PSYC100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Confirmation Bias

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC100
• Professor: Agnes R.Ly

Document Summary

An amiable skeptic is open to information but questions the source and evaluates the situation. Quick decisions can lead to negative outcomes. The mind - mental activity; thought processes, decisions, etc. The brain - where all of your thoughts and feelings arise from. Levels of analysis: any behavior in human life can be targeted at different levels (biological, social,etc. ) Biological level: parts of the brain, genetics, neurotransmitters, hormones. Individual level: person level characteristics, things that change the way you see the world: age, personality, sense of self worth, gender identity. Social and cultural: about relationships; social = smaller social relationships (peers, family, etc. ); cultural = americans, different ethnicities, country level. Biases - why we are not-so-great intuitive psychologists. Failing to accurately judge source credibility - when you get information, by default, you don"t think to evaluate where the information came from. Ignoring evidence (confirmation bias) - only look toward evidence that confirms your beliefs, dismiss what goes against it.