Tilts In Social Cognition

Question 0

Expecting positive events and outcomes in many situations.

Answer 0

Optimistic bias

Question 1

A tendency to be highly sensitive to negative stimuli or information.

Answer 1

Negativity bias

Question 2

Thoughts about what might have been.

Answer 2

Counterfactual thinking

Question 3

Trying to prevent yourself from thinking about certain topics.

Answer 3

Thought suppression

Question 4

Thinking based on assumptions that don’t hold up to rational scrutiny.

Answer 4

Magical thinking

Question 5

We show a strong ____ ____ – a tendency to be highly sensitive to negative stimuli or information. This tenancy appears to be basic and may be built and to the functioning of our brains.

Answer 5

negativity bias

Question 6

We also show a strong ____ ____, expecting positive events and outcomes in many contexts.

Answer 6

optimistic bias

Question 7

In addition, we tend to make overly optimistic predictions about how long it will take us to complete a given task, this is known as the ____ ____.

Answer 7

planning fallacy

Question 8

The optimistic bias also shows up in our tendency to assume we are more likely than other persons to experience positive ____, but
less likely than others to experience negative ones.

Answer 8

outcomes

Question 9

The optimistic bias is also evident when we compare our past and our future: although we perceive the past as mixed in terms of highs and lows, we tend to perceive the future in ____ ____ terms.

Answer 9

highly optimistic

Question 10

The optimistic bias may be reversed and turn to pessimism, however, when we anticipate receiving bad news with important consequences for us; in such cases, we brace for loss and show an enhanced tendency to predict ____ ____.

Answer 10

negative outcomes

Question 11

In many situations, when individuals imagine what might have been, they engage in ____ ____. Such thoughts can affect our sympathy for persons who experience negative outcomes, and can cause us to experience strong regret over missed opportunities.

Answer 11

counterfactual thinking

Question 12

Counterfactual thoughts seem to occur automatically in many situations, and their effects can be reduced only through hard, cognitive work in which they are ____ or ____.

Answer 12

suppressed or discounted

Question 13

By assuming that disappointing or tragic events are ____, individuals can make them more bearable. This is a very adaptive function of counterfactual thinking.

Answer 13

unavoidable

Question 14

Individuals often engage in ____ ____ – trying to prevent themselves from thinking about certain topics (e.g., delicious deserts, alcohol, cigarettes).

Answer 14

thought suppression

Question 15

These efforts are often successful, but sometimes the result and a rebound effect, in which such thoughts actually increase in frequency. Persons who are high in ____ are more likely than those who are low and ____ to experience such effects.

Answer 15

reactance

Question 16

There are important limits on our ability to think rationally about the social world. One involves ____ ____ – thinking based on assumptions that don’t hold up to rational scrutiny. For instance, the law of similarity, which suggested things that resemble one another share basic properties.

Answer 16

magical thinking

Question 17

Another limitation involves our inability to take account of ____ ____ in many situations. Variables to while not evident may in fact contribute to a situation.

Answer 17

moderating variables

Question 18

Although social cognition is subject to many sources of error, we generally do an ____ ___ of understanding the social world.

Answer 18

excellent job