Exam 3: Social Cognition

A prediction that causes itself to become true is known as selective filtering.

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?

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

Tom sustained serious injuries in a car accident and was paralyzed from the neck down. Provide an example of how Tom could engage in counterfactual thinking and feel better about his situation. Describe an example of how Tom could engage in counterfactual thinking and feel worse about his situation. Include a definition of counterfactual thinking in your answer.

You don't think men are very emotional and you classify your emotional friend John as an exception to this general belief. This serves as an example of the perseverance effect.

______________ are simple rules that reduce mental effort and allow us to make decisions or judgments quickly.

Compared with controlled processing, automatic processing is believed to:

Although assuming you will experience positive outcomes in life is healthy in many ways, the optimistic bias also has drawbacks. Describe one potential drawback to the optimistic bias. Be sure to include a definition of this concept in your answer.

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:

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?

Eighty percent of people who live in your community are politically conservative. At a town event you are introduced to Jim who tells you he is pro-choice on the issue of abortion. Based on this information, you incorrectly conclude that Jim is politically liberal. Your failure to take into account the number of people who are coservatives when making your judgment about Jim illustrates an example of:

The optimistic bias is often more evident in people who:

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

In which of the following situations would George be most likely to rely on heuristics?

Once they are formed, schemas are easy to change.

An imagined outcome in which things turn out better than the real event is called a(n) ______________; whereas, an imagined outcome in which things turn out worse than the real event is called a ______________.

Mood congruence effect refers to which of the following?

Briefly define mood dependent memory.

You are asked to estimate the work productivity of an employee. If you under- or overestimated their productivity as a result of using your own level of productivity as a starting point, this would illustrate _____________.

What is the negativity bias? When is it likely to be used, and why might it be of benefit? Demonstrate your point with an example of when the negativity bias may be advantageous.