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 tendency of people to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Selective perception

  3. Illusory correlation

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

Confirmation bias is the tendency of people to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs, while ignoring or discounting information that contradicts those beliefs.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency of people to remember information that is consistent with their existing beliefs?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Selective perception

  3. Illusory correlation

  4. Framing effect
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Selective perception is the tendency of people to remember information that is consistent with their existing beliefs, while forgetting or ignoring information that contradicts those beliefs.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency of people to perceive a relationship between two events that are not actually related?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Selective perception

  3. Illusory correlation

  4. Framing effect
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Illusory correlation is the tendency of people to perceive a relationship between two events that are not actually related. This can be due to a number of factors, such as coincidence, selective perception, or confirmation bias.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency of people to be influenced by the way information is presented?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Selective perception

  3. Illusory correlation

  4. Framing effect
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Framing effect is the tendency of people to be influenced by the way information is presented. For example, people may be more likely to support a policy if it is framed in a positive light, even if the policy itself is the same.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a memory enhancement technique?

  1. Chunking

  2. Repetition

  3. Mnemonic devices

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

Distraction is not a memory enhancement technique, as it can interfere with the encoding and retrieval of information.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a commonly used method for studying problem-solving?

  1. The Tower of Hanoi

  2. The Raven's Progressive Matrices

  3. The Water Jar Problem

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

The Tower of Hanoi, the Raven's Progressive Matrices, and the Water Jar Problem are all commonly used methods for studying problem-solving. The Tower of Hanoi is a puzzle in which a participant is given a set of disks of different sizes and asked to move the disks from one peg to another, following certain rules. The Raven's Progressive Matrices is a standardized test that is used to assess a person's ability to solve problems that require inductive reasoning. The Water Jar Problem is a puzzle in which a participant is given a set of jars of different sizes and asked to measure out a specific amount of water, following certain rules.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias is characterized by the tendency to overvalue information that confirms our existing beliefs?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Framing bias

  3. Availability heuristic

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

Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to seek out and interpret information that supports our existing beliefs, while ignoring or discounting information that contradicts them.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to rely on readily available information when making decisions, even if it may not be the most relevant or accurate?

  1. Availability heuristic

  2. Representativeness heuristic

  3. Anchoring bias

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

The availability heuristic refers to the tendency to rely on information that is easily recalled or accessible, even if it may not be the most relevant or accurate.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias is characterized by the tendency to make judgments based on initial impressions or stereotypes?

  1. Halo effect

  2. Framing bias

  3. Hindsight bias

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

The halo effect refers to the tendency to form an overall positive or negative impression of someone based on a single trait or characteristic, which then influences our perception of their other traits.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to adjust our beliefs or judgments in light of new information, even if it contradicts our prior beliefs?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Framing bias

  3. Cognitive dissonance

  4. Hindsight bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Cognitive dissonance refers to the psychological discomfort experienced when our beliefs or actions are inconsistent, which motivates us to adjust our beliefs or behaviors to reduce this discomfort.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to make judgments based on the way information is presented, even if the underlying data is the same?

  1. Framing bias

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Availability heuristic

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

Framing bias refers to the tendency to make different judgments or decisions based on the way information is presented, even if the underlying data is the same.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias is characterized by the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of rare events?

  1. Availability heuristic

  2. Representativeness heuristic

  3. Illusion of control

  4. Hindsight bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The illusion of control refers to the tendency to overestimate our ability to control events, even when we have little or no actual control over them.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to believe that an event is more likely to occur because it has happened recently?

  1. Recency bias

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Availability heuristic

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

Recency bias refers to the tendency to believe that an event is more likely to occur because it has happened recently, even if there is no causal relationship between the two.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to make judgments based on the similarity of two things, even if they are not necessarily related?

  1. Representativeness heuristic

  2. Availability heuristic

  3. Illusion of control

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

The representativeness heuristic refers to the tendency to make judgments based on the similarity of two things, even if they are not necessarily related.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias is characterized by the tendency to believe that an event is more likely to occur because we have already invested time and effort into it?

  1. Sunk cost fallacy

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Availability heuristic

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

The sunk cost fallacy refers to the tendency to believe that an event is more likely to occur because we have already invested time and effort into it, even if the evidence suggests otherwise.