Deck 9: Making Decisions and Problem Solving

Question 1

Which of the following steps should you follow when assessing your alternatives? Click all that apply.

A) Determine the likelihood that your selected outcomes will take place.
B) Flip a coin.
C) Give the decision time.
D) Compare alternatives.
E) Determine possible outcomes for each alternative.

Answer 1

Determine the likelihood that your selected outcomes will take place.
Compare alternatives.
Determine possible outcomes for each alternative.

Question 2

Which of the following strategies would be useful when choosing between several alternatives? Click all that apply.

A) Continue analysis until a solution appeals to you.
B) Consider indecision a decision.
C) Play the alternatives out as mental movies.
D) Let circumstances make the decision for you.
E) Wait and think.

Answer 2

Consider indecision a decision.
Play the alternatives out as mental movies.
Wait and think.

Question 3

Medical researchers in Cleveland are searching for the cure to a deadly disease. To determine potential solutions, they might do which of the following? Click all that apply.

A) Go with their gut feeling about a particular drug.
B) Flip a coin to see which drug to place into clinical trials.
C) Try a number of different drugs to see if any of them works.
D) See if they can find a drug that will cure one symptom of the disease.
E) Ask for input from researchers in Boston.

Answer 3

Try a number of different drugs to see if any of them works.
See if they can find a drug that will cure one symptom of the disease.
Ask for input from researchers in Boston.

Question 4

Some methods for solving life's more difficult problems include which of the following? Click all that apply.

A) Keep working on it until you have solution.
B) Work backward.
C) Take another person's perspective.
D) Use graphs and charts.
E) Work from the beginning.

Question 5

Which of the following are common pitfalls in decision-making and problem-solving? Click all that apply.

A) confusing opinion with fact
B) jumping to conclusions
C) accepting vague generalities
D) recognizing bias
E) avoiding cause-and-effect errors

Question 6

As no single path may be the best, what should you periodically reconsider to ensure you're headed down the path you desire most?

A) consequences
B) problems
C) major decisions
D) alternatives

Question 7

You need to make an important decision about your major. You may decide to change it; however, first, you need to

A) identify your short- and long-term goals.
B) think through your options.
C) create a practical plan.
D) clarify the details of your situation.

Question 8

Your problem may be easier to solve if you view the problem differently, meaning

A) from another person's perspective.
B) focusing on your habitual pattern.
C) jump to conclusions.
D) forget about it altogether.

Question 9

Use a graph, chart, or drawing to

A) jump to conclusions.
B) view your problem from another person's perspective.
C) transform words into pictures.
D) consider the opposite.

Question 10

Assuming that giving something a name explains it is a

A) myth applicable to common sense.
B) strategy to help solve problems.
C) problem-solving pitfall.
D) definitive statement.