Deck 4: Choices and Actions: The Self in Control

Question 1

Many people do not invest in 401K plans or other retirement plans-even though they are not broke, and could afford to put money aside. One explanation for this is the fact that people tend to engage in ____ when making decisions about how to manage their money.

A) reactance
B) the Zeigarnik effect
C) risk aversion
D) temporal discounting

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What is temporal discounting?

A) The tendency for people to forget about the time that will be required to achieve things when setting goals
B) The tendency for people to place greater weight on the present over the future in decision-making
C) The tendency for plans to be overly optimistic because the planner does not make allowances for unexpected events
D) The tendency for people to ignore past or historical events when making decisions

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Even though she is not in desperate need of boots, Ellen says that she would rather buy a pair of boots today (for $200) rather than wait two weeks, when they will be on sale for half the price. Ellen's decision most likely involves ____.

A) temporal discounting
B) risk aversion
C) the status quo bias
D) the omission bias

Answer 3

A

Question 4

As discussed in the text, when purchasing a car, people end up paying a bit more attention than intended to choices such as color and engine size, and a bit less attention than intended on information such as the chances of fatalities should there be an accident with the car. This pattern can be taken as evidence for ____.

A) the status quo bias
B) the certainty effect
C) risk aversion
D) the Zeigarnik effect

Question 5

Joe has a big Spanish exam coming up next week. Will it help him if he visualizes himself acing the exam? What about if he visualizes himself studying really hard for the exam?

A) Neither of these things will help him.
B) Both of these things will help him about equally.
C) Both of these things will help him-but visualizing himself acing the exam (the true end goal) will help more than visualizing himself studying really hard.
D) Both of these things will help him-but visualizing himself studying really hard (which will likely lead to him actually studying harder) will help more than visualizing himself acing the exam.

Question 6

The tendency to give more weight to possible losses than to possible gains when making decisions that require trade-offs is known as ____.

A) the certainty effect
B) temporal discounting
C) risk aversion
D) the status quo bias

Question 7

When you are deciding between two apartments, assuming you can afford both of them and they are both adequate for your needs, what feature should you pay most attention to if you want to maximize your satisfaction with the apartment a year after you have moved in?

A) Rent-choose the cheapest apartment.
B) Neighborhood quality-choose the most pleasant neighborhood.
C) Square footage-choose the biggest apartment.
D) Both rent and square footage should affect your decision equally, and more so than neighborhood quality.

Question 8

When people are making choices between two options that differ both qualitatively and quantitatively, they tend to focus on ____.

A) quantitative differences primarily
B) qualitative differences primarily
C) both quantitative and qualitative differences
D) what their friends will think

Question 9

Most research focuses on the ____ step of decision-making, which involves ____.

A) first; whittling the full range of choices down to a limited few
B) first; carefully considering a few top options.
C) second; whittling the full range of choices down to a limited few
D) second; carefully considering a few top options

Question 10

When participants in Bazerman et al.'s (1992) study compared two options for resolving a dispute with a neighbor, what did they generally prefer?

A) The option that gave them $600 and the neighbor $800
B) The option that gave them $800 and the neighbor $600
C) The option that gave the neighbor and themselves $500 each
D) They were indifferent as to which option was best.

Question 11

William James, the father of American psychology, once wrote: "Thinking is for doing." What did he mean by this?

A) The human brain probably developed its current cognitive abilities in large part to enable effective decision-making and to facilitate behavior.
B) People typically engage in conscious thought only when engaged in a task (e.g., only when solving a puzzle, trying to construct an argument, or making a decision about something).
C) Every behavior that a person engages in implies a particular thought or set of thoughts; researchers can therefore infer thoughts from behaviors.
D) Because the primary role of thoughts is simply to plan behaviors, the proper focus of study for psychologists is behaviors themselves (and not thoughts).

Question 12

Research suggests that when athletes who are preparing for a big game visualize themselves training really hard for the game, they ____; when they visualize themselves actually winning the game, they ____.

A) tend to actually train less than usual and thus perform worse; in fact perform better.
B) tend to actually train less than usual and thus perform worse; also actually tend to perform worse.
C) tend to train harder than usual and thus perform better; in fact tend to perform worse.
D) tend to train harder than usual and thus perform better; also tend to perform a little better.

