Definition
Define decision making
Choosing between two alternatives
How are stereotypes related to bias?
Stereotypes provide information for mental shortcuts to use when that community or group is brought up
Cons of heuristics
Cons: can be skewed, cause inaccurate generalization, unreliable, and irrational for large decisions
What was the aim of Englich and Mussweiler?
To investigate if a simple request for a certain length of prison sentence would influence the decision made by a judge
Define heuristics
Mental shortcuts that people take, using schema, when there isn't time to fully process the situation
What is confirmation bias?
The tendency to seek information that confirms our beliefs or pre-existing knowledge
Pros of heuristics
Pros: fast, efficient essential for daily decisions
What were the the procedures and findings of Englich and Mussweiler?
19 young judges were presented with a court case and asked to assist with the sentencing. Participants had 15 to look over the case and then randomly allocated into two conditions - the first was given a low anchor of 12 months and the second was given a high anchor of 34 months. Found that the high anchor condition averaged 29 months and the low anchor condition averaged 19 months.
Define anchoring bias
Once an anchor is set, other options adjust from the anchor and are interpreted with the anchor in mind
How is eye witness testimony flawed?
Witnesses can be influenced by language, pre-existing knowledge, and assimilate incoming knowledge into what we already know
How does schema influence heuristics?
Heuristics use schema to make quick decisions and judgements. Schema acts as the foundation for heuristics
Explain one limitation of the study
Low ecological validity: lab experiment where participants knew it was a mock trial, so they may not have taken it as seriously and thought as deeply about their sentencing
Define the misinformation effect
Incorporating false information into a person's memory of an event, which leads to memory errors
reasons for cognitive biases in thinking and decision making
- insufficient time or resources to fully analyze situation
- tendency to seek information that confirms existing beliefs (confirmation bias)
No! Heuristics save time and are more efficient when asked to make a quick decision. Some choices do not need careful analysis, and heuristics are based off of pre-existing knowledge.
Explain one strength of the study
A cause and effect relationship could be established between the anchors and sentencing; strong internal validity because the only difference between conditions was the anchor
Define cognitive biases
Cognitive deviations from rational thinking which leads to errors in judgement
What was the impact of anchoring bias in Englich and Mussweiler?
Anchoring bias planted a foundation sentence length that the young judges used to make their decisions off of. The higher anchor pushed the judges to base their sentencing off of the 34 months, and the lower anchor pushed the judges to base their sentencing off of the 12 months.
How do heuristics relate to Englich and Mussweiler?
The judges didn't have enough time to process all of the information and analyze the case rationally, forcing them to rely on heuristics to make a fast decision.
How does this study relate to System 1 thinking?
The participants were not given enough time to look over the case thoroughly, which led to the use of System 1 thinking as a quicker, more intuitive option.