Deck 12: Decision Making and Reasoning

Question 1

Satisficing makes it more difficult for people to make fully rational decisions because,in satisficing,

A)we do not consider all possible options,but rather consider a few until we find one that is satisfactory.
B)we consider the additional variable of an incentive,or reward,in the decision-making process.
C)we limit the number of options we consider in causing us to seek to minimize pain.
D)we often become irrational and unable to make a well-reasoned decision.

Answer 1

we do not consider all possible options,but rather consider a few until we find one that is satisfactory.

Question 2

__________ is a process in which we focus on one attribute of the various options,form a minimum criterion for that attribute,and then exclude all options that do not meet that criterion.

A)Illusory correlation
B)Inductive reasoning
C)Modus ponens
D)Elimination by aspects

Answer 2

Elimination by aspects

Question 3

"I keep hearing about that book,so it must be worth reading." This statement suggests use of what heuristic?

A)availability
B)antithesis
C)synthesis
D)antisynthesis

Answer 3

availability

Question 4

This type of reasoning is used when evaluating scientific hypotheses and is an estimate of the likelihood of one event given another event.

A)subjective utility
B)subjective probability
C)conditional probability
D)pragmatic reasoning

Question 5

The effect of the context on an individual's decision making is referred to as the

A)fallacy of composition.
B)hindsight bias.
C)framing effect.
D)conjunction fallacy.

Question 6

The goal of __________ is to select from among choices or to evaluate opportunities.

A)reasoning
B)judgment and decision making
C)reasoning and judgment
D)decision making and reasoning

Question 7

What is the goal of human action in decision making,according to the subjective expected utility theory?

A)Utilities for a given action may be predicted for all persons within a given culture.
B)In making decisions,people seek to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
C)In making decisions,people seek to maximize their maximum gain.
D)In making decisions,people seek to maximize their minimum gain.

Question 8

Andy is throwing dice.The probability that he will throw a 1,2,3,4,5,6 sequence is __________ than/as his throwing a 4,2,5,6,3,1 sequence.

A)6 times smaller
B)36 times smaller
C)not as great
D)the same

Question 9

John often relies on his own experiences and the accuracy of his judgment over the judgment of others based on what he knows of his own skills and knowledge.This would be an example of a(n)

A)exclusion fallacy.
B)subjective probability.
C)framing effect.
D)overconfidence.

Question 10

When making a decision,the use of one's individual values versus use of objective criteria is reflective of what concept?

A)subjective utility
B)subjective probability
C)conditional probability
D)pragmatic reasoning

Question 11

This notion suggests that we do not have infinite sensitivity when evaluating an number of different options.Rather when making decisions "we are rational but within limits."

A)opportunity costs
B)subjective probability
C)bounded rationality
D)perspective effects

Question 12

Although their sum is the same,which group would appear to have the greatest sum,using the anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic?

A)1+3+2+4+8+17+21+33
B)33+17+8+21+3+1+2+4
C)33+21+17+8+2+3+1+4
D)3+2+8+17+33+21+4+1

Question 13

The theory of satisficing states that

A)all decision making is strengthened or weakened depending on whether there is a reward for a certain decision.
B)decision making is geared toward seeking to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
C)we consider options one by one,and then we select an option as soon as we find one that is just good enough.
D)people make decisions that would ultimately bring satisfaction to themselves,regardless of the effect the decision has on others.

Question 14

Wilma throws two peaches,two apples,and two pears into a basket and shakes up the basket.Blindfolded,she takes each piece of fruit from the basket and places them all in a line on a table.According to Tom,who is using the heuristic of representativeness,which of the following is the most probable arrangement?

A)peach,pear,apple,pear,apple,peach
B)pear,pear,apple,apple,peach,peach
C)apple,apple,pear,pear,peach,peach
D)pear,peach,apple,pear,peach,apple

Question 15

Stephanie and Steve are looking at a variety of cars,as they are trying to select a new vehicle.Given that they selected very different vehicles,it appears that their calculations were based on individual versus objective information.Decisions based on each of their own preferences would be called

A)conditional probability.
B)subjective probability.
C)bounded rationality.
D)false-consensus effect.

Question 16

All of the following statements describe assumptions of an early model of decision making,the "economic man and woman," except one.Identify the assumption not associated with this model.

A)Decision-makers are completely informed of all possible options and all possible outcomes of their decision options.
B)Decision-makers are infinitely sensitive to subtle differences among decision options.
C)Decision-makers are aware that making errors in judgment is inherent in decision-making.
D)Decision-makers are fully rational in regard to their choice of options.

