Question 1

Blair's co-worker,Susan,asks her,"Am I a good employee?" Blair hadn't really thought about it before,but using the availability heuristic,which of the following thought processes is she most likely to have?

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is the tendency to rely on easily accessible information when making judgments. In this case, Blair is likely to recall the most recent experiences she has had with Susan and use those to make her judgment. Option A is the choice that aligns with this thought process as it involves recalling the last few times she has seen Susan do a good job. The other options do not align with the availability heuristic, either because they involve more extensive thinking or do not rely on easily accessible information.

Question 2

When people use the availability heuristic to make quick judgments,they are likely to do all of the following except

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a person's mind when evaluating specific concepts or deciding on a course of action. This means that people tend to base their judgments on personal experiences, news stories, or events that they remember most easily, rather than on systematic or comprehensive information about a person. Therefore, option C does not fit the pattern of the availability heuristic, as it requires a significant amount of data to make a decision, which goes against the principle of quick and effortless thinking.

Question 3

Your roommate is interested in dating Chris,whom you know from a history class.Your roommate asks if you think Chris is generally a considerate person.You remember how Chris lent you notes when you missed class last week,and tell your roommate you think Chris is very considerate.In making your judgment,you have relied upon the ____ heuristic.

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic involves making judgments based on readily available information in our memory. In this case, the information about Chris's considerate behavior towards the roommate is readily available in the memory of the person making the judgment.

Question 4

The mental shortcuts that people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently are called

Accepted Answer

Judgmental heuristics refer to the mental shortcuts that people use to make quick judgments and decisions. These shortcuts include rules of thumb, stereotypes, and other cognitive biases that help people process information and make judgments without having to engage in lengthy, controlled thought processes. While these heuristics can be useful in many situations, they can also lead to errors and biases in judgment when misapplied or overrelied upon. Therefore, understanding how heuristics work and when they are likely to produce accurate or inaccurate judgments is an important skill for making sound decisions and evaluating the judgments of others.

Question 5

Your roommate questions how charitable you really are.She says to you,"Give me just one example of the last time you gave money to a homeless person." Odds are that her challenge will convince you that you really are a generous person.Based on research by Norbert Schwarz and his colleagues (1991),why is that?

Accepted Answer

According to Schwarz and his colleagues, people have a self-schema that guides their thoughts and behaviors related to their self-concept. When asked to provide an example of a charitable act, it is easy to recall one instance that aligns with this self-schema of being a generous person, which can lead to a positive self-perception.

Question 6

A teenager wants to borrow the family car to go to an out-of-town concert.Her parents resist the idea.Based on the results of Schwarz et al.'s (1991)study on the effects of generating different numbers of examples of behavior described in your text,the teenager in question is most likely to view her parents as stubborn and unreasonable when they say to her,

Accepted Answer

The answer of A teenager wants to borrow the family...

Question 7

Why does the availability heuristic sometimes lead to incorrect inferences?

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is based on the idea that information that is readily available in our memories is more likely to be used as a basis for decision-making than information that is less readily available. However, what is easily brought to mind may not be typical of the big picture. For example, if we see a lot of news stories about shark attacks, we may believe that swimming in the ocean is very dangerous, even though the actual risk of being attacked by a shark is very low. This is because vivid, memorable events are more likely to stick in our minds, even if they are not representative of the typical case.

Question 8

Instead of considering every single brand and variety of pasta sauce at the grocery store,most people make quick decisions about which one to purchase.This is an example of how people use

Accepted Answer

Judgmental heuristics are mental shortcuts that simplify decision making by focusing on a few key aspects of a situation and ignoring others. In this case, people are likely using heuristics to quickly narrow down their options for pasta sauce based on factors such as brand recognition or price, rather than considering every single option in depth.

Question 9

Jacob's friend,Tom asks him,"Do you think I'm short-tempered?" Jacob had never really thought about how short-tempered or calm Tom was until he had asked.Nonetheless,Jacob was able to provide him a quick answer.What social cognitive process was most likely involved in this judgment?

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic refers to the tendency to base judgments on the example or information that immediately comes to mind. In this case, Jacob is relying on his most readily available memories and impressions of Tom's behavior to make a quick judgment of whether or not Tom is short-tempered.

Question 10

Reasoning based on the ease with which we can bring something to mind involves the use of the ____ heuristic.

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is based on the ease with which we can bring something to mind. It involves relying on information that is readily available in our memory, rather than considering all the information that is relevant to making a decision.

Question 11

Recall the words of Dr.Robert Marion,who was the first physician to correctly diagnose a nine-year-old girl with a rare disease: "Doctors are just like everyone else.We go to the movies,watch TV,read newspapers and novels.If we happen to see a patient who has symptoms of a rare disease that was featured on the previous night's 'Movie of the Week,' we're more likely to consider that condition when making a diagnosis." In essence,Dr.Marion is describing the ____ heuristic.

