Question 1

Counterregulation occurs when people indulge in a behavior they are trying to regulate after an initial regulation failure.

Accepted Answer

Counterregulation refers to the phenomenon where individuals, following a failure to regulate a behavior, engage in that very behavior even more intensely than they would have otherwise. For example, after trying and failing to stick to a diet plan for a week, an individual may end up binging on junk food.

Question 2

Given the research on cognitive errors and biases, it can be concluded that ____.
A) people are not nearly as smart as they are usually given credit for
B) people can be extremely unpredictable in terms of when and why they will engage in rational versus irrational decision-making styles
C) people rely on irrational thinking much of the time, but are still capable of engaging in careful, conscious thought when they need to make important decisions
D) these errors are extremely serious, and tend to have cumulatively biasing effects across time

Accepted Answer

Research on cognitive errors and biases suggests that people often rely on irrational thinking and decision-making, but they are also capable of engaging in careful, conscious thought when they need to make important decisions. Therefore, it can be concluded that people may show unpredictable patterns in their thinking styles, but they are not necessarily lacking in intelligence or rationality. While cognitive errors and biases may have serious consequences, they do not always have cumulative or biasing effects, but can be mitigated through awareness and correction.

Question 3

Wing Tung is reading his textbook for history class. At the end of each paragraph, he stops and asks himself what the paragraph was about. Once he feels like he knows that, he goes on. Wing Tung is using ____ to improve his thinking.
A) meta-cognition
B) contamination
C) conjunction
D) attribution

Accepted Answer

Wing Tung is using meta-cognition, which is the process of thinking about one's own thinking. He is actively monitoring his understanding and comprehension of the text, which is a form of metacognition. The other answer options are unrelated to the situation described.

Question 4

People tend to want to explore most issues thoroughly before making decisions.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that people often rely on heuristics or cognitive shortcuts rather than thoroughly exploring all issues before making decisions, due to time constraints and cognitive limitations.

Question 5

One explanation for the false consensus effect is that people use their own attitudes and behaviors as "anchors" for predicting others' attitudes and behaviors.

Accepted Answer

The false consensus effect refers to the tendency for people to overestimate the extent to which others share their attitudes and behaviors. One explanation for this effect is that people use their own attitudes and behaviors as a reference point, or "anchor," for predicting the attitudes and behaviors of others. This can lead to an overreliance on personal experience and a failure to take into account individual differences and other situational factors that may affect others.

Question 6

If a moderately liberal person watches a lot of liberal news media television and listens to liberal news radio programs, her viewpoints will probably become more liberal.

Accepted Answer

Exposure to a certain perspective through media can influence an individual's beliefs and attitudes. This phenomenon is known as selective exposure. If a moderately liberal person consistently exposes themselves to liberal media, their beliefs may become more liberal over time.

Question 7

The fact that men and women report having had very different numbers of sex partners can be almost completely explained by the fact that men have engaged in more homosexual sex.

Accepted Answer

The discrepancy in reported numbers of sex partners between men and women is not primarily due to homosexual encounters but rather due to factors such as social desirability bias, differences in reporting accuracy, and cultural norms.

Question 8

Research indicates that ____ engage in counterfactual thinking; and that ____ engage in meta-cognition.
A) both humans and other animals; both humans and other animals
B) both humans and other animals; only humans
C) only humans; both humans and other animals
D) only humans; only humans

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that only humans engage in both counterfactual thinking (thinking about "what if" scenarios that didn't actually happen) and metacognition (thinking about one's own thinking processes). Other animals may engage in some level of problem-solving and decision-making, but there is limited evidence to suggest that they engage in these specific forms of higher-level cognitive processing.

Question 9

The tendency to think that all African Americans are likely to be great athletes because LeBron James (2008-09 NBA League MVP) is such a great athlete illustrates the illusory correlation.

Accepted Answer

This statement illustrates the illusory correlation, which occurs when people see a relationship between two variables that doesn't actually exist. In this case, people may assume that being African American is related to being a great athlete because they have seen examples of successful African American athletes like LeBron James. However, this is a faulty assumption based on limited evidence.

Question 10

Malle's research has supported the traditional notion of the actor-observer bias.

Accepted Answer

Malle's research has challenged the traditional notion of the actor-observer bias, suggesting that the bias is not as pervasive or consistent as previously thought.

Question 11

Research shows that people tend to engage in fewer cognitive errors and biases in everyday thinking ____.
A) as a result of having had graduate training involving statistical reasoning, but not when they are simply encouraged to carefully consider different alternatives
B) when they are encouraged to carefully consider different alternatives, but not as a result of having had graduate training involving statistical reasoning
C) both as a result of graduate training involving statistical reasoning, and when they are encouraged to carefully consider different alternatives
D) neither as a result of having had graduate training involving statistical reasoning, nor when they are encouraged to carefully consider different alternatives

Accepted Answer

The research shows that both having had graduate training involving statistical reasoning and being encouraged to carefully consider different alternatives can lead to fewer cognitive errors and biases in everyday thinking. Therefore, option C is correct. The other options are incorrect as they either suggest only one of these factors as effective or suggest that neither of these factors are effective.

Question 12

The older students get, the more variance there is in their reading test scores. This pattern can be attributed to statistical regression.

Accepted Answer

The increasing variance in reading test scores among older students is more accurately attributed to factors such as differing levels of access to resources, varying quality of education, and individual differences in learning and development, rather than statistical regression, which refers to the phenomenon where extreme scores on one measurement tend to be closer to the mean on a subsequent measurement.