Question 17

What is the idea behind the subjective expected utility theory?

A)Utilities for a given action vary from person to person,depending on each person's hopes and fears.
B)In making decisions,people use objective criteria for studying probabilities of outcomes but subjective criteria for evaluating each outcome.
C)In making decisions,people seek to maximize their maximum gain.
D)In making decisions,people seek to maximize their minimum gain.

Question 18

Which of the following is not a heuristic people use in making decisions?

A)representativeness
B)availability
C)adjustment-from-an-anchor
D)categorical

Question 19

Most of the early models of classical decision theory were devised by

A)cognitive psychologists.
B)physiological psychologists.
C)philosophers.
D)economists.

Question 20

According to __________,we typically use a decision-making strategy called satisficing.

A)Amos Tversky
B)Michael Ross
C)Daniel Kahneman
D)Herbert Simon

Question 21

During groupthink the group is not willing to entertain other ideas that are inconsistent with the view of the group.This would be an example of

A)group focus.
B)close-mindedness.
C)rationalization.
D)feeling unanimous.

Question 22

This notion is the mistaken belief that the current probability of event is influence by prior random events (e.g. ,flipping a coin and the person get heads 8 times,s/he believes that the 9ᵗʰ coin flip is more likely to be tails).

A)Sunken Costs
B)Adjustment from Anchor Heuristic
C)Gambler's Fallacy
D)Inclusion Fallacy

Question 23

After the tragedy of 9-11,many people have proposed that there was sufficient evidence to predict those events.Because of this,the government should have been able to prevent 9-11.The believe that we "knew it all along" is referred to as

A)the framing effect.
B)hindsight bias.
C)retroactive bias.
D)overconfidence.

Question 24

Which of the following is not a characteristic associated with groups that are successful in decision making?

A)open communication
B)group is small in size
C)members have diverse mind-sets
D)members identify with the group

Question 25

Imagine a professional tennis player.It is __________ probable that he has a graphite tennis racquet than a graphite racquet with high-quality grip tape and a quality shock absorber.

A)more
B)slightly less
C)equally
D)much less

Question 26

A group has to make a decision under anxious circumstances.During the discussion the group members are trying to avoid any conflicts and so any dissent is quickly dismissed which leads to the group coming to a premature decision.This is an example of

A)group cohesion.
B)group think.
C)pragmatic reasoning schema.
D)overconfidence.

Question 27

Andy is watching basketball and sees that a player on "his team" has made the last three shots that he took.Andy keeps say "give "--------" the ball!" This demonstrates Andy's belief in (the)

A)fast-and-frugal heuristic
B)take-the-best heuristic
C)hot hand
D)availability heuristic

Question 28

Because of the __________ we falsely tend to see particular attributes,categories,or events as going together.

A)fallacy of composition
B)tendency to perceive illusory correlation
C)hindsight bias
D)framing effect

Question 29

This notion realizes that when a potentially advantageous situation arises that one may need to consider the "price" for taking advantage of the situation.In other words,this concept recognizes that making one decision may come at the price of other potential situations.

A)opportunity costs.
B)overconfidence.
C)inclusion fallacy.
D)bounded rationality.

Question 30

This particular heuristic sets a standard of rationality based on a number of factors and then makes decisions based on this criteria.This type of decision making is often in environments in which there are often less that optimum solutions.

A)conjunction fallacy
B)fast-and-frugal heuristic
C)take-the-best heuristic
D)hot hand

Question 31

Most people are asked to work in groups at some point in time.One reason for this,is that group work can produce superior outcomes.Which of the following is not a benefit associated with group work?

A)Group memory exceeds individual memory.
B)Groups can benefit from each member's expertise.
C)Groups make quicker decisions.
D)Groups can generate more ideas.

Question 32

Carl recently bought a used car-and it's a lemon.He has spent thousands of dollars on repairing the car,and this week,the mechanic told him it needs a new radiator.Carl thinks about how much money he has put into the car and thinks that,because he has invested so much money in repairs,he'd be better off just making the repair as opposed to spending money to buy a new car.Carl is a victim of

A)overconfidence.
B)the sunk-cost fallacy.
C)opportunity costs.
D)hindsight bias.

