Title
Some Neglected Relationships Between Cognitive Psychology and Statistics: How People Try to Think Using Advanced Statistical Methods Without Realizing It
Speaker
David Rindskopf, Educational Psychology, CUNY Graduate Center
Abstract
Teachers of statistics often try to increase students’ motivation by making statistics relevant to everyday life. But unless a students’ everyday life consists of running research studies, most such attempts fail. In this talk I propose that many simple everyday decisions (subconsciously) involve attempts by people to use statistical methods that are much more complicated than is generally realized. I show how these methods (seldom considered in cognitive psychology) may provide a basis for much of everyday human decision-making. I use a Bayesian approach, which I consider more natural in this context, though much of what I say can be translated into a frequentist perspective.
Dr. Rindskopf is the 11th annual Robert Wherry Lecturer. This speaker series focuses on methodological issues in psychological research and honors Robert Wherry, former Psychology Department Chair and prominent researcher in quantitative and industrial/organizational psychology. The current lecture is sponsored by the Robert Wherry Development Fund and the Department of Psychology.
