The Importance of Perspective in Psychology

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good and try to keep some perspective," he says. "I would worry if everything we do turns out to be wrong perhaps because the researchers are dishonest or manipulating results" The Atlantic likes that sort of thing, but it's just kind of a consumption good in some sense,. I'd like to read about it myself. Find what's wrong with it."

Joshua Angrist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the craft of econometrics--how to use economic thinking and statistical methods to make sense of data and uncover causation. Angrist argues that improvements in research design along with various econometric techniques have improved the credibility of measurement in a complex world. Roberts pushes back and the conversation concludes with a discussion of how to assess the reliability of findings in controversial public policy areas.