Social Science

Cognitive Biases and Decision Making

1,902 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

Which of the following is NOT a common type of decision-making bias?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Framing bias

  3. Hindsight bias

  4. Availability bias

  5. Anchoring bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Hindsight bias is a cognitive bias that occurs after an event has already happened.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for individuals to overvalue items they already own?

  1. Loss aversion

  2. Endowment effect

  3. Sunk cost fallacy

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

The endowment effect is a cognitive bias that leads individuals to place a higher value on items they already own compared to items they do not own.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for individuals to be more likely to take risks when they are presented with a series of gains compared to a series of losses?

  1. Risk aversion

  2. Risk seeking

  3. Prospect theory

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

Prospect theory is a behavioral economics theory that describes how individuals make decisions under risk. It suggests that individuals are more likely to take risks when they are presented with a series of gains compared to a series of losses.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for individuals to be more likely to believe information that is consistent with their existing beliefs?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Hindsight bias

  3. Framing effect

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

Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias that leads individuals to seek out information that is consistent with their existing beliefs and to ignore information that is inconsistent with their beliefs.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for individuals to be more likely to make a decision when they are presented with a deadline?

  1. Procrastination

  2. Hyperbolic discounting

  3. Time inconsistency

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

Present bias is a cognitive bias that leads individuals to place a higher value on immediate rewards compared to future rewards.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for individuals to be more likely to make a decision when they are presented with a smaller number of options?

  1. Choice overload

  2. Paradox of choice

  3. Analysis paralysis

  4. Information overload
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The paradox of choice is a cognitive bias that suggests that individuals are more likely to make a decision when they are presented with a smaller number of options.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for individuals to be more likely to make a decision when they are presented with information that is framed in a positive way?

  1. Framing effect

  2. Anchoring bias

  3. Confirmation bias

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

The framing effect is a cognitive bias that suggests that individuals are more likely to make a decision when they are presented with information that is framed in a positive way.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for individuals to be more likely to make a decision when they are presented with information that is presented in a vivid and concrete way?

  1. Availability heuristic

  2. Representativeness heuristic

  3. Anchoring bias

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

The availability heuristic is a cognitive bias that suggests that individuals are more likely to make a decision when they are presented with information that is presented in a vivid and concrete way.

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 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.