Deck 8: Section 1 : Accuracy and Efficiency in Social Interference

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a reason why assumptions of rationality have endured in social cognition research on human inferential processes?
a. Research has shown that people follow primarily rational inference processes
b. Research assumes inferences to be goal-directed, motivating the social perceiver to utilize rational inference processes
c. Normative models provide reference points against which researchers can compare social inferences
d. None of the above

Answer 1

Research has shown that people follow primarily rational inference processe s

Question 2

Which of the following brain regions is most closely associated with neural processing of rewards, goals, and learning?
a. Mesencephalic dopamine system
b. Ventral medial prefrontal cortex
c. Amygdala
d. Lateral temporal cortex

Answer 2

Mesencephalic dopamine system

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a condition in which characterizing information on the basis of preexistent theories is problematic?
a. If the theory overrules consideration of data
b. If the theory is faulty or suspect
c. If the theory is used to characterize data, but the social perceiver does not acknowledge the use of the theory
d. None of the above

Answer 3

None of the above

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a reason why inference processes often depart from normative models?
a. Social perceiver seeks to meet alternative goals
b. Capacity limitations on short-term memory
c. Rapid inference processes serve as a buffer, preserving self-esteem with error-prone judgments
d. Rapidly changing environment with multiple demands pressures the social perceiver for efficiency as well as accuracy

Question 5

Which of the following best describes what is known about "thin slices of behavior"?
a. Accurate judgments can be reached within seconds
b. The timeframe of judgments depends on familiarity with the topic
c. Both A and B
d. None of the above

Question 6

Consider a professional basketball team. Which of the following would be the best predictor of an individual player's performance in a particular game?
a. The average performance of the player and her teammates over the last three games
b. The average performance of the player and her teammates over the last thirty games
c. The performance of the player during one particular game during the previous season
d. All of the above are equally predictive

Question 7

If a colleague of yours observes a waitress drop a plate of food and concludes that all waitresses are clumsy, which of the following is your colleague ignoring?
a. Expected Utility Theory
b. The Law of Large Numbers
c. Regression to the Mean
d. Both B and C

Question 8

Departures from normative models of inference often result in which of the following?
a. Conservative inferences
b. Rapid inferences
c. Biased inferences
d. Both A and C

Question 9

Motivated inferences can result in which of the following?
a. Reduced anxiety
b. Increased feelings of control
c. Facilitate accomplishing lofty goals
d. All of the above

Question 10

Sometimes, a person who wishes to express her love for another will present the target with a list of reasons underlying her affection. Based on the research in this chapter, which of the following best describes a possible consequence of this introspection?
a. The relationship between the loving feelings and subsequent behavioral decisions would be disrupted
b. Arbitrary aspects of the relationship would become more salient
c. This introspection could increase inconsistency in related judgments and behaviors
d. All of the above

Question 11

In a classic study, some children were asked to refrain from eating a marshmallow at the present in exchange for a future reward of multiple marshmallows. During processing of this proposal, which of the following brain regions was most likely to be especially active?
a. Frontal parietal region
b. Ventral striatum
c. Orbitofrontal area
d. None of the above

Question 12

Which of the following is most likely to result in a lower "dilution effect" when making inferences?
a. When the perceiver is accountable to others, and therefore motivated by accuracy
b. When the perceiver learns particularly unusual additional information about the target
c. When the perceiver believes strongly in the significance of the initial information
d. When the perceiver uses as much information as possible to make the inference

Question 13

Which of the following would best describe an error in inference according to the law of large numbers?
a. You see a person act courageously to save a child from being hit by a car. You assume the person is characteristically brave, and will act courageously in the future.
b. Two of the neighbors on your street drive convertibles, and both of those neighbors are incredibly obnoxious. You therefore assume that convertible-drivers are typically obnoxious.
c. All of the above
d. None of the above

Question 14

According to Dijksterhuis, which of the following decisions would be most likely to benefit by a careful considerations of pros and cons?
a. Which graduate school to attend
b. Which car to buy
c. Which computer keyboard to buy
d. Which person to marry

