Deck 3: Social Cognition: Thinking About the Social World

Question 1

The ____________ is a small structure found in the medial temporal lobe of the brain and is believed to be involved in automatic processing.

A) cerebellum
B) corpus callosum
C) pons
D) amygdala

Answer 1

amygdala

Question 2

Which of the following statements about schemas is NOT true?

A) Schemas help us organization information efficiently.
B) Schemas help guide processing of future information.
C) Schemas eliminate all errors in thinking and remembering.
D) Schemas affect what we notice and remember.

Answer 2

Schemas eliminate all errors in thinking and remembering.

Question 3

People with damage to what part of the brain show problems with automatic responses in fear conditioning but not problems with controlled processing?

A) The amygdala
B) The prefrontal cortex
C) The frontal cortex
D) The hippocampus

Answer 3

The amygdala

Question 4

Automatically created cognitive frameworks that organize and guide how people think about and understand the world are known as:

A) Affect
B) Schemas
C) Emotions
D) Premonitions

Question 5

When you arrive at your first college class you find a seat,take out your notebook,and being to record information the professor writes on the board.Previous experience of being a high school student helped you determine what to do in this situation.In social psychological terms,the cognitive structure that guided your behavior is commonly known as ______________.

A) a plan
B) a schema
C) a self-fulfilling prophecy
D) the perseverance effect

Question 6

Paying more attention to sensory information that fits a given schema while at the same time filtering information that is inconsistent is defined as ____________.

A) a self-fulfilling prophecy
B) selective filtering
C) counterfactual thinking
D) controlled thinking

Question 7

Justin is convinced that his girlfriend's parents do not like him.When Justin arrives at their house for a party,he feels so uncomfortable that he does not act in a friendly manner.His girlfriend's parents,in turn,see Justin as rude and antisocial.This example best illustrates ____________.

A) a self-fulfilling prophecy
B) automatic processing
C) the perseverance effect
D) controlled processing

Question 8

The teacher assigns you to work with the star football player for a group project.Because most athletes you know are not very smart and not interested in school,you expect to do all the work.You are pleasantly surprised to discover that your partner is extremely intelligent and very diligent.You believe that you got lucky and suspect that your partner is unlike most other athletes.The fact that your schema for the academic competence of athletes has not changed even in the face of disconfirming evidence illustrates what effect?

A) A self-fulfilling prophecy
B) The priming effect
C) The perseverance effect
D) Anchoring and adjustment

Question 9

An example of a stereotype is:

A) all truck drivers are male
B) males are more sensitive than females
C) males are overly emotional
D) women are good at math

Question 10

In a study by Bargh and colleagues (1996),participants were exposed to stereotypes about the elderly through a scrambled sentence task.What was their main finding?

A) Participants primed with the elderly stereotype walked more slowly down the hallway than those who were not primed.
B) It took the experimenter longer to debrief participants primed with the elderly stereotype than those who were not primed.
C) Participants primed with the elderly stereotype actually walked faster down the hallway than those who were not primed.
D) There were no differences found between those participants primed with the elderly stereotype and those who were not primed.

Question 11

Compared with controlled processing,automatic processing is believed to:

A) involve no activation of the amygdala.
B) be less emotion-driven.
C) occur mostly in the limbic system.
D) require careful thought and effort.

Question 12

What could be considered a potential shortcoming of a schema once it is activated?

A) Schemas can mislead you because they are not created based on real experiences.
B) Schemas do not help us organize information efficiently.
C) The use of schemas often takes a lot of controlled processing.
D) Schemas can result in errors in thinking and remembering of information.

Question 13

Automatic processing is considered ____________ while controlled processing is considered ____________.

A) tiring; easy
B) hard; easy
C) effortless; effortful
D) effortful; effortless

Question 14

_____________ is a type of schema in which we apply generalized information to an individual based on the group to which he or she belongs.

A) A stereotype
B) A self-fulfilling prophecy
C) A prime
D) Controlled processing

Question 15

Natalia arrives at a birthday party and her schema for how one behaves during birthday celebrations is activated.In this example,arriving at the birthday party could be considered ____________.

A) controlled processing
B) sensory filtering
C) a prime
D) a self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 16

Information processing that requires careful thought and effort is referred to as____________.

