Biases in Thinking and decision making

Question 1

Q: What is the Dual Process Model of thinking?

Answer 1

The Dual Process Model proposed by Daniel Kahneman explains two types of thinking:

System 1: Fast, automatic, intuitive, and unconscious thinking.
System 2: Slow, deliberate, logical, and conscious thinking.

Question 2

What are the characteristics of System 1 thinking?

Answer 2

Context-dependent
Concerned with everyday decision-making
Generates impressions and inclinations
Operates automatically and quickly
Relies on heuristics and not logic
Can lead to cognitive biases

Question 3

What are the characteristics of System 2 thinking?

Answer 3

Abstract
Requires conscious reasoning
Logical and reliable
Transfers information from one situation to another
Slow and requires effort

Question 4

What is a heuristic?

Answer 4

A heuristic is a shortcut your brain uses to make quick decisions, but it can sometimes lead to mistakes or biased thinking.

Question 5

What is cognitive bias?

Answer 5

Cognitive bias is when your brain makes mistakes in thinking, often because you’re using shortcuts (heuristics).

Question 6

What is the Kahneman and Tversky Hospital Study about?

Answer 6

In this study, people were asked which hospital was more likely to have more days where more than 60% of babies born were boys. Most people chose the wrong answer because they used a mental shortcut (the representative heuristic).

Question 7

What is the correct answer to the hospital study and why?

Answer 7

The smaller hospital is more likely to have some days with more than 60% boys, because smaller groups have more chance of unusual results. The larger hospital is more predictable.

Question 8

What is the representative heuristic?

Answer 8

It’s when people judge something based on how similar it is to a typical example, even if the statistics say otherwise.

Question 9

What is confirmation bias?

Answer 9

Confirmation bias is when you look for information that supports what you already believe, and ignore information that goes against it.

Question 10

What is congruence bias?

Answer 10

Congruence bias is when you look for evidence that confirms your idea, instead of looking for all kinds of information, even if it might disprove your idea.

Question 11

What is cognitive dissonance?

Answer 11

Cognitive dissonance happens when you feel uncomfortable because your beliefs don’t match your actions. To fix this, you might change your beliefs or actions to feel better.

Question 12

How does cognitive dissonance affect decisions?

Answer 12

When you feel discomfort because something doesn’t match (like doing something you don’t believe in), you’ll change either your beliefs or your actions to feel more comfortable again.

Question 13

What is Wason’s Four-Card Problem?

Answer 13

It’s a test where people usually make mistakes by only looking for evidence that confirms what they already think, showing confirmation bias.

Question 14

What is Tschirgi’s cake-making experiment?

Answer 14

This experiment shows congruence bias—people tend to look for information that makes their hypothesis seem correct, even if it’s not the most useful information.

Question 15

What is Leon Festinger’s cult experiment?

Answer 15

Festinger observed a cult where members kept believing in their failed prophecy. They changed their story to justify their belief, showing cognitive dissonance.

Question 16

What was Freedman and Fraser’s experiment about safe driving?

Answer 16

This experiment showed cognitive dissonance. When people agreed to a small request (like signing a petition), they were more likely to agree to a bigger one (putting a sign in their yard), to stay consistent with their actions.

Question 17

How does System 1 thinking lead to cognitive bias?

Answer 17

System 1 is fast and automatic, so it often relies on shortcuts (heuristics), which can lead to mistakes and biased thinking.

Question 18

How can emotions influence decision making?

Answer 18

Emotions, such as past memories or anticipating feelings, can drive our decisions, making us focus on how things will make us feel rather than just logic.

Question 19

What is the Adaptive Decision-Maker Framework?

Answer 19

This model suggests that people have different strategies to make decisions, and the choice of strategy depends on the situation. It includes goals like making accurate decisions, minimizing effort, and reducing negative emotions.

Question 20

What are the 4 meta-goals that guide strategy selection in decision making?

Answer 20

1. Maximizing decision accuracy - using a method that gives the best answer (e.g., WADD).
2. Minimizing cognitive effort - using a simple strategy (e.g., LEX).
   3 .Minimizing negative emotions - avoiding choices that cause bad feelings (e.g., not buying a house in a dangerous area).
3. Maximizing ease of justification - choosing an option that can be easily explained to others or yourself.

Question 21

What is the Weighted Additive Strategy (WADD)?

Answer 21

This strategy involves multiplying each option’s attribute value by its importance, then adding them up. The option with the highest total is selected.

Question 22

What is the Lexicographic Strategy (LEX)?

Answer 22

Choose the most important attribute first, and pick the option that performs best in that area. If two options tie, move to the next important attribute.

Question 23

What is the Satisfying Strategy (SAT)?

Answer 23

Set a minimum standard for each attribute. Reject options that don’t meet the standard, and pick the best option that passes all the cut-offs.

Question 24

What is Elimination by Aspects (EBA)?

Answer 24

Start by eliminating options that don’t meet your most important criterion. Then move to the next criterion and repeat until only one option remains.

Question 25

What is the Theory of Reasoned Action?

