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 tendency to favor one's own group over other groups?

  1. In-group bias

  2. Out-group bias

  3. Ethnocentrism

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

In-group bias is the tendency to favor one's own group over other groups, while out-group bias is the tendency to disfavor other groups.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to perceive members of other groups as more similar to each other than they actually are?

  1. Out-group homogeneity

  2. In-group homogeneity

  3. Stereotyping

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

Out-group homogeneity is the tendency to perceive members of other groups as more similar to each other than they actually are, while in-group homogeneity is the tendency to perceive members of one's own group as more similar to each other than they actually are.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to favor members of one's own group over members of other groups?

  1. In-group bias

  2. Out-group bias

  3. Ethnocentrism

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

In-group bias is the tendency to favor members of one's own group over members of other groups, while out-group bias is the tendency to disfavor members of other groups.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to perceive members of other groups as more similar to each other than they actually are?

  1. Out-group homogeneity

  2. In-group homogeneity

  3. Stereotyping

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

Out-group homogeneity is the tendency to perceive members of other groups as more similar to each other than they actually are, while in-group homogeneity is the tendency to perceive members of one's own group as more similar to each other than they actually are.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to remember the beginning and end of a list of items better than the items in the middle?

  1. Serial Position Effect

  2. Primacy Effect

  3. Recency Effect

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

The serial position effect refers to the tendency to remember the beginning and end of a list of items better than the items in the middle.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a risk-averse individual?

  1. Hesitation to embrace change

  2. Preference for familiar and predictable situations

  3. Willingness to take calculated risks

  4. Aversion to uncertainty and ambiguity
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Risk-averse individuals tend to avoid uncertainty and prefer familiar situations, while calculated risk-taking involves carefully assessing and managing potential risks.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to seek out information that supports our existing beliefs while avoiding information that contradicts them?

  1. Confirmation Bias

  2. Selective Perception

  3. Attitude Inoculation

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

Confirmation Bias describes the tendency to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms our existing beliefs, while disregarding or downplaying evidence that contradicts them.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to conform to the beliefs and behaviors of the group we belong to?

  1. Social Identity Theory

  2. Groupthink

  3. Normative Social Influence

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

Normative Social Influence refers to the tendency to conform to the beliefs and behaviors of the group we belong to, in order to gain approval and avoid rejection.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the process of changing someone's attitudes by presenting them with a strong argument that directly contradicts their existing beliefs?

  1. Attitude Inoculation

  2. Counterarguing

  3. Boomerang Effect

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

Counterarguing involves presenting someone with a strong argument that directly contradicts their existing beliefs, in an attempt to change their attitudes.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our attitudes and beliefs?

  1. False Consensus Effect

  2. Confirmation Bias

  3. Illusory Correlation

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

The False Consensus Effect refers to the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our attitudes and beliefs, leading us to believe that our views are more widely held than they actually are.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon of comparing oneself to others on social media and feeling inadequate?

  1. Social comparison

  2. Body dysmorphic disorder

  3. Self-objectification

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

Social comparison is the process of comparing oneself to others, often leading to feelings of inadequacy or superiority.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon of using social media to compare oneself to others and feeling inadequate?

  1. Social comparison

  2. Body dysmorphic disorder

  3. Self-objectification

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

Social comparison is the process of comparing oneself to others, often leading to feelings of inadequacy or superiority.

Multiple choice

What was the Hawthorne Effect?

  1. The tendency for workers to produce more when they are being observed.

  2. The tendency for workers to produce less when they are being observed.

  3. The tendency for workers to produce the same amount regardless of whether they are being observed.

  4. The tendency for workers to produce more when they are given positive feedback.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Hawthorne Effect is the tendency for workers to produce more when they are being observed. This effect was first observed at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in the 1920s.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the mental shortcut that people use to make quick decisions?

  1. Heuristic

  2. Algorithm

  3. Mental model

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

A heuristic is a mental shortcut that people use to make quick decisions. Heuristics can be helpful in making decisions quickly, but they can also lead to errors.

Multiple choice

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

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Framing bias

  3. Availability bias

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

Representative bias is not a common decision-making bias because it is not a systematic error in judgment. Representative bias is the tendency to judge the likelihood of an event based on its similarity to other events.