Question 1

Which of the below is a method used to help illuminate tradeoffs by increasing debate and by exploring a problem from all angles?
A)brainstorming
B)brainwriting
C)the nominal group technique
D)the Delphi technique
E)devil's advocate

Accepted Answer

The devil's advocate method involves one person taking on the role of challenging a proposed idea or solution, forcing others to defend and justify their position. This method helps to highlight potential weaknesses and tradeoffs in the solution, and encourages discussion and exploration of the problem from different perspectives.

Question 2

Carl, a corporate recruiter, advises his job applicants to start negotiating salaries from a higher bracket. He suggests this, knowing that the applicant will end up with a higher salary if the hiring employer is susceptible to the judgment error of
A)availability.
B)representativeness.
C)anchoring and adjustment.
D)confirmation.
E)overconfidence.

Accepted Answer

Carl is advising job applicants to use the anchoring and adjustment bias to their advantage. Anchoring and adjustment bias occurs when people rely too heavily on an initial anchor or reference point (in this case, the higher salary request) and make subsequent adjustments to it, rather than starting from scratch. This can often lead to higher final offers, which is what Carl is advising applicants to aim for.

Question 3

After binge-watching during shark week, you believe that the likelihood of a shark attack is more common than in reality. You then cancel your vacation to the ocean front. You are a victim of
A)satisficing.
B)escalation of commitment.
C)hasty generalization.
D)the representativeness bias.
E)the availability bias.

Accepted Answer

The availability bias occurs when we estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples of that event come to mind. The individual in this scenario has recently watched several shows about shark attacks, making those examples of shark attacks more easily accessible in their mind. This bias leads to overestimations or underestimations of the probability of events occurring.

Question 4

The essence of the ________ is that people tend to overattribute behavior to external rather than internal causes.
A)self-serving bias
B)fundamental attribution error
C)anchoring and adjustment bias
D)escalation of commitment error
E)availability bias

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error suggests that people tend to overemphasize dispositional or internal factors when explaining others' behavior, while underemphasizing situational or external factors. This can lead to inaccurate judgments and misunderstandings in interpersonal interactions.

Question 5

Should managers rely on intuition in problem solving?
A)Yes. Most people systematically apply intuition to problem solving.
B)No. Feelings have no place in management decision making.
C)Yes. Those who track what they learn can effectively replicate the process in future.
D)No. Those who use an inference ladder are more effective decision makers.
E)Yes. Unconscious biases help people hasten their decision-making process.

Accepted Answer

While relying solely on intuition may lead to biased or hasty decisions, those who track their intuition and reflect on the outcomes can effectively replicate the process in the future. This allows managers to use their intuition as a tool in problem solving while also being mindful of limitations and biases.

Question 6

___________ is a defense against judgment biases.
A)Availability
B)Representativeness
C)Anchoring and adjustment
D)Confirmation
E)A confidence estimate

Accepted Answer

A confidence estimate is a defense against judgment biases, as it requires individuals to assess the level of certainty in their judgments and decision-making processes. This can help to counteract biases such as overconfidence or the illusion of validity.

Question 7

Your cousin Vicky remodelled an old beach house last year. Vicky put on a new roof and sealed the driveway. This year, she needs to upgrade the electrical wiring and replace most of the plumbing. When asked why she isn't selling the house instead of putting in more money to renovate it, Vicky replies, "I already put a lot of money into the place!" This statement is an example of the ________type of judgement error.
A)availability
B)escalation of commitment
C)anchoring and adjustment
D)confirmation
E)overconfidence

Accepted Answer

Vicky's statement suggests that she is falling victim to the escalation of commitment bias, meaning that she is investing more resources (money) into a project (the house) than is rational or justifiable, simply because she has already invested so much.

Question 8

Key aspects of a(n)________ approach to problem solving are irregular feedback, combined with knowledge of results.
A)bounded-rationality
B)intuitive
C)instinctive
D)coherent
E)trial-and-error

Accepted Answer

The key aspects of a trial-and-error approach to problem solving involve irregular feedback, meaning that the feedback received is not always consistent or predictable, and knowledge of results, meaning that the individual learns from the outcome of each attempt. While intuition or instinct may play a role in trial-and-error problem solving, these are not the defining characteristics of this approach. Bounded-rationality and coherent approaches rely more heavily on planning and analysis, rather than trial-and-error experimentation.

