59 min listen
Episode 17: Learning about Bushmen by Studying Freshmen?
FromVery Bad Wizards
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Length:
50 minutes
Released:
Mar 15, 2013
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Thousands of studies in psychology rely on data from North American undergraduates. Can we really conclude anything about the "human" mind from such a limited sample-- especially since Westerners are probably more different from the rest of the world's population than any other group? We talk about Joseph Henrich and colleagues' critique of the behavioral sciences in their paper "The WEIRDEST People in the World." David offers a defense of psychology, arguing that it's usually not the goal of lab studies to generalize findings to all humans in the first place. Also, Tamler gives a brief, heartfelt, completely non-awkward rant about monkey torturer Harry Harlow and David defends the practice of electrocuting baby monkeys for no reason. LinksThe Gods Must Be Crazy [IMDB.com]Bushmen [wikipedia.org]Homo Economicus [wikipedia.org]The Ultimatum Game [wikipedia.org]Müller-Lyer illusion [wikipedia.org]We aren't the world [psmag.com]Harlow studies [wikipedia.org]Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010).The weirdest people in the world. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, 61-83.Henrich, J., Boyd, R., Bowles, S., Camerer, C., Fehr, E., Gintis, H., & McElreath, R. (2001). In search of homo economicus: behavioral experiments in 15 small-scale societies. American Economic Review, 73-78.Mook, D.G. (1983). In Defense of External Invalidity. American Psychologist, 38,379-387.
Released:
Mar 15, 2013
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Episode 10: Religion, Meaning, and Morality: Does life have meaning if there is no God? Why should I be a good person if there's no reward or punishment waiting for me in the afterlife? Why does religion seem to make people happier and healthier? Dave and Tamler heroically try to answer these questions without being stoned. by Very Bad Wizards