Question 1

A single,memorable case of welfare fraud can have a greater impact on people's estimates of welfare abuse than do statistics showing that this case is actually the exception to the rule. This illustrates that judgments are influenced by the

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates the availability heuristic, where people estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. A single, memorable case of welfare fraud is easily remembered and thus disproportionately influences people's perceptions of the prevalence of welfare abuse, despite statistical evidence to the contrary.

Question 2

A televised image of a starving child had a greater impact on Mr. White's perception of the extensiveness of world hunger than did a statistical chart summarizing the tremendous scope of the problem. This suggests that his assessment of the world hunger problem is influenced by

Accepted Answer

This scenario exemplifies the availability heuristic, which states that people tend to judge the likelihood or frequency of events based on how easily examples come to mind. The image of the starving child is a vivid and emotionally-charged representation of world hunger, making it more available in Mr. White's mind than the statistical chart, which is less emotionally impactful.

Question 3

The indelible memories of the 9/11 terrorist tragedy unduly inflated many people's estimates of the risks associated with air travel. This best illustrates the importance of

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is the tendency to rely on readily available examples or information when making judgments or decisions. In this case, the vivid and widely publicized images of the 9/11 attacks made the risk of air travel feel more available and prominent in people's minds, leading to an overestimation of its dangers.

Question 4

Jacquelyn suffered symptoms so similar to those associated with pregnancy-induced morning sickness that she erroneously concluded that she was pregnant. Jacquelyn's conclusion best illustrates the influence of

Accepted Answer

Jacquelyn's conclusion is based on the representativeness heuristic, where she used the similarity of her symptoms to make a judgement about the likelihood of her being pregnant. The other options are not applicable as confirmation bias refers to the tendency to favor information that confirms preexisting beliefs, the availability heuristic refers to making decisions based on easily available information, and belief perseverance refers to maintaining belief despite evidence to the contrary.

Question 5

The representativeness heuristic refers to our tendency to

Accepted Answer

The answer of The representativeness heuristic refers to our tendency...

Question 6

Mistakenly concluding that the forgetful acts of an older person must be indicative of Alzheimer's disease best illustrates the impact of

Accepted Answer

The representativeness heuristic is the tendency to judge the likelihood of an event based on how closely it resembles a typical case. In this scenario, the person is assuming that forgetfulness in an older person is indicative of Alzheimer's disease because that is a typical case in their mind, rather than considering other possible explanations.

Question 7

Because she believes that boys are naughtier than girls,Mrs. Zumpano,a second-grade teacher,watches boys more closely than she watches girls for any signs of misbehavior. Mrs. Zumpano's surveillance strategy best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Mrs. Zumpano's strategy illustrates confirmation bias because she has a preconceived belief that boys are naughtier than girls and selectively pays attention to evidence that confirms this belief, while potentially ignoring evidence that contradicts it.

Question 8

During his early school years,Charlie got away with copying his test answers from classmates. Because the university has test proctors who are very observant,Charlie spends as many hours devising new ways to cheat as it would take him to study and perform well in an honest fashion. Charlie's strategy for passing tests illustrates the consequences of

Accepted Answer

Charlie's strategy for passing tests illustrates the concept of a mental set, which is a tendency to approach situations in a certain way based on past experiences or learned behaviors. In this case, Charlie has learned that cheating is an effective way to pass tests, and so he continues to rely on this strategy even though it is ultimately detrimental to his success.

Question 9

By encouraging people to imagine their homes being destroyed by winds from a hurricane,insurance salespeople are especially successful at selling large homeowners' policies. They are most clearly exploiting the influence of

Accepted Answer

The salespeople are exploiting the availability heuristic, which is a mental shortcut that involves basing judgments on the most readily available information in one's memory. By prompting people to imagine their homes being destroyed by hurricane winds, the salespeople are making the potential risks and damages more salient in the person's mind, which can lead them to overestimate the likelihood of such an event occurring. This, in turn, can make them more willing to purchase a larger insurance policy as a means of protecting themselves from that perceived risk.

