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Multiple Choice Quiz
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1

Our tendency to ignore information that describes most people and to be influenced instead by distinctive features of the case being judged is called the:
A)overconfidence bias
B)hindsight bias
C)distinctiveness fallacy
D)base-rate fallacy
2

When students who favored capital punishment were shown the results of two studies, one of which confirmed and one of which disconfirmed their belief about the crime-deterring effectiveness of the death penalty, they
A)more strongly supported the death penalty
B)remained unchanged in their support of the death penalty
C)became uncertain about the wisdom of the death penalty
D)changed their position and now oppose the death penalty
3

The overconfidence bias can be reduced by having people
A)study the hindsight bias
B)look for confirming evidence for their belief
C)participate in a debate
D)think of one good reason why their judgment might be wrong
4

The fact that African Americans were twice as likely as other Americans to perceive media coverage of O.J. Simpson's arrest as too harsh is an example of
A)the overconfidence phenomenon
B)regression toward the average
C)how preconceptions control our interpretations
D)how beliefs may generate their own confirmation
5

Giving people immediate feedback on the accuracy of their judgments
A)has successfully reduced the overconfidence bias
B)has shown no effect on the overconfidence bias
C)reduces overconfidence bias in children but not in adults
D)undermines their self-confidence and leads them to make worse errors in judgment
6

Our tendency to judge the likelihood of events in terms of how readily they come to mind is known as the
A)vividness heuristic
B)availability heuristic
C)belief assimilation phenomenon
D)observer bias
7

People's greater fear of flying than of driving may be understood in terms of
A)hindsight bias
B)the availability heuristic
C)regression toward the average
D)the self-fulfilling prophecy
8

People who were shown the random mix of results from a 50-day cloud-seeding experiment made judgments that showed
A)the base-rate fallacy
B)an illusory correlation
C)the availability heuristic
D)regression toward the average
9

Dice players who throw softly for low numbers and hard for high numbers demonstrate
A)the correlation-causation fallacy
B)the self-fulfilling prophecy
C)the illusion of control
D)regression toward the average
10

Tversky and Kahneman have identified _________________________ as a possible cause of the illusion of control.
A)schemata
B)base-rate fallacy
C)self-fulfilling prophecy
D)regression toward the average
11

Studies of experimenter bias and teacher expectations have revealed the presence of
A)hindsight bias
B)illusory correlation
C)self-fulfilling prophecy
D)a fundamental attribution error
12

Male students talked on the telephone with women they thought were either attractive or unattractive. Analyses of the women's comments during the conversations revealed that
A)the women who were presumed attractive spoke more warmly than did women who were presumed unattractive
B)the women who were presumed attractive spoke in a more reserved manner
C)there was no difference between those presumed attractive and those presumed unattractive
D)the women who were presumed attractive were more passive
13

Which of the following may be most effective in getting obese people to diet?
A)reading a magazine article that reports a statistical connection between obesity and heart disease
B)learning that a close friend who is also obese has had a heart attack
C)hearing a professional weightlifter recommend that obese people should lose weight
D)all of the above will be equally effective
14

Although Fred was certain he answered at least 50 items correctly on his history test, he actually was right on only 40 items. Fred's misjudgment illustrates
A)the self-fulfilling prophecy
B)the hindsight bias
C)the overconfidence phenomenon
D)regression toward the average
15

From research presented in the text, it is clear that gambling casinos might get people to wager more money by
A)giving greater publicity to their big winners
B)throwing dice for the customers rather than letting them throw the dice themselves
C)increasing the odds of winning
D)asking customers to reflect on their own gambling losses
16

Many people firmly believe in astrology's ability to predict the future. Assuming they are presented a history of an astrologer's past predictions which in actuality shows a random mix of success and failure, they are likely to
A)believe the astrologer is successful
B)question this astrologer's predictive ability but still believe in the validity of astrology
C)become very defensive
D)give up their belief in the validity of astrology
17

Bob, a baseball player, makes five hits while Joe, a member of the same team, makes none in a particular game. In the next game both obtain one hit. What term used in the text explains Bob's fewer hits and Joe's increase?
A)overconfidence bias
B)base-rate fallacy
C)regression to the average
D)schemata
18

A person enters a casino and after inserting one silver dollar in a slot machine hits the jackpot. This person's tendency to continue putting money into the machine so that finally the amount lost exceeds the original winnings can perhaps best be explained in terms of
A)self-fulfilling prophecy
B)regression toward the average
C)illusion of control
D)hindsight bias
19

The people in a small town become convinced that the bank where they have their savings accounts is unsound. The next day most of them demand their savings. By the end of the day the bank is unable to pay off all those who want their deposits. This is an example of
A)regression toward the average
B)self-fulfilling prophecy
C)the hindsight bias
D)illusory correlation
20

Jeremy's tendency to overestimate his risk of being killed in a terrorist attack while visiting the Middle East is best explained in terms of
A)regression toward the average
B)behavioral confirmation
C)the availability heuristic
D)the illusion of control





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