PART 1

See discussion requirements under Week 1 discussion above.

CONFIRMATION BIAS

I regretfully apologize for the extended instruction, but I could not avoid it! And please watch the Movie Moments, too!
The absolute biggest obstacle to critical thinking is ‘confirmation bias.’

There are many definitions and most mention the searching for information confirming our beliefs: you must know that that is not intentional – most often not even conscious! We are, by and large, unaware of being biased.

There are many errors we commit during even one single day. ‘Why the errors,’ you may ask, and the short answer is that we (have to) use shortcuts when we form opinions because it would be impossible to research and study each and every decision, judgment, and opinion before we form them — and that would be most of the time unnecessary anyway.

The most serious errors in thinking we tend to commit are usually due to ‘confirmation bias.’ If people would not be biased they could come to an agreement or a compromise after careful deliberations, considering that that would be in their best interest — but it rarely happens: from big government vs. small government to term limits to ‘who is “the” racist’ (as if it could be only one group), affirmative action, the death penalty, abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, drug laws, republicans versus democrats, liberals vs. conservatives, labor unions, taxes, health care law, gun control, animal rights, ‘vaccination issues,’ ‘a women’s place is in the kitchen’ (or not!), jobless benefits, environmental protection, wars, education, evolution, school prayer, police powers, ‘living wages,’ drinking age, alternative medicine, GMOs (genetically modified crops), speed limit, government data collection… just to name a few.

The basis of conflict often is the subjective nature of our decisions. Disagreements, disputes, screaming matches, physical fights, lawsuits, and war between nations are all there to prove in a very real and painful way that at least one party must be wrong in each conflict/disagreement while strongly believing just the opposite (but in most cases, both are — even if not always equally. How can that happen?

Our book mentions cognitive bias and discusses actual examples of it in various chapters (briefly and well): Pgs. 6, 102-104, 109, 110, 116, 123, 145, 312-314, and 348-349, but it does not define it clearly.

Confirmation bias is the UNCONSCIOUS tendency to confirm our already existing leanings, propensities, beliefs, and prejudices, or hasty decisions.

We are not only ignorant of our biases but are also often unable to recognize them even when they are pointed out to us! We will rather believe that those who call us biased are biased, mistaken, and/or malicious (please check out ‘fundamental attribution error’).

We often commit the following errors related to confirmation bias:
Selective scrutiny: accepting data/argument without much scrutiny from sources or for proposals we like but with much scrutiny from the ones we do not like (example: buying a new car)

Selective recall: remembering events that support our opinion and not those that contradict it

Pattern seeking: seeing ‘proof’ that ‘something is going on’ because of certain ‘mysterious’ coincidences (see Movie Moment #1).

Affirming the question: when people are asked if they are happy with their social life, almost 70% would answer yes and about 20% no, but if the question is asked the other way, asking them if they are unhappy with their social life, then approx. 70% would respond yes to that question as well (in each instance, people think about reasons they may be happy — or unhappy — and find enough reasons to say, yes, they are.

Avoiding cognitive dissonance: accepting certain ideas because they are consistent with our existing worldview/opinion or rejecting others because they are not — instead of working through the issues themselves (which can be very difficult and/or unsettling)

Demanding ‘yes or no answers:’ (seeing in black and white) being convinced that there must be absolutely good solutions, perfect (or perfectly rotten) people, or believing that someone who ‘opposes’ a ‘bad’ person is necessarily a ‘good’ person (as if we have never heard of gangs warring over turf, killing each other, for example). We often justify our (faulty) judgment by pointing out that the alternative is less than perfect as well.

The above issues are but the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, when it comes to confirmation bias (yes, there is an enormous amount of research about it).

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Please read the pages in the book on confirmation bias and research it on the internet — and then, please describe an occasion that happened lately when you caught yourself falling into confirmation bias but after all ended up correcting yourself. Please do not forget: lying, cheating, consciously twisting the facts or torturing reasoning are NOT confirmation bias (they are just not the best behavior); however, strongly and often passionately believing that we are correct when all the evidence contradicting it is in front of our nose is the consequence of confirmation bias.

Part 1– Your initial post: State your answers backed by the evidence you found. This ‘initial post’ has to be at least 300 words and is due by midnight on Wednesday.
Part 2– Your response to two students: These comments have to be at least 200 words and are due on two different days.

https://youtu.be/JhjUJTw2i1M

PART 2

Critical Review-Evaluating Scientific Reports in the Media – Assignment

It is important that you learn how to critically review research. In our society today, we are exposed to so much information and so many studies. Some of that information is excellent, some is useful, and some is very, very bad. How can you determine what information is useful and what is dangerous? One way is to take a course like Critical Thinking; however, the facts that I give you will be outdated all too soon. The most important thing you will learn from this course — and from your college education — is how to evaluate the information critically that is presented to you. Critical thinking involves asking five questions: who, what, when, where, how.