Question 13

Research on decision-making indicates that there are two main steps in making choices. They are ____.

A) ruling out the "losers" in the full range of choices and then focusing in on selecting a "winning" option.
B) whittling the full range of choices down to a limited few and then carefully considering these remaining few options.
C) making a preliminary choice, and then reviewing your choice to be certain that you are satisfied with it.
D) establishing your priorities, and then identifying the choice that best complements your priorities.

Question 14

People tend to say that they would prefer to have $1000 today rather than $1200 two weeks from now-even though, logically, they would be better off with the $1200 in two weeks. The phenomena underlying this tendency is known as ____.

A) risk aversion
B) the certainty effect
C) temporal discounting
D) the status quo bias

Question 15

Research shows that when making decisions, MOST people are more interested in ____ as opposed to ____.

A) avoiding losses; pursuing gains
B) pursuing gains; avoiding losses
C) taking a gamble; "sure things"
D) "sure things"; taking a gamble

Question 16

MOST people show a tendency ____ when making decisions that require tradeoffs.

A) to give more weight to possible losses than to possible gains
B) to give more weight to possible gains than to possible losses
C) to give more weight to possible losses than to certain gains
D) to give more weight to probable outcomes rather than certain outcomes

Question 17

The tendency for people to place greater weight on the present over the future in decision-making is known as ____.

A) the certainty effect
B) temporal discounting
C) reactance
D) the now-or-never effect

Question 18

The so-called "certainty effect" in decision-making refers to tendency for people to give greater weight to ____ than to ____.

A) definite outcomes; probabilities
B) possible positive outcomes; possible negative outcomes
C) immediate (soon-to-happen) outcomes; future (far off) outcomes
D) common outcomes; rare outcomes

Question 19

When participant's in Bazerman et al.'s (1992) study predicted their reaction to only one of two options presented to them for resolving a financial dispute with a neighbor, which option was generally preferred across participants?

A) The option that paid them $600 and their neighbor $800
B) The option that paid them $800 and their neighbor $600
C) The option that paid both their neighbor and themselves $500
D) They were indifferent as to which option was best.

Question 20

Mark is comparing two jobs. One pays $70,000 per year, but will be very stressful. The other pays $60,000, but will be less stressful. According to research presented in your text on Money Matters, Mark will ____.

A) prefer the $70,000 job
B) prefer the $60,000 job
C) decide to take the 70,000 job but the $60,000 job would probably make him happier
D) decide to take the $60,000 job but the $70,000 job would probably make him happier

Question 21

Even though Mildred knows that her relationship with her boyfriend is in trouble, she decides not to do anything about it (i.e., she will simply neglect the relationship and let it slowly fall to pieces). Social psychologists would say that her decision to do nothing most reflects ____.

A) the certainty effect
B) the omission bias
C) risk aversion
D) temporal discounting

Question 22

Error management theory suggests that, when it comes to dating and mating members of the opposite sex, men will be more prone to ____ than women.

A) the omission bias
B) the status quo bias
C) temporal discounting
D) risk aversion

Question 23

The status quo bias is one form of ____ in decision-making.

A) monitoring
B) reactance
C) avoidance
D) temporal discounting

Question 24

What theme(s) best explain decision avoidance?

A) The idea that some choices are too difficult and the idea of temporal discounting
B) The idea of anticipated regret and the idea of certainty bias
C) The idea that some choices are too difficult and the idea of anticipated regret
D) The idea of temporal discounting and the idea of certainty bias

Question 25

Movies with "R" ratings tend to be more appealing to children and teens than similar movies with "G" or "PG" ratings. This finding is good evidence of ____.

A) error management theory
B) self-monitoring theory
C) reactance theory
D) temporal bias

Question 26

Suppose that you went out on two dates with someone from one of your classes. You were not crazy about the person, but you did not dislike the person either. You thought that you would just wait and see how things turned out. Surprisingly, however, the person sent you an e-mail after your second date and wrote: "I just don't think we have good chemistry, but it was nice meeting you! Sayonara!" All of a sudden, the person becomes much more attractive to you. You wonder what you did wrong, and you strategize about how to get another chance. You are most likely experiencing ____.

