Question 1

The tendency to base decisions on information that most readily comes to mind is

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a person's mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision. This means people tend to base their decisions on the information that is most readily available to them, rather than all possible information.

Question 2

Your text mentions a young woman who headed home before finishing a college tour after noticing a student who was wearing unfashionable shoes. This woman was using the representativeness heuristic by assuming that

Accepted Answer

The woman assumed that the presence of one student with unfashionable shoes indicated that the college as a whole (the larger population) shared similar fashion sensibilities, which is an example of assuming a small sample (one student's choice of shoes) represents the entire group.

Question 3

Most people assume there are more words in the English language that begin with the letter k than have the letter k in the third position. This may be because it is easier to think of words that begin with k and thus may be an example of

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a person's mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision. In this case, because it's easier for people to think of words that begin with "k" than to think of words with "k" in the third position, they might incorrectly assume there are more of the former, demonstrating the availability heuristic.

Question 4

A heuristic is

Accepted Answer

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that allow people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently, without needing to methodically analyze every option.

Question 5

Guilford was a pioneer in the development of tests that measured

Accepted Answer

Guilford was a pioneer in the development of tests that measured divergent thinking, which refers to the ability to think in varied and unique directions to generate multiple solutions for a given problem. This contrasts with convergent thinking, which focuses on finding a single, correct solution to a problem.

Question 6

Which cognitive bias best describes our tendency to judge people based on first impressions?

Accepted Answer

The representativeness heuristic is a cognitive bias where people judge the probability or frequency of a hypothesis by considering how much the hypothesis resembles available data, which often leads to reliance on first impressions.

Question 7

Mental set is a

Accepted Answer

Mental set refers to the tendency to approach problems in a certain way because that method worked in the past. It's a form of cognitive bias that can prevent people from seeing or considering alternative solutions or strategies.

Question 8

Engineer Phinegan Tatarchuk likes to use analogy during the creative process of developing new products. When Tatarchuk does this, he is

Accepted Answer

Using analogy involves comparing two things based on similarities to understand or explain a concept better.

Question 9

Divergent thinking is

Accepted Answer

Divergent thinking involves thinking in novel and varied directions to generate multiple solutions for a given problem, which includes conceiving new perspectives and uses for familiar objects.

Question 10

Arnold tries to find the single correct solution to his problem. Which mental process is Arnold using?

Accepted Answer

Convergent thinking is the mental process of focusing on finding a single, well-defined solution to a problem, which is what Arnold is doing.

Question 11

Based on a few interactions with an ethnic group, Darnell has developed a stereotype of that group. Darnell is demonstrating

Accepted Answer

The representativeness heuristic involves judging the probability of an event by comparing it to an existing prototype in our minds, which can lead to stereotyping based on limited interactions.

Question 12

Celia is a juror at a trial. Based on her reading of newspapers, Celia has already decided that the defendant is guilty. She sticks to her decision even when the defense attorney presents strong contradicting evidence. Celia is demonstrating

Accepted Answer

Celia is demonstrating confirmation bias, which is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities. In this case, despite strong evidence to the contrary, she maintains her belief in the defendant's guilt based on her prior exposure to news reports.

Question 13

When people fail to solve the "box-candle" and "two-string" problems presented in the text, they may be demonstrating

Accepted Answer

Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used, which can hinder problem-solving in tasks like the "box-candle" and "two-string" problems.

Question 14

Chrissy relies on a "rule of thumb" to solve her problem. In scientific terms, Chrissy's strategy is called a(n)

Accepted Answer

A heuristic is a simple, efficient rule, whether hard-coded by evolutionary processes or learned, used to make decisions, solve problems, or discover answers. It's a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently.

Question 15

Letty has a very complex problem to solve. She decides to break the problem down into smaller, more manageable problems. Which strategy best describes what Letty is doing?

Accepted Answer

Creating subgoals involves breaking down a complex problem into smaller, more manageable parts, which is what Letty is doing.

Question 16

Which of the following best describes decision making?

Accepted Answer

Decision making involves evaluating and choosing among different options or courses of action, making E the best description.

Question 17

A woman who sticks to her belief that her husband is not abusive and discounts evidence of his abusive behavior may be demonstrating

Accepted Answer

This behavior is an example of confirmation bias, where the woman is favoring information that confirms her pre-existing beliefs or biases, and disregarding evidence that contradicts them.

Question 18

Regarding creativity, which of the following statements is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Creativity and intelligence are distinct constructs. While they can be related, creativity involves the ability to generate novel and useful ideas, which does not directly correlate with the measure of intelligence. Intelligence is often measured by problem-solving abilities and knowledge acquisition, which can contribute to creativity but is not a direct measure of it. Creativity relies more on divergent thinking, the ability to think in varied and unique directions, rather than the convergent thinking more closely associated with traditional measures of intelligence.

Question 19

Which heuristic involves starting with a possible solution and then working in reverse order to see if the data support the solution?

Accepted Answer

The backward-working heuristic involves starting with a potential solution and then working backwards to see if the initial data or conditions support that solution. This approach is often used in problem-solving situations where the end goal is clear, but the steps to reach it are not.

Question 20

Functional fixedness is

Accepted Answer

Functional fixedness is the cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used, which means they struggle to see a tool being used in a novel manner. This is why option C is correct, as it directly describes this limitation.

Quiz 7: Thinking Language and Intelligence