Psychology: Moral Judgment and Motivation

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Questions and Answers

What is the fundamental attribution error (FAE)?

Attributing one's successes to situational factors.

Judging oneself as being below average compared to peers.

Attributing others' failures to internal characteristics while attributing one's own failures to external factors. (correct)

Overestimating the impact of situational factors on personal success.

How does the 'better than average' effect relate to self-assessment?

It encourages individuals to underestimate their critical thinking skills.

It has no impact on how individuals evaluate their own abilities.

It leads individuals to see themselves as exactly average in most traits.

It prompts individuals to believe they possess certain positive traits more than their peers. (correct)

What psychological discomfort is often associated with cognitive dissonance?

Avoiding challenging conversation about beliefs.

A strong sense of confidence in critical thinking.

Discomfort when evidence contradicts one's existing beliefs. (correct)

Feeling secure in one's beliefs.

Which of the following describes confirmation bias?

A tendency to disregard evidence that contradicts prior beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

What is a common result of the bias blind spot?

People are unaware of their own biases while recognizing them in others. Signup and view all the answers

In what way can emotions influence rational decision-making?

They can cloud judgment and lead to irrational choices. Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by the interaction of emotion and cognition?

Emotions can shape thought patterns and decision-making. Signup and view all the answers

When people ignore the moral faults of their side in a conflict, which cognitive phenomenon are they exemplifying?

Cognitive dissonance. Signup and view all the answers

What is the gambler's fallacy?

The belief that past independent events affect future events. Signup and view all the answers

What does the hot-hand illusion refer to?

The belief that a player’s previous performances influence future performance. Signup and view all the answers

What is base rate neglect?

Ignoring the base rate when making judgments about a specific event. Signup and view all the answers

How do retailers use the anchoring effect?

By highlighting discounts over the original prices to create perceived value. Signup and view all the answers

What cognitive error is associated with assuming outcomes are guaranteed to change after a series of failures?

Gambler's fallacy Signup and view all the answers

What does motivated reasoning primarily involve?

Reasoning aimed at achieving specific goals Signup and view all the answers

How does self-serving bias typically manifest in individual evaluations?

Favorably evaluating one's own capabilities Signup and view all the answers

Why might the base rate for men committing crimes be misleading?

It doesn’t account for demographic differences in crime rates. Signup and view all the answers

What could be considered a misconception related to motivated reasoning?

Assuming that personal desires have no influence on rationality. Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between motivation, emotion, and cognition described in the content?

They interplay in complex ways that are not fully understood. Signup and view all the answers

What is one consequence of the anchoring effect in decision-making?

Judgments are often skewed towards initial information provided. Signup and view all the answers

Which example illustrates the interplay of cognition and emotion in motivating behavior?

Listeners believing in an alien invasion during a radio broadcast. Signup and view all the answers

Which type of thinking is primarily responsible for the initial moral judgments made about sibling relationships?

System 1 thinking Signup and view all the answers

What can occur when individuals are not incentivized to be accurate in their judgments?

They are likely to rely on prior beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

In what ways is self-serving bias influenced by culture, according to the content?

Less prevalent where self-esteem is less valued. Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential downside of relying on prior beliefs for judgment?

It might result in confirmation of faulty beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Moral Judgment and Intuition

Most people find "sibling sex" (incest) morally reprehensible, driven by intuition.
This intuitive judgment is associated with System 1 thinking.
Explaining this moral judgment requires System 2 thinking (rationalization), but doesn't always fully succeed.
This example highlights the connection between motivations, emotions, and thought processes.

Goals and Motivation

Motivation is the process of directing behavior towards a goal.
Motivations include desires, wishes, and preferences.
Basic human motivations often revolve around survival, including hunger, thirst, and reproduction.

Motivation, Emotion, and Cognition

The connection between motivation, emotion, and cognition is complex and not fully understood.
An example illustrates how cognitive interpretation (e.g., belief that aliens were attacking) can lead to an emotional response (fear) and a motivational response (survival threat).

Motivated Reasoning

Motivated reasoning refers to how reasoning can be influenced to reach specific goals.
The desire to arrive at a favored conclusion (Type 1 thinking) can influence reasoning.
The desire to reach an accurate conclusion (Type 2 thinking) also influences reasoning.

Making Judgments

People tend to prefer judgments consistent with their prior beliefs.
This bias can be helpful when prior beliefs are accurate, but can also lead to errors in evaluating new information.

Self-Serving Bias

This is the tendency to evaluate oneself favorably.
Research suggests a stronger prevalence in Western cultures.
Self-esteem may be relevant.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The FAE, a cognitive error related to the self-serving bias, involves attributing success to internal factors (skills, effort) and failure to external factors.

Better-Than-Average Effect

A cognitive bias where individuals tend to rate themselves as above average in desirable traits.

Bias Blind Spot

The tendency to be unaware of our own biases while recognizing biases in others.

Confirmation Bias Revisited

Confirmation bias involves seeking evidence supporting pre-existing beliefs and ignoring contradictory evidence.
This motivated reasoning tendency is often seen in political debates and personal beliefs.

In Politics

In politics, members of different parties often struggle to understand opposing viewpoints due to confirmation bias.
Extreme political beliefs are often difficult to change.

