title: Preferential Biases for Texts That Include Neuroscientific Jargon.
abstract: The results of an experiment of preferential biases for texts that include neuroscientific jargon are presented. Such preferential bias has been reported even when the presented jargon is meaningless. In a variation of the well-known Weisberg et al. experiment, a group of undergraduate students (N = 150; females 48%, males 52%, other 0%; M age = 22.4 year, SD = 2.6) chose between two possible explanations for a psychological phenomenon: a correct explanation or a circular restatement of facts. Unrelated neuroscientific terms were added to one of the explanations. Participants were asked to choose the correct explanation. There was a statistically significant preference for the explanation without neuroscientific terms. These findings differ from Weisberg et al.'s experiment and a number of others. The implications of this discrepancy are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nazionale di Ricerche Demopolis, Italy; DMI, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy marcoelio.tabacchi@unipa.it.
authors.forename: Marco E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Tabacchi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Psicologiche, Pedagogiche e della Formazione, CITC, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cardaci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009488:Neurosciences; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: neuroscience jargon; preferential bias