Last quiz

• decisions —the process of making choices between alternatives
• reasoning —the process of drawing conclusions
• inductive reasoning , which is reasoning based on observations, or reaching conclusions from evidence
• Three factors that can contribute to the strength of an inductive argument

  Representativeness of observations, Number of observations & Quality of the evidence
• availability heuristic states that events that are more easily remembered are judged as being more probable than events that are less easily remembered
• Illusory correlations occur when a correlation between two events appears to exist, but in reality there is no correlation or it is much weaker than it is assumed to be
• stereotype —an oversimplified generalization about a group or class of people that often focuses on the negative.
• representativeness heuristic states that the probability that A is a member of class B can be determined by how well the properties of A resembles the properties we usually associate with class B.
• base rate is the relative proportion of different classes in the population
• conjunction rule , which states that the probability of a conjunction of two events (A and B) cannot be higher than the probability of the single constituents (A alone or B alone).
• law of large numbers , which states that the larger the number of individuals that are randomly drawn from a population, the more representative the resulting group will be of the entire population
• The tendency for people to generate and evaluate evidence and test their hypotheses in a way that is biased toward their own opinions and attitudes is called the myside bias
• A confirmation bias is broader than the myside bias because it holds for any situation (not just for opinions or attitudes) in which information is favored that confirms a hypothesis.
• According expected utility theory, if people have all of the relevant information, they will make a decision that results in the maximum expected utility
• utility refers to outcomes that achieve a person’s goals
• expected emotions , emotions that people predict they will feel for a particular outcome.
• risk aversion —the tendency to avoid taking risks
• Incidental emotions are emotions that are not caused by having to make a decision
• opt-in procedure because it requires the person to take an active step
• opt-out procedure , in which everyone is a potential organ donor unless he or she requests not to be
• status quo bias —the tendency to do nothing when faced with making a decision
• when a choice is framed in terms of gains (as in the first problem, which is stated in terms of saving lives), people use a risk aversion strategy
• when a choice is framed in terms of losses (as in the second problem, which is stated in terms of losing lives), people use a risk-taking strategy
• framing effect —decisions are influenced by how the choices are stated, or framed
• neuroeconomics , combines research from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and economics to study how brain activation is related to decisions that involve potential gains or losses
• ultimatum game involves two players, one designated as the proposer and the other as the responder
• in deductive reasoning , we determine whether a conclusion logically follows from statements called premises
• A syllogism consists of two premises followed by a third statement called the conclusion
• categorical syllogisms , in which the premises and conclusion are statements that begin with All, No , or Some
• A syllogism is valid when the form of the syllogism indicates that its conclusion follows logically from its two premises
• belief bias —the tendency to think a syllogism is valid if its conclusion is believable
• A mental model is a specific situation represented in a person’s mind that can be used to help determine the validity of syllogisms in deductive reasoning
• Conditional syllogisms have two premises and a conclusion like categorical syllogisms, but the first premise has the form “If . . . then.”
• modus ponens , which is Latin for (roughly translated) “the way that affirms by affirming”—is valid
• modus tollens (for “the way that denies by denying”), is valid
• Wason four-card problem: t explain why the real-world problems are easier
• falsification principle : To test a rule, it is necessary to look for situations that would falsify the rule
• permission schema , which states that if a person satisfies a specific condition (being of legal drinking age), then he or she gets to carry out an action (being served alcohol)
• Leda Cosmides and John Tooby (1992) are among psychologists who have an evolutionary perspective on cognition
• According to natural selection, adaptive characteristics—characteristics that help organisms survive to pass their genes to the next generation—will, over time, become basic characteristics of the organism