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

Which of the following is an example of a bottom-up processing approach in perception?

  1. Contextual Influences

  2. Past Experiences

  3. Feature Detection

  4. Schema-Driven Processing
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Feature detection is a bottom-up processing approach where individual features of a stimulus are processed before being integrated into a whole.

Multiple choice

The tendency to perceive objects as complete and whole, even when they are incomplete or broken, is known as:

  1. Perceptual Closure

  2. Perceptual Constancy

  3. Illusory Contours

  4. Figure-Ground Perception
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Perceptual closure refers to the tendency to fill in missing information and perceive objects as complete.

Multiple choice

The tendency to perceive objects as having a constant size, shape, and color despite changes in viewing conditions is known as:

  1. Perceptual Constancy

  2. Perceptual Closure

  3. Illusory Contours

  4. Figure-Ground Perception
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Perceptual constancy refers to the ability to perceive objects as having stable properties despite changes in viewing conditions.

Multiple choice

The tendency to perceive objects as belonging to a group or category is known as:

  1. Perceptual Organization

  2. Perceptual Constancy

  3. Illusory Contours

  4. Figure-Ground Perception
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Perceptual organization refers to the tendency to group and categorize objects based on their similarities.

Multiple choice

The tendency to perceive objects as distinct from their background is known as:

  1. Perceptual Organization

  2. Perceptual Constancy

  3. Illusory Contours

  4. Figure-Ground Perception
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Figure-ground perception refers to the ability to distinguish between an object (figure) and its background (ground).

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a cognitive bias that can be influenced by power?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Hindsight bias

  3. Framing bias

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

Hindsight bias is not a cognitive bias that can be influenced by power. It is a tendency to believe that an event was more predictable than it actually was, after the event has already occurred.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy?

  1. A student who believes they will fail a test actually fails the test

  2. A job applicant who believes they will get the job actually gets the job

  3. A team that believes they will win a game actually wins the game

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

A self-fulfilling prophecy is a belief that leads to its own fulfillment. All of the examples provided are examples of self-fulfilling prophecies.

Multiple choice

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

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Hindsight bias

  3. Framing bias

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

Hindsight bias is not a type of cognitive bias. It is a tendency to believe that an event was more predictable than it actually was, after the event has already occurred.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the phenomenon of voters being influenced by the opinions of their friends, family, and neighbors?

  1. The priming effect

  2. The framing effect

  3. The bandwagon effect

  4. The sleeper effect

  5. The halo effect
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The bandwagon effect is the term used to describe the phenomenon of voters being influenced by the opinions of their friends, family, and neighbors, as they may want to conform to the majority opinion.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to perceive patterns and structures in ambiguous or random stimuli?

  1. Illusory correlation

  2. Pareidolia

  3. Apophenia

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

Apophenia refers to the tendency to perceive meaningful patterns or connections in random or ambiguous data.

Multiple choice

Which cognitive bias is characterized by the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events that are vivid or emotionally charged?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Availability heuristic

  3. Hindsight bias

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

The availability heuristic is a cognitive bias that leads individuals to overestimate the likelihood of events that are easily recalled or that are emotionally charged.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to remember information that is consistent with our existing beliefs and expectations?

  1. Confirmation bias

  2. Availability heuristic

  3. Hindsight bias

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

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out and remember information that confirms our existing beliefs and expectations.

Multiple choice

In the context of relationships, what is the tendency to mirror or adopt the behaviors, attitudes, and emotions of others called?

  1. Empathy

  2. Projection

  3. Identification

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

Identification is the tendency to mirror or adopt the behaviors, attitudes, and emotions of others.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the tendency to attribute one's own thoughts, feelings, and motivations to others?

  1. Projection

  2. Transference

  3. Displacement

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

Projection is the tendency to attribute one's own thoughts, feelings, and motivations to others.

Multiple choice

The deliberate and strategic manipulation of information to create a desired impression or outcome is known as:

  1. Framing

  2. Agenda-setting

  3. Priming

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

Spin is a political communication strategy that involves the deliberate and strategic manipulation of information to create a desired impression or outcome.