Week 8: Judgement and Decision Making

Question 1

Describe traditional notions of decision making

Answer 1

• decisions are always conscious, rational and informed

- always based on weighing up pros and cons

Question 2

Describe assimilation

Answer 2

Fitting new data into our existing theories/stereotypes.

Question 3

Describe accommodation

Answer 3

Changing your existing theories to incorporate new data.

Question 4

How does assimilation relate to the formation of false beliefs?

Answer 4

x

Question 5

How does accommodation relate to the formation of false beliefs?

Answer 5

x

Question 6

What are heuristics?

Answer 6

Mental short cuts to achieve a particular task

Question 7

How do heuristics benefit judgement and decision making?

Answer 7

They can get us to a solution faster, but can focus on efficiency too much

Question 8

What are common fallacies in reasoning?

Answer 8

• ad hominem: attacking the person rather than the argument/position
• straw man argument

Question 9

What are the advantages of group decision making?

Answer 9

• pooling unique talents, skills and resources

- increased efficiency

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of group decision making?

Answer 10

• decreased efficiency if members cannot contribute equally and collaboratively

Question 11

What is inductive reasoning?

Answer 11

Started with a premise and then followed based on predicted outcomes

Question 12

What is deductive reasoning?

Answer 12

Testing what is believed to be true

Question 13

What is the purpose of the Wason selection task?

Answer 13

x