SOC 101 – Introduction to Sociology (Lecture 1)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms on cognitive biases, scientific thinking, and course orientation from the first SOC 101 lecture.

Cognitive Bias

Systematic pattern of deviation from rational judgment that skews how we interpret information and make decisions.

Jumping to Conclusions

Forming causal stories or judgments quickly without sufficient evidence.

Motivated Reasoning

Tendency to process information in a way that supports pre-existing beliefs or desires.

Overconfidence

Belief that one’s knowledge or predictions are more accurate than they actually are.

Confirmation Bias

Seeking or interpreting evidence in ways that confirm what we already think.

Availability Bias

Overestimating the importance or frequency of events that are easiest to recall.

Representative Cases Error

Using a vivid case or stereotype in place of actual statistical data when drawing conclusions.

Inability to Operate Statistically

Difficulty in thinking with probabilities or large-scale numerical information.

Hindsight Bias

Seeing past events as having been predictable after they have already occurred.

Illusory Certainty

Feeling sure about conclusions even when evidence is weak or ambiguous.

Visual Illusion Analogy

Comparison that shows cognitive biases are like optical illusions—you must consciously resist what feels obvious.

Scientific Method

Systematic approach to acquiring knowledge through falsifiable hypotheses and empirical testing.

Falsifiability

Core principle that scientific claims must be structured so they can, in principle, be proven wrong.

Conjectures and Refutations

Popper’s notion that science advances by proposing ideas (conjectures) and trying to disprove them (refutations).

Hypothesis Testing

Process of collecting data to evaluate whether evidence contradicts or supports a proposed explanation.

Statistical Thinking

Analyzing phenomena using quantitative data and probability rather than anecdotes or intuition.

“Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics”

Phrase highlighting that statistics can be misused—yet it is even easier to mislead without them.

Factfulness

Hans Rosling’s book emphasizing data-driven correction of common global misconceptions.

Joseph Henrich’s Research

Work exploring why Western societies differ culturally and psychologically from the rest of the world.

Pragmatic & Empirical Orientation

Course stance focusing on evidence-based explanations rather than abstract philosophical debates.

Goal of Social Science

According to the lecture, advancing scientific knowledge; goals like social justice come later.

“You Are Not So Smart”

Reminder that human cognition is flawed, necessitating deliberate analytical and scientific approaches.