How We Know What Isn't SoThomas Gilovich offers a wise and readable guide to the fallacy of the obvious in everyday life. When can we trust what we believe—that "teams and players have winning streaks," that "flattery works," or that "the more people who agree, the more likely they are to be right"—and when are such beliefs suspect? Thomas Gilovich offers a guide to the fallacy of the obvious in everyday life. Illustrating his points with examples, and supporting them with the latest research findings, he documents the cognitive, social, and motivational processes that distort our thoughts, beliefs, judgments and decisions. In a rapidly changing world, the biases and stereotypes that help us process an overload of complex information inevitably distort what we would like to believe is reality. Awareness of our propensity to make these systematic errors, Gilovich argues, is the first step to more effective analysis and action. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 33
Page 1
... influenced by subjective impressions formed in an interview . But then why do people believe the interview to be informative ? Nurses who work on maternity wards believe that more babies are born when the moon is full . They are ...
... influenced by subjective impressions formed in an interview . But then why do people believe the interview to be informative ? Nurses who work on maternity wards believe that more babies are born when the moon is full . They are ...
Page 11
... influence over people's judgments of inherently ambiguous stimuli . However , there are other areas - gambling games immediately come to mind — where the belief may be just as strongly held , but where the phenomenon simply does not ...
... influence over people's judgments of inherently ambiguous stimuli . However , there are other areas - gambling games immediately come to mind — where the belief may be just as strongly held , but where the phenomenon simply does not ...
Page 15
... influence , is the outcome of the previous shot ( s ) . That is what our research shows . This qualification aside , why do people believe in the hot hand . when it does not exist ? There are at least two possible explanations . The ...
... influence , is the outcome of the previous shot ( s ) . That is what our research shows . This qualification aside , why do people believe in the hot hand . when it does not exist ? There are at least two possible explanations . The ...
Page 23
... influence their evaluation of evidence . MISUNDERSTANDING INSTANCES OF STATISTICAL REGRESSION An important lesson taught in nearly every introductory statistics course is that when two variables are related , but imperfectly so ...
... influence their evaluation of evidence . MISUNDERSTANDING INSTANCES OF STATISTICAL REGRESSION An important lesson taught in nearly every introductory statistics course is that when two variables are related , but imperfectly so ...
Page 31
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
ability Albert ambiguous asked assess attribute average behavior biased cancer capital punishment cards causes chance Chapter claims clustering illusion cognitive coin flips confirm confirmatory consider discussed disease distortions entertain erroneous beliefs evaluate everyday evidence example existence expect experience fact failure false consensus effect Gilovich happen heterosexual holistic health holistic medicine hot hand hypothesis illusion immune immune system important ineffective influence Journal of Personality judgment less ment mental motivational Nisbett one-sided one's outcomes paranormal parapsychology participants people's performance Personality and Social phenomena phenomenon players predictions problem processes prophecies psychic questionable and erroneous random regression regression fallacy relevant remote viewing response scientific scientists scores secondhand self-fulfilling prophecies self-handicapping sequences shots similar simply skeptical Skeptical Inquirer Soal Social Psychology someone sometimes statistical story strategies streaks subsequent success target tell tend tendency things thought tion tive treatment York