Random sampling (selection): a way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population, by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample. In correlational research, it is necessary to make results generalizable.

Random assignment: When all participants have an equal chance of taking part in any condition of an experiment. (Participants differences in personalities and backgrounds can be evenly distributed across conditions). In experimental research, ensures that IV is the only difference between groups.

Schemas: cognitive structures that people use to organize their knowledge about the world. They influence what we notice, think about, and remember. They act as filters and screen out info. That is inconsistent with them.

Judgmental Heuristics: mental shortcuts people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently

Availability Heuristic: a mental rule of thumb whereby people use a base judgment on the ease with which they can bring something to mind.

Counterfactual Thinking: Mentally changing (undoing) some aspect of the past as a way of imagining what might have been.

Representativeness Heuristic: is a mental shortcut whereby people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case.

Base Rate: the frequency of members of different categories in the population. People tend to overrely on the representativeness heurisitc and underrely on base-rate information.

Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic: A mental shortcut that involves using a number or value as a starting point, and then adjusting one’s answer away from the anchor.

Cognitive Miser: Idea that people take mental shortcuts whenever they can because they are not motivated to or lack the cognitive resources to think deeply.

Motivated Tactician: Idea that people have a lot of rules and strategies and pick and choose among these strategies depending on their needs and goals.

Automatic Processing: thinking that is non-conscious, unintentional, involuntary, and effortless. Frees our minds for more important things.

Controlled Processing: thinking that is conscious, intentional, voluntary, and effortful. Takes motivation and effort, so must have the time and energy to engage in it.

Automatic Believing (Gilbert, 1991): 1)accept all info.; 2) code info. As true or false; 3) cognitive load = step 2 difficult

Cognitive Misers Motivated Tacticians

Heuristic type thinking (A, R, A&A)

Accurate impressions

Makes info. More manageable

Meeting goals – win prize

Don’t have time to think about all

Justify decisions

FAE

Self-relevant info.

Expert source

Dealing with high status people

 

Feeling bad

 

Dealing with high status people

 

Expert source (counterfactual; bad arguments)

 

 Sample Problems

  1. (1pt.) Your friend asks you how many people you think attend Howard University. She tells you that she thinks about 12,000 people. You think there are slightly more and guess around 13,000. What heuristic did you rely upon to make your judgment?
  1. availability
  2. anchoring and adjustment
  3. representativeness
  4. counterfactual
  1. (1pt.) Bill has long blond hair, is from California, and says "hey dude" a lot. You think he is from California. What heuristic did you rely upon to make your judgment?
  1. availability
  2. anchoring and adjustment
  3. representativeness
  4. base rate
  1. (1pt.) You were unable to answer two questions on a quiz because you never read the book. If you received a C on the quiz just because you missed those two, you will be most likely to engage in what type of thinking?
  1. Availability
  2. anchoring and adjustment
  3. representativeness

d. counterfactual

 

 

Answers 1. B, 2. C, 3.d