How the Mind Works

Decision

A professor likes to write poetry,

is rather shy, and is small in

stature. Which of the following

is his field:

1) Chinese studies

2) Psychology

What is the most likely sequence for the next six new babies born in the U.S.? (B = boy, G = girl)

1) BBBBBB

2) GGGBBB

3) GBBGGB

Which of the following domore people die of:

motor vehicle accidentsor

Stroke

Which of the following domore people die of:

homicideor

diabetes

Heuristics

andBias

Heuristics are simple rules.

Although their automatic useoften results in easy and quickdecisions, they are also responsiblefor much bias.

The Representative

Heuristic

Representative heuristic:

Judgments are biased by our assessment of the degree to which the salient features of specific instances resemble general categories.

What is the most likely sequence for the next six new babies born in the U.S.? (B = boy, G = girl)

1) BBBBBB

2) GGGBBB

3) GBBGGB

What is the most likely sequence for the next six new babies born in the U.S.? (B = boy, G = girl)

1) BBBBBB or all equalBBBBBB or all equal

2) GGGBBB

3) GBBGGB

A professor likes to write poetry,

is rather shy, and is small in

stature. Which of the following

is his field:

1) Chinese studies

2) Psychology

A professor likes to write poetry,

is rather shy, and is small in

stature. Which of the following

is his field:

1) Chinese studies

2) PsychologyPsychology

The Availability

Heuristic

Availability heuristic:

Judgments are biased by how easily specific examples are recalled.

Easier = more frequent or more causally related.

What is in our short-term memories affects our decisions.

Which of the following domore people die of:

motor vehicle accidentsor

Stroke

Which of the following domore people die of:

motor vehicle accidentsor

StrokeStroke

Which of the following domore people die of:

homicideor

diabetes

Which of the following domore people die of:

homicideor

diabetesdiabetes

Are there more words that beginwith the letter "r"

orthat have

"r" as the third letter?

There more words that have"r" as the third letter.

wordfirst

partialcare

streetderail

V

Carnivor Vegitarian0

10

20

30

Bars indicate standard errors.

Type of Person

% B

elie

ved

to

be

Veg

itar

ian

SchematicProcessin

g

Schemas:

Conscious or unconscious assumptions, beliefs, & theories. Our associative networks & preconceptions (innate & learned).

Which schemata are activatedinfluence our perceptions,our memories, our decisions,and our experience.Schemata guide constructiveand reconstructive processes.

For different individuals some schemata are more easily activated than others. Higher activation means greater availability. We tend to view our own and other’s personalities through the lenses of our beliefs and assumptions (i.e., our schemata).

Independenceloyaltyfriendliness

One schema that has been investigated is:

The belief in a just world

People with this schema tend to blame the victim in a situation.

The Just World Phenomenon