Question 9

Regarding ways to avoid problem solving biases, the term ________ is closely aligned with the term trial-and-error.
A)adjustment
B)manipulation
C)standardization
D)calibration
E)fine-tuning

Accepted Answer

The answer of Regarding ways to avoid problem solving biases,...

Question 10

Zack arrived late for a meeting this morning because there was a 20-car pile-up on the beltway. Ryan, his manager, assumed Zack overslept because he partied too much last night. Which of the following statements is most accurate?
A)Ryan committed a fundamental attribution error.
B)Zack committed a fundamental attribution error.
C)Zack used the ladder of inference.
D)Zack used the self-serving bias.
E)Ryan used the self-serving bias.

Accepted Answer

Ryan made the mistake of attributing Zack's lateness to a dispositional factor (oversleeping), rather than considering the situational factor (the car accident on the beltway), which is a fundamental attribution error.

Question 11

When asked about the leading cause of deaths in the U.S., Jill chose car accidents over heart disease as the cause of more U.S. deaths per year. When asked why she chose the wrong answer, she said, "I hear about fatal car accidents more often than I hear about deaths caused by heart diseases." The type of judgement error made by Jill is
A)availability bias.
B)representative bias.
C)anchoring and adjustment.
D)confirmation bias.
E)overconfidence bias.

Accepted Answer

Jill has fallen victim to availability bias, where she has relied more on the easily available or accessible information (i.e. news about car accidents) while ignoring the actual statistics and prevalence of heart disease as a leading cause of death.

Question 12

Because of a boom in technology stocks in the late 1990s, even novice investors experience huge growth in their portfolios. As technology stocks kept going up, many investors believe that their successes was due to their stock-picking ability rather than unsustainable growth in one sector of the economy. The result for many was huge losses. This scenario illustrates the concept of
A)availability bias.
B)representativeness bias.
C)anchoring-and-adjustment bias.
D)confirmation bias.
E)overconfidence bias.

Accepted Answer

The scenario describes investors experiencing huge growth in their portfolios due to the boom in technology stocks. Because of this success, many investors believed they had a special ability to pick winning stocks, leading to overconfidence bias. This ultimately resulted in huge losses when the bubble burst, as they didn't correctly assess the unsustainable growth of the technology sector.

Question 13

The frequency with which people belong to certain groups or categories is known as the ________ rate.
A)selection
B)base
C)ratio
D)inclusion
E)cluster

Accepted Answer

The frequency with which people belong to certain groups or categories is known as the base rate. The base rate is the rate at which an event has occurred or been observed to occur in a given population. It is typically expressed as a proportion or percentage of the population. Choices A, C, D, and E are not appropriate terms for this definition.

Question 14

"If we select Option A, there's a 90% chance of success," versus "if we select Option A there is a 10% chance of failure" is a good example of
A)framing.
B)equifinality.
C)bounded rationality.
D)the representativeness heuristic.
E)the availability heuristic.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of framing, which is the way information is presented can influence the decisions people make. The two statements convey the same information, but the way they are presented can influence how people perceive the situation. Option A is framed positively with a focus on the high chance of success, while the second statement is framed negatively with a focus on the chance of failure. This can influence people to choose Option A due to the positive framing.

Question 15

Salma asked Lillie, "How did you do in the final assessment?" Lillie responded, "I knew everything!" Salma said, "So you can expect a 100! That will be awesome!" Lillie thought for a moment and said, "Maybe not actually that much of everything. I would say 95 to 100." Lillie curbed Salma's judgment bias by using
A)a confidence estimate.
B)trial-and-error calibration.
C)healthy skepticism.
D)a defense hedge.
E)a hasty generalization fallacy.

Accepted Answer

Lillie used a confidence estimate to provide a more realistic assessment of her performance, which curbed Salma's judgment bias of assuming she would get a perfect score. She acknowledged that she knew most of the material, but not necessarily everything, and estimated her score to be between 95 and 100. This shows a healthy level of self-awareness and humility.

