Title: Anecdotal evidence | Psychology Wiki | Fandom
Headings: Anecdotal evidence
Anecdotal evidence
Contents
Introduction
Scientific context
Anecdotal evidence and faulty logic
Law
Scientific evidence as legal evidence
References
Bibliography
See also

Content: Anecdotes like this are very powerful persuaders, but they don't prove anything in a scientific or logical sense. The child may have become better anyway and this could be an example also of the regressive fallacy. Anecdotal evidence cannot be distinguished from placebo effects. Only double-blind randomized placebo -controlled clinical trials can confirm a hypothesis . Sites devoted to rhetoric often give explanations along these lines: Anecdotal evidence, for example, is by definition less statistically reliable than other sorts of evidence, and explanations do not carry the weight of authority. But both anecdotal evidence and explanations may affect our understanding of a premise, and therefore influence our judgment. The relative strength of an explanation or an anecdote is usually a function of its clarity and applicability to the premise it is supporting. [ 1]
By contrast, in science and logic, the "relative strength of an explanation" is based upon its ability to be tested, proven to be due to the stated cause, and verified under neutral conditions in a manner that other researchers will agree has been performed competently, and can check for themselves. Law
Witness testimony is a common form of evidence in law, and law has mechanisms to test witness evidence for reliability or credibility.