Question 1

Feeling lonely and sorry for himself,Jerry moans,"If only I hadn't gotten drunk and made a fool of myself on my date with Mary,she and I would now be happily married." According to the text,Jerry is engaging in

Accepted Answer

Jerry is engaging in counterfactual thinking, imagining a different outcome if he had acted differently in the past.

Question 2

Getting trapped in one's thoughts about unpleasant events and an inability to move on from them is a risk of

Accepted Answer

Counterfactual thinking is the tendency to dwell on alternative outcomes or scenarios that could have led to a different result. This often involves replaying past events in one's mind and focusing on negative aspects or mistakes that were made. This can lead to getting trapped in one's thoughts about unpleasant events and an inability to move on from them. The other options (A, C, D, and E) are not directly related to this phenomenon.

Question 3

According to research conducted by Richard Nisbett and his colleagues (1983,1986,1987),how might you improve your social reasoning? Take a(n)_______ course.

Accepted Answer

The research suggests that taking a statistics course can improve social reasoning.

Question 4

Which metaphor best represents the view of people as good,but not infallible,thinkers?

Accepted Answer

The metaphor of "flawed scientists" suggests that people are capable of thinking and reasoning but are not infallible, and can make errors or biases just like scientists can make mistakes in their experiments or research. This metaphor implies a balance between human reason and human fallibility, which is a common view in social psychology.

Question 5

When Jana was chiding herself for losing her favorite necklace and reciting a list of all the things she could have done to prevent the loss,her grandmother said,"Now,Jana.Don't cry over spilled milk." In essence,Jana's grandmother was advising her to

Accepted Answer

Jana's grandmother is advising her to stop engaging in counterfactual thinking, which involves focusing on what could have been done differently to prevent a negative outcome that has already occurred. The phrase "don't cry over spilled milk" is a common idiom that means don't worry about something that has already happened and cannot be changed.

Question 6

Recall Victoria Medvec and her colleagues' (1995)study of the emotions experienced by Olympic athletes who won bronze and silver medals.If silver medalists out-performed bronze medalists,why were they less happy?

Accepted Answer

Silver medalists were less happy because it was easier for them to imagine winning the gold medal, making their actual achievement feel like a loss. In contrast, bronze medalists were more likely to be happy because they could imagine not winning a medal at all, making their bronze medal feel like a significant achievement.

Question 7

You stayed up all night cramming for an examination and didn't do as well as you had hoped."If only I had started studying sooner and gotten a good night's rest,I'd have done much better," you think to yourself.You have just engaged in

Accepted Answer

Counterfactual thinking involves thinking about alternative outcomes or scenarios that could have occurred if things had been done differently. In this scenario, the person is thinking about how they could have done better if they had started studying sooner and gotten a good night's rest, which is an example of counterfactual thinking. The other answer choices (self-justification, wish fulfillment, hindsight bias, and unrealistic fantasy) do not accurately describe the type of thinking happening in this scenario.

Question 8

Based on your reading of Chapter 3 (Social Cognition),who would you predict would be more frustrated: Katie,who missed an "A" by one point,or James,who missed an "A" by five points?

Accepted Answer

Based on the principle of counterfactual thinking, Katie is more likely to imagine getting just one more point and therefore feel more frustration. James, on the other hand, might have a harder time imagining just one more point and might be more likely to focus on the larger gap between his score and an "A." Therefore, Katie is more likely to experience frustration according to social cognition theory.

Question 9

You and your friend have a big assignment due today in your English class.You ask how your friend's paper turned out,and he mentions that he hasn't yet gotten around to writing it.Shocked,you ask him what he's going to tell the professor.He replies,"Oh,it won't be a problem.All female professors are pushovers; she'll let me turn the paper in next week." You tell your friend that you don't think all female professors are pushovers,but he doesn't seem worried.His conviction that his reasoning is correct is called the

Accepted Answer

The friend's conviction that all female professors are pushovers and will allow him to turn his paper in late shows an overconfidence barrier, which is the tendency to have too much confidence in one's own reasoning abilities or judgment.

Question 10

Of the heuristics below,the use of _______ is most likely to have negative emotional consequences.

Accepted Answer

Counterfactual thinking involves imagining alternative scenarios or outcomes to a situation, which can often lead to feelings of regret, guilt, or the "what if" mentality. This can cause negative emotional consequences, whereas the other heuristics listed do not necessarily have an inherent emotional impact.

Question 11

It is _______ to miss a bus by five minutes than to miss it by an hour because _______.