A) controlled processing
B) simple processing
C) automatic processing
D) routine processing

Question 17

Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted a study in an elementary school where they misinformed teachers about the intellectual potential of randomly selected students.They found that students identified as 'growth spurters' actually performed significantly better on an intellectual test at the end of the school year even though the selection of these students was random.Which of the following is the best possible explanation for this finding?

A) The randomly selected students were actually smarter.
B) The randomly selected students had smarter parents.
C) The teacher's expectations of the 'growth spurters' potential served as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
D) Either the randomly selected students were actually smarter or they had smarter parents.

Question 18

____________ refers to activating a schema through a stimulus.

A) Framing
B) Controlled processing
C) Priming
D) Selective filtering

Question 19

If a schema is strong and well-developed then you will likely:

A) Pay more attention to information consistent with that schema.
B) Pay less attention to information consistent with that schema.
C) Pay more attention to information inconsistent with that schema.
D) Pay the same amount of attention to information consistent and inconsistent with that schema.

Question 20

What area of the brain has been identified as critical to emotional processing and memory?

A) The cortex
B) The prefrontal cortex
C) the limbic system
D) the occipital lobe

Question 21

Eighty percent of people who live in your community are republicans.At a town event you are introduced to Jim who tells you he is pro choice on the issue of abortion.Based on this information,you incorrectly conclude that Jim is a democrat.Your failure to take into account the number of people who are republicans when making your judgment about Jim illustrates an example of:

A) the framing heuristic
B) anchoring an adjustment
C) the base rate fallacy
D) the negativity bias

Question 22

Which psychologist(s)is (are)credited with first describing heuristics?

A) Daniel Kahneman
B) Amos Tversky
C) Robert Rosenthal
D) Both Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky

Question 23

Heather,who has sustained brain damage from a car accident,appears to have trouble making decisions and solving problems that require careful thought.Based on information presented in your textbook,Heather most likely has damage to what part of the brain?

A) The occipital lobe
B) The limbic system
C) The amygdala
D) The prefrontal cortex

Question 24

Which of the following represents a time when you would be most likely to move from automatic processing to controlled processing?

A) When you are very tired
B) When you are very happy
C) When a new experience does not fit an existing schema
D) When experiences fit an existing schema

Question 25

_____________ refers to how common a behavior or characteristic is in the population.

A) The base rate
B) Anchoring and adjustment
C) Framing
D) The basic rate

Question 26

Heuristics are useful mental shortcuts but they also have drawbacks.What could be considered one disadvantage of using the availability heuristic?

A) People may give less weight to higher probability events compared with more vivid or scarier lower probability events.
B) Using the availability heuristic results in greater use of the base rate.
C) When using the availability heuristic people do not consider information about an individual's personality
D) The availability heuristic takes a great deal of controlled processing.

Question 27

Your textbook indicates that patients who have damage to the prefrontal cortex show difficulty with ___________.

A) automatic processing
B) controlled processing
C) walking
D) everything

Question 28

Which part of the brain plays a role in higher-order thinking,including judgment,decision making,and evaluation?

A) the prefrontal cortex
B) the brain stem
C) the occipital lobe
D) the amygdala

Question 29

All of the following are known as a type of heuristic EXCEPT the:

A) base rate fallacy heuristic
B) representative heuristic
C) availability heuristic
D) anchoring and adjustment heuristic

Question 30

Tversky and Kahneman (1974)provided participants with personality descriptions of engineers or lawyers and asked them to choose whether the individual was a 'lawyer' or 'engineer.'Out of a supposed sample of 100 engineers and lawyers,half of participants were told that there were 70 engineers and 30 lawyers while the other half were told that there were 30 engineers and 70 lawyers.What was the main finding of this study?

A) The availability heuristic is very common.
B) The negativity bias is very common.
C) People are pretty good at using the base rate when provided with descriptive information.
D) People often do not use the base rate when provided with descriptive information about people.

Question 31

John likes to read books and spends a great deal of time in the library.The tendency to conclude that John is more likely to be a college professor than a mechanic is an example of using the _____________ heuristic.

A) representativeness
B) availability
C) anchoring and adjustment
D) framing

Question 32

What can we conclude from research looking at the 'hot hand' in basketball?

A) There is support for the notion that a basketball player is more likely to make a basket following a hit rather than a miss.
B) People often tend to see patterns in truly random sequences.
C) People make judgments based on the ease with which they can recall relevant examples.
D) People often fail to consider personality information when estimating the likelihood of an event.

