Social Sciences and History / Unit 9 SSH 0830 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Generalizations Are Probabilistic
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The idea
Political scientists use the scientific method without claiming universal laws: logic, reason and evidence, with techniques and data open to scrutiny, and conclusions held tentatively. Human behavior is partially predictable, so similar people in similar circumstances can be predicted.
In practice
Predictions failing through bad data, lying to pollsters, or changed behavior.
Where people slip
Motivated reasoning: concluding what one wants to believe.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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