Question 1

Which of the following kinds of thinking can help explain the first instinct fallacy?

Accepted Answer

A)  ironic processing 
B)  counterfactual thinking 
C)  illusion of control 
D)  automatic processing

Question 2

A loss-framed appeal focuses on the ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  upside of a behavior's consequences 
B)  downside of a behavior's consequences 
C)  most accurate portrayal of a behavior's consequences 
D)  priming of thoughts

Question 3

In his research, Malle concluded that there is ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  no consistent tendency for observers to make stronger dispositional attributions than actors 
B)  strong evidence for the actor-observer bias 
C)  no such thing as social cognition, and psychology should return to its behaviorist roots 
D)  no need to distinguish between drawing conclusions about self versus others

Question 4

The tendency for people to overestimate the link between variables that are related only slightly or not at all is known as the ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  conjunction fallacy 
B)  illusory correlation 
C)  representativeness heuristic 
D)  base rate fallacy

Question 5

The tendency to think that all African Americans are likely to be great athletes because LeBron James (2008-09 NBA League MVP) is such a great athlete illustrates the illusory correlation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Suppose that a coin is flipped 20 times. The first 19 flips are all heads. Is the last flip more likely to be heads, more likely to be tails, or equally likely to be heads or tails? When people engage in the gambler's fallacy, they ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  say that the last flip is more likely to be heads 
B)  say that the last flip is more likely to be tails 
C)  say that the last flip is more likely to be heads OR say that the last flip is more likely to be tails 
D)  say that the last flip is equally likely to be heads or tails

Question 7

The false consensus effect, the illusory correlation, and the first instinct fallacy are all examples of topics in ____ research.

Accepted Answer

A)  attribution theory 
B)  social cognition 
C)  motivation 
D)  prejudice

Question 8

As discussed in the textbook, research participants who read a story about a character named "Donald"-a character who engages in skydiving, demolition derby driving, and other similar activities-tend to think that Donald is especially reckless when they have been ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  primed with words like "dangerous" and "risky" 
B)  primed with words like "fun" and "adventurous" 
C)  asked to avoid the fundamental attribution error 
D)  asked to avoid the ultimate attribution error

Question 9

The false consensus effect refers to the tendency for people to ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  overestimate the number of people who agree with them 
B)  underestimate the number of people who agree with them 
C)  rely too heavily on the primacy effect 
D)  not rely heavily enough on the primacy effect

Question 10

In theory, it would be possible for a child to have a script of ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  one of his or her parents 
B)  himself or herself 
C)  what is involved in going to a restaurant 
D)  the advantages of cell phones over land lines

Question 11

The first instinct fallacy refers to the false belief that it is better not to change one's first answer even if one starts to think that a different answer is correct.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Joe takes on his sister's view that all people from "up north" are snobs. Later, Joe learns that his sister's opinion was based on the fact that her boyfriend from "up north" recently dumped her. Yet Joe persists in his belief that people from "up north" are snobby. This best illustrates the ____ effect.

Accepted Answer

A)  theory perseverance 
B)  availability heuristic 
C)  false consensus 
D)  false uniqueness

Question 13

Sometimes people blow on dice when playing a board game to make sure they get the numbers they need to advance in the game. When people believe they can affect the dice by blowing on them they are experiencing the ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  gambler's fallacy 
B)  illusory correlation 
C)  conjunction fallacy 
D)  illusion of control

Question 14

Madison's is taking a freshman seminar at her university. In that class, the teacher works with students to help them identify the criteria they use to make decisions, and points out how some of the criteria might not produce the desired outcomes. The teacher is probably trying to ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  develop a script 
B)  prime the students for success 
C)  promote heuristic processing 
D)  debias the students' thinking

Question 15

When the illusory correlation occurs after only one exposure to a behavior performed by a member of an unfamiliar group, the ________________ has occurred.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When the illusory correlation occurs after only...

Question 16

Jules and Jim are reading a book review about a book that both of them have read. Jules hated the book, and seems to feel that the reviewer also hated it. Meanwhile, Jim thought the book was witty and provocative, and he seems to think that the reviewer shares HIS views. It seems as though both Jules and Jim are "seeing" different things when reading the book review. That is, both of them seem to be engaging in the ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  confirmation bias 
B)  self-fulfilling prophecy 
C)  false consensus effect 
D)  illusory correlation

Question 17

Confucius just fell down a flight of stairs. One of his disciples makes an internal attribution for the fall. What might this disciple be thinking?

Accepted Answer

A)  "Someone probably pushed Confucius!" 
B)  "The stairs were probably very slippery!" 
C)  "Confucius is so clumsy!" 
D)  "I would have fallen if I were in his position!"

Question 18

"Heuristic" is another word for ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  causation 
B)  network 
C)  pathway 
D)  shortcut

Question 19

Compared to deliberate thinking, automatic thinking involves a greater level of ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  effort 
B)  efficiency 
C)  control 
D)  intention

Question 20

Even though Vlad never actually exercises, you have always assumed that he is an athlete because he hangs around at the gym (like other athletes), drinks bottled water nonstop, and wears sweat suits everywhere. Your (false) assumption that Vlad is an athlete is most clearly an example of the ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  availability heuristic 
B)  actor-observer bias 
C)  representativeness heuristic 
D)  anchoring and adjustment heuristic

Exam 5: Social Cognition