Suppose that Sergej has just asked Georgia whether she would like to study with him for an upcoming English exam. Georgia is struggling in the class, and she knows that Sergej is an excellent English student, so she enthusiastically agrees. Meanwhile, Sergej interprets her enthusiasm as a sign that she might have a crush on him, and he therefore suggests that the two of them grab a bite to eat together before studying; "Georgia is very attractive," he thinks to himself, "so why not?" Georgia, meanwhile, who is completely clueless about what is on Sergej's mind, muses to herself, "well, that is so nice of him to think that I might be hungry; what a nice study partner!" The fact that Sergej and Georgia interpret things so differently here is most consistent with ____.
A) error management theory
B) self-determination theory
C) reactance theory
D) risk aversion theory

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that Sergej and Georgia interpret the situation differently suggests that they have different expectations, motives, and desires. This is consistent with error management theory, which proposes that individuals are motivated to minimize costly errors in social judgment by making adaptive and biased inferences based on cues from the social environment. In this case, Sergej is biased by his attraction to Georgia, which influences his interpretation of her behavior, while Georgia is biased by her need for help in the class, which influences her interpretation of Sergej's behavior.

Suppose That Sergej Has Just Asked Georgia Whether She Would