Question 10

University students were asked to figure out the rule used to devise the three-number sequence 2-4-6. After generating sets of three numbers to learn whether their sets met the rule,they typically convinced themselves of the wrong rule. Their errors best illustrated the impact of

Accepted Answer

The students' errors in confirming their initial hypothesis or wrongly inferring a certain pattern portrays the tendency of confirmation bias, where people tend to seek evidence to support their pre-existing beliefs or ideas. The students were not considering evidence that could potentially disconfirm their theory, thus leading to incorrect conclusions. The other heuristics mentioned, such as representativeness and availability heuristics, are not relevant to this scenario.

Question 11

Which of the following best accounts for people's greater fear of commercial air flights than of driving an automobile?

Accepted Answer

People have a greater fear of commercial air flights than driving an automobile due to perceived control. When driving a car, individuals feel much more in control of their safety and feel as though they can take action to prevent accidents. In a commercial airplane, individuals are passengers and therefore feel like they have less control over their safety.

Question 12

Miss Jan De Jong is orderly,neat,fairly quiet,and shy. She enjoys reading in her spare time and belongs to a social club that includes three librarians,nine real estate agents,and eight social workers. A tendency to conclude that Jan must be one of the three librarians would illustrate the powerful influence of

Accepted Answer

The tendency to conclude that Jan must be one of the three librarians is an example of the representativeness heuristic. This heuristic involves making judgments based on how well an individual or object fits with our preconceived notions or prototypes of a particular category. In this case, Jan's orderly, neat, quiet, and shy qualities fit with the stereotype of a librarian, leading to the assumption that she must be one of the three librarians in the social club.

Question 13

The confirmation bias refers to the tendency to

Accepted Answer

The confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms preexisting beliefs or expectations. This can lead to ignoring or dismissing contradictory evidence and disproportionately favoring supporting evidence.

Question 14

Dean overestimates the proportion of family chores for which he takes sole responsibility because it's easier for him to recall what he has done than to recall what other family members have done. This best illustrates the impact of

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic refers to the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events that are more easily recalled or readily available in memory. In this case, Dean overestimates his own responsibility for family chores because it is easier for him to recall what he has done than what others have done.

Question 15

Some people are unable to arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles because they fail to consider a three-dimensional arrangement. This best illustrates the effects of ________ on problem solving.

Accepted Answer

Fixation refers to the tendency to get stuck on a particular approach or solution and not consider other possibilities. In this case, the people who cannot arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles are likely fixated on a two-dimensional arrangement and not considering the possibility of a three-dimensional arrangement.

Question 16

The danger of using the representativeness heuristic is that it may lead us to

Accepted Answer

The representativeness heuristic can lead us to ignore relevant information when making judgments because we might focus too much on how much something resembles a typical case or category, rather than considering all pertinent information.

Question 17

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective is called

Accepted Answer

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective is referred to as fixation, which means being stuck on a particular approach or pattern of thinking. Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to search for and interpret information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs. A heuristic is a mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps make decisions quickly, but may not always lead to the best outcome. The framing effect occurs when the way in which information is presented (or framed) influences our decision-making.

Question 18

Scientists are trained to carefully observe and record any research outcomes that are inconsistent with their hypotheses. This practice most directly serves to reduce

Accepted Answer

Observing and recording inconsistent outcomes helps to reduce confirmation bias, which is the tendency to interpret or remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions or hypotheses. By being aware of and acknowledging inconsistent outcomes, scientists can avoid this bias and make more accurate conclusions based on their research.

Question 19

Our tendency to judge the likelihood of an event on the basis of how readily we can remember instances of its occurrence is called the

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic refers to our tendency to judge events or situations based on how easily they can be brought to mind. This can lead to biases if certain events are more salient or memorable than others, as we may overestimate their likelihood based on their availability in our memory.

Question 20

A mental set is most likely to inhibit

Accepted Answer

A mental set is a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way that has been successful in the past but may not be appropriate for the current situation. This type of cognitive rigidity can limit our ability to think creatively and consider alternative solutions or perspectives. As a result, a mental set is most likely to inhibit creativity.

Quiz 18: Many Hands Make Diminished Responsibility