Question

john strongly opposes vaccinating children, because he believes that it increases their risk of autism. the scientist who originally came forward with proof of the link between vaccinations and autism apologized for falsifying the data. john has read the published apology but dismisses it. instead, he focuses on the fact that during the period when vaccinations increased, autism diagnoses also increased. which of the following is guiding johns way of thinking?

confirmation bias
critical thinking
a misinterpretation of statistics
amiable skepticism

question 14 (2.5 points)

ralph loves his birthday, but he tends to eat too much throughout the day. at the
level, there may be hormonal reasons for why ralph is prone to
overeating. at the level, it is hard for ralph to turn down second
helpings when his friends keep buying him meals.

individual; social
biological; social
biological; cultural
individual; cultural

Explanation:

First Question (John's Thinking):

John dismisses the scientist's apology (contradicting evidence) and focuses on the correlation between vaccination increase and autism diagnosis increase, misinterpreting correlation as causation (a common statistical misinterpretation). Confirmation bias is about favoring confirming info, but here the issue is misreading stats. Critical thinking and amiable skepticism involve rational analysis, which John lacks. So the guiding factor is a misinterpretation of statistics.

Hormonal reasons relate to biological level (body - hormones). Friends buying meals and social pressure to accept second helpings relate to social level (interactions with others). Biological matches hormones, social matches friend - related context. Individual is too broad, cultural doesn't fit friend interactions. So the correct pair is biological; social.

Answer:

a misinterpretation of statistics

Second Question (Ralph's Overeating):