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

According to self-discrepancy theory, consumers experience psychological discomfort when there is a gap between their:

  1. Actual self-concept and ideal self-concept

  2. Actual self-concept and social self-concept

  3. Ideal self-concept and social self-concept

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

Self-discrepancy theory proposes that consumers experience psychological discomfort when there is a discrepancy between any of these three aspects of their self-concept.

Multiple choice

How does self-acceptance influence our decision-making process?

  1. It leads to impulsive and reckless choices

  2. It hinders our ability to consider different perspectives

  3. It promotes self-doubt and indecision

  4. It enables us to make choices aligned with our values and goals
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Self-acceptance allows us to trust our instincts and make decisions that are true to ourselves, rather than being influenced by external pressures or societal expectations.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to compare their own lives to the idealized lives they see portrayed on social media?

  1. Social comparison

  2. Self-objectification

  3. Body image distortion

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

Social comparison is the tendency for individuals to compare their own lives, accomplishments, and experiences to those of others, often leading to feelings of inadequacy or envy.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to believe information they see on social media more readily than information from traditional media sources?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Selective exposure

  3. Illusory truth effect

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

The illusory truth effect is the tendency for individuals to believe information they have been exposed to repeatedly, even if it is false. This effect is particularly strong in the context of social media, where information is often shared and reinforced by multiple sources.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to share information on social media that is consistent with their existing beliefs and values?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Selective exposure

  3. Illusory truth effect

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

Confirmation bias is the tendency for individuals to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs and values, while avoiding information that challenges them. This bias is particularly strong in the context of social media, where individuals can curate their feeds to include only content that aligns with their views.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to conform to the opinions and behaviors of the majority on social media?

  1. Groupthink

  2. Social proof

  3. Bandwagon effect

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

The bandwagon effect is the tendency for individuals to adopt the opinions and behaviors of the majority, often without critical thought or evaluation. This effect is particularly strong in the context of social media, where individuals are constantly exposed to the opinions and behaviors of others.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the phenomenon where people tend to believe that everyone else is using social media more than they actually are?

  1. Pluralistic ignorance

  2. False consensus effect

  3. Illusory truth effect

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

The false consensus effect is the tendency for individuals to believe that their own opinions and behaviors are more common than they actually are. This effect is particularly strong in the context of social media, where individuals are constantly exposed to the opinions and behaviors of others, which can lead them to overestimate the prevalence of these opinions and behaviors.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is an example of a spurious correlation?

  1. People who eat more ice cream tend to get more sunburns.

  2. People who wear glasses tend to be more intelligent.

  3. People who live in colder climates tend to drink more coffee.

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

A spurious correlation is a correlation between two variables that is not caused by a causal relationship between the two variables. In each of the examples given, there is a correlation between two variables, but the correlation is not caused by a causal relationship between the two variables.

Multiple choice

What is the endowment effect?

  1. The tendency for individuals to place a higher value on items that they own compared to items that they do not own.

  2. The tendency for individuals to overvalue the status quo.

  3. The tendency for individuals to be more risk-averse in the domain of losses than in the domain of gains.

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

The endowment effect is the tendency for individuals to place a higher value on items that they own compared to items that they do not own, even if the items are objectively the same.

Multiple choice

What is the status quo bias?

  1. The tendency for individuals to prefer the status quo over change, even if the change would be beneficial.

  2. The tendency for individuals to overvalue the status quo.

  3. The tendency for individuals to be more risk-averse in the domain of losses than in the domain of gains.

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

The status quo bias is the tendency for individuals to prefer the status quo over change, even if the change would be beneficial.

Multiple choice

What is the framing effect?

  1. The tendency for individuals to make different decisions depending on how the options are presented.

  2. The tendency for individuals to overvalue the status quo.

  3. The tendency for individuals to be more risk-averse in the domain of losses than in the domain of gains.

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

The framing effect is the tendency for individuals to make different decisions depending on how the options are presented, even if the underlying options are objectively the same.

Multiple choice

What is the anchoring effect?

  1. The tendency for individuals to use an initial piece of information as a reference point for making subsequent judgments.

  2. The tendency for individuals to overvalue the status quo.

  3. The tendency for individuals to be more risk-averse in the domain of losses than in the domain of gains.

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

The anchoring effect is the tendency for individuals to use an initial piece of information as a reference point for making subsequent judgments, even if the initial information is irrelevant or misleading.

Multiple choice

What is the availability heuristic?

  1. The tendency for individuals to judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily they can recall examples of the event.

  2. The tendency for individuals to overvalue the status quo.

  3. The tendency for individuals to be more risk-averse in the domain of losses than in the domain of gains.

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

The availability heuristic is the tendency for individuals to judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily they can recall examples of the event, even if the examples are not representative of the overall population.

Multiple choice

What is the representativeness heuristic?

  1. The tendency for individuals to judge the likelihood of an event based on how similar it is to other events that they have experienced.

  2. The tendency for individuals to overvalue the status quo.

  3. The tendency for individuals to be more risk-averse in the domain of losses than in the domain of gains.

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

The representativeness heuristic is the tendency for individuals to judge the likelihood of an event based on how similar it is to other events that they have experienced, even if the events are not necessarily related.

Multiple choice

What is the confirmation bias?

  1. The tendency for individuals to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs.

  2. The tendency for individuals to overvalue the status quo.

  3. The tendency for individuals to be more risk-averse in the domain of losses than in the domain of gains.

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

The confirmation bias is the tendency for individuals to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs, while ignoring information that contradicts their beliefs.