Accepted Answer

When we miss a bus by only five minutes, we tend to imagine different scenarios in our head about what we could have done differently to catch the bus. This "counterfactual thinking" leads to more distress as we tend to focus on the missed opportunity. On the other hand, missing a bus by an hour may lead to feelings of resignation and acceptance, as the opportunity has passed and there is less to be done about it.

Question 12

Assume that the winning lottery ticket was purchased at the convenience store just around the corner from your house.According to research on counterfactual thinking,you would probably feel worse than if the winning ticket had been purchased in another city,because

Accepted Answer

When the winning ticket is purchased nearby, it's easier to imagine scenarios where you could have bought it, leading to more counterfactual thinking and regret.

Question 13

Why might taking a statistics course help your social judgments become more complex and accurate? Such a course teaches the skills needed by a(n)

Accepted Answer

Taking a statistics course teaches the skills needed to conduct research and analyze data, which are vital skills for a scientist. With this knowledge, individuals are better equipped to critically evaluate research studies and make informed decisions based on data, leading to more complex and accurate social judgments.

Question 14

Recall that Christopher Davis and his colleagues (1995)interviewed people who had suffered the loss of a spouse or child.They found that the more ____________,the more distress the survivors reported.

Accepted Answer

The more easily survivors could imagine how the death could have been prevented, the more distress they reported, as this likely led to increased rumination and feelings of regret or guilt.

Question 15

Counterfactual thinking is

Accepted Answer

Counterfactual thinking refers to the mental process of imagining alternative outcomes that could have happened in the past or present. It requires conscious and effortful thinking as individuals have to actively imagine and evaluate different scenarios. Therefore, option B is the best choice. Options A, C, and D are incorrect as counterfactual thinking is not necessarily unrealistic, voluntary, or realistic. Option E is also incorrect as counterfactual thinking requires conscious awareness.

Question 16

Tom and Julius are both in line for a movie,but it sells out before either of them can get tickets.Tom is the last person in line,but Julius is directly behind the person who got the last ticket.Based on the idea of counterfactual reasoning,why will Julius be more upset than Tom?

Accepted Answer

According to counterfactual reasoning, we tend to focus on the alternatives that could have led to a different outcome. In this situation, Julius may feel more upset because he can easily imagine how he could have gotten a ticket - perhaps if he had arrived slightly earlier, or if he had pushed ahead of the person in front of him. Tom, on the other hand, knows that he was the last person in line and therefore had no chance of getting a ticket regardless of his actions. Therefore, the best choice is E.

Question 17

Marius doesn't often experience the overconfidence barrier because he

Accepted Answer

Marius has taken two courses in research design and statistics that focused on application of course material. This suggests that he has a good understanding of the limitations of his knowledge and is less likely to be overconfident in his abilities.

Question 18

After seeing the movie Fargo,Craig firmly believes that Minnesotans are the goofiest people in the United States.You believe that Minnesotans are no goofier than people any place else,and you would like to get Craig to change his judgment.To do this,you might

Accepted Answer

Asking Craig to consider the opposite point of view may challenge his current belief and encourage him to think critically about it. Simply telling him to stop being irrational or to watch the film again may not address the underlying reasons for his belief, while telling him he needs a law school course may be irrelevant and dismissive. Asking him to think more carefully about his judgment is also a good option, but asking him to consider the opposite point of view is a more specific and targeted approach to changing his belief.

Question 19

Alyssa and Sara both had their wallets stolen out of their shopping carts at the grocery store.Alyssa always keeps her wallet in her cart when she shops.Sara,however,usually keeps her wallet in a purse,which she holds close to her at all times.The day Sara had her wallet stolen she'd been in a hurry and had just grabbed her wallet and dumped it into the cart.Who would experience more counterfactual thoughts after the theft,Alyssa or Sara?

Accepted Answer

Sara would experience more counterfactual thoughts because she deviated from her usual behavior of keeping her wallet close to her, and may regret not being more cautious. Alyssa's behavior, on the other hand, was consistent with her usual actions, so there may be less room for regret or alternate scenarios to consider.

Question 20

You were supposed to make an important presentation at work,but you overslept and the bus was late,so you missed the meeting.If you are able to generate many ways in which to "undo" this terrible outcome you are likely to experience _______ emotional reaction.

Accepted Answer

A strong emotional reaction is likely to be experienced if one is able to generate many ways to "undo" a terrible outcome.

Quiz 3: Social Cognition