Social Science

Cognitive Biases and Decision Making

1,880 Questions

Explore a curated set of questions on cognitive biases, decision making, and behavioral economics. These concepts evaluate how social norms, emotions, and heuristics influence human judgment and group behavior. Master these topics to build a strong foundation for psychology and social science exams.

Behavioral economicsSocial group influencesEmotional decision makingConfirmation bias

Cognitive Biases and Decision Making Questions

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that are consistent with their existing beliefs and expectations?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Disconfirmation bias

  3. Memory bias

  4. Cognitive bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Confirmation bias refers to the tendency for people to remember events that are consistent with their existing beliefs and expectations. This bias is thought to be due to a number of factors, including the fact that people tend to pay more attention to information that confirms their beliefs, and that they are more likely to remember information that is consistent with their beliefs.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that are more emotionally charged?

  1. Emotional memory

  2. Flashbulb memory

  3. Autobiographical memory

  4. Episodic memory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Emotional memory refers to the tendency for people to remember events that are more emotionally charged. This bias is thought to be due to the fact that emotions can enhance the encoding and retrieval of memories. Emotional events are often more salient and easier to recall, and they can also trigger stronger physiological responses, which can help to consolidate memories.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that occurred at the beginning and end of a series of events more easily than events that occurred in the middle?

  1. The serial position effect

  2. The primacy effect

  3. The recency effect

  4. The middle effect
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The serial position effect refers to the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that occurred at the beginning and end of a series of events more easily than events that occurred in the middle. This effect is thought to be due to a number of factors, including the fact that the beginning and end of a series of events are often more distinctive and easier to recall, and that people tend to pay more attention to the beginning and end of a series of events.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that are more personally relevant to them?

  1. Self-reference effect

  2. Personal memory

  3. Autobiographical memory

  4. Episodic memory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Self-reference effect refers to the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that are more personally relevant to them. This effect is thought to be due to a number of factors, including the fact that personally relevant events are often more salient and easier to recall, and that people tend to pay more attention to information that is personally relevant to them.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that are more consistent with their current goals and values?

  1. Goal-directed memory

  2. Value-directed memory

  3. Autobiographical memory

  4. Episodic memory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Goal-directed memory refers to the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that are more consistent with their current goals and values. This effect is thought to be due to a number of factors, including the fact that goal-relevant events are often more salient and easier to recall, and that people tend to pay more attention to information that is goal-relevant.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that are more surprising or unexpected?

  1. Surprise memory

  2. Unexpected memory

  3. Autobiographical memory

  4. Episodic memory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Surprise memory refers to the phenomenon where people tend to remember events that are more surprising or unexpected. This effect is thought to be due to a number of factors, including the fact that surprising events are often more salient and easier to recall, and that people tend to pay more attention to information that is surprising or unexpected.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the phenomenon of perceiving sounds as louder when they are unexpected or unpredictable?

  1. Acoustic surprise

  2. Startle response

  3. Noise annoyance

  4. Auditory illusion
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Acoustic surprise refers to the increased perception of loudness of sounds when they are unexpected or unpredictable, which can be particularly startling and disruptive.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the phenomenon of perceiving sounds as louder when they are associated with negative emotions?

  1. Emotional amplification

  2. Acoustic distortion

  3. Auditory illusion

  4. Noise sensitivity
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Emotional amplification refers to the increased perception of loudness of sounds when they are associated with negative emotions, such as anger or fear.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a cognitive bias that can affect eyewitness testimony?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Hindsight bias

  3. Illusory correlation

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs, hindsight bias is the tendency to believe that we could have predicted an event after it has already happened, and illusory correlation is the tendency to perceive a relationship between two events that are not actually related. All of these biases can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the phenomenon in which people tend to remember events in a way that is consistent with their expectations?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Hindsight bias

  3. Illusory correlation

  4. Schema bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Schema bias is the tendency to interpret new information in a way that is consistent with our existing beliefs and expectations. This can lead to errors in memory and judgment.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a cognitive factor that can influence jury decision-making?

  1. Emotion

  2. Prejudice

  3. Groupthink

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Emotion, prejudice, and groupthink can all influence jury decision-making. Emotion can lead jurors to be more sympathetic to one side or the other, prejudice can lead jurors to be biased against certain groups of people, and groupthink can lead jurors to conform to the majority opinion, even if they disagree with it.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the phenomenon in which people tend to overestimate the likelihood of rare events?

  1. Availability heuristic

  2. Representativeness heuristic

  3. Anchoring bias

  4. Illusory correlation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The availability heuristic is a cognitive bias that leads people to overestimate the likelihood of events that are easy to remember or imagine. This can lead to errors in judgment and decision-making.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a cognitive factor that can influence the outcome of plea negotiations?

  1. Loss aversion

  2. Framing effects

  3. Anchoring bias

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Loss aversion, framing effects, and anchoring bias can all influence the outcome of plea negotiations. Loss aversion is the tendency to feel the pain of a loss more strongly than the pleasure of a gain, framing effects are the way in which the presentation of information can influence people's choices, and anchoring bias is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information that we receive.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the phenomenon in which people tend to be more confident in their judgments when they are made quickly?

  1. Illusory superiority bias

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Hindsight bias

  4. Availability heuristic
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The illusory superiority bias is a cognitive bias that leads people to overestimate their own abilities and skills. This can lead to errors in judgment and decision-making.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a cognitive factor that can influence the outcome of trials?

  1. Emotion

  2. Prejudice

  3. Groupthink

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Emotion, prejudice, and groupthink can all influence the outcome of trials. Emotion can lead jurors to be more sympathetic to one side or the other, prejudice can lead jurors to be biased against certain groups of people, and groupthink can lead jurors to conform to the majority opinion, even if they disagree with it.