1. Find and read an article in the media or a video clip that reports the results of a scientific study. You must include the link to the website. It is essential that the article you review would either argue for something or present a theory or idea with supporting evidence for its claims or conclusion. News items, even if they are about scientific discoveries are not suited for this assignment because news items report the news (naturally) and provide no theory or arguments and supporting evidence that could be criticized based on its strengths/weaknesses. Explanations/educational articles (such as WebMD explaining to us what certain conditions are) not good for our purposes either because they teach us something, telling us what is what, and thus do not provide supporting evidence that could be criticized. Teaching/explaining are very different from arguing! Please keep this in mind when you choose an article!
2. Discuss how accurately did the mass media report the study?
3. Answer the above five questions about the article (Who, What, When, Where, and How). Refer to page 353 of your text and be sure to cover all the highlights discussed.
4. Do NOT use entertainment or sports articles for your review. The articles must be research-based and must include claims/conclusions and supporting evidence, which are to be criticized!.

Directions:

You will write a one-page critical review of the article. The review should answer each of the five questions. You must cite your source. If it is a website, please make sure you put the entire web address. Remember you are evaluating critically, not just summarizing. See the examples below the grading rubric:

Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is:

 To develop, enhance and demonstrate analytical skills.

 To relate and apply course concepts and tools.

 To develop a report via following a case analysis process.

 To develop recommendations based on management analysis.

 To enhance communication skills.

 To apply secondary research skills.

Assignment:

Students will be assigned to groups of 3-4 members and will complete:

A) a Group Written Case Analysis

B) a Group Term Presentation

Team Member Expectations:

Each team member is expected to contribute to the aforementioned deliverables. Each group will elect a project manager and organize

themselves to achieve results. The project manager must ensure that all the individual group members contribute evenly to the project

work, and is responsible for reporting concerns about non-contributing members to the instructor. Non-contributing members will be

expelled from the group and will have to carry out the project on an individual basis. In such cases these individuals will lose 20% of their

project mark. However, individuals may not elect to voluntarily remove themselves from a group. At the end of the semester, participants

will voluntarily complete a group member evaluation to determine if the group mark will be the same for all the contributing members of

the project. Any evaluation claims that identify a low contribution member must be supported by DOCUMENTED PROOF that

expectations/rules were outlined, and that expectations/rules were enforced throughout the semester. Lastly, project managers must inform

low contribution members of the grade reduction submissions.

A) Group Case Study Project (GCSP) – Format & Evaluation – Due Date Per Course Syllabus

Groups will create a 15-25 page business report. Groups will analyze a case (separate handout), identify management problems, propose

management solutions, and devise an implementation and validation plan. Solutions will be validated via independent research. A quality

report will demonstrate extensive application of course theories and independent research. The report may (but is not limited to) cover

topics such as Organizational Structure, Personality Types, Leadership & Motivation, or Perception, etc.. Refer to the following grading

rubric for deliverables.

These two parts
BUSI1215 is the requirement of the entire article

Case is required to write through this article

Alternative is the Generating Alternative Solution section written by the panelists.

Write a 1250 words paper (Cover and references pages words not included) on the following topic: “Issues of Teenange substance abuse in the United States”. Include up-to-date research material no more than 5 years old. The research paper must be typed, double spaced and a minimum of 1250 words. It must include a detailed Reference Section with a minimum of five articles (APA approved) and three secondary materials (i.e., books) (8 total references). Your paper should address the Problem and/or importance of this topic (Introduction), hypothesis supported by research (Review of Related Literature), Conclusion, and Implications for Future Research.

Plagiarism Free!!

HLTH 3350: CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATICS
eHealth Intervention

Now that you have your underserved population (the underserved population that the elderly African American patient aged 65 years and above) and your needs analysis (attached below), it is now time to develop your
eHealth intervention.

Part 1 – Develop your eHealth Intervention application design concept

• Describe the intended user(s) of the applications, and the need(s) that the application
attempts to meet.

• Specify the intervention strategy used in the application

the application will be used.

Paper should be typed, using 11–12-point font, 1” margins and 1.5 line spacing. The paper should be formatted per APA 7th Edition guidelines (Title page, in-text citations, and reference list).

You will need to include:

– Introduction

– Application Design Concept Description

-Implementation Issues Analysis

– Evaluation

– Conclusion

– Reference list