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 term for the psychological phenomenon where individuals tend to perceive themselves as more attractive when they are in a state of physical arousal?

  1. Mood-Dependent Memory

  2. Beauty Bias

  3. Confirmation Bias

  4. Self-Enhancement Bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Mood-Dependent Memory refers to the tendency for individuals to recall memories that are congruent with their current mood, leading to a distorted perception of their attractiveness.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to attribute success to internal factors and failures to external factors?

  1. Self-Efficacy

  2. Locus of Control

  3. Attribution Theory

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

Locus of Control refers to an individual's belief about the extent to which their actions and outcomes are determined by internal factors (internal locus of control) or external factors (external locus of control).

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a way that emotions can influence memory?

  1. Emotions can enhance memory for emotionally charged events.

  2. Emotions can impair memory for emotionally charged events.

  3. Emotions can bias memory towards positive or negative information.

  4. Emotions can have no effect on memory.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Emotions can influence memory in a number of ways, including enhancing memory for emotionally charged events, impairing memory for emotionally charged events, and biasing memory towards positive or negative information. However, emotions do not typically have no effect on memory.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where infants show a preference for their primary caregiver over other individuals?

  1. Stranger anxiety

  2. Separation anxiety

  3. Attachment preference

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

Attachment preference refers to the phenomenon where infants show a preference for their primary caregiver over other individuals. This preference typically develops around 6-8 months of age and reflects the infant's growing sense of attachment to their caregiver.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a common heuristic used by individuals to make decisions under uncertainty?

  1. Representativeness

  2. Availability

  3. Anchoring

  4. Expected Utility Theory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Expected Utility Theory is a normative theory that prescribes how individuals should make decisions under uncertainty, rather than a heuristic that individuals actually use.

Multiple choice

The framing effect refers to the phenomenon that:

  1. Individuals' preferences change depending on how options are presented.

  2. Individuals are more likely to take risks when presented with positive outcomes.

  3. Individuals are more likely to avoid risks when presented with negative outcomes.

  4. Individuals' preferences remain the same regardless of how options are presented.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The framing effect demonstrates that individuals' choices can be influenced by the way information is presented, even if the underlying options are objectively the same.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias leads individuals to overestimate the likelihood of rare events?

  1. Availability bias

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Hindsight bias

  4. Illusion of control
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Availability bias occurs when individuals judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily they can recall instances of that event, leading to an overestimation of the likelihood of rare events.

Multiple choice

The illusion of control refers to the tendency of individuals to:

  1. Overestimate their ability to control outcomes.

  2. Underestimate their ability to control outcomes.

  3. Accurately assess their ability to control outcomes.

  4. Ignore the role of chance in outcomes.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The illusion of control is a cognitive bias that leads individuals to believe they have more control over outcomes than they actually do, often resulting in risk-taking behavior.

Multiple choice

According to the dual-process theory of risk perception, individuals use:

  1. Only intuitive processes to evaluate risks.

  2. Only analytical processes to evaluate risks.

  3. Both intuitive and analytical processes to evaluate risks.

  4. Neither intuitive nor analytical processes to evaluate risks.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The dual-process theory suggests that individuals use both intuitive (fast, emotional) and analytical (slow, rational) processes to evaluate risks.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a factor that influences uncertainty perception?

  1. Ambiguity

  2. Complexity

  3. Controllability

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

Objective probability is a mathematical calculation of the likelihood of an event occurring, whereas uncertainty perception is subjective and influenced by various factors.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the psychological theory that suggests that people's beliefs about their own abilities and skills can influence their economic outcomes?

  1. Self-efficacy theory

  2. Locus of control theory

  3. Risk aversion theory

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

Self-efficacy theory suggests that people's beliefs about their own abilities and skills can influence their economic outcomes. For example, people with a high sense of self-efficacy are more likely to set challenging goals for themselves, persist in the face of obstacles, and be optimistic about their chances of success.

Multiple choice

According to prospect theory, people are more sensitive to:

  1. Gains

  2. Losses

  3. Both gains and losses

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

According to prospect theory, people are more sensitive to losses than they are to gains. This means that they are more likely to avoid losses than they are to seek out gains.

Multiple choice

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

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Hindsight bias

  3. Illusory correlation

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

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms existing beliefs and expectations, while ignoring or discounting information that contradicts those beliefs.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to attribute success to internal factors and failure to external factors?

  1. Self-serving bias

  2. Fundamental attribution error

  3. Illusory correlation

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

Self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute success to internal factors (e.g., skill, effort) and failure to external factors (e.g., bad luck, unfair circumstances).

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to perceive differences between groups as being larger than they actually are?

  1. Illusory correlation

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Fundamental attribution error

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

Outgroup homogeneity bias is the tendency to perceive members of other groups as being more similar to each other than they actually are, while perceiving members of one's own group as being more diverse.