Unit 3: Thinking & Decision-Making Review

Which of the following best defines "bottom-up processing"?

• A) Using expectations and experiences to interpret information

• B) Processing that starts with sensory input and builds to perception

• C) Making decisions based on schemas

• D) Paying attention to only specific stimuli

What term describes the brain's tendency to fill in missing information to create a complete picture?

• Closure

• Similarity

• Proximity

• Retinal Disparity

The "visual cliff" experiment tested infants' development of which ability?

• Perceptual set

• Depth perception

• Color constancy

• Retinal disparity

Which process is involved when a student mistakenly interprets a loud sound as thunder based on prior experience?

• Bottom-Up Processing

• Top-Down Processing

• Functional Fixedness

• Sunk-Cost Fallacy

When someone uses 'schemas' to interpret a situation, they are relying on:

• Fixed categories of knowledge they've learned

• Pure sensory information

• New experiences unrelated to past learning

• Guessing randomly

What is the main difference between 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' processing?

• Bottom-up relies on experience, while top-down relies on sensory input

• Top-down is purely sensory, bottom-up is based on learned patterns

• Bottom-up starts with stimuli, top-down relies on previous knowledge

• There is no difference

Identifying your friend’s voice in a crowded cafeteria best demonstrates which effect?

• Divided Attention

• Cocktail Party Effect

• Change Blindness

• Functional Fixedness

In which case would 'confirmation bias' likely influence a person’s thinking?

• A) A scientist only reads studies that support her hypothesis

• B) A person believes they have bad luck after losing a game

• C) A student sees two similar shapes as identical

• D) An athlete prepares for an upcoming game

The "availability heuristic" would influence you to think shark attacks are common after:

• Watching a documentary on ocean animals

• Recalling a movie with a shark attack

• Seeing a beach closure sign

• Reading a book about marine life

"Anchoring heuristic" is most likely at play when:

• You compare prices to the first number you saw

• You ignore new facts against your beliefs

• You solve a problem by trial and error

• You avoid a risky choice