CHAPTER 6

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPEDIMENTS TO COGENT REASONING: SHOOTING OURSELVES IN THE FOOT

I. Brief Chapter Outline

1. Loyalty, Provincialism, and the Herd Instinct

2. Prejudice, Stereotypes, Scapegoats, and Partisan Mind-Sets

3. Superstitious Beliefs

4. Wishful Thinking and Self-Deception

5. Rationalization and Procrastination

6. Other Defense Mechanisms

7. The Benefits of Self-Deception, Wishful Thinking, and Denial

8. The Pull of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal

9. Lack of a Good Sense of Proportion

Summary of Chapter 6

II. List of Key Terms

Culture lag

Delusion

Denial

Extrasensory perception

Generalized anxiety

Hard sciences

Herd instinct

Jihad

Loyalty

Paranormal

Partisan mind-set

Placebo effect

Prejudice

Premonitions

Procrastination

Provincialism

Prudence

Pseudoscience

Rationalization

Scapegoats

Self-deception

Sense of proportion

Stereotypes

Superstitions

Suppression

Wishful-thinking

III. Chapter Summary

In this Chapter the authors note that good reasoning is a matter of character as well as

brain power, and that there are psychological impediments to cogent reasoning.

The first such impediments that the authors discuss are those of loyalty to one’s own in-

group and the herd-instinct that tends to keep our beliefs within the limits of what society

as a whole will accept. This is related to provincialism, the tendency to identify with the

ideas, interests, and kinds of behavior favored by those in groups with which we identify.

They also note that there is a tendency of practices and beliefs to persist long after the

conditions that made them useful have gone—a condition that is termed culture lag.

Loyalty and provincialism often lead to prejudice, and to thinking in terms of

unverified stereotypes that support prejudicial beliefs. Prejudice is also reinforced by the

need for scapegoats—others we can blame for the ills of the world. Moreover, the authors

note, thinking in terms of stereotypes and scapegoats often results from a partisan mind-

set.

People also have superstitious beliefs which are generally based on biased evidence

or small or unrepresentative samples. These beliefs—along with those that result from the

tendencies outlined above—often lead to beliefs that do not accord with reality. Beliefs

acquired in these nonrational ways often result from wishful thinking, or from self-

deception, or delusion.

The authors note that one of the most common types of self-deception is

rationalization, which often leads to procrastination. They also note that although we are

often aware of when we engage in these behaviors, we are not so well aware of other

psychological strategies that we use to avoid negative emotions. We are, for example,

often not aware when we engage in suppression or denial.

The authors recognize that their account of these psychological procedures faces

objections, one of which is that such a harmful device as, for example, self-deception

could not have evolved. In response to this they outline the advantages that could accrue

to a person who engages in self-deception, wishful thinking, and denial.

The authors then turn to discuss pseudoscience and the paranormal, addressing the

question of why theories based on such have such widespread credence despite their

failure to produce positive results. They also address the issue of why so many people

lack a good sense of proportion, and hence lack prudence.