Answer 25

This model explains decision making by focusing on outcomes and stable traits like attitudes and social norms (e.g., condom use).

Question 26

What is the Adaptive Decision-Maker Framework (micro-level)?

Answer 26

It focuses on how decisions are made in specific situations using different strategies. It’s more about the process than the outcome.

Question 27

How do research methods measure micro-level decision making?

Answer 27

1. Computer simulations - Compare decision strategies in hypothetical scenarios.
2. Verbal protocols - People think out loud while making a decision.
3. Monitored information search - Track how people gather info during decision making.
4. Neuroimaging techniques - Look at brain activity during decision making.

Question 28

What did Luce, Bettman, and Payne’s (1997) study show?

Answer 28

It showed that when people feel negative emotions, they process information more thoroughly to avoid emotionally difficult choices, like choosing between attributes that are hard to compare.

Question 29

What is Tschirgi’s (1980) cake study?

Answer 29

In this study, participants were given a hypothesis about a cake recipe and chose options that supported the hypothesis, even when other options would be more helpful for testing it. This shows congruence bias.

Question 30

What happened in Tschirgi’s second study?

Answer 30

When the hypothesis was about a failed cake recipe, participants still chose options that supported the belief (even though other choices could also be useful for testing it). This again shows congruence bias.

Question 31

What was the Wason (1960) study about numbers?

Answer 31

Participants were given a number sequence and asked to guess the rule. Most looked for patterns that confirmed their expectations rather than testing alternative hypotheses, showing confirmation bias.

Question 32

What is illusory correlation?

Answer 32

Illusory correlation is when people believe two things are related, even if they are not. This is often linked to stereotypes.

Question 33

What did Chapman and Chapman (1969) study show about illusory correlations?

Answer 33

The study showed that practicing psychologists saw false connections between certain Rorschach inkblot signs and homosexuality. This was due to confirmation bias and illusory correlation.

Question 34

What did the Chapman and Chapman (1969) study investigate?

Answer 34

The study explored how confirmation bias and illusory correlations affect the way people link traits (like homosexuality) to certain Rorschach inkblots.

Question 35

What was the aim of Chapman and Chapman’s study?

Answer 35

To see if naive observers (students) would make the same mistakes as trained clinicians when linking Rorschach inkblots to personality traits.

Question 36

What did participants in the Chapman and Chapman study do?

Answer 36

They were shown 30 Rorschach cards, each with a response, and then asked to create a rule linking these responses to symptoms like homosexuality, depression, paranoia, or an inferiority complex.

Question 37

What were the findings of Chapman and Chapman’s study?

Answer 37

Participants wrongly linked certain Rorschach cards (like Card III) to homosexuality, even though the link was invalid, showing confirmation bias and illusory correlation.

Question 38

What was the conclusion of Chapman and Chapman’s study?

Answer 38

The study confirmed that confirmation bias plays a role in forming illusory correlations, causing people to see false relationships between traits (e.g., homosexuality) and certain patterns.

Question 39

What is Cognitive Dissonance according to Leon Festinger?

Answer 39

Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort you feel when you hold two contradictory beliefs, actions, or when new information conflicts with your existing beliefs. People try to reduce this stress.

Question 40

How can you reduce cognitive dissonance?

Answer 40

You can reduce dissonance by either changing your behavior to match your beliefs or changing your beliefs to fit your behavior.

Question 41

What is the Belief Disconfirmation Paradigm?

Answer 41

This is a concept studied by Leon Festinger, where people’s beliefs are tested against new, conflicting information. When beliefs are proven false, people often twist them to reduce the discomfort caused by dissonance.

Question 42

What happened in Leon Festinger’s UFO cult study?

Answer 42

The UFO cult predicted the world would end on Dec. 21st, but when it didn’t, the leader claimed they had saved the world with their thoughts. This helped the cult members reduce the cognitive dissonance caused by the failed prophecy.

Question 43

What was the conclusion of Festinger’s UFO cult study?

Answer 43

The study showed that when new information contradicts existing beliefs, people often twist their beliefs to reduce discomfort and maintain their social support.

Question 44

What is the Induced-Compliance Paradigm?

Answer 44

This is a way to test cognitive dissonance by getting people to engage in a behavior that contradicts their beliefs, and then seeing if they change their beliefs to match the behavior.

Question 45

What did the Freedman & Fraser (1996) study show about cognitive dissonance?

Answer 45

People who signed a petition for safe driving were more likely to later agree to put up a large “Drive Carefully” sign in their yard. This showed that cognitive dissonance from signing the petition led to increased behavior (putting up the sign).

Question 46

What were the findings of the Freedman & Fraser (1996) study?

Answer 46

55% of the participants who signed the petition complied with the request to put up a “Drive Carefully” sign, compared to only 20% in the control group, showing how cognitive dissonance can influence behavior.

Question 47

What is the main conclusion from Freedman & Fraser’s study?

Answer 47

Signing a petition creates cognitive dissonance, which can lead to people changing their behavior to match their earlier commitment, in this case by putting up the “Drive Carefully” sign.