Answer to Question #315687 in Psychology for Thando

Question

Foundations of universal knowledge and errors in human inquiry is acquired through personal learning, experience and self-reflection (Babbie & Mouton, 2010). People start to know more about the social world through learning from parents and media (Neuman, 2011). Based on what you have learnt in the first lesson, briefly identify and discuss the four foundations of human knowledge in scientific research

Answer 1

Authority

To rely on authority as a foundation of general knowledge happens when human beings believe what they have been told by those in authority. Authority refers to ability to offer expert advice to others. This may include parents, teachers, media and other experts who may be regarded as the custodians of the truth. We believe what experts tell us without asking how they have arrived at their knowledge. Overdependence on experts' advice without seeking clarity on how they acquired their knowledge, weaken our capacity to make decisions ourselves. Neuman (2011) clarifies how past experts, after scientific research was conducted, were proven erroneous, form example when they concluded that blood-letting could cure diseases.

Tradition

Depending on custom without asking how the past generation reached its conclusions about a certain truth may be misleading. Tradition is regarded as an exceptional example of historical (earlier) authority. People accept a certain truth because that is the way things were always done in their tribe. We do not ask for evidence to support the assertion that some families in Black tribes take their boys to a circumcision school to prepare them for wisdom and responsible adulthood, but we accept it as the way things have always been done from ancient

generation. Some social scientists believe that when traditional truth is passed from one generation to another, it is sometimes distorted and it is no longer true (Neuman, 2011). The belief that visiting ancestors' graves will take away people's streak of bad luck is based on tradition which is learnt over time.

Common sense

Common sense is an ordinary reasoning- may originate from tradition which is beneficial but sometimes flawed. To believe in what makes sense or what people know can both be misleading and contradictory if accepted at face value. We often believe that boys who went to the mountain to undergo circumcision would be responsible parents be a fallacy if subjected to probability rules. Whilst common sense may be beneficial in everyday life, misinformation and prejudice exaggerate its misleading notion. Neuman (2011) uses a gambler's misjudgement

of believing that by losing consecutively would one day leads to a good fortune of winning a lottery.

Personal experience

Another source of knowledge is derived from personal experience which includes overgeneralisation, selective observation, and premature closure and halo effect. People's first

-hand experience in the world is about observing what others do and what happens in nature (Babbie & Mouton, 2010). Overgeneralisation refers to believing in some evidence and then use it to many other circumstances. Selective observation ignores objective, balanced, neutral and contradictory views; instead it reinforces predetermined ideas about something (Neuman, 2011).

Premature closure for search of information confirms human errors of 'overgeneralisation' and

'selective observation' because it seeks to look hastily at few bits of evidence to conclude about something (Neuman, 2011). With 'halo effect' used as a special case of personal experience, we give only very positive evidence a 'halo' or superior respect to people or other things that we do not have more information. For example, a student reads an article written by a Professor from the University of South Africa and considering its prestigious regard in the world, and concludes that the author is highly gifted without looking at the document from its merit.