Question 15

Standard economic theory best fits with which of the following?
a. Unconscious processing
b. Motivated reasoning
c. Controlled processing
d. None of the above

Question 16

Which of the following best describes what is meant by a "normative model"?
a. An optimal way to use information to reach inferences
b. A model of behavior that is considered socially acceptable
c. A model of how people understand the social expectations of their environments
d. None of the above

Question 17

Which of the following would cast doubt on characterizations based on preexisting theories?
a. If the theory were particularly different or unusual
b. If inferences were based on the theory, but understood as being based on raw data
c. If the inferences were based on the theory, but the raw data was not considered
d. All of the above

Question 18

According to the research presented in this chapter, which of the following is the best way of screening potential college applicants, if the goal is to recruit students who will do well on objective criteria, such as grades, time to graduation, and subsequent job placement?
a. A linear computer model
b. An experienced human judge
c. A committee of decision-makers who are accountable to others for their choices
d. None of the above

Question 19

Many young people without children perceive the prevalence of young children crying in public and think, "My future) kids would never behave so badly - I will be a much better parent than those other people!" This sort of thinking could best be seen as an example of which of the following?
a. Illusory correlations
b. Thin slicing
c. Motivated reasoning
d. Illusion of control

Question 20

When is regression to the mean least effective in terms of predicting future outcomes?
a. When some data points are extreme
b. When the available data on past outcomes are from a relatively recent time period
c. When conditions in the environment are changing
d. When the environment is relatively stable, but there has been a "spike" in extreme values

Question 21

The ________ system has been shown to be critical to value assessment and involved in signaling errors in reward prediction, generating learning signals, updating goal states, and updating attentional focus on working memory.
a. Norepinephrine
b. Dopamine
c. Striatal
d. Limbic

Question 22

In this chapter, the authors provided an example of the graduate school admissions process to demonstrate the flaws of which of the following?
a. Human decision makers
b. Computers as decision makers
c. Linear model
d. Expected Utility model

Question 23

If a friend of yours had to make a rapid, accurate inference, which of the following would be the least helpful?
a. Making a "pros" and "cons" list
b. Having seen several examples related to the judgment
c. Having a lot of expertise in a domain
d. None of the above

Question 24

Research shows that people often hold blatantly false beliefs. Which of the following is NOT a reason why certain robust inferential biases exist?
a. They fuel positive emotions and self esteem
b. They succeed in getting people to accomplish more goals
c. They minimize perceived risk and vulnerability
d. None of the above

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a problem with the sole use of normative models in evaluating intuitive inferences?
a. Normative models ignore the context of a decision in favor of its formative structures
b. Conditions that make it possible to use a normative model are rarely present in the real world
c. Normative models are inherently complex, making it too time consuming to develop and test their usefulness
d. In certain circumstances, alternative models held by the social perceiver may generate more useful criteria that inherent conflict with standards generated by more normative models

Question 26

Which of the following best describes the effects of accountability?
a. Accountability increases dilution effects by threatening participants with punishment for stereotypical responses
b. Accountability reduces dilution effects by requiring participants to make an inference as quickly as possible
c. Accountability increases dilution effects by requiring participants to justify their judgments to the experimenter
d. Accountability reduces dilution effects by rewarding participants for thoughtful, complex judgments

Question 27

Which of the following has research shown to generalize training effects in teaching reasoning, allowing participants to improve in domains in which they have and have not been explicitly trained?
a. Participants trained in guided induction
b. Participants trained in abstract rules
c. Participants trained in abstract rules and guided induction
d. None of the above

Question 28

Several musical artists are described as "one-hit wonders". Their first hit song or album is incredibly popular, but their second album passes under the radar. Which of the following best describes such occurrences?
a. Expected Utility Theory
b. The Law of Large Numbers
c. Regression to the Mean
d. Both B and C

Question 29

In a controversial 1977 paper, researchers Nisbett and Wilson made which of the following claims regarding cognitive processes?
a. People have full introspective access to their cognitive processes
b. People have introspective access, but they do not develop it until they reach adulthood
c. People have little to no introspective access to their cognitive processes
d. None of the above