Question 1

What is the term used for a general impression about an individual based on a single characteristic such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance?

Accepted Answer

The halo effect is a cognitive bias where the perception of one positive trait (such as appearance or intelligence) influences the overall impression of an individual.

Question 2

The students in your class are presenting their oral presentations in front of the entire class. You have heard that there are several frequently used shortcuts to judging others and are wondering if any of these are being used by your teacher.
-Camilla has already presented two excellent reports. The report she has just presented is clearly not as good as the first two reports, yet she is given the same high grade as before. What shortcut has the teacher used in this case?

Accepted Answer

The halo effect is when a person's overall impression of someone influences their feelings and thoughts about that person's character or properties. In this case, the teacher's positive impression of Camilla's previous reports may have influenced the grading of her current report.

Question 3

Which of the following statements is not an example of stereotyping?

Accepted Answer

Statement A is not an example of stereotyping because it is based on an individual's past performance rather than a generalized belief about a group.

Question 4

Your rating in a job interview is high in contrast to the candidate who was interviewed directly before you, who was rated extremely low. Your own high rating might be partially attributed to which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Contrast effects occur when the evaluation of one candidate is influenced by the performance of another candidate, leading to a higher rating for you due to the low rating of the previous candidate.

Question 5

Hani has the opinion that people who drive trucks are dangerous drivers. He often perceives that people driving trucks are doing so in a dangerous manner, even when other observers can see nothing wrong with the behavior of the truck drivers. What factor in Hani is affecting his perception in this case?

Accepted Answer

Hani's perception is influenced by his expectations, as he expects truck drivers to be dangerous and thus perceives their driving as such, regardless of their actual behavior.

Question 6

What is another name for a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Accepted Answer

The Pygmalion effect is another name for a self-fulfilling prophecy, where higher expectations lead to an increase in performance.

Question 7

Shortcuts in judging others include all of the following except .

Accepted Answer

Self-serving bias is a cognitive bias that involves attributing successes to internal factors and failures to external factors, and it is not a shortcut in judging others.

Question 8

In the real world what do people typically do?

Accepted Answer

In reality, people often settle for a satisfactory or acceptable solution rather than seeking the optimal one due to constraints like time, information, and cognitive limitations. This is known as "satisficing."

Question 9

What term is used for the tendency of an individual to attribute his own successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors?

Accepted Answer

Self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute one's own successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors.

Question 10

Investors bragged about their investing expertise during the US stock market rally between 1996 and early 2000, then blamed analysts, brokers, and the US Federal Reserve when the market imploded in 2000. These investors were most probably guilty of what?

Accepted Answer

Self-serving bias is when individuals attribute their successes to internal factors (like their own expertise) and their failures to external factors (like analysts or the Federal Reserve).

Question 11

Well after you have started trying to make a decision, new information comes to light that implies that the drug may be able to be synthesized much more cheaply than was previously thought.
-What must you try to avoid when integrating this new information?

Accepted Answer

Anchoring bias occurs when individuals rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive (the "anchor") when making decisions. In this case, the initial cost estimate of synthesizing the drug could act as an anchor, and you must avoid letting it unduly influence your decision-making process in light of the new information.

Question 12

Who is most likely to engage in rumination?

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that women, particularly in their middle ages, are more prone to rumination compared to men and younger individuals.

Question 13

A committee is made up of 12 managers: three each from the sales, production, accounting, and human resources departments. They read a comprehensive study of the company they work for, and are asked which of its recommendations are most important. In discussion they find that the managers perceive that the most important recommendations are those concerning their own departments. This finding is most likely the result of what type of bias?

Accepted Answer

Selective perception occurs when individuals perceive what they want to in media messages while ignoring opposing viewpoints. In this case, managers are focusing on recommendations that pertain to their own departments, likely due to their personal interests and priorities.

Question 14

You are the manager of a development group in a large computer software company. You have decided that it is important for your group to understand the many ways that ethical decisions can be made and you are designing a training program on the subject of ethics. You want to teach the decision criterion that currently dominates business decision-making.
-If you wish to emphasize the importance of making decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges, the focus of your teaching will also be on which of the following?

Accepted Answer

The focus on fundamental liberties and privileges aligns with the concept of rights, which emphasizes making decisions that respect and uphold individual rights and freedoms.

Question 15

Which of the following is not true about our perceptions of a target?

Accepted Answer

Perceptions of a target are influenced by context and surrounding elements, not viewed in isolation.

Question 16

When the police began searching for a serial killer, they stopped only vehicles carrying Caucasian males. What are the police engaging in?

Accepted Answer

The police are engaging in profiling, which involves using specific characteristics, such as race and gender, to identify potential suspects.

Question 17

What are the three classes of factors that influence perception?

Accepted Answer

The three classes of factors that influence perception are factors in the perceiver, factors in the target, and factors in the situation. These categories encompass the internal and external elements that affect how we interpret sensory information.

Question 18

What is perhaps the least rational way of making a decision?

Accepted Answer

Relying on intuition is considered the least rational way of making a decision as it often lacks a systematic approach and is based on gut feelings rather than logical analysis or complete information.

Question 19

You are the manager of a development group in a large computer software company. You have decided that it is important for your group to understand the many ways that ethical decisions can be made and you are designing a training program on the subject of ethics. You want to teach the decision criterion that currently dominates business decision-making.
-Which decision criterion will you teach?

Accepted Answer

The utilitarian decision criterion, which focuses on outcomes that provide the greatest good for the greatest number, currently dominates business decision-making.

Question 20

According to _____, what is expected of people helps determine their behavior.

Accepted Answer

The Pygmalion effect refers to the phenomenon where higher expectations lead to an increase in performance, meaning what is expected of people can influence their behavior.

Quiz 3: Perception and Individual Decision Making