Heuristic, & Algorithm Practice/Barriers to Problem Solving

Belief Perseverance

A district attorney finds out that a man he prosecuted (and was convicted) was found to be not guilty due to DNA evidence still insists that he was guilty and that the 20 years the person served in jail was justified. The district attorney is possibly being affected by _________________.

Algorithm

A(n) ____________________ is a problem solving method that will always yield a correct solution if it is executed correctly.

Mental set-fixation (fixation)

After answering a bunch of multiple-choice questions in a row that are worded in a typical way (select the correct answer), Marty comes to a question, which says "All of the following are true EXCEPT." Because he has been answering the other questions, he is in a routine and fails to notice the change in the question, which leads him to choose the first option (A), which is true resulting in him getting the question wrong. What problem in problem-solving has caused Marty problems?

Anchoring Heuristic

Esmeralda is 100% certain about her ability to find a Prince Charming in Happily Ever After Land. She believed her entire life that she was destined to marry a prince. She reads headlines in the local paper that there is a severe shortage of Princes due to war with the forces of evil. Despite this, she is still 90% sure that with her qualification she will land herself a prince. What best explains her reasoning?

Representative Heuristic

Many senior citizens lose thousands of dollars because they place unwarranted trust in neatly dressed, clean-cut, polite young men who come to their homes and advise them that they need roof repairs. The seniors put down substantial deposits for work, only to realize later that the men are not going to return and that no work was needed. They fall prey to this scam because of ______________________.

Confirmation Bias

Reece believes that global warming is a myth and as a result does not look at any information that supports the theory of humans causing global warming. Because she is only looking for information to confirm her existing opinion she is suffering from __________________.

Functional Fixedness

Richie does not have a hammer and wants to hang his cool new ABBA poster up in his dorm room. He looks around and uses his shoe to take care of the task. Richie does NOT have _________________________.

Availability Heuristic

Some companies are reporting an inability to staff their foreign offices in Europe. Employees previously interested in overseas work are frightened of the terrorist activity they keep hearing about in the news. They are sure that something disastrous will happen to their families if they move to Europe. Although the terrorist risk has not gone up, they are being affected by a few dramatic examples they have seen on TV. When they think of Europe, the first thing they think of is terrorism. What are they using to assess the incidence of terrorist activity?

Framing Effect

Supporters of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade call themselves pro-choice, not pro-abortion because they know that the word choice can make a difference in gaining supporters. This is known as the __________________.

Overconfidence

Television commentators with extreme political views (on either side) are often very popular because they appeal to strongly partisan viewers. Research suggests that they are often very wrong with their predictions, despite their high level of certainty that they suggest (possibly because they do not sufficiently appreciate the point of view of the other side). These commentators may be guilty of _______________________.

Gambler's Fallacy

The Bernauer family has four sons and are quite satisfied with the size of their family. However, they both would like to have a daughter. They incorrectly believe that their chances of having a girl the next time are better because they have already had four boys. Which error in thinking is causing problems for this family?