Social Science

Cognitive Biases and Decision Making

1,880 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 future of mathematical models of attention?

  1. Mathematical models of attention will become more sophisticated and accurate.

  2. Mathematical models of attention will be used to study a wider range of attentional phenomena.

  3. Mathematical models of attention will be used to develop new applications.

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

Mathematical models of attention will become more sophisticated and accurate, will be used to study a wider range of attentional phenomena, and will be used to develop new applications.

Multiple choice

Which social psychological concept refers to the tendency for people to conform to the opinions and behaviors of the majority?

  1. Groupthink

  2. Social Influence

  3. Social Loafing

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

Social Influence encompasses various forms of influence, including conformity, where individuals adjust their beliefs or behaviors to match those of the majority or a dominant group.

Multiple choice

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

  1. Confirmation Bias

  2. Hindsight Bias

  3. Illusory Correlation

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

Confirmation Bias refers to the tendency for individuals to seek out and interpret information that supports their existing beliefs, while ignoring or downplaying information that contradicts them.

Multiple choice

Which social psychological concept describes the tendency for people to attribute their successes to internal factors and their failures 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 for individuals to take credit for their successes while blaming external factors for their failures, maintaining a positive self-image.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for people to perceive ambiguous or random events as meaningful and connected?

  1. Illusory Correlation

  2. Confirmation Bias

  3. Hindsight Bias

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

Illusory Correlation refers to the tendency for individuals to perceive a relationship between two events or variables even when there is no actual connection between them.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for people to perceive events or situations in a more positive or negative light depending on how they are framed?

  1. Framing Effect

  2. Confirmation Bias

  3. Illusory Correlation

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

Framing Effect refers to the phenomenon where the way information is presented or framed can influence individuals' perceptions, judgments, and decisions.

Multiple choice

Which social psychological concept describes the tendency for people to conform to the opinions and behaviors of the majority, even when they know it is incorrect?

  1. Groupthink

  2. Social Influence

  3. Social Loafing

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

Groupthink occurs when individuals in a group suppress their own doubts or criticisms in order to maintain group cohesion and consensus, leading to potentially flawed decision-making.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where individuals tend to attribute their successes to internal factors and their failures 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 for individuals to take credit for their successes while blaming external factors for their failures, maintaining a positive self-image.

Multiple choice

Which social psychological concept refers to the tendency for people to perceive and remember information in a way that confirms their existing beliefs and expectations?

  1. Confirmation Bias

  2. Hindsight Bias

  3. Illusory Correlation

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

Confirmation Bias refers to the tendency for individuals to seek out and interpret information that supports their existing beliefs, while ignoring or downplaying information that contradicts them.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency for people to perceive ambiguous or random events as meaningful and connected?

  1. Illusory Correlation

  2. Confirmation Bias

  3. Hindsight Bias

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

Illusory Correlation refers to the tendency for individuals to perceive a relationship between two events or variables even when there is no actual connection between them.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias is characterized by the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of rare events?

  1. Availability heuristic

  2. Confirmation bias

  3. Framing effect

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

The availability heuristic is a cognitive bias that occurs when people judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily they can recall instances of that event. This can lead to overestimating the likelihood of rare events that are easy to remember, such as plane crashes, and underestimating the likelihood of common events that are difficult to remember, such as car accidents.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs and to avoid information that challenges them?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Framing effect

  3. Illusion of control

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

Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias that occurs when people seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs and avoid information that challenges them. This can lead to a distorted view of reality, as people are more likely to remember information that supports their beliefs and to forget information that contradicts them.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias is characterized by the tendency to be more persuaded by information that is presented in a positive frame than by information that is presented in a negative frame?

  1. Framing effect

  2. Illusion of control

  3. Negativity bias

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

The framing effect is a cognitive bias that occurs when people are more persuaded by information that is presented in a positive frame than by information that is presented in a negative frame. This can lead to different decisions being made depending on how the information is presented, even if the underlying facts are the same.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to believe that we have more control over events than we actually do?

  1. Illusion of control

  2. Negativity bias

  3. Optimism bias

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

The illusion of control is a cognitive bias that occurs when people believe that they have more control over events than they actually do. This can lead to a sense of overconfidence and to taking risks that we would not take if we were more realistic about our ability to control the outcome.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias is characterized by the tendency to focus on negative information more than on positive information?

  1. Negativity bias

  2. Optimism bias

  3. Self-serving bias

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

The negativity bias is a cognitive bias that occurs when people focus on negative information more than on positive information. This can lead to a distorted view of reality, as people are more likely to remember negative events and to forget positive events.