A) temporal discounting
B) reactance
C) the reciprocity bias
D) the omission bias

Question 27

Aimee is moving to a new state and has looked at numerous houses. She is avoiding making a decision on which one to purchase because she knows once she chooses, she may find a better house she would have loved even more. What best explains Aimee's decision avoidance?

A) Anticipation of regret
B) Too many choices
C) Genetic tendency for avoidance
D) Risk aversion

Question 28

One of the common consequences of reactance is ____.

A) looking to the social environment for approval
B) becoming depressed or withdrawn
C) acting aggressively toward the person who triggered the reactance
D) carefully reassessing all of your options

Question 29

An old advertisement for Dove ice cream bars touted the bars as "sinfully" delicious-so delicious that they should be banned or forbidden. The advertisement, which sought to make the bars seem as attractive to people as possible, was apparently playing on ____.

A) reactance
B) the status quo bias
C) the certainty effect
D) risk aversion

Question 30

Recent research has demonstrated that men and women perceive certain behaviors differently: Men are more likely than women to assume that an innocent smile is a sign of flirtation, while women are more likely than men to assume that blatant flirtation is merely a sign of friendliness. These research findings are most consistent with ____.

A) error management theory
B) self-determination theory
C) reactance theory
D) action identification theory

Question 31

The term ____ refers to the idea that people are distressed by loss of freedom or loss of options, and that they will seek to reclaim or reassert them.

A) monitoring
B) reactance
C) self-regulation
D) status quo bias

Question 32

The so-called "status quo bias" in decision-making refers to the tendency for people to ____.

A) want to keep things the way they are instead of changing
B) want to do whatever it is that other people are doing
C) place more emphasis on present (immediate) outcomes than on future outcomes
D) place more emphasis on definite outcomes than on probable outcomes

Question 33

According to ____ theory, when it comes to dating and mating members of the opposite sex, men will take advantage of every opportunity to pass along their genes.

A) error management
B) self-determination
C) reactance
D) risk aversion

Question 34

Much of the time, people are interested in keeping their options open rather than making restrictive, final decisions. Two biases that help them avoid making decisions are ____.

A) the status quo bias and the certainty bias
B) the omission bias and the certainty bias
C) temporal discounting and the certainty bias
D) the status quo bias and the omission bias

Question 35

Suppose that Sergej has just asked Georgia whether she would like to study with him for an upcoming English exam. Georgia is struggling in the class, and she knows that Sergej is an excellent English student, so she enthusiastically agrees and says that she is excited to study with him. According to error management theory, it is likely that Sergej will view Georgia's enthusiasm as a sign that ____.

A) she has a crush on him
B) she values his intelligence
C) she is using him
D) she is probably being insincere

Question 36

The status quo bias is different from the omission bias in that the former is about making decisions that ____, while the latter is about making decisions that ____.

A) keep things the same; require little effort
B) keep things the same; avoid risks
C) are similar to other people's decisions; require little effort
D) are similar to other people's decisions; avoid risks

Question 37

How do social psychologists refer to the tendency to take whatever course of action does not require you to do anything (also called the default option)?

A) The omission bias
B) The status quo bias
C) The certainty effect
D) Risk aversion

Question 38

Suppose that Sergej has just asked Georgia whether she would like to study with him for an upcoming English exam. Georgia is struggling in the class, and she knows that Sergej is an excellent English student, so she enthusiastically agrees. Meanwhile, Sergej interprets her enthusiasm as a sign that she might have a crush on him, and he therefore suggests that the two of them grab a bite to eat together before studying; "Georgia is very attractive," he thinks to himself, "so why not?" Georgia, meanwhile, who is completely clueless about what is on Sergej's mind, muses to herself, "well, that is so nice of him to think that I might be hungry; what a nice study partner!" The fact that Sergej and Georgia interpret things so differently here is most consistent with ____.

A) error management theory
B) self-determination theory
C) reactance theory
D) risk aversion theory

Question 39

According to error management theory, when it comes to making decisions about dating members of the opposite sex, men will be relatively more prone to ____, while women will be relatively more prone to ____.

