Critical Thinking in Psychology

Front Cover
Robert J. Sternberg, Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern
Cambridge University Press, 2007 - Education - 340 pages
Good scientific research depends on critical thinking at least as much as factual knowledge; psychology is no exception to this rule. And yet, despite the importance of critical thinking, psychology students are rarely taught how to think critically about the theories, methods, and concepts they must use. This book shows students and researchers how to think critically about key topics such as experimental research, statistical inference, case studies, logical fallacies, and ethical judgments.
 

Contents

The Nature and Nurture of Critical Thinking
1
Critical Issues
15
Critical Thinking in QuasiExperimentation
37
Evaluating Surveys and Questionnaires
54
Critical Thinking in Designing and Analyzing Research
75
The Case Study Perspective on Psychological Research
90
Informal Logical Fallacies
110
Designing Studies to Avoid Confounds
131
Making Claims in Papers and Talks
177
Critical Thinking in Clinical Inference
196
Evaluating Parapsychological Claims
216
Why Would Anyone Do or Believe Such a Thing? A Social
232
The Belief Machine
251
Critical Thinking and Ethics in Psychology
271
It Really Is Critical
289
Subject Index
305

Evaluating Theories
143
On Conducting
160

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About the author (2007)

Robert J. Sternberg is Dean of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University. Prior to that, he was IBM Professor of Psychology and Education in the Department of Psychology, Professor of Management in the School of Management, and Director of the Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and Expertise (PACE) at Yale. He continues to direct the Center from Tufts. He is the author of more than 1000 journal articles, book chapters, and books, and has received over $18 million in government and other grants and contracts for his research. Diane F. Halpern is Director of the Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children and Chair and Professor of Psychology at Claremont McKenna College. She received her PhD in Psychology at the University of Cincinnati where she received the Distinguished Alumna Award in 2003. Dr Halpern was the President of the American Psychological Association in 2005.

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