Cognitive Psychology Exam 4 Study Guide

Chapter Twelve: Deductive Reasoning and Decision Making

Deductive Reasoning
Define Keys Terms

• Deductive reasoning
• Conditional reasoning task (Propositional reasoning task)
• Syllogism
• Propositional calculus
• Propositions
• Antecedent
• Consequent
• Affirming the antecedent
• Affirming the consequent
• Denying the antecedent
• Denying the consequent
• Dual-process theory
• Type 1 processing
• Type 2 processing
• Belief-bias effect
• Confirmation bias

Applied Questions

1. Differentiate between conditional reasoning and syllogism. Think of examples for each.
2. “if I study for my exam, then I will get a good grade.” Which type of deductive reasoning is this?
Identify the antecedent and the consequent.
3. “He is a golden retriever, therefore he is a dog.” Try to create a propositional calculus for the
previous statement where you: affirm the antecedent, affirm the consequent, deny the
antecedent, and deny the consequent. Think about which are valid and which are invalid.
4. Describe the relationship between confirmation bias and affirming the antecedent and denying
the consequent.
5. Why is the belief-bias effect and confirmation bias considered examples of top-down
processing?
6. Let’s say that you can’t decide between moving to California or New York after college. How can
creating a pros/cons list reduce confirmation bias during big decision making?
Decision Making 1: Overview of heuristics
Define Key Terms

• Decision making
• Heuristic
• Representative
• Representativeness heuristic
• Small-sample fallacy
• Base rate
• Base-rate fallacy
• Baye’s theorem
• Likelihood ratio
• Conjunction rule
• Conjunction fallacy
• Availability heuristic
• Illusory correlation
• Social cognition approach
• Anchor
• Anchoring and adjustment heuristic (anchoring effect)

Applied Questions

1. Differentiate between deductive reasoning and decision making. When would you use each? Try
to come up with a few specific situations in your daily life.
2. What is the general role of heuristics in decision making?
3. Create an example of each key term: representative heuristic, availability heuristic, and the
anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
4. Discuss possible issues that could arise when using each heuristic inappropriately.
5. What important statistical evidence does the representative heuristic lead us to ignore?
6. How can illusionary correlations explain stereotypes? Provide an example. How is this related to
the social cognition approach?

Decision making 2: Application of decision-making research

Define Key Terms

• Framing effect
• Prospect theory
• Overconfidence
• Crystal-ball technique
• Planning fallacy
• Groupthink
 • Hindsight
• Hindsight bias
• Ecological rationality
• Default heuristic

Applied Questions

1. Explain how the wording of a question and our own background information can lead to the
framing effect.
2. Why is it important to consider both the possible gains and losses when making big decisions?
3. How can planning fallacies be avoided to maximize test preparation?
4. Discuss possible reasons for overconfidence.
5. Try to come up with an example from your personal life where groupthink impacted your
decision making processes.
6. Let’s say that you get a 100% on exam 3. When you see your exam grade, you exclaim to your
classmates, “I knew I was going to get a 100% on the exam!” Explain how you are expressing
hindsight bias in this situation. What are possible explanations for the hindsight bias?
7. What is the current perspective of heuristics on decision making?

Chapter Thirteen: Cognitive Development Throughout the Lifespan

The lifespan development of memory
Define Key Terms

• Lifespan approach to development

• Conjugate reinforcement technique
• Spaced learning
• Massed learning
• Source monitoring
• Script
• Memory strategies
• Utilization deficiency
• Prospective memory
• Explicit memory task
• Implicit memory task
• Recognition memory
• Chunking
• Cognitive slowing

Applied Questions

1. Summarize the research regarding memory in children and older adults.

2. Discuss some possible factors that influence infants’ memory.
 3. Compare and contrast children and older adult’s memory to adults’ memory (working and long-
term memory). What are some possible explanations for age differences in memory other than
age itself?
4. What are some techniques/tasks that are used to test children’s memory? What about elderly
adults’ memory?
5. Discuss possible memory strategies that can help children improve their memory.
6. What are some possible factors that influence children’s eyewitness testimony?
7. Describe the new sets of challenges of conducting research in children and older adults.
8. How might individual differences affect one’s performance on a memory task?

The Lifespan Development of Metamemory

Define Key Terms

• Metacognition
• Metamemory
• Theory of mind
• Metacomprehension

Applied Questions

Children

1. Review and discuss the research on metamemory in children.

2. Compare/contrast the metamemory of each age group: 2 years old, 7 years old, and 18 years old

Define Key Terms

• Dementia
• Memory self-efficacy

Applied Questions

Elderly

1. What did you find surprising about the research on metamemory in elderly people?
2. Compare the metamemory of a young adult to that of an elderly adult.

*Review Section Summaries and Chapter Review Questions*

Good Luck!