A) risk aversion; reactance
B) temporal discounting; risk aversion
C) the omission bias; risk aversion
D) reactance; temporal discounting

Question 40

Some research suggests that when parents are extremely strict, their children become especially tempted to engage in deviant behaviors. For example, when parents forbid their teen children from going to parties, the teens report being even more attracted to parties and even more interested in attending. These findings are most consistent with ____.

A) social dominance theory
B) error management theory
C) reactance theory
D) temporal bias theory

Question 41

The idea that at least some of our activities must be motivated by their inner drives and choices, rather than by external factors, reflects ____.

A) entity theory
B) self-determination theory
C) action identification theory
D) the status quo bias

Question 42

Among humans, greater freedom is associated with ____.

A) simple decision-making
B) greater behavioral flexibility
C) automatic processing
D) lower self-regulation

Question 43

When experimental manipulations have induced people to reject their free will, they tend to ____.

A) behave in a prosocial manner
B) become more cooperative and helpful
C) behave as if they are mentally ill
D) be more willing to cheat on a test or steal money

Question 44

Which of the following statements about free will is BEST supported by your text?

A) Absolute free will is important to social behavior.
B) Relative free will is important to social behavior.
C) Absolute free will is not important to social behavior.
D) Relative free will is not important to social behavior.

Question 45

Rachel has taken French for years and is very good at it. Nonetheless, she just enrolled in Intermediate French (which will be easy for her) rather than Advanced French (which will be slightly challenging but not impossible). It is probably safe to assume that Rachel ____.

A) is an incremental theorist
B) is an entity theorist
C) is focused on low levels of meaning in identifying this action
D) is focused on high levels of meaning in identifying this action

Question 46

Maureen thinks that her abilities are fluid and capable of changing and developing over time. She decides to try to learn to garden. Her first year of planting is a complete failure--nearly every plant dies. She only harvests a few tomatoes. Given what you know about Maureen, what can you predict about her interest in gardening?

A) She will try again the next year and plan to learn from her mistakes.
B) She will probably experience learned helplessness and lose interest in gardening.
C) She will probably be risk averse and not want to garden next year.
D) She will probably plant only the tomatoes because those are what she had success with this year.

Question 47

Failure will most likely produce learned helplessness for ____.

A) entity theorists
B) incremental theorists
C) people engaged in self-regulation
D) people who have high capacity to delay gratification

Question 48

The experience of learned helplessness is ____.

A) more likely to occur for an entity theorist than an incremental theorist
B) more likely to occur for an incremental theorist than an entity theorist
C) pleasant for an entity theorist, but unpleasant for an incremental theorist
D) unpleasant for an entity theorist, but pleasant for an incremental theorist

Question 49

Research findings suggesting that people become less prosocial when induced to reject their belief in free will most likely indicate that ____.

A) free will really does exist
B) absolute free will does exist, but relative free will does not
C) relative free will does exist, but absolute free will does not
D) the belief in free will affects people's willingness to behave prosocially

Question 50

In social psychology, people who regard traits and abilities as fixed and stable are known as ____, while people who believe that it is possible to change and improve traits and abilities are known as ____.

A) entity theorists; incremental theorists
B) incremental theorists; entity theorists
C) individualists; collectivists
D) collectivists; individualists

Question 51

Research on entity and incremental theorists has shown that, compared to Japanese athletes, American athletes are more likely to be ____ theorists, and thus more likely to view their athletic skills as ____.

A) incremental; inborn and fixed
B) incremental; flexible and changeable
C) entity; inborn and fixed
D) entity; flexible and changeable

Question 52

According to the text, do most psychologists today believe that people have free will?

A) Yes.
B) No.
C) Psychologists are currently divided on the issue.
D) In the past, most psychologists believed that people had free will. At present, however, virtually all psychologists agree that people do not truly have free will.

Question 53

Jonah is in his psychology class and has just gotten his third exam score back. It's an "F" again! He hasn't passed one single exam this semester. He decides to quit studying for that class at all since it hasn't seemed to help much. Jonah is exhibiting ____.

A) risk aversion
B) temporal discounting
C) the certainty effect
D) learned helplessness

Question 54

____ occurs when people think they will fail so they quit trying to succeed.

A) Risk aversion
B) Error management
C) Learned helplessness
D) Goal shielding

Question 55

Ursula believes that traits and abilities as fixed at birth and remain the same no matter what. By contrast, Yuri believes that people develop their traits and abilities across time, and that they can become better and better with practice. Social psychologists would say that Ursula is a(n) ____ while Yuri is a(n) ____.

