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

What is the Hawthorne effect?

  1. The tendency for employees to perform better when they know they are being observed.

  2. The tendency for employees to perform worse when they know they are being observed.

  3. The tendency for employees to perform the same regardless of whether they are being observed.

  4. The tendency for employees to perform better when they are given positive feedback.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Hawthorne effect refers to the phenomenon where employees may alter their behavior simply because they are aware that they are being observed, regardless of the specific conditions of the experiment.

Multiple choice

Which media effect refers to the tendency of individuals to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs?

  1. Confirmation Bias

  2. Selective Exposure

  3. Agenda-Setting Effect

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

Selective Exposure is the tendency of individuals to actively seek out information that aligns with their existing beliefs and avoid information that contradicts them.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency of media messages to influence an individual's mood or emotional state?

  1. Framing

  2. Priming

  3. Agenda-Setting

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

Priming refers to the process by which media messages can activate certain associations in an individual's mind, making them more likely to think about or respond to certain things in a particular way.

Multiple choice

Which media effect refers to the tendency of individuals to seek out information that is consistent with their existing beliefs?

  1. Confirmation Bias

  2. Selective Exposure

  3. Agenda-Setting

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

Confirmation Bias is the tendency of individuals to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs and avoid information that contradicts them.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the tendency for individuals to perceive ambiguous situations as threatening or hostile?

  1. Hostile Attribution Bias

  2. Confirmation Bias

  3. Projection

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

Hostile Attribution Bias refers to the tendency to interpret ambiguous behaviors or situations as hostile or aggressive, even when there is no clear evidence to support such an interpretation.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the tendency for individuals to perceive and interpret information in a way that confirms their existing beliefs and expectations?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Selective perception

  3. Illusory correlation

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

Confirmation bias, selective perception, and illusory correlation are all terms used to describe the tendency for individuals to perceive and interpret information in a way that confirms their existing beliefs and expectations.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to imitate the behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs of others?

  1. Conformity

  2. Social Learning

  3. Modeling

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

Conformity refers to the tendency to adjust one's behavior or beliefs to match those of a group or society.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to attribute hostile intent to others, even when it is not present?

  1. Hostile attribution bias

  2. Defensive pessimism

  3. Catastrophizing

  4. Emotional reasoning
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Hostile attribution bias is the tendency to interpret others' actions as hostile or threatening, even when they are not intended to be.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to redirect anger towards a safer or less threatening target?

  1. Catharsis

  2. Suppression

  3. Displacement

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

Displacement is the tendency to redirect anger towards a safer or less threatening target, often someone who is not the source of the original anger.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to attribute one's own negative feelings and behaviors to external factors?

  1. Catharsis

  2. Suppression

  3. Displacement

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

Projection is the tendency to attribute one's own negative feelings and behaviors to external factors, often other people or situations.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to overestimate the frequency and severity of negative events?

  1. Hostile attribution bias

  2. Defensive pessimism

  3. Catastrophizing

  4. Emotional reasoning
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Catastrophizing is the tendency to overestimate the frequency and severity of negative events, often leading to feelings of anxiety and hopelessness.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to interpret ambiguous situations as threatening or hostile?

  1. Hostile attribution bias

  2. Defensive pessimism

  3. Catastrophizing

  4. Emotional reasoning
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Hostile attribution bias is the tendency to interpret ambiguous situations as threatening or hostile, even when there is no clear evidence to support this interpretation.

Multiple choice

Which theory proposes that individuals perceive risks differently based on their cultural values and beliefs?

  1. Cultural Theory of Risk

  2. Prospect Theory

  3. Psychometric Paradigm

  4. Risk-as-Feelings Hypothesis
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Cultural Theory of Risk suggests that cultural values and beliefs influence how individuals perceive and evaluate risks, leading to different risk perceptions across different cultural groups.

Multiple choice

Which theory suggests that individuals' risk perceptions are influenced by their subjective judgments and interpretations of risk information?

  1. Psychometric Paradigm

  2. Cultural Theory of Risk

  3. Risk-as-Feelings Hypothesis

  4. Prospect Theory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Psychometric Paradigm emphasizes the role of subjective judgments and interpretations in shaping risk perceptions, suggesting that individuals evaluate risks based on their personal beliefs, values, and experiences.

Multiple choice

How does 'risk perception' influence individual behaviors and choices related to the environment?

  1. It affects decisions about personal protective measures against environmental hazards

  2. It shapes consumer choices and preferences for environmentally friendly products

  3. It influences participation in environmental activism and advocacy efforts

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

Risk perception influences individual behaviors and choices related to the environment by affecting decisions about personal protective measures, shaping consumer choices, and influencing participation in environmental activism and advocacy efforts.