Question 33

Michelle was trying to figure out the best way to take notes.She tried both a deductive and an inductive approach.She tried highlighting the most important facts.After the exam,she realized it would have been much more to her advantage to concentrate on specifics.Michelle's realization is an example of

A)overconfidence.
B)the framing effect.
C)the illusory correlation.
D)the hindsight bias.

Question 34

Groupthink can reduce the effectiveness of group decision making.One can reduce groupthink by

A)limiting interactions between group members.
B)forming subgroups to simultaneously work on the problem.
C)having a leader who "weeds out" unpopular ideas.
D)not having a leader in the group.

Question 35

One of the symptoms of groupthink is when a group thinks that due to the qualities of the group (i.e. ,intelligence)that it must have made the correct decision.This would be an example of

A)feeling invulnerable.
B)feeling unanimous.
C)squelching of dissent.
D)closed-mindedness.

Question 36

As part of the job interview process for a large corporation,Wilma is taken out to lunch.She is trying to decide what to order.When making the decision,she is taking into consideration a number of factors (i.e. ,cost of the food,ease of eating without any embarrassing moments,etc. ).She then selects an item that meets these criteria.This would be an example of

A)fast-and-frugal heuristic.
B)conjunction fallacy.
C)overconfidence heuristic.
D)take-the-best heuristic.

Question 37

Rob has self appointed himself to enforce the group norm.So during the discussion every time Ralph brings up an objection Rob counters what Ralph has to say.Sometimes criticizing Ralph himself.Rob's self appointed role can be seen as

A)discussion enforcer.
B)closed-mindedness.
C)formation of a "mindguard."
D)squelching of dissent.

Question 38

A gambler has lost a game in which there is a 0.5 chance of winning.In fact,she has now lost six times and is trying to figure out her odds of winning on the next try.Taking into consideration the six previous times she lost,her chance of winning is now

A)more than 50%.
B)less than 50%.
C)exactly 50%.
D)more than 75%.

Question 39

Instead of studying for a big exam the next day,a group of students instead decided to go see a movie.When questioned about why they were going to the movie instead of studying,Ralph explained that "Going to the movie was a way of helping the mind to relax,and in fact,by going to the movie,they were going to make their study time later more effective because of the improved mood that they will be in.So by not going to the movie they were actually hurting their grades." From the group think perspective,this is an example of

A)rationalization.
B)feeling unanimous.
C)justification.
D)discussion enforcer.

Question 40

Rob has appointed himself to enforce the group norm.So during the discussion every time Ralph brings up an objection Rob counters what Ralph has to say.Sometimes criticizing Ralph himself.Criticism of Ralph would be an example of

A)squelching of dissent.
B)closed-mindedness.
C)a group enforcer.
D)formation of a "mindguard."

Question 41

With syllogisms there are some combinations that one is unable to "draw logically valid conclusions from." Identify which combination of forms would be considered not logically valid.

A)two universal affirmatives statements
B)two particular affirmative statements
C)one universal affirmative and one particular affirmative statement
D)one universal negative statement and one particular affirmative statement

Question 42

Which of the following is a modus tollens argument?

A)If you are born,then you have parents.You do not have parents.Therefore,you are not born.
B)If a fly bites you,then your arm swells.A fly bites you.Therefore,your arm swells.
C)If you eat too much,then you get fat.You do not eat too much.Therefore,you do not get fat.
D)If fish live in the water,then they have gills.Fish do not live in the water.Therefore,they do not have gills.

Question 43

Which of the following is false regarding deductive and inductive reasoning?

A)Deductive reasoning involves reasoning from general principles to specific facts or instances.
B)Syllogisms involve deductive reasoning.
C)Inductively based conclusions can be proved,whereas deductively based conclusions cannot be proved.
D)Inductively reasoned arguments can be disproved by even one contrary observation.

Question 44

A primary type of deductive reasoning in which the reasoner must draw a conclusion based on an if-then proposition is referred to as

A)conditional reasoning.
B)modus tollens argument.
C)a linear syllogism.
D)a categorical syllogism.

Question 45

All of the following are parts of a categorical syllogism except

A)the major premise.
B)the conditional premise.
C)the minor premise.
D)the conclusion.

Question 46

Evidence from more naturalistic studies of decision making reveal that when solving conditional probabilities most people recognize and use the ________ argument,but fail to use the _________ argument.

A)modus ponens;modus tollens
B)modus tollens;consequent
C)consequent;antecedent
D)modus ponens;consequent

Question 47

In this task participants are shown a set of four two-sided cards (a number on one side and a letter on the other side).The participant is given a conditional statement and then has to decide which card(s)he must turn over to determine whether or not the conditional statement is true.

