Everyday irrationality : how pseudo-scientists, lunatics, and the rest of us systematically fail to think rationally / Robyn M. Dawes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dawes, Robyn M., 1936-2010.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Reasoning.

Comparison (Psychology).

Physical Description:

xvi, 224 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 2001.

Summary:

Strong emotion -- even insanity -- impels us to make automatic associations without comparison. As Robyn Dawes demonstrates in this provocative book, a good deal of everyday judgment, professional procedure, and even social policy suffers from this kind of "everyday" irrationality.

Contents:

1 Irrationality Is Abundant 1

2 Irrationality Has Consequences 17

3 Irrationality: Emotional, Cognitive, Both, or Neither? 31

4 Irrationality as a "Reasonable" Response to an Incomplete Specification 47

5 Probabilistic Rationality and Irrationality 71

6 Three Specific Irrationalities of Probabilistic Judgment 93

7 Good Stories 111

8 Connecting Ourselves with Others, Without Recourse to a Good Story 141

9 Sexual Abuse Hysteria 157

10 Figure Versus Ground (Entry Value Versus Default Value) 181

11 Rescuing Human Rationality 193.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

081336552X

OCLC:

45375279