Reference no: EM133338474

Objectivity: "The quality or character of being objective Links to an external site. : lack of favoritism toward one side or another : freedom from bias." (Merriam-Webster dictionary Links to an external site.)

Confirmation Bias: "The tendency of people to favor information that confirms their existing beliefs or hypotheses. Confirmation bias happens when a person gives more weight to evidence that confirms their beliefs and undervalues evidence that could disprove it." (Noor, Iqra. "Confirmation Bias." Simply Psychology, 10 June 2020 Links to an external site.).

False Equivalence: "False equivalence is a type of cognitive bias or flawed reasoning style. False equivalency means that you think (or are told) two things should have equal weight in your decision-making. If one opinion has solid data supporting it, but the other opinion is conjecture, they are not equivalent in quality." (Sarkis, Stephanie. "This Is Not Equal To That: How False Equivalence Clouds Our Judgement." Forbes, 19 May 2019) Links to an external site..

Cognitive Dissonance: "The mental conflict Links to an external site. that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. The unease or tension that the conflict arouses in people is relieved by one of several defensive maneuvers: they reject, explain away, or avoid the new information; persuade themselves that no conflict really exists; reconcile Links to an external site. the differences; or resort to any other defensive means of preserving stability or order in their conceptions Links to an external site.of the world and of themselves." (Encyclopedia Britannica Links to an external site.).

Heuristics: "A problem-solving method that uses shortcuts to produce good-enough solutions given a limited time frame or deadline. Heuristics are a flexibility technique for quick decisions, particularly when working with complex data. Decisions made using an heuristic approach may not necessarily be optimal." (Investopedia Links to an external site.).

Questions:

1) Two students, John and Marie, are working on a paper about the reasons that led to the Rwandan genocide. As part of their research, they go online to search for information.

John searches, "Reasons why Rwandans are violent."

Marie searches, "What drove radicalization and motivated rampant violence in Rwanda."

a) Which of the terms above is John engaging in in the formulation of his question and why?

b) Which of the terms above is Marie engaging in in the formulation of her question and why?

2) More than %97 of climate scientists have agreed that Earth has been warming for many decades now, overwhelmingly as a result of human activity.

a) A tv show invites two guests, a scientist who believes this claim and a scientist who opposes it, to present their differing views. What psychological process is the tv show engaging in and why?

b) Carlos grew up believing that climate change is not a result of human activity. When he learns that %97 of scientists disagree with that view, he seeks scientists who will support his long-held view. What psychological process is Carlos undergoing and why?

3) The legislature of a state is considering whether to maintain the party affiliation of political candidates listed on the ballot next to their names. Politicians belonging to all parties support maintaining it, as they note that many voters tend to choose all the candidates on any given ballot belonging to their preferred party, without paying much attention to other considerations. What psychological process are voters engaging in and why?