in spite of evidence to the contrary
Confirmation Bias: seek information that supports your beliefs, while ignoring contradicting information
Goes hand in hand with belief perseverance
Availability Heuristic: overestimate how often memorable or unusual events occur, especially right after they occur
Science:
The most reliable way to develop a belief
Science as a way of knowing provides for objective means to build a body of knowledge
Science as a way of Knowing
Assumes determinism and discoverability
The assumption is that events have causes (determinism)
Using scientific method, we can discover those causes (discoverability)
Make systematic observations
Remove as many biases as possible
Produces publicly verifiable information and observations
Objectivity criterion
Agreement by two or more observers
Produces data based conclusions
Claims are backed up by data
Produces tentative conclusions
Findings subject to outcomes of future research
Asks answerable questions
Empirical Questions
Intuition/ Direct- Access Knowledge:
Knowledge derived immediately via channels that may or may not involve the normal senses
Hunches, gut feelings, first impressions
Probability= # of favorable outcomes/ # of possible outcomes
Ex: What are the odds two people in a class of 24 people will have the same birthday?
Authority:
“Knowing” something because a trusted authority says it is true
Reason:
We can use logic to arrive at conclusions
Beliefs based on logic, are developed before a person has direct experience with the phenomena at hand
Called the priori method for getting knowledge
Experience:
Our experience with the world provides invaluable information
This can be influenced by cognitive biases
Cognitive Biases
Empiricism: learning things directly through observation or experience, and reflecting on experience
Integral part of science, can go wrong
Belief Perseverance: keep holding a belief, in spite of evidence to the contrary
Confirmation Bias: seek information that supports your beliefs, while ignoring contradicting information
Goes hand in hand with belief perseverance
Availability Heuristic: overestimate how often memorable or unusual events occur, especially right after they occur
Science:
The most reliable way to develop a belief
Science as a way of knowing provides for objective means to build a body of knowledge
Science as a way of Knowing
Assumes determinism and discoverability
The assumption is that events have causes (determinism)
Using scientific method, we can discover those causes (discoverability)
Make systematic observations
Remove as many biases as possible
Produces publicly verifiable information and observations
Objectivity criterion
Agreement by two or more observers
Produces data based conclusions
Claims are backed up by data
Produces tentative conclusions
Findings subject to outcomes of future research
Asks answerable questions
Empirical Questions