Chapter 8 Psychology Questions

Front 1

Cognition refers to?

Back 1

How people think.

Front 2

Which of the following is NOT one of the three basic classes problems?

a. problems of transformation
b. problems of probability
c. problems on inducing structure
d. problems of arrangement

Back 2

Problems of probability

Front 3

In which class of problems is it necessary to carry out a sequence of actions in order to solve the problem?

Back 3

Problems of Transformation

Front 4

Functional fixedness refers to?

Back 4

Not seeing a new function for a familiar object.

Front 5

Which of the following statements concerning functional fixedness is MOST accurate?

a. Compared to young children, older adults are less likely to show evidence of functional fixedness.
b. All age groups are likely to show evidence of functional fixedness, especially when solving problems using unfamiliar objects.
c. Compared to all other age groups, adolescents are most likely to show evidence of functional fixedness.
d. Compared to older children and adults, young children are less likely to show evidence of functional fixedness.

Back 5

Compared to older children and adults, young children are less likely to show evidence of functional fixedness.

Front 6

6. Joan was placed in charge of planning her sorority’s spring formal dance. If she thought she should hire the same band that played at last year’s dance because of how much everyone enjoyed the band, Joan could be considered to be encountering the ____ barrier to effective problem solving.
a. subgoal
b. unnecessary constraints
c. irrelevant information
d. functional fixedness

Back 6

Functional fixedness

Front 7

When working on complex problems, a useful strategy is to
a. formulate subgoals or intermediate steps toward a solution.
b. recognize the similarity between two problems.
c. recognize when the problem does not have a well-specified goal.
d. use a heuristic.

Back 7

Formulate subgoals or intermediate steps toward a solution.

Front 8

The ___ effect occurs when solutions emerge for a problem after a period of not consciously thinking about the problem.
a. incubation
b. analytical
c. sleeper
d. reprocessing

Back 8

Incubation

Front 9

Nisbett and colleagues suggest that a holistic style of thinking is one that focuses on
a. objects and their properties, rather than overall context.
b. following step-by-step procedures rather than using mental shortcuts.
c. context and relationships among the elements in a field.
d. external frames of reference and takes the environment as a given.

Back 9

Context and relationships among the elements in a field.

Front 10

According to Simon’s theory of bounded rationality, people tend to use

Back 10

Simple strategies in decision-making that focus on only a few facets of available options and often result in irrational decisions that are less than optimal

Front 11

Zachary’s friend asks how well Zachary gets along with his younger brother. Zachary thinks about how irritating his younger brother was yesterday and the big fight they had as a result, and tells his friend that he doesn’t get along with his brother at all. In this instance, Zachary’s response is consistent with
a. the availability heuristic.
b. the representativeness heuristic.
c. the conjunction fallacy.
d. the hindsight bias.

Back 11

The availability heuristic.

Front 12

Basing the estimated probability of an event on how similar it is to the prototype of that event is termed the
a. conjunction heuristic.
b. availability heuristic.
c. representativeness heuristic.
d. gambler’s heuristic.

Back 12

Representativeness heuristic.

Front 13

Incorrectly estimating that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone is known as the
a. conjunction fallacy.
b. alternative outcome effect.
c. gambler’s fallacy.
d. base rate fallacy.

Back 13

Conjunction fallacy

Front 14

Evolutionary theorists argue all of the following EXCEPT that
a. traditional research on decision-making has imposed invalid and unrealistic standards of rationality.
b. human brains are wired to think in terms of base rates and probabilities.
c. humans only seem irrational because cognitive psychologists have been asking the wrong questions.
d. human decision-making and problem-solving strategies have been tailored to handle real-world adaptive problems.

Back 14

Human brains are wired to think in terms of base rates and probabilities.

Front 15

Which of the following heuristics has been shown by evolutionary psychologists to be both simple and surprisingly effective?
a. recognition heuristic
b. representativeness heuristic
c. trial-and-error- heuristic
d. availability heuristic

Back 15

Recognition heuristic