A) collectivist; individualist
B) individualist; collectivist
C) incremental theorist; entity theorist
D) entity theorist; incremental theorist

Question 56

When human animals rely on meaning to make their choices, they are able to look at meaning ____.

A) with clarity, leading to one decision path
B) as multiple ways of understanding a situation
C) in purely contractual terms
D) based purely on moral principles

Question 57

Self-determination theory states that people have an innate need ____.

A) to set life goals
B) to achieve their goals
C) to feel that they are better than other people
D) to feel at least some degree of autonomy and internal motivation

Question 58

One advantage of being an incremental theorist rather than an entity theorist is that ____.

A) you are more likely to believe that you are good at everything
B) you are more likely to persist in the face of challenges and setbacks
C) you are more likely to believe that you are better at things than other people
D) you are more likely to be immediately successful at things when you choose to try them

Question 59

Compared to incremental theorists, entity theorists show a ____.

A) stronger preference for doing things at which they are good
B) greater interest in receiving feedback from others (regardless of whether it is positive or negative)
C) greater interest in practicing things that they are not so good at
D) tendency to prefer hard, challenging tasks to easy tasks

Question 60

Research on entity and incremental theorists has shown that they tend to make different kinds of attributions for other people's behaviors. Specifically, compared to entity theorists, incremental theorists tend to make more ____, for example suggesting that others' behaviors are the result of ____.

A) internal attributions; their circumstances
B) internal attributions; their personalities
C) external attributions; their circumstances
D) external attributions; their personalities

Question 61

What is the most accurate statement regarding how humans differ from other animals in terms of goals?

A) Humans are able to stop a given activity in order to resume pursuit of a previously pursued goal.
B) Humans have goals, while other animals do not.
C) Humans can be intrinsically motivated to strive for specific goals, while other animals only strive for goals because of extrinsic motivations.
D) Humans have fewer goals, but more well-defined ones.

Question 62

When people are setting goals, the core question is, ____. When people are pursuing goals, the core question is, ____.

A) "Why should I do it?"; "Is it culturally desirable?"
B) "Why should I do it?"; "How do I do it?"
C) "Is it culturally desirable?"; "Why should I do it?"
D) "Is it culturally desirable?"; "How do I do it?"

Question 63

Research indicates that when people are setting goals, they tend to think in a(n) ____ way, and when they are pursuing or striving for goals, they to think in a(n) ____ way.

A) realistic; realistic
B) realistic; optimistic
C) optimistic; realistic
D) optimistic; optimistic

Question 64

Research on positive illusions and goal-setting indicates that ____.

A) when setting goals, most people set aside positive illusions, and are (at least temporarily) realistic
B) most people are overly optimistic and ambitious when setting goals
C) because most people have positive illusions about themselves and their lives, they usually fail to set goals at all (and just assume that things will turn out well)
D) because most people have positive illusions about themselves and their lives, they tend to set goals for the distant future, but not goals for the present or immediate future

Question 65

According to self-determination theory, people who act based on _____ are more free than others.

A) intrinsic motivations
B) extrinsic motivations
C) low levels of meaning
D) high levels of meaning

Question 66

Do people usually think in optimistic or overly ambitious ways when they are setting goals and/or striving to achieve goals?

A) Yes, they tend to be overly optimistic in both cases.
B) No, they tend to think in realistic ways in both cases.
C) They tend to be overly optimistic when goal setting, but more or less realistic when pursuing goals.
D) They tend to be more or less realistic when goal setting, but optimistic when pursuing goals.

Question 67

According to the research on goal setting and achievement, if all of the students below had similar track records, which of them should we expect to perform BEST in school in the coming month?

A) Student A, who states: "I want to be the #1 student in my state in every subject for the next two years."
B) Student B, who states: "I want to at least pass all of my classes."
C) Student C, who states: "I want to get at least an A- on each of my exams and assignments this month."
D) Student D, who states: "I want to get the best grades that I can."

Question 68

Suppose that an annoying co-worker is always making passes at you and trying to ask you out on dates. Research on the panic button effect suggests that you would be less troubled by this person if ____.

