Team Project in Psychology: Cognitive Illusions

Team Project in Psychology: Cognitive IllusionsAkhil Dondapati, Kendall Liang, Rose Maisner, Kali Rigby, Zachary Rissman, Cailey Talbot, Ralph Tancredi Jr., David Tong, Asrita Vattikonda, Amy Vonder Haar, Alan Zhang

Advisor: Patrick O. Dolan, Ph.DAssistant: Stephanie Hojsakso I laughed out loud when I saw this... but it can't stay :)this slide should discuss the guise of a personality testmaybe sub-bullet saying "PEN" types or whateverCan speak about the hypothesis. No need to write it.is this slide to be presented only verbally?What is Cognition?Our brains mental processesThoughtMemoryPerceptionBehaviorJudgement

Lower-level thinkingBasic perception, attention, and memory

Higher-level thinkingReasoning, comprehension, and significance

David: In psychology, cognition is the mental processing that governs how humans think, perceive, remember, and judge certain stimuli and information. Simply put, cognition to a human is analogous to the working gears and parts that make up a machine. These gears generate what we define as: language, thought, memory, executive function (the ability to plan and carry out tasks), judgment, attention, perception, remembered skills such as driving, and the ability to live a purposeful life.

Cognition can be thought of in two ways: lower level cognition and higher level cognition. Lower level cognition is essentially our ability to perceive and recall various stimuli. However, higher level cognition is our ability to reason, comprehend, and give significance to what we perceive. For example, when we see this series of words here, our lower level cognition would perceive Im 1, 2, 3 U. However, if we think about this a little more, we can read between the lines and interpret it as Im counting on you. This is our higher level cognition at work.HypothesisLower-level, perceptual illusions should fool all participants equallyHigher cognition tasks should give NJGSS scholars an edgeGeneral MethodsParticipants73 NJGSS scholars71 MTurk participantsMaterials:Qualtrics surveyDesign:17 cognitive tasksPersonality questionsDistribution:Monitored sessions (NJGSS)Independently (MTurk)

Akhil:We had two main groups of participants that partook in our survey. The first group, as you probably know, was all of you, 73 NJGSS scholars. The other group was 71 individuals from the Amazon Mechanical Turk, MTurk. MTurk is an internet marketplace that allows people to perform various tasks, in our case surveys. Their average age range was between 26 and 30 years old. To conduct the study, we needed to create an online survey. We used Qualtrics, a private software company that allows users to perform online data collection. Our survey included 17 different cognitive tasks that tested perception, memory, and attention and that were randomly distributed throughout it. We will only be presenting a few of the 17 tasks though. In order to maintain the guise of a personality test, the survey also had filler questions related to psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism, and social desirability. As you know, we administered the test to you scholars on July 19th during four different sessions. Each session lasted about 20 minutes and was monitored by members of our team project. To test the general population, we uploaded the survey onto MTurk and rewarded participants $1 upon completion of the survey.

McGurk EffectWhat do you hear?

McGurk Effect

pd says: I swapped in the same figure with bars reversed- sorry! It is much easier to explain the findings this way. Crummy quality - might want to re-do - see mturk data file.

the comparison of interest is the similarity of the njgs to mturk data Fa video is overall lower than ba, but that makes sense). Otherwise both groups responding largely the same. njgss seems slightly lower overall than mturk, particularly the ba video (when it really was ba!) hint that only difference is njgss more skeptical, critically evaluate, cautious, etc.False MemoryRecollection of non-existent eventsList of wordsRelated to unstudied critical word

False Memory15 medical words Critical word: doctorPersonality testHypothesis: NJGSS scholars are just as susceptible to false memoryFalse MemoryResults confirmed hypothesisNJGSS scholars just as likely to recall doctorBut scholars better at remembering correct words

Falsely recalled Doctor% of Correctly recalled Words (out of 15)NJGSS55%42%General Public56%34%pd says - very nice. But it looks too much like we simply pasted it from excel data file :)Intuitive PhysicsNaive theoriesPredict ball trajectory

Intuitive PhysicsResults: Answered CorrectlyTaken a Physics CourseNJGSS70%73%General Public35%45%

pd says: I looked at performance broken down by physics background and predictably, those who took it did better than those who didnt. Interesting though, even for those who didnt take physics, njgss was way ahead of mturk 50% vs. 33%. heck, njgss without physics performed better than mturk with physics (38%)