Question 33

Which of the following heuristics involves the use of stereotypes?

A) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic
B) The representativeness heuristic
C) The framing heuristic
D) Both the availability heuristic and the framing heuristic

Question 34

Which of the following is an example of the availability heuristic?

A) People assuming that John is not masculine because he is a Nurse
B) Sam avoids going into the ocean because he can easily remember two recent shark attacks reported in the media.
C) People assuming that Andrea is not feminine because she likes to box
D) None of the examples provided illustrate the availability heuristic.

Question 35

Tversky and Kahneman (1973)asked participants to estimate whether the letter 'R' more often held the first position of words or the third position of words.Most participants incorrectly estimated that the letter 'R' held the first position of words rather than the third position.What is the most plausible explanation for this finding?

A) Participants did not think hard enough.
B) Participants were able to recall words that started with 'R' more easily.
C) Participants utilized the framing heuristic.
D) Participants utilized selective filtering which biased their answers.

Question 36

Which heuristic involves deciding the probability that object A belongs to category B or that event A is a result of process B?

A) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic
B) The representativeness heuristic
C) The availability heuristic
D) Both the availability heuristic and the representative heuristic

Question 37

Your friend Jane is trying to decide if she wants to go on a camping trip for the weekend.You know that Jane thinks camping is fun but you also remember that the last two times Jane went camping she got sick.Based on your knowledge of how the availability heuristic impacts judgments and decisions,what could you say to Jane that would be most likely to convince her to stay home?

A) "Camping is fun but there are so many other fun things to do this weekend."
B) "Camping is not fun."
C) "Do you remember that the last two times you went camping you ended up getting sick?"
D) "You should make a list of pros and cons before you decide."

Question 38

Heuristics are useful mental shortcuts but they also have drawbacks.What could be considered one disadvantage of using the representativeness heuristic?

A) When using the representativeness heuristic people do not consider information about an individual's personality.
B) The representativeness heuristic takes a great deal of controlled processing.
C) Using the representativeness heuristic may lead to neglecting other important information such as the base rate.
D) Using the representativeness heuristic leads to greater use of the base rate.

Question 39

______________ are simple rules that reduce mental effort and allow us to make decisions or judgments quickly.

A) Facts
B) Heuristics
C) Thoughts
D) Regulations

Question 40

You have recently heard of two cases on the news of a person being struck by lightening.Although the odds of getting struck by lightening are low,you easily recall these examples and falsely estimate that your risk is high.This best illustrates the use of the ____________ heuristic.

A) anchoring and adjustment
B) representativeness
C) availability
D) framing

Question 41

A state of having more confidence in one's judgment or control over a situation than is really justified refers to what concept?

A) the optimistic bias
B) the illusion of control
C) counterfactual thinking
D) overconfidence barrier

Question 42

You have developed a new medical device that can diagnose a deadly disease with 80% accuracy.According to information on the framing heuristic,which of the following is the LEAST effective way to present this new device to doctors?

A) "This is a great device!"
B) "This device is 80% accurate in diagnosing this disease."
C) "This device is 20% inaccurate in diagnosing this disease."
D) "This is the most accurate device for diagnosing this disease!"

Question 43

An imagined outcome in which things turn out better than the real event is called a(n)______________ whereas an imagined outcome in which things turn out worse than the real event is called a ______________.

A) higher counterfactual; lower counterfactual
B) upward counterfactual; downward counterfactual
C) elevated counterfactual; subordinate counterfactual
D) increased counterfactual; decreased counterfactual

Question 44

When you base a conclusion about a situation on the framework in which it is presented,you are using the _____________ heuristic.

A) framing
B) availability
C) representativeness
D) context

Question 45

Even though Christopher has lost a great deal of money gambling,he continues to place bets at the roulette table because he believes that he can predict the winning number.Christopher's perception that he can control events that are uncontrollable is known as:

A) A self-fulfilling prophecy
B) The negativity bias
C) The illusion of control
D) The framing heuristic

Question 46

You are asked to estimate the work productivity of an employee.If you under or overestimated their productivity as a result of using your own level of productivity as a starting point,this would illustrate _____________.

