This is a short essay assignment with a mixture of multiple-choice/short answer and essay questions that cite evidence or research to explain/support your answer. 

Your essay answers must be in your own words with paraphrasing properly source credited.  Quotes in lieu of answering in your own words will not receive points.

Please submit your responses as a Word document (.docx file).  Make sure to number your responses so your instructor will know where one response ends and the next starts.  It is not necessary to rewrite each question in your document.  For multiple choice questions, CLEARLY indicate your response (a, b, c, or d) so that your instructor does not have to search and try to determine your response in your short answer explanation.

Your responses should be approximately one-half page each (double-spaced) for a total of three pages (not including Title and References Pages if you choose to include them).

1.  Jane is trying to decide whether she should marry Jim.  She sits down with a piece of paper and makes a list of all the positive aspects about marrying Jim, and then a list of all the negative aspects.  After looking at both lists, she can see that the good things outweigh the bad.  So, she calls Jim up and says, “OK, let’s set a date for the wedding!”  Jane’s way of making up her mind is an example of:

a.         felicific calculus

b.         distinctiveness decision making

c.          decisional framing

d.         the contrast effect

Why is this the best answer?

2.  In an experiment by Kenrick and Gutierres, male college students were asked to evaluate a potential blind date before or after watching the television show “Charlie’s Angels” (which features three glamorous actresses).  How did those who gave their ratings of the blind date after the viewing the show compare to subjects who rated the blind date before watching the show.  To what factor was this difference attributed?

3.  From Article #13 in Readings About the Social Animal, in demonstrating the “region-ß paradox,” what do Gilbert and his colleagues suggest about people’s willingness to endure painful medical procedures?

4.  It’s New Year’s Eve, and you’ve been invited to a large party where there will be lots of people you’ve never met before.  When you arrive, the person hosting the party hands you a blue party hat to wear and you put it on.  As you mingle through the crowd, you notice that some people are wearing blue hats like yours, and other people are wearing green party hats.  By the end of the evening, you realize you have spent most of your time with people wearing blue hats.  Somehow, they just seemed to be nicer people-they even dance better than those other people wearing green hats.  Moreover, a guy with a green hat bumped into you at one point during the evening and spilled your drink!  Given your knowledge of social cognition (and despite the somewhat far-fetched nature of this scenario), how could you explain your perceptions and judgments?

5.  How do cognitive biases involving the self contribute to the goal of maintaining and enhancing our view of ourselves?  Of what value are such biases, and what are the potential consequences of not having them?  Describe two self-biases, providing research evidence that demonstrates their effects.