Question 1

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 statement describes the false consensus effect, not the self-serving bias. The self-serving bias is the tendency for individuals to attribute successes to personal internal factors (e.g. ability or effort) and failures to external factors beyond their control (e.g. luck or other people's actions).

Question 2

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

The statement "only humans" indicates that animals do not engage in these cognitive processes. Therefore, options A, B, and C, which suggest that animals engage in these processes to some extent, can be eliminated.

Question 3

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 4

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 the process of reducing errors and biases by making people use deliberate and conscious processing rather than automatic processing. This leads to more accurate and unbiased judgments and decisions. Meta-cognition is a related concept that refers to being aware of one's own thought processes and cognition. Ironic processing refers to the phenomenon where trying not to think about something actually makes it more likely to come to mind. Anchoring refers to the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions or judgments.

Question 5

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 be counterproductive in debiasing your thinking because memories are already subject to biases and can reinforce existing biases.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

The term used for thinking about thinking is meta-cognition. The other options given are not related to the concept of thinking about thinking.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

This is a widely accepted theory for the false consensus effect, which suggests that people tend to assume that others think and act like them, and use this as a basis for predicting others' attitudes and behaviours.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

Most people often rely on heuristics or cognitive shortcuts to make decisions quickly rather than exploring issues thoroughly due to time constraints and cognitive limitations.

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

Counterregulation is a real phenomenon where people tend to indulge in the behavior they are trying to regulate after an initial regulation failure. This can lead to a vicious cycle of trying to regulate behavior and then counterregulating, leading to frustration and negative psychological effects.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

The answer of Malle's research has supported the traditional notion...

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 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 training involving statistical reasoning
C)both as a result of training involving statistical reasoning, and when they are encouraged to carefully consider different alternatives
D)neither as a result of having had training involving statistical reasoning, nor when they are encouraged to carefully consider different alternatives

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that both statistical reasoning training and encouragement to consider different alternatives can lead to reduced cognitive errors and biases in everyday thinking. Therefore, the correct choice is C.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Exposure to certain viewpoints and ideas can influence a person's own beliefs and perspectives. This is known as the "echo chamber" effect, where individuals tend to seek out and consume information that reaffirms their existing beliefs. Therefore, watching and listening to primarily liberal news media can reinforce and strengthen a person's liberal viewpoints.

Question 13

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 answer of The fact that men and women report...

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

Feeling sorry for misfortunes, limitations, losses, transgressions, shortcomings, or mistakes is called regret. Option A, counterfactual thinking, refers to imagining alternative outcomes or scenarios to the past. Option B, counterproductive thinking, refers to thoughts that hinder one's progress or goals. Option D, optimism, refers to a positive outlook on life and the expectation of positive outcomes.

Question 15

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 because statistical regression predicts that extreme scores on any given test are likely to be less extreme on a subsequent test, simply due to natural variation in performance. Therefore, it is expected that people who receive extremely low scores on IQ tests will typically perform better the second time around.

Question 16

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

The answer of Jack read about the swine flu in...

Question 17

The tendency to think that all African Americans are likely to be great athletes because LeBron James is such a great athlete illustrates the illusory correlation.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of illusory correlation, which refers to the tendency to perceive a relationship between two variables (in this case, race and athletic ability) even when none exists, or when the relationship is much weaker than we believe it to be. This bias often emerges when we encounter rare or highly salient events (like LeBron James' success as a black athlete) and then overgeneralize from those events to larger groups or populations.

Question 18

Danitha is taking a first year course 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 trying to "debias" the students' thinking by helping them recognize and avoid relying on criteria that may lead to less desirable outcomes. This involves identifying and correcting for cognitive biases.

Question 19

Itumeleng 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.Itumeleng is using ____ to improve his thinking.
A)meta-cognition
B)contamination
C)conjunction
D)attribution

Accepted Answer

Itumeleng is engaging in meta-cognition by reflecting on his thinking process and monitoring his comprehension as he reads. Meta-cognition is a strategy for improving thinking and learning. The other answer choices do not accurately describe what Itumeleng is doing.

Question 20

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

The research suggests that people rely on irrational thinking often, but are still capable of rational decision-making in important situations. The other options are too extreme and do not accurately reflect the research on cognitive errors and biases.

Quiz 5: Social Cognition

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.

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

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

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

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

Thinking about thinking is called ____.

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

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

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

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 ____.

If a moderately liberal person watches a lot of liberal news media television and listens to liberal news radio programmes, 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.

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

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.

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.

The tendency to think that all African Americans are likely to be great athletes because LeBron James is such a great athlete illustrates the illusory correlation.

Danitha is taking a first year course 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 ____.

Itumeleng 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.Itumeleng is using ____ to improve his thinking.

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