Question 1

When baseball's rookie-of-the-year has a more ordinary second year, we shouldn't be surprised. This fact is easily explained by

Accepted Answer

Regression toward the average. This phenomenon explains that extreme performance in one year is likely to be followed by a more typical performance in the next year. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a rookie-of-the-year to have a less impressive second year in baseball.

Question 2

Research indicates that compared to unhappy people, happy people

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that happy people are more likely to exhibit all three of these characteristics compared to unhappy people. They have been shown to be more trusting and loving, to choose long-term rewards over immediate small pleasures, and to be more resilient in the face of frustration. Therefore, the best answer is D, as all of these characteristics are present in happy people.

Question 3

University students who receive unusually high scores on their first biology test can reasonably expect to receive ____________ scores on their second biology test.

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon of regression toward the mean suggests that if a student scores exceptionally high on their first test, their second test score is likely to be lower, though still above average. This is because the first score may be partly due to variables that don't consistently recur, such as luck or a particularly strong grasp of the topics on the first test.

Question 4

Gus is in a terrific mood on the day goes to look for a new car. He instantly decides to buy the second car he test-drives. If Gus had been in a bad mood, what type of decision might he have made about a car purchase?

Accepted Answer

When someone is in a bad mood, they tend to make more cautious decisions and take more time to make decisions. Therefore, if Gus had been in a bad mood, he would have taken more time to make a decision about the car purchase.

Question 5

Our tendency of perceiving relationships/connections when none whatsoever exist is called

Accepted Answer

Illusory correlation is the tendency to perceive a relationship between two variables when there is no actual relationship. This can happen due to a variety of reasons such as confirmation bias, selective attention, or a desire to see patterns in random events. Option A, imaginary parallel, is not a commonly recognized psychological term. Option B, counterfactual thinking, refers to imagining alternative outcomes or scenarios that could have happened instead of what actually occurred. Option D, regression toward the average, is a statistical phenomenon where extreme scores tend to move closer to the average in subsequent measurements.

Question 6

After two years of intense publications (four per year), Ela's research productivity drops to one published paper per year. What term best explains Ela's fewer publications after two years of intense productivity?

Accepted Answer

Regression toward the average refers to the tendency for extreme values to move closer to the average over time. In this case, Ela's two years of intense productivity may have been an outlier, and her productivity returning to an average level of one publication per year is an example of regression toward the average.

Question 7

Dice players who throw softly to get low numbers and harder to get high numbers are demonstrating

Accepted Answer

This behavior represents the illusion of control, which is the tendency to believe that one can influence random or chance events. In reality, the force with which the dice are thrown has no bearing on the outcome, as it is a random process.

Question 8

According to the text, "mood infusion" refers to how

Accepted Answer

The text defines "mood infusion" as the idea that people's memories and judgments can be influenced or changed by their current mood.

Question 9

Even when people are shown nothing but a random mix of results, they still like to believe one outcome is more likely than the other. This is tendency illustrates a concept known as

Accepted Answer

Illusory correlation is the tendency to perceive a relationship between two variables even when no such relationship exists, leading people to believe one outcome is more likely than another in random situations.

Question 10

Which of the following is the most likely attribution to be made by someone in an unhappy marriage?

Accepted Answer

When in an unhappy marriage, people tend to make internal, stable, and global attributions for their partner's behavior. Option C reflects an internal attribution - it's because she doesn't care about me. Option A and D reflects an external attribution - it's because of traffic or long checkout line. Option B reflects an external and unstable attribution - she got tied up at the office (i.e., it's just a one-time thing).

Question 11

Joseph Forgas and his colleagues found that participants' judgments of their own videotaped behaviours were more positive if, while they watched the videotape, they were

Accepted Answer

Forgas and his colleagues found that participants' judgments of their own videotaped behaviours were more positive if they were in a good mood while watching the videotape.

Question 12

Among the explanations below, which one can best explain our illusion of control over certain outcomes?

Accepted Answer

The statistical phenomenon of regression toward the average can best explain our illusion of control over certain outcomes. This is because we tend to attribute our success to our own internal attributes or actions, while attributing our failures to external factors. However, in many cases, the outcomes are actually influenced by chance or other external factors, and will regress toward the average over time. We may not recognize this and continue to believe in our control over the outcomes, leading to an illusion of control.

Question 13

Dottie has the illusory belief that there is a correlation between washing her car and the occurrence of rain in her area. According to research, Dottie is now much more likely to notice when

Accepted Answer

Dottie has the belief that washing her car causes rain, so she will be more likely to notice when it rains after she has washed her car. This fits with option B, where it rains and she has just washed her car. Option A doesn't fit because it doesn't confirm her belief, and option C doesn't fit because it doesn't involve rain at all. Option D includes all possible options, but only option B directly relates to her belief.

Question 14

We are especially likely to analyze and discuss why things happen when the event in question is

Accepted Answer

When events are negative or unexpected, it is natural for people to try to understand why they happened in order to prevent similar situations from recurring in the future or to find ways to cope with the aftermath.

Question 15

Jim believes he can actually guess correctly the outcome of heads or tails of 10 consecutive fair coin trials. His belief can perhaps best be explained in terms of

Accepted Answer

Jim's belief that he can guess the outcome of a fair coin trial is an example of the illusion of control, where people tend to overestimate their ability to control events that are actually random or outside of their control.

Question 16

When peoples' memories and judgments change with their moods it is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Mood infusion refers to the phenomenon where our current mood can influence our judgments and memories. This means that when we are in a positive mood, our memories and judgments tend to be more positive as well, and vice versa when we are in a negative mood. This can lead to biases in our thinking and decision-making processes.

Question 17

Although Jason once scored a 270 in bowling, he has subsequently been unable to beat that record no matter how much he practices. His experience may be partially understood in terms of

Accepted Answer

Regression toward the average suggests that extreme scores or events are often followed by more average or typical scores or events, meaning that it is unlikely for Jason to consistently score a 270 in bowling. Therefore, even with practice, his scores are likely to regress back to the mean, making it difficult to beat his previous record.

Question 18

Joseph Forgas, a psychologist at the University of New South Wales, believes that moody people's feelings seem to _________.

Accepted Answer

Moody people's feelings seem to invade their thinking, making it difficult for them to focus and make decisions.

Question 19

The prolonged debates that surround social issues, such as whether a homeless person is lacking initiative or has been victimized by job and social assistance cutbacks, illustrate how people attempt to

Accepted Answer

The prolonged debates surrounding social issues involve making judgments about responsibility, attributions about behavior, and explanations for why people act the way they do. Therefore, all of the choices are correct.

Question 20

Moods can affect our thinking by

Accepted Answer

When we are in a certain mood, the brain tends to retrieve memories that are associated with that mood, leading to cognitive biases and influencing our thinking patterns. This effect is known as mood-congruent memory retrieval.

Quiz 3: Social Beliefs and Judgments