1. The Id is the __________, driven by the pleasure principle.
2. The Ego balances the demands of the Id with the __________.
3. The Superego is the __________, internalizing societal values.
4. Defense mechanisms are __________, which protect the Ego from anxiety.
5. Repression is the unconscious burying of __________.
6. Projection is the attribution of one's own __________ to others.
7. The Oedipus complex is a boy's unconscious desire to __________ his mother.
UNIT 5
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (2011)
Key Ideas:
System 1 and System 2 Thinking
System 1:
Fast and automatic
Intuitive and emotional
Operates without conscious effort
Relies on heuristics (mental shortcuts) and biases
System 2:
Slow and deliberate
Rational and logical
Requires conscious effort
Used for complex tasks and decision-making
Cognitive Biases
Framing Effects: People's decisions can be influenced by the way information is presented, even if the underlying facts are the same.
Confirmation Bias: People tend to seek out and interpret information that confirms their existing beliefs.
Availability Heuristic: People tend to judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily they can recall examples of it.
Prospect Theory
People evaluate gains and losses differently, with losses having a disproportionately greater impact on their decision-making.
This asymmetry leads to risk aversion for gains and risk seeking for losses.
Anchoring Effect
People tend to rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive when making judgments.
This can lead to biased estimates and decisions.
Nudge Theory
Small, subtle interventions can influence people's decisions without restricting their freedom of choice.
Nudges can be used to promote desirable behaviors, such as saving for retirement or eating healthier foods.
Examples
System 1: Driving a car on a familiar route, making a snap judgment about someone's trustworthiness.
System 2: Solving a complex math problem, making a major financial decision.
Cognitive Bias: Someone who is afraid of flying might overestimate the likelihood of a plane crash because they can easily recall recent news stories about plane crashes.
Prospect Theory: A person might be more reluctant to sell a stock that has lost value than to sell a stock that has gained value, even if the potential gain or loss is the same.
Anchoring Effect: A real estate agent might anchor the price of a house at a high value, which can influence potential buyers' perceptions of its worth.
Nudge: A government might send out reminders to citizens about the importance of saving for retirement, which can encourage them to contribute more to their retirement accounts.
Best Quotes
"In the end, it is not the magnitude of our knowledge but the depth of our wisdom that will shape our decisions."
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"System 1 is like an impulsive child who acts without thinking, while System 2 is like a cautious adult who weighs the pros and cons."
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"Humans are an anomaly in the animal kingdom. We have the capacity to think about our thinking."
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"Our ability to construct reality is stronger than our ability to discover reality."
Criticism
Some critics argue that Kahneman oversimplifies the complexity of human decision-making.
Others question the generalizability of his findings across different cultures and contexts.
The book has been criticized for focusing too much on individual biases and not enough on the role of social and environmental factors in decision-making.
Influence
Nobel Prize: Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002 for his work on behavioral economics.
Popularization of Behavioral Economics: The book has helped popularize the field of behavioral economics, which integrates insights from psychology into economic models.
Applications in Policymaking: Nudge theory has been adopted by governments and organizations to design policies that encourage desirable behaviors.
Interesting Facts
The book was translated into over 40 languages.
It has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
Kahneman conducted many of his famous experiments while working as a psychologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
WORDLIST:
without conscious effort – без сознательных усилий
heuristics – эвристика
mental shortcuts – ментальные ярлыки
biases – предубеждения
slow and deliberate – медленное и обдуманное
underlying facts – лежащие в основе факты
cognitive biases – когнитивные искажения
confirmation bias – склонность к подтверждению
interpret information – интерпретировать информацию
availability heuristic – эвристика доступности
gains and losses – выигрыши и потери
nudge theory – теория подталкивания
subtle interventions – тонкие вмешательства
without restricting their freedom of choice – не ограничивая их свободу выбора
trustworthiness – надежность
snap judgment – мгновенное суждение
reluctant – нерешительный
importance of saving for retirement – важность сбережений на пенсию
magnitude – величина
cautious adult who weighs the pros and cons – осторожный взрослый, который взвешивает все "за" и "против"
complexity – сложность
which integrates insights from psychology into economic models – которая интегрирует идеи из психологии в экономические модели
applications in policymaking – применение в политике
Exercise 6
Are these statements TRUE or FALSE?
1. System 1 thinking is slow and deliberate.
2. Cognitive biases can lead to errors in judgment.
3. Prospect theory suggests that people evaluate gains and losses equally.
4. The anchoring effect occurs when people rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive.
5. Nudge theory can be used to restrict people's freedom of choice.
6. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" was written by Richard Thaler.
7. The book has been translated into over 40 languages.
8. Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on behavioral economics.
UNIT 6
The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson (1972)
Key Ideas:
Attribution Theory: People are motivated to understand the causes of their own and others' behavior.
Attribution theory describes how people make these attributions, which can be either internal (due to personal factors) or external (due to situational factors).
The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overestimate internal attributions and underestimate external attributions when explaining others' behavior.
Self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal factors and negative outcomes to external factors when explaining our own behavior.