Question 16

Which of the following causes more deaths per year in the United States, suicide or homicide? Most people believe homicides cause more deaths, but in fact suicides lead to more deaths by a ratio of more than 2 to 1. If you got this wrong, you were a victim of
A)satisficing.
B)escalation of commitment.
C)hasty generalization.
D)the representativeness bias.
E)the availability bias.

Accepted Answer

The availability bias occurs when people overestimate the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory, often because they are more dramatic or reported more frequently, like homicides compared to suicides.

Question 17

The ________ occurs when we attribute personal successes to internal causes and personal failures to external causes.
A)anchoring and adjustment bias
B)fundamental attribution error
C)self-serving bias
D)escalation of commitment error
E)availability bias

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute personal successes to internal causes (such as one's own abilities or effort) and personal failures to external causes (such as bad luck or difficult circumstances). This bias helps preserve our self-esteem and protects us from feelings of inadequacy or failure.

Question 18

Joe has been dating Betty for about five years. Joe admits that he's not happy (and really has never been happy), and that things are not currently going well. However, Joe insists he is going to marry Betty because he has a lot invested in the relationship. In fact, he just bought Betty an expensive engagement ring. This is an example of
A)satisficing.
B)escalation of commitment.
C)hasty generalization.
D)the representativeness bias.
E)the availability bias.

Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of escalation of commitment, where Joe is continuing with the relationship despite being unhappy because he has already invested a lot of time and resources into it (buying an expensive engagement ring).

Question 19

The prevailing assumptions, beliefs, and values that sustain current systems are known as
A)mental models.
B)cognitive forms.
C)patterns.
D)icons.
E)structures.

Accepted Answer

Mental models are the assumptions, beliefs, and values that individuals hold, and they shape how individuals view and interpret the world. These mental models are reinforced by organizational, societal, and cultural factors, thus sustaining current systems. Choices B, C, D, and E do not specifically refer to prevailing assumptions, beliefs, and values.

Question 20

Which of the below leads managers to engage in satisficing?
A)escalation of commitment
B)decision making via algorithms
C)decision making via heuristics
D)bounded rationality
E)equifinality

Accepted Answer

Bounded rationality is the concept that managers have limited information, time, and cognitive abilities to make decisions. As a result, they tend to engage in satisficing, which means they choose the first option that meets their criteria instead of evaluating all possible options. This is more likely to happen when managers are faced with complex or ambiguous situations. Escalation of commitment refers to the tendency to persist with a failing course of action, decision making via algorithms refers to the use of mathematical formulas or computer programs to make decisions, decision making via heuristics refers to using mental shortcuts or rules of thumb to make decisions, and equifinality refers to the ability to reach the same outcome through different paths or approaches. While these concepts may influence decision making, they do not necessarily lead to satisficing.

Quiz 5: Problem Solving

Which of the below is a method used to help illuminate tradeoffs by increasing debate and by exploring a problem from all angles?

Carl, a corporate recruiter, advises his job applicants to start negotiating salaries from a higher bracket. He suggests this, knowing that the applicant will end up with a higher salary if the hiring employer is susceptible to the judgment error of

After binge-watching during shark week, you believe that the likelihood of a shark attack is more common than in reality. You then cancel your vacation to the ocean front. You are a victim of

The essence of the ________ is that people tend to overattribute behavior to external rather than internal causes.

Should managers rely on intuition in problem solving?

___________ is a defense against judgment biases.

Key aspects of a(n) ________ approach to problem solving are irregular feedback, combined with knowledge of results.

Regarding ways to avoid problem solving biases, the term ________ is closely aligned with the term trial-and-error.

Zack arrived late for a meeting this morning because there was a 20-car pile-up on the beltway. Ryan, his manager, assumed Zack overslept because he partied too much last night. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

The frequency with which people belong to certain groups or categories is known as the ________ rate.

"If we select Option A, there's a 90% chance of success," versus "if we select Option A there is a 10% chance of failure" is a good example of

Which of the following causes more deaths per year in the United States, suicide or homicide? Most people believe homicides cause more deaths, but in fact suicides lead to more deaths by a ratio of more than 2 to 1. If you got this wrong, you were a victim of

The ________ occurs when we attribute personal successes to internal causes and personal failures to external causes.

The prevailing assumptions, beliefs, and values that sustain current systems are known as

Which of the below leads managers to engage in satisficing?