Study Guide

Chapter Key Terms

You should know the definitions of the following key terms from the chapter. They are listed in the order in which they appear in the chapter. For those you do not know, return to the relevant section of the chapter to learn them. When you think that you know all of the terms, complete the matching exercise based on these key terms.

thinking

well-defined problem

ill-defined problem

fixation

functional fixedness

mental set

insight

algorithm

heuristic

anchoring and adjustment heuristic

working backward heuristic

means-end analysis heuristic

representativeness heuristic

conjunction fallacy

gambler's fallacy

availability heuristic

confirmation bias

illusory correlation

belief perseverance

person-who reasoning

intelligence quotient (IQ)

standardization

deviation IQ score

reliability

validity

factor analysis

heritability

reaction range

Flynn effect

Key Terms Exercise

Identify the correct term for each of the following definitions.

Question 6.1

1. Incorrectly judging the overlap of two uncertain events to be more probable than either of the two events.

______________________________________________

conjunction fallacy

Question 6.2

2. The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure or predicts what it is supposed to predict.

__________________________________________________

validity

Question 6.3

3. A new way to interpret a problem that immediately yields the solution.

____________________________________________________

insight

Question 6.4

4. Questioning a well-established research finding because you know a person who violates the finding.

____________________________________________________

person-who reasoning

Question 6.5

5. The genetically determined limits for an individual’s intelligence.

_____________________________________________________

reaction range

Question 6.6

6. A problem-solving heuristic in which the distance to the goal state is decreased systematically by breaking the problem down into subgoals and achieving these subgoals.

___________________________________________________

means–end analysis heuristic

Question 6.7

7. The tendency to use previously successful problem-solving strategies without considering others that are more appropriate for the current problem.

__________________________________________________

mental set

Question 6.8

8. An index of the degree that variation of a trait within a given population is due to heredity.

_____________________________________________________

heritability

Question 6.9

9. The process that allows test scores to be interpreted by providing test norms.

______________________________________________________

265

standardization

Question 6.10

10. Incorrectly believing that a chance process is self-correcting in that an event that has not occurred for a while is more likely to occur.

__________________________________________________

gambler’s fallacy

Question 6.11

11. A problem lacking clear specification of either the start state, goal state, or the processes for reaching the goal state.

_________________________________________________________

ill-defined problem

Question 6.12

12. A heuristic for estimation problems in which one uses his or her initial estimate as an anchor estimate and then adjusts the anchor up or down (often insufficiently).

__________________________________________________________

anchoring and adjustment heuristic

Question 6.13

13. A problem-solving heuristic in which one attempts to solve a problem by working from the goal state back to the start state.

____________________________________________________________

working backward heuristic

Question 6.14

14. The tendency to cling to one’s beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence.

__________________________________________________________

belief perseverance

Question 6.15

15. A statistical technique that identifies clusters of test items that measure the same ability (factor).

__________________________________________________________

factor analysis

Practice Test Questions

The following are practice multiple-choice test questions on some of the chapter content. If you guessed or incorrectly answered a question, restudy the relevant section of the chapter.

Question 6.16

1. The tendency to think of only the most typical uses of objects in a problem setting is called ______.
  1. fixation
  2. mental set
  3. functional fixedness
  4. confirmation bias

c; functional fixedness

Question 6.17

2. If you compute the area of a room by using the formula length × width = area, you are using a(n)/the ______.
  1. algorithm
  2. heuristic
  3. conjunction rule
  4. anchoring and adjustment heuristic

a; algorithm

Question 6.18

3. The representativeness heuristic leads us to ______.
  1. judge the probability of an event in terms of its prominence in memory
  2. judge the probability of category membership by resemblance to the category
  3. seek only evidence that confirms our beliefs
  4. maintain our beliefs even though we have been given evidence that contradicts them

b; judge the probability of category membership by resemblance to the category

Question 6.19

4. Overestimating the probability of dying in an airplane crash is likely the result of using the ______.
  1. representativeness heuristic
  2. availability heuristic
  3. anchoring heuristic
  4. conjunction rule

b; availability heuristic

Question 6.20

5. In the 2-4-6 task, participants demonstrate ______ in testing their hypotheses.
  1. mental set
  2. confirmation bias
  3. person-who reasoning
  4. belief perseverance

b; confirmation bias

Question 6.21

6. Mistakenly believing that two events are related is called ______.
  1. functional fixedness
  2. illusory correlation
  3. the Flynn effect
  4. the conjunction fallacy

b; illusory correlation

Question 6.22

7. Which of the following statements about test reliability and validity is false?
  1. A test can be reliable and valid.
  2. A test can be reliable but not valid.
  3. A test can be valid but not reliable.
  4. A test can be neither reliable nor valid.

c; A test can be valid but not reliable.

Question 6.23

8. The intelligence test scores for ______ are most strongly correlated.
  1. identical twins reared apart
  2. fraternal twins reared together
  3. siblings reared together
  4. unrelated people reared apart

a; identical twins reared apart

Question 6.24

9. Which of the following intelligence theorists emphasized the g factor?
  1. Sternberg
  2. Gardner
  3. Spearman
  4. Thurstone

c; Spearman

Question 6.25

10. The Flynn effect refers to the observation that average intelligence test scores in the United States and other Western industrialized nations have ______ over the past century.
  1. increased
  2. decreased
  3. stayed the same
  4. first increased but then decreased

a; increased

Question 6.26

11. Which of the following intelligence theorists proposed three types of intelligence—analytical, practical, and creative?
  1. Sternberg
  2. Gardner
  3. Thurstone
  4. Spearman

a; Sternberg

Question 6.27

12. The folding problem in which you were asked to estimate the thickness of a 0.1 millimeter sheet of paper folded in on itself 100 times illustrates how the ______ can lead to dramatic underestimates of the correct answer to an estimation problem.
  1. representativeness heuristic
  2. availability heuristic
  3. anchoring and adjustment heuristic
  4. conjunction rule

c; anchoring and adjustment heuristic

Question 6.28

13. A person who questions the validity of the research findings that indicate smoking leads to health problems as a result of his knowing someone who has smoked most of their life and has no health problems is using ______.
  1. the representativeness heuristic
  2. the availability heuristic
  3. person-who reasoning
  4. inferential-statistical reasoning

c; person-who reasoning

Question 6.29

14. A heritability estimate of 100% for intelligence in a given population means that the variation in intelligence for this population is determined ______.
  1. solely by genetics
  2. solely by environmental experiences
  3. 50% by genetics and 50% by environmental experiences
  4. 75% by genetics and 25% by environmental experiences

a; solely by genetics

Question 6.30

15. In the Linda problem, if you judge that it is more likely that Linda is a bank teller and active in the feminist movement than that Linda is a bank teller, you are likely using the ______ heuristic and committing the ______ fallacy.
  1. availability; gambling
  2. availability; conjunction
  3. representativeness; gambling
  4. representativeness; conjunction

d; representativeness; conjunction