2nd most popular choice in Gov School: tie b/w C and D2nd most popular choice in gen. pop. : CAs you can see, NJGSS scholars did very well on this task in comparison to the MTurk participants. 70% of Gov School students chose the correct answer, A, and predicted that the ball would follow a parabolic path. However, only 35% of MTurk participants answered correctly. In this task, here is a clear correlation between performance and completion of a physics course. This makes sense because those who have not completed a physics course must rely on their intuitive physics to answer the question. As states previously, ones intuitive physics is generally flawed and leads him/her to the wrong answer. However, if one has taken a physics course, he/she can use previous, concrete knowledge and will most likely answer the question correctly.

AnchoringCognitive BiasDecision-makingMaking estimationsInitial Value: AnchorAnchoring-and-adjustingInsufficientAnchoringWas Gandhi older or younger than 9 when he died?Was Gandhi older or younger than 140 when he died?Anchoring

pd says- we really need to do stats on these and the next.AnchoringIs the mean temperature in Tanzania higher or lower than 51F?Is the mean temperature in Tanzania higher or lower than 106F?Anchoring

Moses IllusionA subtly distorted questionNo correct answerMost plausible explanation: assume what question is askingOther possible explanations

The Moses illusion is a question that is intentionally, yet subtly, distorted to make the sentence somewhat unanswerable. This was first discovered by Erikson and Mattson in 1981. The most common example of this is asking the question, How many animals of each kind did Moses bring onto the ark? In this example, most people answer 2, even though they know that Noah brought animals onto the ark, not Moses. There are three main possible explanations for this phenomenon: 1. The participant notices the mistake, but perceives it as a typo and assumes that the tester meant the correct term. The subject therefore answers the question as if there were no mistakes. 2. The participant begins reading the question, thinks that they understand which direction it is going, and therefore does not realize the mistaken word.3. The participant incorrectly retrieves a memory, knowing that there were two animals of each kind brought onto the ark, but disregards or or does not actually consider who brought the animals. With Moses and Noah being so similar in context, a subject may not care that much about who brought the animals onto the ark, but only about what the question was asking.Moses IllusionIntroduced section as lightning roundTwo straightforward, easy questionsRandom selection of one of two questions:What shape has a circumference of r2?What is the name of the man in the red suit and long white beard who rides a sleigh and gives out birthday presents?

We introduced the Moses illusion section of the personality test as a lightning round, telling participants to move quickly in order to prevent the rereading of questions, which would skew the results. First, we primed the participant by asking two very easy and straightforward questions. The two questions were: How many sides does a pentagon have? and What element has the symbol He? Then, we presented one of two [Moses illusion] questions randomly selected by the program. One of these questions was, What shape has a circumference of r2? For this question, the most expected answer was circle, even though no shape has a circumference of r2. The other question was, What is the name of the man in the red suit and long white beard who rides a sleigh and gives out birthday presents? The expected answer for this question was Santa Claus, even though Santa gives out Christmas presents, rather than birthday presents. This survey was presented to both NJGSS scholars and MTurk participants (who represent the general population). The hypothesis is that NJGSS scholars will catch the mistake in the math-related question more often than the general population will, but that both groups will fall for the illusion equally in response to the question hinting at Santa Claus.

Moses IllusionSanta Question: General Public: 72% mistakenly answered SantaNJGSS scholars: 76% mistakenly answered SantaCircle Question:General Public: 68% mistakenly answered circleNJGSS scholars: 28% mistakenly answered circleConclusion

The results show that for the Santa question, the NJGSS scholars and general population participants scored very similarly, with 24% of NJGSS Scholars catching the mistake in the question and 28% of the general population catching the mistake. However, the results show that for the circle problem, NJGSS scholars scored much better than the general population did, with 72% of NJGSS scholars catching the mistake, compared to only 32% of the general population. The data also shows that NJGSS scholars are much less susceptible to trick questions having to do with math or science, as opposed to general knowledge questions. However, the general public scored very similarly on both the general knowledge question and the math/science question. This result shows that NJGSS Scholars have much stronger science skills and perception than the general population.Lake Wobegon EffectAlso known as Illusory Superiority

Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.

Mathematically impossible!