A) the use of the availability heuristic
B) a self-fulfilling prophecy
C) the use of the representativeness heuristic
D) the use of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic

Question 47

Thaler and Sunstein (2008)found that student's estimations of the year Attila the Hun sacked Europe was influenced by the unrelated request to add 200 to part of their phone number.This study best illustrates the effect of which heuristic?

A) The framing heuristic
B) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic
C) The availability heuristic
D) The representativeness heuristic

Question 48

The _____________ heuristic refers to the notion that we use a number as a starting point on which to anchor our judgment.

A) availability
B) anchoring and adjustment
C) framing
D) representativeness

Question 49

You believe that bad things are more likely to happen to other people but good things are more likely to happen to yourself.This is termed ______________.

A) overconfidence barrier
B) counterfactual thinking
C) optimistic bias
D) illusion of control

Question 50

Which concept refers to the tendency to notice and remember negative information,which then influences the evaluation of people and situations?

A) The recall bias
B) Selective filtering
C) The framing heuristic
D) The negativity bias

Question 51

According to information presented in your textbook,which of the following best describes why the anchoring and adjustment heuristic lead to problems when making decisions or judgments?

A) When people use anchors they stop adjusting once a seemingly reasonable value is reached.
B) You fail to consider the base rate.
C) The used of anchoring and adjustment heuristic takes a lot mental effort and time.
D) The use of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic is an efficient strategy and does not lead to problems when making decisions or judgments.

Question 52

Research on the negativity bias suggests what about how we process negative information compared with positive information?

A) Positive information sticks out in our minds more than negative information.
B) We are less sensitive to negative information than positive information.
C) We are more likely to remember positive information than negative information.
D) We give equal weight to positive and negative information.

Question 53

Katherine believes that in the future she will earn a higher salary than her classmates once she's out of college and that she is less likely to incur any financial problems.Katherine is exhibiting:

A) the optimistic bias
B) the illusion of control
C) counterfactual thinking
D) optimal thinking

Question 54

Tversky and Kahneman (1974)provided participants with personality descriptions of engineers or lawyers and asked them to choose whether the individual was a 'lawyer' or 'engineer.'Out of a supposed sample of 100 engineers and lawyers,half of participants were told that there were 70 engineers and 30 lawyers while the other half were told that there were 30 engineers and 70 lawyers.Tversky and Kahneman (1974)found that participants did not consider information about the ratio of engineers to lawyers when making their judgments.In other words,participants failed to take into account which of the following?

A) the base rate
B) descriptions of the engineers and lawyers
C) the degree to which the descriptions of the engineers and lawyers matched the participants stereotype of engineers and lawyers
D) the need to make an adjustment from the initial starting point

Question 55

Which of the following statements is most accurate regarding the relationship between counterfactual thinking and mood?

A) You always feel worse as a result of engaging in counterfactual thinking.
B) You always feel better as a result of engaging in counterfactual thinking.
C) If you compare a real life outcome with a less desirable imagined outcome, you will likely feel better.
D) If you compare a real life outcome with a less desirable imagined outcome, you will likely feel worse.

Question 56

Which of the following best represents an evolutionary explanation for the negativity bias?

A) We are imitating our parent's behavior.
B) Our culture values negative information
C) We have an unconscious drive for negative information.
D) We are predisposed to avoid danger and negative information would be more important for avoiding danger than positive information.

Question 57

You are up for a job performance review and are disappointed to learn that your boss has given you poor reviews.In order to feel better you think to yourself,"at least I did not get fired." This is an example of _____________.

A) downward counterfactual thinking
B) upward counterfactual thinking
C) biased thinking
D) the availability heuristic

Question 58

Which of the following is the most reasonable explanation for why people rely on mental shortcuts and schemas even though they can lead to biases?

A) Because most people are too lazy to use careful thought when making decisions
B) Because people are taught to use mental shortcuts in place of careful thought when making decisions
C) Because the metal energy required for every single decision would be so great that it would be exhausting and inefficient
D) Because most people are not intelligent enough to use careful thought when making decisions

Question 59

You have developed a new medical device that can diagnose a deadly disease with 80% accuracy.According to information on the framing heuristic,which of the following would be the best way to present this new device to doctors?

A) "This is a great device!"
B) "This device is 80% accurate in diagnosing this disease."
C) "This device is 20% inaccurate in diagnosing this disease."
D) "This is the most accurate device for diagnosing this disease!"

