Depression

Forming Conclusions and Judgments

How do people deal with different situations in life and what are the probabilities that after being exposed to an event may lead you to the same circumstances ? In Anita 's case , where she has witnessed all the sufferings of her sister under chronic depression since she was 10 , as concluded by the people around her , she may also suffer the same dis . What are the bases that Anita may also end up with this conclusion

Psychology explains different thinking process that may contribute on how conclusions

are made by the people . Some of these are framing availability heuristic , confirmation bias , and belief perseverance (myers , 2006

In framing , reactions and conclusions are formulated depending on how an issue is posed or framed . It can radically affect one 's decision and judgment . For example , comparing the two equivalent statements : 13 of the newly born babies are suffering from aids ' and 87 of the newly born babies are healthy . Which of the two do you think people will react positively ? When Anita is told that there is forty percent chance that she will suffer a chronic depression , there is also a great probability that she will be negative about herself rather than when she will be told that there is sixty percent chance that she will not be a victim of the dis . Her parents have given her incorrect estimation of her chances of acquiring the same dis , in addition , the way they deliver it to her may greatly affect her belief about herself

Availability heuristic is about basing our judgment on events or issues that seem common to us , meaning the information is mentally available The faster the event is remembered , the more expection of its recurence (myers , 2006 ) Since Anita has been exposed to her sister 's sufferings for years , this event may have seemed normal to her and that it can be a great factor of the belief that she is also at risk of dealing with the same chaos

People seek for information without really the intention of debugging ideas but rather to support and confirm their own preconceptions . We seek evidence to verify our ideas , not to disprove them . This observable fact is called confirmation bias . For example , you have this feeling of insecurity with your partner , that he may be cheating on you . You collect facts , observe , and connect events that may prove that he is really cheating . But you don 't do that to prove that he is not . Anita after witnessing her sister 's sufferings for years may have been collecting facts that may prove that sooner she will also suffer the same dis . First , knowing that her sister , not just a relative , has that kind of dis there is a great chance she will also acquire such . Second , her parents told her so . Thus , these created confirmations to the idea

One 's capability to judge and conclude is also affected by one 's belief perseverance . We can easily see...