Definition PHIL

Conformity

Changing behavior or beliefs to match a group’s expectations or norms.

Asch Effect

A tendency to conform to a group even when the group is clearly wrong, demonstrated in Solomon Asch’s experiments.

Bandwagon Fallacy / Appeal to Popularity

Assuming something is true or good because many people believe it or do it.

The Push

Social pressure or influence that encourages people to act in a certain way.

Memetic Strength

How effectively an idea spreads and survives within a culture.

Rhyme as Reason Effect

The tendency to believe statements are more true when they rhyme.

Just World Thinking

The belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Placebo

A positive effect caused by belief in a treatment rather than the treatment itself.

Nocebos

A harmful effect caused by negative expectations or beliefs.

Authority

The influence of perceived experts or leaders on people’s beliefs and actions.

Change Blindness

The failure to notice significant changes in the environment when attention is distracted.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

A cognitive bias where people with low ability overestimate their competence.

Imposter Syndrome

The feeling of being a fraud despite evidence of success or competence.

Relative Confidence

Confidence judged in comparison to others rather than actual ability.

Expertise Detection

The process of identifying who is genuinely knowledgeable or skilled.

SPR examples

Examples of socially positioned reasoning or systems that influence decision-making and credibility.

Gatekeeper positions

Roles that control access to information, opportunities, or resources.

Behind the Curve

Being slower than others to recognize trends, changes, or important information.

Social Isolation/Acclaim

The effects of being excluded from or praised by society or groups.

Flashlight Experiment/Gyroscope

Examples used to demonstrate perception, balance, or limits in human reasoning and awareness.

Benford’s Law

A mathematical pattern where smaller digits appear more often as the first digit in many real-world data sets.

Paper Folding Example

An illustration of exponential growth using repeated paper folds.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Continuing something because of previously invested time, money, or effort.

Scope Insensitivity

The tendency to ignore differences in scale or magnitude when making judgments.

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

The fallacy of assuming that because one event follows another, the first caused the second.

Reverse Cause

A situation where the supposed effect is actually the cause.

Common Cause

A situation where two related events are both caused by a third factor.

No Relation

A situation where two correlated events are unrelated and connected only by coincidence.

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut where people judge likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind.

Equivocation

Using a word with multiple meanings in a misleading way during an argument.

Motte-and-Bailey

A debate tactic where someone defends a controversial claim by retreating to a weaker, easier-to-defend version.

No True Scotsman

A fallacy where counterexamples are dismissed by redefining a group to exclude them.

Implicit Racial and Gender Bias

Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect judgments about race or gender.

Dog Whistles

Coded language that conveys hidden meanings to a specific audience while appearing harmless to others.