Question 60

Last year Joseph was in a serious car accident.He often thinks to himself "If only I hadn't been driving so fast,maybe the accident would never have happened." This example best illustrates the concept known as _____________.

A) biased thinking
B) counterfactual thinking
C) maladaptive thinking
D) overconfidence barrier

Question 61

The representativeness heuristic is a rule used to estimate the likelihood of an event based on how well it fits with your expectations of a model for that event.

Question 62

Mood congruence effect refers to which of the following?

A) Remembering both positive and negative information.
B) Being more likely to remember positive information when in a positive mood.
C) Being more likely to remember negative information when in a negative mood
D) Both being more likely to remember positive information when in a positive mood and more likely to remember negative information when in a negative mood.

Question 63

A researcher activates a schema about professors by subliminally.
flashing words such as 'absentminded' and 'scatterbrained.'In other
words,she has primed the schema for professor.

Question 64

You don't think men are very emotional and you classify your emotional friend John as an exception to this general belief.This serves as an example of the perseverance effect.

Question 65

Andrew is in a very bad mood.According to the mood congruence effect,what information from his day will Andrew be more likely to remember?

A) His roommate snapping at him.
B) What he ate for lunch.
C) What time he got up in the morning.
D) Receiving an 'A' on an assignment.

Question 66

A prediction that causes itself to become true is known as selective filtering.

Question 67

When you estimate your risk of dying of cancer based on the number of people you know who have been diagnosed,you are using the availability heuristic.

Question 68

According to your textbook,which of the following statements represents a potential benefit of counterfactual thinking?

A) Counterfactual thinking is often used to assign blame in a situation.
B) Counterfactual thinking leads to the overconfidence barrier.
C) Counterfactual thinking increases use of the base rate.
D) Counterfactual thinking about an event may lead to better preparation for a future event.

Question 69

Once they are formed,schemas are easy to change.

Question 70

Automatic and controlled processing are thought to be housed in the same area of the brain.

Question 71

Which of the following would NOT be considered a consequence of being in a good mood?

A) Relying more on heuristics
B) Using stereotypes more
C) Being more easily persuaded
D) Motivation to evaluate information carefully

Question 72

Schemas are automatically created cognitive frameworks that help guide the way we think about and understand the world.

Question 73

In which of the following situations would George be most likely to rely on heuristics?

A) After hearing that he received a job promotion.
B) After his boss tells him he has to work over the holidays.
C) After sitting through a long, boring work meeting.
D) After his boss tells him he has to work over the holidays or after sitting through a long, boring meeting.

Question 74

The belief that picking your own lottery numbers will result in a much better chance of winning the lottery reflects the illusion of control.

Question 75

Jane is in a very good mood.According to the mood congruence effect,what information from her day will Jane be more likely to remember?

A) Her teacher asking her to re-do an assignment because it was poorly done.
B) Her roommate snapping at her.
C) Finding a ten dollar bill on the ground.
D) Both her teacher asking her to re-do an assignment and her roommate snapping at her.

Question 76

As your textbook mentions,advertisements on television often try to sell products based on presenting alternative outcomes for a situation.For instance,an advertisement might claim "If you bought this brand of beer,you and your friends would have had more fun at the party." In this example,advertisers are taking advantage of what social psychological concept?

A) Illusory thinking
B) Counterfactual thinking
C) Optimism
D) Illusion of control

Question 77

Under which of the following circumstances are you more likely to rely on heuristics?

A) When you're in a bad mood
B) When you're in a sad mood
C) When you're in a happy mood
D) You're equally likely to rely on heuristics when either in a bad or happy mood.

Question 78

In a study done on counterfactual thinking,what did researchers find with respect to the satisfaction level of Olympic medalists?

A) Silver medalists were more satisfied than bronze medalists.
B) Silver and bronze medalists were equally satisfied.
C) Gold medalists were just as satisfied as bronze and silver medalists.
D) Bronze medalists were more satisfied than silver medalists.

Question 79

What we remember when in a given mood is influenced in part by what we learned when previously in that mood.This is known as _____________.

A) mood congruence effects
B) mood dependent memory
C) counterfactual thinking
D) mood reliant memory

Question 80

Work by Tversky and Kahneman suggests that providing descriptive information about people results in a greater use of base rate information.