5.8

Question 1

How can informal thinking lead to biases and errors in thinking?

Answer 1

When the brain uses shortcuts and informal thinking, it misses details of information and uses generalizations and past experiences to understand information. This can cause errors in thinking to occur

Question 2

Describe a cognitive bias.

Answer 2

This is an error in thinking that happens when the brain tries to simplify the different information it is processing

Question 3

Explain the difference between availability and representativeness heuristics.

Answer 3

Availability heuristics is when a person uses the information that is accessible right away. Representativeness heuristics is when new information does not match with a schema so the information is put into an existing prototype that may not match every aspect of the topic or item

Question 4

What is the difference between confirmation and hindsight bias?

Answer 4

Confirmation bias is when a person seeks information that aligns with their point of view and dismisses information that challenges their beliefs. Hindsight bias is the tendency to think that one could have anticipated the outcome of an event or experiment after it already occurred

Question 5

How can anchors cause you to have bias?

Answer 5

If the anchor is not accurate it may skew your answers in a particular direction, causing you to have anchoring bias

Question 6

Explain how framing can lead to biases to form.

Answer 6

When information is presented to an individual in a particular way that impacts their opinions, thoughts, or decisions it can cause them to have biases. This is often done by limiting conflicting information, wording information in a way that skews a topic, or misleading a person

Question 7

Fixedness

Answer 7

When a person is not able to see a problem, information, or topic from a different perspective

Question 8

Belief Perseverance

Answer 8

Even when a person is presented with information that contradicts a person’s thoughts they still cling to their original beliefs

Question 9

Illusory Correlation

Answer 9

When different events or items happen near each other and a person instinctively thinks that are connected

Question 10

Functional Fixedness

Answer 10

When a person can only see certain items or objects in a specific way