PSYC 102: Biases, Fallacies, and Heuristics

method used to examine behaviour

scientific study of behaviours and their accompanied mental processes

to assign a disproportionate amount of evidence in favour of one outcome

tendency of people to favour information that confirms or strengthens their beliefs and values (difficult to dislodge once affirmed)

our tendency to stick with our intial belief, even when opposing evidence is presented

our tendency to rely on the first piece of evidence we received when making a decision

an error in reasoning

our tendency to believe that we do not succumb to the same shortcoming others do

our tendency to believe a claim if it is given by an authority figure

tendency to believe that a claim simply because the majority believes it

our tendency to believe that a small change could lead to much greater, often disastrous, changes

to persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel

mental shortcuts

our tendency to evaluate a claim based on how easy evidence comes to mind

our tendency to evaluate the likelihood of an outcome based upon the likelihood of the outcome in our past experiences