A)syllogism task
B)Myer's card task
C)Wason selection task
D)affirmation task

Question 48

Increased activation in the _____________ has been observed during decision making tasks.

A)prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex
B)premotor cortex and limbic system
C)nucleus accumbens and parietal lobe
D)hypothalamus and Broca's area

Question 49

Which of the following is a modus ponens argument?

A)If you are happy,then you smile.You are happy.Therefore,you smile.
B)If thieves are skilled,they do not bungle their robberies.Thieves are not skilled.Therefore,they bungle their robberies.
C)If you are happy,then you smile.You are not happy.Therefore,you do not smile.
D)If thieves are skilled,then they do not bungle their robberies.Thieves do not bungle their robberies.Therefore,they are skilled.

Question 50

The conditional proposition is "If it is a chair then it is a piece of furniture." Existing condition is that it is a piece of furniture.The inference made is that it is a chair.This particular type of fallacy is called

A)affirming the antecedent.
B)affirming the consequent.
C)denying the antecedent.
D)denying the consequent.

Question 51

Mark sees a man walk into a bank downtown.Suddenly,alarms sound,people scream,and Mark sees the same man run out of the bank carrying a gun and a bag of money.Because Mark has never seen such an occurrence before,he uses a __________ to deduce that the man is a robber.

A)conversion strategy
B)syllogistic schema
C)transitive-inference strategy
D)pragmatic reasoning schema

Question 52

Deductive arguments that involve drawing conclusions from two premises are referred to as a(n)

A)illicit conversion.
B)modus ponens argument.
C)syllogism.
D)modus tollens argument.

Question 53

All animals breathe.All humans are animals.Therefore,all humans breathe.The above is an example of a(n)

A)if-then statement.
B)linear syllogism.
C)illicit conversion.
D)categorical syllogism.

Question 54

Deductive reasoning makes use of _____ which can be thought of as assertions that can be either true or false.

A)satisficing
B)subjective expected utility theory
C)method of difference
D)proposition

Question 55

General organizing principles related to specific types of goals are termed

A)confirmation bias.
B)pragmatic reasoning schemas.
C)casual inferences.
D)fallacies.

Question 56

When the Wason selection task is placed in a familiar context (e.g. ,legal drinking age),participants

A)perform as well as they do on the original task.
B)perform better than they do on the original task.
C)perform worse than they do on the original task.
D)do not make any errors.

Question 57

Which of the following statements is not deductively valid?

A)If people watch television,then they get a headache.They watch television.
Therefore,they get a headache.
B)If a student writes an abstract for a paper,then she gets a good grade.A student's paper is abstract.Therefore,the student gets a good grade.
C)If the sky is clear,then there are no clouds.The sky is clear.Therefore,there are no clouds.
D)If a black cat crosses your path,then you will have bad luck.A black cat crosses your path.Therefore,you will have bad luck.

Question 58

The conditional proposition is "If it is a chair then it is a piece of furniture." Existing condition is that it is not a chair.The inference made is that it is not a piece of furniture.This particular type of fallacy is called

A)affirming the antecedent.
B)affirming the consequent.
C)denying the antecedent.
D)denying the consequent.

Question 59

The goal of __________ is to draw conclusions from principles and from evidence.

A)reasoning
B)problem solving
C)judgment and decision making
D)decision making and reasoning

Question 60

Cosmides (1989)has proposed that these two kinds of inferences were particularly useful during social interactions in our evolutionary history.

A)physical prowess and sociability
B)cheater detection and hunter detection
C)cost-benefit relationships and cheater detection
D)temperament and relationships benefits

Question 61

Which form of reasoning is used in solving verbal analogies?

A)pragmatic
B)inductive
C)syllogistic
D)prepositional

Question 62

Any time an event occurs there may be any number of contributing factors (e.g. ,computer crash).For this particular phenomenon,_____,once we find one factor we often stop looking for other contributing factors.

A)exclusion fallacy
B)bounded rationality
C)overextension errors
D)discounting error

Question 63

The fundamental distinction between deductive and inductive reasoning is that

A)with deductive reasoning we can never reach a logically certain conclusion.
B)deductive reasoning takes more time and is more difficult.
C)with inductive reasoning we can never reach a logically certain conclusion.
D)inductive reasoning takes more time and is more difficult.