A) you thought about how much worse the situation could be
B) you thought about the fact that other people would be flattered by this
C) you felt that you could simply tell the person to stop if you wanted to
D) you felt that this person could be a good "backup" if you ever needed a last-minute date

Question 69

When people are asked to list their current goals and personal projects, the average list contains ____.

A) no items (most people do not have well-formulated goals at any given time)
B) one to two items
C) roughly four to seven items
D) about 15 items

Question 70

The so-called Zeigarnik effect refers to the tendency for people ____.

A) to experience automatic, intrusive thoughts about a goal when pursuit of that goal has been interrupted
B) to make overly optimistic plans, failing to make allowances for unexpected events or problems
C) to feel relatively less stress or suffering when they think that they have the option of escaping from a situation (compared to when they think they do not have the option of escaping)
D) to give greater weight to potential losses than to potential gains when making decisions

Question 71

Research on proximal goals, distal goals, and goal hierarchies suggests that MOST people ____.

A) have goal hierarchies (including proximal goals and distal goals)
B) have proximal goals but not distal goals
C) have distal goals but not proximal goals
D) have either proximal goals or distal goals (but not both)

Question 72

Research indicates that people who believe that they are acting autonomously, based on intrinsic motivations, are ____ compared people who believe that their behavior is guided by external forces and extrinsic motivations.

A) happier and often perform better
B) happier but often perform worse
C) no happier but often perform better
D) no happier and no more (or less) likely to perform well

Question 73

The so-called Zeigarnik effect helps us to ____.

A) remember unfinished tasks, and thus to return to complete them
B) learn when we have set unrealistic goals for ourselves, and to set more realistic goals in the future
C) recognize when tasks are too easy or too hard (and therefore a bad match for our ability levels), and to seek out tasks that are more appropriate
D) assess the pros and cons of a given situation, and to make decisions based on this assessment.

Question 74

Jacopo has a long-term goal of becoming a neurologist. At the moment, though, he is only seven years old. He therefore also has several "stepping stone goals" (finishing high school, going to college, going to medical school, etc.). That is, Jacopo has a complete ____.

A) hierarchy of goals.
B) action identification system.
C) incremental system map.
D) self-determination map.

Question 75

Does having goals actually help people to achieve things? Does it matter if the goals are broad (e.g., "getting a good education") rather than narrow (e.g., "getting a good grade on a specific assignment")?

A) In general, people who have goals do not perform any better than people who don't-regardless of whether the goals are broad or narrow.
B) In general, people who have goals perform better than people who don't-regardless of whether the goals are broad or narrow.
C) In general, people who have goals perform better than people who don't-especially if the goals are broad.
D) In general, people who have goals perform better than people who don't-especially if the goals are narrow.

Question 76

Research suggests that goals are MOST helpful in facilitating achievement when they are ____.

A) specific and somewhat difficult to achieve
B) specific and very easy to achieve
C) broad and somewhat difficult to achieve
D) broad and very easy to achieve

Question 77

Suppose that you are out on a date. Although your date is somewhat entertaining, you keep having intrusive thoughts about the paper that you need to finish writing when you get home. These thoughts are evidence of the ____.

A) omission bias
B) panic button effect
C) Zeigarnik effect
D) capacity to delay gratification

Question 78

The so-called panic button effect refers to the tendency for people ____.

A) to experience automatic, intrusive thoughts about a goal when pursuit of that goal has been interrupted
B) to perceive negative things that happen to them as more stressful or painful than negative things that happen to other people
C) to feel relatively less stress or suffering when they think that they have the option of escaping from a situation (compared to when they think they do not have the option of escaping)
D) to give greater weight to potential losses than to potential gains when making decisions

Question 79

Suppose that Peter hates his job as a medical assistant. Research on the panic button effect would suggest that Peter would hate his job less if ____.

A) he felt that could quit at any time and get a different job
B) he thought about how much unhappier he would be if he lost his job and became homeless
C) he considered how much his job helped to relieve people's stress and discomfort
D) he thought about how he would feel if he were rushed to the hospital and there was no one there to help him

Question 80

Personal projects, or personal strivings, are also known as ____.

A) levels of meaning
B) monitoring
C) goals
D) forms of self-reference