#380 Gordon Pennycook: Analytic Thinking, Reasoning, and Fake News
RECORDED ON JULY 22nd, 2020.
Dr. Gordon Pennycook is Assistant Professor of Behavioural Science at University of Regina’s Hill/Levene Schools of Business. He’s also an Associate Member of the Department of Psychology. He’s a member of the editorial board for Thinking & Reasoning and a consulting editor for Judgment and Decision Making. His research focus is on reasoning and decision-making, broadly defined. He investigates the distinction between intuitive processes (“gut feelings”) and more deliberative (“analytic”) reasoning processes and is principally interested in the causes (a) and consequences (b) of analytic thinking. Dr. Pennycook has published on religious belief, sleep paralysis, morality, creativity, smartphone use, health beliefs (e.g., homeopathy), language use among climate change deniers, pseudo-profound bullshit, delusional ideation, fake news (and disinformation more broadly), political ideology, and science beliefs. He’s also interested in the methodological and theoretical issues that pertain to the measurement of cognitive reflection and motivated reasoning.
In this episode, we first talk about dual-process theory, reasoning and rationality, motivated reasoning, the Dunning-Kruger effect, and the analytic cognitive style and ability. We then go through what characterizes pseudo-profound bullshit in terms of discourse, the language of climate change deniers, and fake news and misinformation (particularly on the internet).
Time Links:
Differences between intuitive processes and deliberative reasoning processes
Does analytic thinking lead to better judgments?
Reasoning and rationality
Do smart people have better intuitions?
About motivated reasoning
The Dunning-Kruger effect
What are cognitive styles (focusing on the analytic cognitive style/ability)?
Pseudo-profound discourse
The language used by climate change deniers
What is “fake news”?
Do fake news really have a big impact on people’s lives?
What characterizes false information that is successfully transmitted among people?
Are there people more susceptible to it than others?
Do repeated statements have any important effect on people?
What are the best proven methods to fight against fake news and its spread?
Follow Dr. Pennycook’s work!
Follow Dr. Pennycook’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/2KNLRng
Website: https://bit.ly/35nLWaI
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/3bWURCw
Twitter handle: @GordPennycook