IV. Practice Questions

A.Objective Multiple Choice

1. The instinct that tends to keep our beliefs within the bounds of what society as a whole will accept is the

a. Maternal instinct

b. Herd instinct

c. Social instinct

d. Survival instinct

2. The tendency of practices to persist after they have lost their usefulness is term

a. Culture lag

b. Jet lag

c. Denial

d. Suppression

3. Jews tend to sympathize with Jews because of

a. Denial

b. Delusion

c. Stereotyping

d. Provincialism

4. The two most diverse cultures in history are

a. The Soviet Union and Britain

b. The Soviet Union and the United States

c. India and Britain

d. India and the United States

5. Loyalty and provincialism often lead to

a. Stagnation

b. Delusion

c. Prejudice

d. Violence

6. If we think ill of others without sufficient warrant we

a. Are loyal to our in-group

b. Prejudiced

c. Opining badly of them

d. Reasoning cogently

7. Those we blame for the ills of the world are

a. Stereotypes

b. Politicians

c. Scapegoats

d. Criminals

8. Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery” illustrates

a. Prejudice

b. Stereotypes

c. Scapegoating

d. Fallacious reasoning

9. The tendency to see our side as right and the other side as wrong is

a. Racist

b. A deluded mind-set

c. Accurate

d. A partisan mind-set

10. Prejudice has the advantage of indicating

a. Cogent reasoning

b. Fallacious reasoning

c. Loyalty

d. Good sense

11. Superstitions are often based on

a. Some evidence

b. Prejudice

c. Revelation

d. Economics

12. Biased evidence and unrepresentative samples can give rise to

a. Superstitious belief

b. Atheist belief

c. Cogent reasoning

d. Economic thinking

13. When we believe what we would like to be true, no matter what the evidence, we engage in

a. Procrastination

b. Suppression

c. Deluded thinking

d. Wishful thinking

14. When self-deception becomes great it becomes

a. Amusing

b. Delusion

c. Denial

d. Procrastination

15. When we engage in self-deception we must have at least

a. Two levels of thought

b. Three levels of thought

c. Two higher-order theories of events

d. One higher-order theory of events

16. When the stakes are high, we have a natural tendency to

a. Gamble

b. Hide

c. Deceive ourselves

d. Face reality

17. The authors hold that perhaps the most common form of self-deception is

a. Denial

b. Procrastination

c. Rationalization

d. Prejudice

18. Rationalization often leads to

a. Prejudice

b. Stereotypes

c. Procrastination

d. Anxiety

19. Denial involves

a. Medication

b. Suppression

c. Prejudice

d. Self-knowledge

20. We can avoid the anxiety associated with a stress-invoking situation by engaging in

a. Suppression

b. Prejudice

c. Cogent reasoning

d. Fallacious reasoning

B.True/False

1. Beliefs sometimes linger in a culture after they have outlived their usefulness.

2. The herd instinct never leads people to do bad things.

3. Because prejudices are associated with group loyalty they can be good things.

4. Superstitions are well-founded on good evidence.

5. Superstitions are often based on some evidence.

6. We all feel loyalty to our in-group.

7. Scapegoats are responsible for the ills of the world.

8. Coincidences never happen.

9. “Tomorrow will be another day” is often used to justify procrastination.

10. The Spanish procrastinate more than other people.

11. AIDS is harmless.

12. Self-deception has no benefits.

13. Long-term anxiety is good for the human body.

14. Pseudoscientific theories sometimes produce good results.

15. There is good evidence in favor of extra-sensory perception.

C.Fill-in-the Blanks

1. A coincidence that occurs between someone’s thoughts and actual events is called a ______ .

2. It is difficult to explain why people lack ______ .

3. Thinking that Friday 13th is unlucky is a ______ .

4. Procrastination can be supported by ______ .

5. _____ profiles tend to fit everybody.

6. _____ is an important component of a good sense of proportion

7. Good reasoning is a matter of both brain power and _____ .

8. That woman tend to sympathize with woman is an example of _____ .

9. Heart of Darkness portrays mass _____ .

10. Anxiety can be avoided by ____ .

D.Essay Questions

1. Do you agree with the authors that self-deception can be useful? Explain and defend your answer.

2. If the psychological impediments to cogent reasoning outlined in this chapter work so well, should we try to recognize them and counterbalance them—or not? Explain your answer.

3. What are the differences, if any, between religion and superstition?

4. If our defense mechanisms are sometimes unconscious, will it help us in any way to understand how they operate? Explain and defend your view.

5. Could it even be justified to encourage the scapegoating of a group? Explain your answer. What would you say if such scapegoating made the world a better place, by, for example, focusing people’s negative feelings on a small population, rather than allowing them free rein?

V. Additional Sources for Study

A.InfoTrac Search Terms

Anti-Semitism, Astrology, Astronomy, Barnum, Bentham, Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, Hume, ESP, Paranormal, Partisianism, Premonitions, Pseudoscience, Scapegoat, Science.

B.Internet Sites

David Hume, “Of Superstition and Enthusiasm”

http://www.english.upenn.edu/~mgamer/Etexts/hume.superstition.html

Understanding Prejudice

http://www.understandingprejudice.org/

Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery”

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lotry.html

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ConDark.html

New Scientist on herd instinct and health

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126881.600-how-your-friends-friends-can-affect-your-mood.html?

VI. Answer Key

A.Objective Multiple Choice

1. b

2. a

3. d

4. b

5. c

6. b

7. c

8. c

9. d

10. b

11. a

12. a

13. d

14. b

15. a

16. c

17. c

18. c

19. b

20. a

B.True/False

1. T

2. F

3. F

4. F

5. T

6. T

7. F

8. F

9. T

10. F

11. F

12. F

13. F

14. F

15. F

C.Fill-in-the-Blanks

1. Premonition

2. Good sense of proportion

3. Superstition

4. Rationalization

5. Barnum

6. Prudence

7. Character

8. Provincialism

9. Self-deception

10. Suppression