Im sure most of you if not all of you have heard of the scientific method before, but what surprised me about this course and psychology in general was how empirical it actually can be. I was always under the impression that psychology was more of a "Yes, but how does that make you feel?" approach to science. Chapter one went over this in detail, as well as how to be a critical scientific thinker.
Its alarming to think how few people actually exhibit these kinds of self regulation on their own beliefs and ideals. Whether your from northern Minnesota, Wisconsin (Moo!) or any other obnoxiously speaking state, (looking at you New Jersey) we all have our accents, and we were all flabbergasted in third grade when we discovered other people hear us differently then we do.
Being skeptical may not make you as many friends, but it will save you lots of money from not having to buy the latest workout phenomena on tv, believing stories from slightly deranged homeless men on the street, or even being guilted into donating to fight alien abduction rates in the southwest. All in all, being aware of your own belief perseverance, as well as challenging said beliefs, will make you a more well rounded person as well as a scientific thinker. Not too mention this way of thinking will help to avoid getting pranked on the regular.
I was skeptical my accent was very noticeable, unlike that of a person from the South, Boston, or Canada, yet less than one minute of conversation between myself and some friends in a cafe in New York, an old man immediately identified us as being from the metro area of Minnesota. While I was incredibly shocked at the time, understanding such concepts helps me communicate better with exchange students who do identify my english as having an accent. In this situation, overcoming the skepticism has helped me better myself as a person through understanding, I think.