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 cognitive distortion is characterized by exaggerating the negative aspects of a situation and minimizing the positive ones?

  1. Selective abstraction

  2. Overgeneralization

  3. Catastrophizing

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

Catastrophizing involves exaggerating the negative aspects of a situation and expecting the worst possible outcome.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal factors and negative outcomes to external factors?

  1. Self-serving bias

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Illusion of control

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

Self-serving bias is the tendency to take credit for positive outcomes while blaming external factors for negative outcomes.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to focus on positive aspects of life and expect favorable outcomes?

  1. Optimism bias

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Illusion of control

  4. Self-serving bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Optimism bias is the tendency to believe that positive outcomes are more likely to occur and negative outcomes are less likely to occur.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the belief that one's thoughts and beliefs can influence one's reality?

  1. Law of attraction

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Illusion of control

  4. Self-serving bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The law of attraction is the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into one's life.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to believe that one has control over events that are largely determined by chance or external factors?

  1. Law of attraction

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Illusion of control

  4. Self-serving bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The illusion of control is the tendency to believe that one has control over events that are largely determined by chance or external factors.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to focus on the negative aspects of life and expect unfavorable outcomes?

  1. Pessimism bias

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Illusion of control

  4. Self-serving bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Pessimism bias is the tendency to believe that negative outcomes are more likely to occur and positive outcomes are less likely to occur.

Multiple choice

What is the primary concern regarding the accuracy of opinion polls?

  1. Sampling error

  2. Non-response bias

  3. Leading questions

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

Sampling error is the main concern in opinion polls, as it arises when the sample of respondents does not accurately represent the entire population of interest.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon of experiencing two or more conflicting thoughts or feelings at the same time?

  1. Cognitive Dissonance

  2. Ambivalence

  3. Paradox

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

Ambivalence is the phenomenon of experiencing two or more conflicting thoughts or feelings at the same time.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a type of cognitive bias?

  1. Confirmation Bias

  2. Hindsight Bias

  3. Framing Effect

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

Attention is not a type of cognitive bias, while Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, and Framing Effect are all types of cognitive biases.

Multiple choice

According to research, how does the presence of strong emotions affect the accuracy of witness testimony?

  1. It increases accuracy.

  2. It decreases accuracy.

  3. It has no effect on accuracy.

  4. The effect depends on the specific emotion.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Research has shown that the presence of strong emotions, such as anger or fear, can impair the accuracy of witness testimony. This is because emotions can interfere with attention, memory, and decision-making.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon in which emotions can spread from one person to another?

  1. Emotional contagion

  2. Emotional hijacking

  3. Emotional intelligence

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

Emotional contagion is the phenomenon in which emotions can spread from one person to another. This can happen through facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon in which people tend to make decisions that are consistent with their emotions?

  1. Emotional reasoning

  2. Emotional contagion

  3. Emotional hijacking

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

Emotional reasoning is the phenomenon in which people tend to make decisions that are consistent with their emotions. This can lead to biased and irrational decisions, as emotions can cloud judgment and make it difficult to think clearly.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon in which people tend to make decisions that are consistent with their emotions?

  1. Emotional reasoning

  2. Emotional contagion

  3. Emotional hijacking

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

Emotional reasoning is the phenomenon in which people tend to make decisions that are consistent with their emotions. This can lead to biased and irrational decisions, as emotions can cloud judgment and make it difficult to think clearly.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a key concept in language and economic psychology?

  1. Framing

  2. Anchoring

  3. Loss aversion

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

Cognitive dissonance is a concept from social psychology, not language and economic psychology.

Multiple choice

What is anchoring?

  1. The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information received.

  2. The tendency to adjust one's beliefs or estimates in light of new information.

  3. The tendency to make decisions based on emotions rather than logic.

  4. The tendency to overestimate the likelihood of rare events.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Anchoring is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information received, even when it is irrelevant or misleading.