User:LGreg/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge (LG seminar 2020/21)/Seminar 18/Truth/Truth in psychology

Truth in Psychology
Although psychologists aim to remain objective, possibilities of bias must always be analysed and mentioned in psychology. There are five psychological biases but the most common one is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias happens when the psychologist looks at the data available but interprets it with his or her existing beliefs. Often this may lead to people rejecting data if it goes against what they believe in. Confirmation bias often affects the way people look at statistics. However, it can be avoided by having a variety of people look at the information and making sure that the group has a variety of different views and beliefs.

Bias may also play a role when sampling. This occurs when the sample that is participating in the study is not representative enough of the general population (eg. only teenage females are surveyed). However, it does not only have to be affected by age or gender, but also by location, political beliefs, etc. When considering data, one must also ask if the data is reliable. This might mean that results of one study have to be compared to the results of other findings or that different trials have to be run within one experiment.