Accepted Answer

Dr. Marion's statement is describing the availability heuristic, which involves making a judgment based on how easily or frequently an example or occurrence comes to mind. In this case, having seen a rare disease in a movie or TV show can make it more available in a doctor's mind when considering a patient's symptoms.

Question 12

The availability heuristic is associated with which of the following characteristics of schemas?

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut where people make judgments based on the ease with which examples come to mind. This is directly related to the accessibility of information in one's schemas.

Question 13

Recall that Norbert Schwarz and his colleagues (1991)asked some participants to think of six times they had behaved assertively and asked other participants to think of twelve times they had behaved assertively,and then asked all participants to rate how assertive they thought they really were.Participants who tried to generate six examples of assertive behaviors rated themselves as more assertive than did participants who tried to generate twelve examples.Why? Schwarz suggests that participants

Accepted Answer

Schwarz suggests that participants who were asked to generate six examples could do so more easily than participants who were asked to generate twelve. This ease of generation led them to believe that being assertive was more characteristic of themselves, which resulted in higher self-ratings of assertiveness.

Question 14

Isaac is on an interview for a job for which he is well-qualified.However,he is worried that some of the people may have negative schemas about his ethnicity and that they may shape his behavior on the interview with self-fulfilling prophecies.Of the people he meets with (listed below),who is the least likely to use self- fulfilling prophecies?

Accepted Answer

Tyler is the least likely to use self-fulfilling prophecies because he is paying close attention to Isaac and wants to make an accurate judgment of him. This suggests that he is focused on evaluating Isaac based on his qualifications and abilities, rather than being influenced by negative stereotypes or biases. Lisa may also be making an accurate judgment, but her divided attention may make it more challenging for her to do so. Jorge's lack of motivation to be accurate could lead to him relying on stereotypes or biases to make judgments, and Jasmine's preoccupation with a toothache may also make her more susceptible to biases and stereotypes. Therefore, A is the best choice.

Question 15

According to the authors of your text,what is the primary reason people often rely on a variety of mental shortcuts? We're

Accepted Answer

The authors state that people rely on mental shortcuts because they are confronted with an overwhelming amount of social information. This suggests that people use these shortcuts as a way to simplify and make sense of complex social situations. Option A is not supported by the text as the authors do not suggest that people are mentally lazy. Option C is only partially true, as the authors acknowledge that our reasoning abilities are flawed but this is not the primary reason for relying on shortcuts. Option D is not mentioned in relation to the use of mental shortcuts.

Question 16

In trying to decide which of two classmates is smarter,you use the rule,"the faster people talk,the smarter they are," so you choose the classmate who talks faster.You have applied a ____ to decide who is smarter.

Accepted Answer

The rule "the faster people talk, the smarter they are" is a judgmental heuristic, which is a mental shortcut we use to make judgments quickly and efficiently, but often at the expense of accuracy.

Question 17

Our use of mental shortcuts usually leads to

Accepted Answer

Mental shortcuts, or heuristics, allow us to make decisions efficiently by simplifying the process of assessing complex information. While not always perfect, these shortcuts generally lead to satisfactory decisions within a reasonable timeframe, balancing speed and accuracy.

Question 18

Recall that Norbert Schwarz and his colleagues (1991)asked some participants to think of six times they had behaved assertively and asked other participants to think of twelve times they had behaved assertively,and then asked all participants to rate how assertive they thought they really were.Participants who tried to generate six examples of assertive behaviors rated themselves as more assertive than did participants who tried to generate twelve examples.The point that this study illustrates is that

Accepted Answer

The study illustrates the availability heuristic, where people judge the frequency or likelihood of an event by the ease with which examples come to mind. Participants found it easier to recall six examples than twelve, leading them to perceive themselves as more assertive.

Question 19

The shortcuts that people use to make judgments and decisions quickly and efficiently are called

Accepted Answer

Judgmental heuristics are mental shortcuts that allow people to make quick and efficient judgments or decisions without extensive reasoning or analysis. These heuristics can be helpful in certain situations, but can also lead to errors and biases in judgment. The other options are not accurate descriptions of this concept.

Question 20

The availability heuristic is based on the principle of using ____ as a cue to probability.

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is based on the idea that when people try to assess the likelihood or frequency of an event, they rely on the ease with which examples or instances of that event come to mind. In other words, the more accessible or available an event is in memory, the more likely people are to judge it as being more common or probable. Therefore, the availability heuristic uses accessibility as a cue to probability.

Quiz 3: Social Cognition: How We Think About the Social World