Exam 3: Social Cognition: Thinking About the Social World

Thaler and Sunstein (2008)found that student's estimations of the year Attila the Hun sacked Europe was influenced by the unrelated request to add 200 to part of their phone number.This study best illustrates the effect of which heuristic?

Which heuristic involves deciding the probability that object A belongs to category B or that event A is a result of process B?

Using research by Tversky and Kahneman,describe how providing participants with descriptive information affects their use of base rate information.Why can failing to use the base rate result in errors in judgment?

Tversky and Kahneman (1973)asked participants to estimate whether the letter 'R' more often held the first position of words or the third position of words.Most participants incorrectly estimated that the letter 'R' held the first position of words rather than the third position.What is the most plausible explanation for this finding?

Define 'schema' and provide an example.

Schemas are automatically created cognitive frameworks that help guide the way we think about and understand the world.

You have developed a new medical device that can diagnose a deadly disease with 80% accuracy.According to information on the framing heuristic,which of the following would be the best way to present this new device to doctors?

Automatic processing is considered ____________ while controlled processing is considered ____________.

Last year Joseph was in a serious car accident.He often thinks to himself "If only I hadn't been driving so fast,maybe the accident would never have happened." This example best illustrates the concept known as _____________.

Work by Tversky and Kahneman suggests that providing descriptive information about people results in a greater use of base rate information.

Your textbook indicates that patients who have damage to the prefrontal cortex show difficulty with ___________.

Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted a study in an elementary school where they misinformed teachers about the intellectual potential of randomly selected students.They found that students identified as 'growth spurters' actually performed significantly better on an intellectual test at the end of the school year even though the selection of these students was random.Which of the following is the best possible explanation for this finding?

People with damage to what part of the brain show problems with automatic responses in fear conditioning but not problems with controlled processing?

Even though Christopher has lost a great deal of money gambling,he continues to place bets at the roulette table because he believes that he can predict the winning number.Christopher's perception that he can control events that are uncontrollable is known as:

You are up for a job performance review and are disappointed to learn that your boss has given you poor reviews.In order to feel better you think to yourself,"at least I did not get fired." This is an example of _____________.

The teacher assigns you to work with the star football player for a group project.Because most athletes you know are not very smart and not interested in school,you expect to do all the work.You are pleasantly surprised to discover that your partner is extremely intelligent and very diligent.You believe that you got lucky and suspect that your partner is unlike most other athletes.The fact that your schema for the academic competence of athletes has not changed even in the face of disconfirming evidence illustrates what effect?

Natalia arrives at a birthday party and her schema for how one behaves during birthday celebrations is activated.In this example,arriving at the birthday party could be considered ____________.

Pick two of the four heuristics described in your textbook and discuss how they can bias our thinking.What are the advantages or benefits to using heuristics?

According to your textbook,which of the following statements represents a potential benefit of counterfactual thinking?

Heather,who has sustained brain damage from a car accident,appears to have trouble making decisions and solving problems that require careful thought.Based on information presented in your textbook,Heather most likely has damage to what part of the brain?