September 26 Rewind Schedule/Tests/Grades Finalize Mythbusting/Worksheet Begin Myth 5

Common Sense Test True or False? What are your results? Were you surprised by any of the answers?

September 28 Rewind Revised Schedule Myth 5 Continued

Myth #5: Psychology is Just Common Sense. What is psychology? Myth #5: Psychology is Just Common Sense.

Myth #5 – Notes Guide 2. Do you think there’s truth to the statement, “Psychology is just common sense”? Explain.

Myth #5 Do you ever hear, “Of course that’s true!” “Why do people even waste their time researching stuff? It is all just common sense.”

Upcoming Schedule Today: Continue Myth 5 Monday: Papers returned Notebook preparation sheet Review Worksheet Wednesday: Test EVERYTHING DUE Personality quizzes Myth 5 notes Review Notebook Missing/absent work

Some Research Flattery and self-confidence (small paper) Answer the question (both parts) Stand up …

Do Opposites Attract or Do Birds of a Feather Flock Together?

3. Attraction… What does research say? University of Iowa People tend to marry/cohabitate with those who are similar in attitudes, religion, and values. It appears that similarity in personality that appears to be more important in having a happy long-term relationship.

Hindsight Bias Sometimes just asking people how and why they felt or acted as they did can sometimes be misleading. 4. Common sense describes what HAS happened, not what WILL happen. Hindsight Bias: The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. The … “I knew it all along phenomenon” Did our class demonstrate this phenomenon? “I read that research says people with HIGH self-confidence …” “I read that research says people with LOW self-confidence …”

“Hindsight is 20/20” Hurricane Katrina (2005)

Michael Brown, former Federal Emergency Management Agency director, recalled his feelings from the day BEFORE Katrina hit in the months AFTER: “I knew in my gut this was the bad one.”

2016 Election The morning of the election: The day after the election: Participants in an MSMR poll predicted that, on average, Hillary Clinton would receive 297.2 Electoral College votes and President Trump would receive 215.9 Electoral College votes. The day after the election: Rather unsurprisingly, participants reported predicting that Hillary Clinton would receive 288.3 Electoral College votes while President Trump was predicted to receive 224.1 Electoral College votes. After knowing the outcome, fewer thought that Clinton would win.

The Limits of Common Sense Just because something seems like it should be true does not necessarily mean it is. 8. Psychomythology: misconceptions, urban legends, mythology, and misinformation about psychology Psychology: the scientific STUDY of mental processes and behavior Researchers take some of our guesses about human behavior and test them scientifically.

Answer – somewhere on your paper 15v 30v 45v 60v 75v 90v 105v 120v 135v 150v 165v 180v 195v 210v 225v 240v 255v 270v 285v 300v 315v 330v 345v 360v 375v 390v 405v 420v 435v 450v If you were a subject in a research study, would you deliver shocks to a stranger just because an authority figure told you to? Yes or No? At what voltage would you stop and refuse to go on? What does your common sense tell you? How did you answer #4 on the common sense test?

Obedience to authority How far will we go to follow the orders of an authority figure? Stanley Milgram One of the most famous and widely recognized psychological studies (Yale University; 1963). Raised the ethics of using humans in research. Wanted to understand WWII atrocities.

9. Methods Imagine you and another participant arrive at a laboratory for an experiment called "The Effects of Punishment on Learning." After being greeted by an experimenter, he randomly assigns you to be the "teacher" and the other participant to be the "learner." The learner is led to another room and hooked up to a shock machine.

Mr. Wallace

Methods The teacher reads a list of word pairs (Example: “clear” goes with “air.”). If the answer is wrong, the learner receives a shock. With each mistake, you move to the next lever administering a more intense shock (begins at 15 volts, increases by 15v each lever to 450v).

How far would you go? How far would you go? 0 volts  450 volts in 15 volt increments

The procedure Voltage Learner response Experimenter response 75 grunts 1. Please continue 120 shouts in pain 2. The experiment requires you to continue. 150 says he refuses to 3. It is absolutely essential continue that you continue. 200 blood-curdling screams 4. You have no other choice but to continue. 300 refuses to answer, heart condition 330+ silence

What would you do? 9. Independent Variable The manipulated variable authority Dependent Variable The response in presence of IV (behavior) shock or not 10. Prediction/Hypothesis: Average estimate was 1.2% of subjects would go all the way to 450 volts (truly sadistic people) Most would stop obeying authority around 135 volts. *What did you say you would do? 11. Results: 26 out of 40 (65%) went to 450 volts. The “learner” is a confederate of the experimenter. Everything is scripted. Milgram

Voltage Learner response Experimenter response 75 grunts 1. Please continue 120 shouts in pain 2. The experiment requires you to continue. 150 says he refuses to continue 3. It is absolutely essential that you continue. 200 blood-curdling scream 4. You have no other choice but to continue. 300 refuses to answer, heart condition 330+ silence

Alternate Versions of the Study – Manipulate IV (authority)

12. Strengthening Obedience The person giving orders is close and perceived as an authority. Lab coat/clip board/nearby The person is supported by prestigious title. Dr. The victim is depersonalized. In another room Referred to as “learner” There were no role models for disobedience or defiance.

Was the original hypothesis based on “common sense” Was the original hypothesis based on “common sense”? Did subjects’ behavior reflect “common sense”?

Obedience, now & then… ABC News: “What would you do?” Replication Replication of Milgram’s research Were the results similar? How did they alter the study? Again … Are our expectations about human behavior “common sense” or is it more complicated than that?

Rewind Finalize Unit 2 Review Notebook Preparation/Papers Returned October 2 Rewind Finalize Unit 2 Review Notebook Preparation/Papers Returned

Upcoming Schedule Today: Finalize Myth 2 Notebook Preparation Sheet Wednesday: Test EVERYTHING DUE Personality quizzes Myth 5 notes Review packet Notebook Missing/late/absent work

Obedience, now & then… ABC News: “Would you obey a total stranger and steal a baby? A wallet? Put a pill in somebody’s drink?” ..\What would you do Comply or Question Authority.mp4

Myth 2 – What Are the Take-Aways? Common Sense, intuition, and snap judgments are more of a reflection of what has happened and has been researched then what will happen. Thus, MISTRUST your “common sense” when you hear something or read something about Psychology (humans). Find research EVIDENCE to support claims. Don’t buy into something just because it says “studies show.” Science can be and often IS “uncommon” sense – it requires us to put aside our personal bias and belief systems and focus primarily on EVIDENCE! Think about those “experts” and their predictions for Milgram’s research. Think about your assumptions about whether or not people would steal a baby.