Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

The tendency to judge likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind is called the availability heuristic.

Question 2

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 statement refers to the availability heuristic, which is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events that are more easily remembered or come to mind easily.

Question 3

Stacey has to travel to another state for a business meeting but has decided to drive rather than fly.She told her friend that flying was not safe and that she would feel more comfortable driving there instead.What would be her friend's best response?

Accepted Answer

Stacey's claim that driving is safer than flying is not supported by statistics. In fact, the likelihood of dying in a car accident is much higher than the likelihood of dying in a plane crash. Stacey's friend should respond with this information to help her make a more informed decision.

Question 4

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 scenario describes how Dean relies on the availability heuristic to estimate the proportion of family chores for which he takes sole responsibility. This bias leads him to overestimate his own contributions because it's easier to recall what he has personally done than to recall what others have done. The availability heuristic involves making judgments based on the ease with which relevant examples come to mind, rather than on more objective or representative data.

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

The salespeople are using the availability heuristic, which is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic or decision. In this case, imagining one's home being destroyed by a hurricane is a vivid and easily recalled example of the potential risks of not having enough insurance coverage. This makes people more likely to believe that they need a more expensive policy to protect themselves.

Question 6

Fear of not being able to control something is to ________ as our ancestral history is to _______.

Accepted Answer

The fear of not being able to control something (such as flying) is similar to the fear of not being able to control one's environment or surroundings, which was a survival mechanism for our ancestors. The other choices do not have as clear of a connection to the concept of control.

Question 7

We fear too little those events that will claim lives

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is B) undramatically because it suggests that events that do not have dramatic or sensational aspects are often underestimated in terms of their potential danger or impact on life, aligning with the idea that we may not fear them as much as we should.

Question 8

Overconfidence refers to the tendency to

Accepted Answer

Overconfidence is the tendency to have excessive confidence in our own beliefs and judgments, leading us to underestimate the extent to which they may be wrong. Options A and B refer to confirmation bias, which is a separate cognitive bias. Option D refers to availability heuristic.

Question 9

When Larina started college,she was certain that she would never use illegal drugs.By the end of her freshman year,however,Larina had used an illegal drug on three different occasions.Larina's experience best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Larina's experience best illustrates overconfidence, which is the tendency to overestimate our ability to resist a temptation or predict our future behaviors. Larina was confident that she would never use illegal drugs, but her actions showed otherwise.

Question 10

Stockbrokers often believe that their own expertise will enable them to select stocks that will outperform the market average.This belief best illustrates

Accepted Answer

This scenario describes overconfidence, which is the tendency of people to be more confident in their abilities and judgments than is warranted by the evidence. Despite historical evidence that many stockbrokers are not able to consistently outperform the market, they may still believe that they have the expertise to do so.

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of the availability heuristic, which refers to the tendency to judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples of that event come to mind. In this case, the memorable case of welfare fraud is more readily available in people's minds than statistics showing it to be rare, leading people to overestimate the prevalence of welfare abuse.

Question 12

Lenore's kitchen remodeling project ended up costing nearly twice as much as she had anticipated.This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

The planning fallacy refers to the tendency for individuals and groups to underestimate the amount of time, resources, and costs required to complete a project. In this case, Lenore's kitchen remodeling project ended up costing much more than she had anticipated, indicating that she may have fallen prey to the planning fallacy.

Question 13

People with a superficial understanding of proposals for political change often express immoderately strong pro or con views.This best illustrates the impact of

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates overconfidence, where individuals with limited knowledge on a subject may hold disproportionately strong opinions, believing they understand more than they actually do.

Question 14

Just passing by a person who sneezes and coughs heightens our perceptions of various health risks.This best illustrates the impact of

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is the tendency to judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily similar instances come to mind. In this case, passing by someone who is sneezing and coughing can make us more aware of the potential health risks because it is a readily available example of the spread of illness. Choices B, C, and D are not applicable in this scenario.

Question 15

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

Mr. White's perception of the world hunger problem was influenced by the availability heuristic - he relied on the ease with which the image of the starving child came to mind when judging the extent of the problem. This heuristic involves making judgments based on readily available, easily recalled information rather than relying on more objective or comprehensive data.

Question 16

The average kitchen remodeling project ends up costing about twice as much as homeowners expect.This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

The planning fallacy refers to the tendency for individuals to underestimate the time, costs, and resources required to complete a project. In this case, the average kitchen remodeling project ends up costing twice as much as homeowners expect, suggesting that they underestimated the costs involved, which is a classic example of the planning fallacy.

Question 17

We tend to NOT fear events that can be considered

Accepted Answer

Ongoing threats often become normalized over time, leading to a phenomenon known as "threat fatigue," where people become desensitized to the danger and thus fear it less.

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

Perceived control is a psychological concept that refers to an individual's belief about their ability to control a situation. In driving a car, people feel they have greater control over their safety compared to being a passenger on a plane, where they have no control over the situation. Therefore, people tend to have a higher fear of flying than driving, even though statistically, it is much safer to fly than drive.

Question 19

Underestimating the time and cost necessary to complete a project best demonstrates

Accepted Answer

The planning fallacy refers to the tendency for people to underestimate the time and cost necessary to complete a project, and is often seen in situations where individuals are overly optimistic about their own abilities to complete a task.

Question 20

People who err on the side of overconfidence are especially likely to

Accepted Answer

Overconfidence can lead to a more positive outlook on life and decisions, potentially increasing happiness. It might make individuals more resilient to setbacks due to their optimistic bias.

Quiz 9: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence