Critical Thinking In Psychology: Separating Sense From Nonsense

C R IT IC A L TH IN K IN G IN PSYCHOLOGY S E P A R A T IN G S E N S E FROM N O N S E N S E J ohn R u scio Critical Thinking in Psychology Separating Sense from N onsense S e c o n d E d it io n J ohn R uscio Elizabethtown College WADSWORTH CENGAGE Learning Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States To my parents, John and Janis Ruscio Contents Preface xv Challenging Widely Accepted Claims xv Empowering Students to Evaluate Claims for Themselves xvii 1. Distinguishing Science from Pseudoscience xvii 2. Teaching Critical Thinking Skills xvii 3. Using Memorable Examples xviii 4. Exploring Material Relevant to Many Courses xviii Broad Coverage Complemented by Electronic Resources New to the Second Edition Acknowledgments xx About the Author xx xix Evaluating Sources Whether in Print or on the Internet xxiii Sharpening and Leveling xxiv Criteria for Evaluating the Quality o f Sources Popularity xxv Reviews xxvi The Internet as a Research Tool xxvii The Content of Web Sites xxvii Internet Searches xxviii Thinking for Yourself xxix xxv xviii viii CONTENTS Part One D eceptio n Chapter 1 Introduction: Pseudoscience and the Need fo r Critical Thinking 1 Separating Sense from Nonsense 3 Studying Human Reasoning 4 Systematic Errors Reveal Our Mental Shortcuts The Pros and Cons of Relying on Shortcuts 5 Thinking Critically 5 Applying the Tools of Critical Thinking 4 6 Ten Characteristics of Pseudoscience 6 1. Outward Appearance of Science 6 2. Absence o f Skeptical Peer Review 7 3. Reliance on Personal Experience 7 4. Evasion of Risky Tests 8 5. Retreats to the Supernatural 8 6. The Mantra of Holism 8 7. Tolerance of Inconsistencies 9 8. Appeals to Authority 9 9. Promising the Impossible 9 10. Stagnation 10 The Plan of This Book 10 Part One: Deception 11 Part Two: Self-Deception 11 Part Three: Psychological Tricks 12 Part Four: Decision Making and Ethics 13 Chapter 2 Science: Evaluating Claims to Knowledge Scientific Reasoning 15 Falsifiability 15 Logic 16 Comprehensiveness 17 Honestv 17 Replicability 18 Sufficiency 19 14 ix CONTENTS Antiscientific Beliefs 20 Postmodernism 20 The “What Works Is Different for Everybody” Fallacy The “Probability Is Irrelevant to the Unique Individual” Fallacy 23 Voodoo Science and Legal Standards 23 24 Chapter 3 Language: Misleading and Evasive Tactics Weasel Words and Framing Effects 29 29 Cooperation and Conversational Maxims 33 Quality: The Myth of “Health Food” 33 Quantity: Suggestive and Leading Questions 34 Relation: The Irrelevant Language of “Alternative” Health Care Manner: The Emptiness o f “Holism” 38 Closing Thoughts: False Dichotomies and the Slippery Slope 36 40 Chapter 4 Magic: The Allure o f Exotic Rituals, Fantasy, and Mysticism Believing in Magic Wishful Thinking 43 43 B elief in a Vitalistic Energy 4