0.1 The Scientific Attitude, Critical Thinking, and Developing A

Harrison observed that people who read fiction novels were also artists. Whenever Harrison shared this observation with his friends, they said that teenagers only do those activities to meet school requirements. Harrison disagreed, instead believing that personality explained an association between reading novels and being artistic. Even when Harrison learned that having access to books and art was the biggest predictor of participating in these activities, he continued to believe that his original idea was correct. Which element of the scientific attitude should Harrison improve if he wants to engage in scientific inquiry more effectively?

• Curiosity

• Humility

• Skepticism

• Empiricism

Harrison observed that people who read fiction novels were also artists. Whenever Harrison shared this observation with his friends, they said that teenagers only do those activities to meet school requirements. Harrison disagreed, instead believing that personality explained an association between reading novels and being artistic. Even when Harrison learned that having access to books and art was the biggest predictor of participating in these activities, he continued to believe that his original idea was correct. If Harrison wanted to increase his use of critical thinking, which of the following questions might he ask?

• How can I share my results with more people?

• How can I sell my ideas to make a profit?

• How can I interpret this result?

• How can I minimize the impact of this result?

Which of the following best illustrates a skeptical attitude?

• Evelyn believes that all animals turn into balloons at night because her older brother told her that he saw their dog floating around the house at night.

• After Matsuo’s mother told him that chewing on his fingernails might make him sick, Matsuo asked her to provide an explanation of how he might get sick from chewing his nails.

• Hayden argues with all her teachers when they lecture because she doubts how they can possibly remember all the information from the textbooks they have read.

• After reading a blog post online about the dangers of walking near busy streets, Beck decided to avoid walking near busy streets for the next five years.

Which of the elements of a scientific attitude is most associated with the question, “Does it work?

• Humility

• Skepticism

• Empiricism

• Curiosity

Why is psychology considered a science?

• Psychological researchers rely on observation and experimentation when testing claims.

• Psychological researchers ask questions about behavior and mental processes.

• Psychological researchers speculate about how and why people act as they do.