Question 13

Madison's is taking a freshman seminar at her university. In that class, the teacher works with students to help them identify the criteria they use to make decisions, and points out how some of the criteria might not produce the desired outcomes. The teacher is probably trying to ____.
A) develop a script
B) prime the students for success
C) promote heuristic processing
D) debias the students' thinking

Accepted Answer

The teacher is likely attempting to debias the students' thinking by helping them identify potential flaws in their decision-making criteria. This involves addressing biases and improving critical thinking skills.

Question 14

People who receive extremely low scores on IQ tests almost always perform better the second time around. This pattern can be attributed to statistical regression.

Accepted Answer

This is true. Statistical regression refers to the tendency for extreme scores or outliers to regress towards the mean or average score upon retesting. Therefore, individuals who received extremely low scores on an IQ test are likely to perform better on a second test, simply because their initial score was likely an outlier and not reflective of their true ability.

Question 15

Thinking about thinking is called ____.
A) magical thinking
B) meta-cognition
C) counterregulation
D) information overload

Accepted Answer

Meta-cognition refers to the act of thinking about one's own thinking processes. Option A (magical thinking) refers to a fallacious belief in supernatural causality, option C (counterregulation) refers to deliberate modification of behavioral or physiological responses, and option D (information overload) refers to the excessive amount of data or stimuli that affect cognitive ability.

Question 16

Which of the following would be least helpful in debiasing your thinking?
A) Take a statistical reasoning class.
B) Think reflectively on your problem-solving strategies.
C) Use explicit decision rules.
D) Rely more on your memories.

Accepted Answer

Relying more on your memories would not be helpful in debiasing your thinking since memories can be biased and lead to incorrect conclusions. The other options (taking a statistical reasoning class, reflecting on problem-solving strategies, and using explicit decision rules) are all effective ways to debias your thinking processes.

Question 17

The self-serving bias refers to people's tendency to think that others are more similar to them than they really are when it comes to their faults and weaknesses.

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias refers to people's tendency to attribute positive outcomes to their own abilities and efforts, but negative outcomes to external factors beyond their control. It does not relate to thinking that others are more similar to them in terms of faults and weaknesses.

Question 18

Reducing errors and biasing by getting people to use deliberate rather than automatic processing is called ____.
A) debiasing
B) meta-cognition
C) ironic processing
D) anchoring

Accepted Answer

Debiasing refers to techniques aimed at reducing errors and biases in judgment and decision-making by encouraging people to use more deliberate and analytical thinking rather than relying on automatic, intuitive processes.

Question 19

Feeling sorry for misfortunes, limitations, losses, transgressions, shortcomings, or mistakes is called ____.
A) counterfactual thinking
B) counterproductive thinking
C) regret
D) optimism

Accepted Answer

Regret is the feeling of sadness or disappointment about something that has happened or something that you have done or not done. Counterfactual thinking refers to imagining different outcomes of past events, counterproductive thinking refers to thoughts that are unhelpful or harmful to achieving goals, and optimism refers to a positive outlook on life and the future.

Question 20

Jack read about the swine flu in the papers for the past two weeks. When he comes down with fever, chills, and a bad cough, he is absolutely certain that he has the swine flu because of all the media coverage it has received. Jack is illustrating the simulation heuristic.

Accepted Answer

Jack is illustrating the availability heuristic, where he judges the likelihood of having swine flu based on recent media coverage rather than actual probability.

Quiz 5: Social Cognition

Counterregulation occurs when people indulge in a behavior they are trying to regulate after an initial regulation failure.

Given the research on cognitive errors and biases, it can be concluded that ____.

Wing Tung is reading his textbook for history class. At the end of each paragraph, he stops and asks himself what the paragraph was about. Once he feels like he knows that, he goes on. Wing Tung is using ____ to improve his thinking.

People tend to want to explore most issues thoroughly before making decisions.

One explanation for the false consensus effect is that people use their own attitudes and behaviors as "anchors" for predicting others' attitudes and behaviors.

If a moderately liberal person watches a lot of liberal news media television and listens to liberal news radio programs, her viewpoints will probably become more liberal.

The fact that men and women report having had very different numbers of sex partners can be almost completely explained by the fact that men have engaged in more homosexual sex.

Research indicates that engage in counterfactual thinking; and that engage in meta-cognition.

The tendency to think that all African Americans are likely to be great athletes because LeBron James (2008-09 NBA League MVP) is such a great athlete illustrates the illusory correlation.

Malle's research has supported the traditional notion of the actor-observer bias.

Research shows that people tend to engage in fewer cognitive errors and biases in everyday thinking ____.

The older students get, the more variance there is in their reading test scores. This pattern can be attributed to statistical regression.

Madison's is taking a freshman seminar at her university. In that class, the teacher works with students to help them identify the criteria they use to make decisions, and points out how some of the criteria might not produce the desired outcomes. The teacher is probably trying to ____.

People who receive extremely low scores on IQ tests almost always perform better the second time around. This pattern can be attributed to statistical regression.

Thinking about thinking is called ____.

Which of the following would be least helpful in debiasing your thinking?

The self-serving bias refers to people's tendency to think that others are more similar to them than they really are when it comes to their faults and weaknesses.

Reducing errors and biasing by getting people to use deliberate rather than automatic processing is called ____.

Feeling sorry for misfortunes, limitations, losses, transgressions, shortcomings, or mistakes is called ____.

Jack read about the swine flu in the papers for the past two weeks. When he comes down with fever, chills, and a bad cough, he is absolutely certain that he has the swine flu because of all the media coverage it has received. Jack is illustrating the simulation heuristic.