lecture two don’t believe your eyes critical thinking about psychology
TRANSCRIPT
Last time…We talked about how common beliefs about
behaviour can be wrongHow much of the findings of psychological
research are counter-intuitiveIllusion of explanatory depth.This week we will go on to discuss other reasons
why people’s conceptions about behaviour are wrongSeeing patterns where none existLack of self-knowledge
We lack self-knowledgeOften the reasons for our behaviour are not accessible to
us
Nisbett and Ross (1977)asked participants to judge the quality of different pairs of
tights all of the tights were in fact identical the order in which the tights were presented varied
Results participants always chose the last pair presentedHowever, they always generated plausible explanations “this pair
was a better quality” or “a nicer colour”None stated that they had chosen them because they were the last
pair
Modelling Behaviour
children and neonates model the behaviour of similar things occur with smiling, nodding in
conversations, mirroring body postures, etc. adults
Provine (1986)55% of participants yawned within 5 minutes of
watching a yawn videocontagious yawning
Why do we engage in such modelling behaviour?
Chartrand and Bargh (1999) Participants interacted with confederates during an experiment
Confederate 1: shook foot Confederate 2: rubbed faceParticipant responses matched confederate behaviour
Dabbs (1969) Confederates who mimicked them were rated as having good
ideas and being well-informed
If we act like other people then they will like us more!
Seeing patterns where none existOften we can be fooled into thinking that a
relationship exists between two variables when in fact none exists
E.g. lunar effects
This tendency underpins many curious examples from pseudoscience and parapsychology
The Face on Mars!Viking 1 in 1976 took the
following image of an apparent face on Mars
Perhaps, built by martians and indicating an ancient civilisation?
Perhaps by the same people who built the ancient airstrips in Peru?
Or by those who made crop circles in Wiltshire?
The Face on Mars revisitedPhotos from later missions sadly revealed that the
face was just a bunch of hills.
Pareidolia/Apophenia These terms can be used interchangeably to
describe the tendency for us to see patterns in random data
It is particularly pronounced when we try to make sense of obscure, out of focus or partial images.
It highlights the use of “top-down” processing in cognitionWe are using our knowledge of the world to try to
make sense of ambiguous data
What is this?At first we just see
random dotsThen a picture of a
dog emergesClearly being able
to make sense of imperfect information is beneficial
But it sometimes leads to error…
Hearing voicesWe also make errors with ambiguous sounds.In this next section we will examine some related
phenomenaElectronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)backward masking of hidden messages in rock
music
Electronic Voice PhenomenaWhen people die they become spirits – sources
of energyThey interact with electronic recording equipment
to leave messages…
Hidden MessagesIn the 1970s there was much consternation that
satanic messages were hidden in popular musicThese messages only became apparent when
they were played backwardshttp://jeffmilner.com/backmasking.htm
Interpreting ambiguous soundsOur language systems are highly developed at making
sense of ambiguous sounds.
For example, Warren (1970) examined the phoneme restoration.
Replaced a phoneme with a cough in the following sentencesIt was found that the (cough)eel was on the axle It was found that the (cough)eel was on the orangeIt was found that the (cough)eel was on the fishing-rodIt was found that the (cough)eel was on the table
We make sense of ambiguous sounds using our prior knowledge.
So what have we learned today?Explaining human behaviour isn’t always
straightforwardWe don’t always have insights into our
behaviourWe often see patterns which do not actually
existIn order to draw sensible conclusions about
the nature of behaviour we need to think critically about psychology.
It’s my second week here and I really want to do some background reading…
Alcock, J.E. Electronic Voice Phenomena: Voices of the Dead? Skeptical EnquirerAvailable online at: http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/evp.html
Stafford, T. (2007). Isn’t it all just obvious? The Psychologist, 20,2,94-95.
Wilson, Timothy D. (2002). Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious. Cambridge, Ma.: Harvard University Press. Chapter 5.