Illusory superiority is the natural human tendency to overestimate our own abilities and underestimate our own flaws relative to others.It is also known simply as the Lake Wobegon Effect, named after Garrison Keillors (Key-ler) fictional town, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.There is a problem with this statement.It is mathematically impossible for everyone to be above average. There must be a median in order for people to be above or below average. (people who are below and average?)

Lake Wobegon Effect

This was the aspect of the survey that tested (the Lake Wobegon Effect?) whether or not NJGSS scholars would be more or less susceptible to this cognitive illusion compared to the general public. We asked you to rate yourself on a scale of 1-5 (mention that 3 is average) on various skills compared to the other NJGSS scholars. (List some skills.)Lake Wobegon Effect

This graph shows the percentage of participants who rated themselves above, below, or average, across all categories, in each participating group. (Point to blue region.) More NJGSS scholars ranked themselves above average than the general population tested on MTurk. Conversely, less NJGSS scholars ranked themselves below average. Statistically, there was a clear difference in the two groups performance on this task.

Lake Wobegon EffectNJGSS Scholars are more susceptible to the Lake Wobegon Effect than the general public.Theories? NJGSS Scholars are more susceptible to the Lake Wobegon Effect than the general population.One reason could be that the skills chosen were skills geared towards the strengths of NJGSS scholars, rather than skills that both groups would have equal capabilities in. You were probably more focused on your own strengths, rather than how you related to the other scholars. Personality Typesyoure probably all wondering what about your personality type and what it means. there are three different typesthis is type fba, type abf, and type bfaType FBAYou have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are able to compensate for them with your strengths. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations may seem unrealistic but you have a strong motivation and drive.

Type ABFYou have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are able to compensate for them with your strengths. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations may seem unrealistic but you have a strong motivation and drive.

Type BFAYou have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are able to compensate for them with your strengths. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations may seem unrealistic but you have a strong motivation and drive.

Forer EffectNJGSS average rating: 4.1657% rated 5 out of 5General public average rating: 3.8735% rated 5 out of 5NJGSS students were more susceptiblepd says: we have to double check these averages - I get 5.16 for njgss and 4.94 for mturk. And though theyre numerically different, statistically theyre not different. So we can talk about being at least as susceptible and, even a suggestion of being more so.

Forer EffectYou have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are able to compensate for them with your strengths. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations may seem unrealistic but you have a strong motivation and drive.

zodiac, palm readingConclusionOur results generally matched our hypothesesNJGSS Scholars excelled in math/science oriented questionsScholars were still susceptible to lower-level cognitive illusionsFor certain tasks, there was a statistically significant difference between NJGSS Scholars and the general publicFalse Memory, Intuitive Physics, Moses Illusion (circle problem), Lake Wobegon

In general, our hypotheses were true in that more NJGSS Scholars correctly answered questions involving math and science than the general population. In certain cases, the general population did better than Gov School Students, but it is unknown whether this is because of the MTurk participants being better in that area or cheating on their part, as they took the test unsupervised. Many qualities of NJGSS Scholars were tested in our personality test --science/math skills, memory, and attention to detail-- explaining our findings. Even though Gov School students excelled in these areas, we also found that you are more susceptible to other lower-level cognitive illusions than the general population. mention which tests had statistically significant differences. see the document Dr. Dolan posted in the drive.Thank You!Team 2 would like to thank:Our leaders, Dr. Dolan and StephDr. Cassano, Dr. Surace, Anna MaeThe New Jersey Governors School in the Sciences and all its generous donors.Independent College Fund of NJ/Johnson & JohnsonAT&TActavis PharmaceuticalsCelgeneNovartisBayer HealthcareLaura (NJGSS 86) and John OverdeckNJGSS Alumnae and Parents of AlumnaeBoard of Overseers, New Jersey Governors SchoolsState of New JerseyDrew UniversityThank you!Presentation ReferencesPictureshttp://bestclipartblog.com/clipart-pics/student-clipart-3.jpghttp://bestclipartblog.com/clipart-pics/-test-clipart-9.jpghttp://www.creativekeys.net/storytellingpower/bigcomputerart.jpghttp://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/santa-claus-flying-sleigh-christmas-eve-21780223.jpghttp://cf.badassdigest.com/_uploads/images/18111/moses__span.jpghttp://www.audioeditions.com/audio-book-images/l/News-from-Lake-Wobegon-283516.jpghttp://thoughtfullyprepping.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/a-single-word-wow/