Deck 8: Reasons for Unreason

Question 1

Expectations can often predict behavior because

A)the expectations are accurate.
B)the expectations are a coincidence.
C)behavior is easily predicted.
D)we are overconfident.

Answer 1

the expectations are accurate.

Question 2

found that among married couples,the self-fulfilling prophecy occurred when one person interpreted slight hurts as rejections.The person who felt rejected was then motivated to

A)value their partner for his or her honesty.
B)value their partner yet become distant from him or her.
C)devalue their partner but make an effort to become close to him or her.
D)devalue their partner and become distant from him or her.

Answer 2

devalue their partner and become distant from him or her.

Question 3

According to your text,people everywhere perceive mediators and media as

A)biased in favor of their position.
B)objective in their decisions and coverage.
C)biased against their position.
D)biased against the President.

Answer 3

biased against their position.

Question 4

Although you once earned a 100 on your physics exam,you have subsequently been unable to earn a perfect score again.Your experience may be understood in terms of

A)the illusory correlation.
B)regression toward the average.
C)the representativeness heuristic.
D)counterfactual thinking.

Question 5

The "Kulechov effect" (named after a Russian film director)is another illustration of

A)the principle of belief perseverance.
B)confirmation bias.
C)false memories.
D)how our preconceptions determine our subsequent perceptions of emotion.

Question 6

The perception of a relationship where none actually exists,or the perception of a stronger relationship than actually exists,is called

A)a representative heuristic.
B)an availability heuristic.
C)an illusory correlation.
D)the overconfidence phenomenon.

Question 7

Thinking that our premonitions correlate with events represents

A)a representative heuristic.
B)an availability heuristic.
C)an illusory correlation.
D)the overconfidence phenomenon.

Question 8

After 9/11,many people abandoned air travel because of the

A)availability heuristic.
B)representativeness heuristic.
C)confirmation bias.
D)planning fallacy.

Question 9

You attend a party where you do not know anyone,but expect that people will be friendly.You behave in a warm and sociable manner.Your behavior,in turn,leads to other people being friendly to you.This situation can best be described as

A)the illusory correlation.
B)the representativeness heuristic.
C)the availability heuristic.
D)behavioral confirmation.

Question 10

The idea that chance events are subject to our influence describes

A)an illusory correlation.
B)the illusion of control.
C)a representative heuristic.
D)an availability heuristic.

Question 11

Although travelers in the United States are more likely to die in an automobile crash than on a commercial flight covering the same distance,people often assume that flying is more dangerous than driving.What type of heuristic are people using when they make this assumption?

A)availability heuristic
B)representativeness heuristic
C)vividness heuristic
D)matching heuristic

Question 12

When our expectations lead us to act in ways that induce others to confirm those expectations,_______ is at work.

A)illusory correlation
B)counterfactual thinking
C)behavioral confirmation
D)illusion of control

Question 13

Researchers had male students speak by telephone with women they thought were either attractive or unattractive.When judges later analyzed the women's comments,they found that the

A)women thought to be attractive spoke more warmly than the other women.
B)women thought to be unattractive tried harder to be likable and stimulated better conversation.
C)women thought to be attractive spoke in a more aloof and superior manner.
D)women thought to be unattractive spoke more slowly and deliberately.

Question 14

Research on gambling has found that throwing the dice or spinning the wheel increases people's confidence.This illustrates the

A)illusory correlation.
B)illusion of control.
C)representative heuristic.
D)availability heuristic.

Question 15

The cognitive rule that judges the likelihood of things in terms of their availability in memory is called the _____ heuristic.

A)availability
B)representativeness
C)vividness
D)matching

Question 16

The statistical tendency for extreme scores or behaviors to return toward average is called

A)the regression heuristic.
B)regression toward the extreme.
C)regression toward the average.
D)reversion.

Question 17

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment is called

A)a self-fulfilling prophecy.
B)a belief confirmation.
C)self-confirming validity.
D)behavioral perseverance.

Question 18

Assuming most crimes involve violence because the news generally reports on rapes,robberies and beatings is an example of the _______ heuristic.

A)availability
B)representativeness
C)vividness
D)matching

Question 19

,if you want young children to put trash in wastebaskets,you should repeatedly

A)tell them that they should be neat and tidy.
B)congratulate them for being neat and tidy.
C)tell them that littering is a crime.
D)tell them that people who litter are bad.

Question 20

found that randomly selected elementary school students experienced a spurt in IQ score largely as a result of

A)increased parental involvement and support.
B)their teachers' elevated expectations.
C)intensified academic training.
D)educational strategies that raised their self-esteem.

Question 21

Provide examples of the availability heuristic.

Question 22

What is illusory thinking and what are its effects?

Question 23

Describe how behavioral confirmation can take place in a classroom.

Question 24

Researchers investigated the reduction of littering in three classrooms.Which class still showed a reduction in littering two weeks after the study ended?

A)the class that was told that they should be neat and tidy
B)the class reprimanded repeatedly for littering
C)the class congratulated for being neat and tidy
D)the class whose littering was ignored