Question 64

Research into inductive reasoning takes a look at how people make judgments concerning what causes something else.

A)causal inferences
B)satisficing
C)subjective expected utility theory
D)discounting error

Question 65

"Fire is to asbestos as water is to (a)vinyl,(b)air,(c)cotton,(d)faucet." This is an example of

A)reasoning by analogy.
B)conditional reasoning.
C)social exchange schema.
D)bounded rationality.

Question 66

Sloman suggests that we have two systems for reasoning,a rule-based system and
A(n)

A)random system.
B)dialectical system.
C)paradigmatic system.
D)associative system.

Question 67

We tend to find support for our conclusions through our mental models and other cognitive processes when we engage in

A)pragmatic reasoning.
B)overextension errors.
C)confirmation bias.
D)overconfidence.

Question 68

These types of statements for a categorical syllogism are in the form "No A are B" in which a negative statement is made about all members in that class (e.g. ,no cognitive psychology students are unicyclists).

A)particular affirmative statements
B)particular negative statements
C)universal affirmatives
D)universal negative statements

Question 69

Putting all the pieces of evidence together leads us to a conclusion: "The butler did it." This reasoning is

A)deductive.
B)inductive.
C)abductive.
D)reductive.

Question 70

These types of statements for a categorical syllogism are in the form "Some A are not B" in which a subset of the members in that class are said to not belong to or posses quality B (e.g. ,some cognitive psychology students are not basketball players).

A)particular affirmative statements
B)particular negative statements
C)universal affirmatives
D)universal negative statements

Question 71

If we fail to consider all of the possibilities before reaching a conclusion,we are experiencing the __________ effect.

A)premise-phrasing
B)foreclosure
C)ad hominem
D)canon

Question 72

Applying prior strategies with syllogisms to new situations in which they may not work would be a type of heuristic which is called

A)opportunity costs.
B)illusory correlation.
C)overextension errors.
D)discounting error.

Question 73

With this particular type of confirmation bias,one may have low expectations of another in which that person then respond with less of an effort.The person's behavior than "confirms" your beliefs.

A)availability heuristic
B)self-fulfilling prophecy
C)reasoning by analogy
D)overextension error

Question 74

These types of statements for a categorical syllogism are in the form "All A are B" in which a positive statement is made about all the members in that class (e.g. ,all cognitive psychology students are brilliant).

A)particular affirmative statements
B)particular negative statements
C)universal affirmatives
D)universal negative statements

Question 75

This theory for solving syllogisms suggests that semantic processes are used to construct an analogous representation which may or may not lead to deductively valid conclusion.

A)mental models
B)categorical syllogisms
C)linear syllogisms
D)categorical inferences

Question 76

This alternative view to reasoning suggests that there are two complementary systems for reasoning.One system,the ____,is involved with mental operations that are based on observed similarities and temporal contiguities while the ___ is involved with manipulating the relations among symbols.

A)heuristics;biases
B)biases;heuristics
C)association system;rule-base system
D)rule-base system;association system

Question 77

Janet is trying to solve a syllogism.The particular sequencing of the terms has prevented her from reaching an accurate conclusion.Instead of first deciding whether the syllogism is deductively valid,she jumps to a conclusion.Janet was influenced by __________ effects/reasoning.

A)premise-phrasing
B)foreclosure
C)ad hominem
D)overextension

Question 78

These types of statements for a categorical syllogism are in the form "Some A are B" in which a subset of the members in that class are said to belong to or posses quality B (e.g. ,some cognitive psychology students are basketball players).

A)particular affirmative statements
B)particular negative statements
C)universal affirmatives
D)universal negative statements

Question 79

If people were asked which of the following sequences would be the most probable,how would most people respond? Why?
Nine marbles are drawn at random from a bin containing 33 red,33 white,and 33 blue marbles.The drawn marbles are then lined up.The possible sequences are as follows:
R,W,R,B,W,W,B,R,B
R,R,R,R,W,W,W,W,B
B,R,W,R,B,W,B,R,W
R,R,R,R,R,R,R,R,R

Question 80

Premise 1: No cats are dogs.Premise 2: Some people are nervous.Rob uses a particular strategy to solve a categorical syllogism.Based on premise 2 (above),his conclusion is negative.Based on premise 2,his conclusion is particular.The strategy Rob is using is the

A)Venn diagram.
B)illicit-conversion strategy.
C)pragmatic-reasoning schema.
D)atmosphere theory.