Cognitive Dissonance

People experience cognitive dissonance when their beliefs/predictions are challenged by new evidence.
Moral infractions by one's side of a conflict is frequently ignored.

Emotion

Emotion is a mental state elicited by ongoing situations.
Emotions are related to behavioral expressions, internal experiences, and biological responses.

Theories of Emotions

A prominent theory proposes a small set of basic emotions (happiness, interest, anger, sadness, disgust, and fear.)

Studying Basic Emotions

Basic emotions are considered to have a biological basis.
Different cultures often display similar facial expressions related to these basic emotions.
Basic emotions typically serve an adaptive role, like expressing fear for survival or disgust for food safety.

Physiological Differences?

Studies have not found clear physiological distinctions correlated with basic emotions.
Lie detector tests (polygraphs) that measure galvanic skin response are not reliable.

Phineas Gage

Damage to his prefrontal cortex had major consequences for personality and decision-making.
Demonstrated the specialization of brain regions in cognitive functions.

Elliot

Removal of a tumor in his prefrontal cortex impaired his emotional responses and decision-making.
Shows the essential role of the orbitofrontal region in decision-making, which needs emotional processing.

The Limbic System

The limbic system is central to emotions and related behaviors.
Interactions in the limbic system and other brain regions are crucial components of emotional processing.

Motivated Reasoning Revisited:

The brain seeks to maximize positive experiences, minimizing negative experiences.
This motivated reasoning is an emotional regulatory strategy.

Working Together

Different emotions are not processed in distinct brain regions.
Many brain regions interact in complex ways to process emotions and experiences.

Voluntary or Involuntary Emotion

Emotions are not completely under conscious control.
Reason is considered a voluntary cognitive process.

What is Rationality?

Rationality is a goal-directed process of thinking.
Rationality is involved in obtaining a desired outcome (using knowledge).

Emotional States and Rationality

Negative emotions can impair rationality.
Negative emotion states will decrease the perception of being reasonable.

Positive Affect and Rationality

Positive moods can enhance cognitive performance and decision-making, especially in creative tasks.
However, positive moods can also bias judgment and attention.

Thinking Errors Associated with Emotion

The appeal to emotion fallacy misleads audiences by substituting emotional arguments for rational ones.
"Scare tactics" and other emotion-driven fallacies can misdirect decision-making.

Reappraising a Situation

Inappropriate emotional responses to situations may be prompted by faulty appraisals.
Distinguishing the claim/statement from the emotional content can lead to more accurate assessment.

Treatment of Disease

The way a medical treatment is framed (e.g., "saving lives" vs. "deaths") powerfully impacts perceptions of the same treatment.

Framing Effect

Most people prefer treatment options framed to emphasize potential benefits.

The Law of Large Numbers

Accurate probabilities are more certain with a large number of samples.
Small samples can yield inaccurate conclusions.

What Scientists Do

Scientists rely on large, random samples to draw conclusions.
Anecdotal experiences can influence perceptions.

Normal Distribution

A bell-shaped curve (normal curve) describes the distribution of many natural characteristics (height, IQ scores).
The data clusters around the average, and variance tails off as the value moves further from the average.
68% of the population is within one standard deviation of the average.

Regression to the Mean

Extreme values tend to regress towards the mean (average) over time.
The meaning of criticism, blame, and praise should be carefully evaluated.

The Gambler's Fallacy

Mistakenly believing that the probability of an event is affected by preceding events when in reality the probability is unrelated.

Hot-Hand Illusion

Erroneously believing that a success in a series of independent events increases the likelihood of future successes.

Base Rates

Known probabilities (base rates) often get overlooked in decision-making.

Base Rate Neglect

Failing to consider the base rates when making judgments, resulting in inaccurate conclusions.

Anchoring Effect

Initial values or information heavily shape judgments, leading to potential bias.

Hindsight Bias

Believing that an event was predictable after it already happened (often called "Monday morning quarterbacking.")

Understanding Human Nature

A discussion about the debate of whether humans are inherently selfish or altruistic.

To Help or Not to Help

Psychological research examines altruism and prosocial behavior.
Ethical considerations influence the decision to help others.

Defining Some Terms

Prosocial behavior benefits others, while altruism is selfless, helping without expectation of reward.

Another Milgram Experiment

A study on the effectiveness of mailed correspondence.
Results questioned the validity of some claims about social groups.

Not Just Humans

Cooperative and helpful behavior exists in many different species of animals and mammals.

And Babies?

Infant/toddler behavior exhibited prosocial responses, like helping reach object.

How to Begin?

Methods of gathering evidence should involve consideration and testing of ideas, not relying on preconceived notions.

Is and Ought

A person's view or opinion of what they believe is right (ought).
Can be different from whether something is factually true (is).

Natural Selection Continued

Nature doesn't care about the group; it only cares about the survival of genes.
An alternative viewpoint of the reasons for altruistic behavior.

Helping Kin

Altruism toward kin is often advantageous through shared genes and is likely to persist.

Helping Others

Reciprocal altruism refers to helping others while anticipating help in return in the future, which benefits all involved.
The effectiveness of reciprocal altruism hinges upon the ability to identify and avoid cheaters/free riders.

Punish Them

Those that benefit without contributing require strong mechanisms to rectify the behavior or situation.

The Bystander Effect

In emergencies, the presence of other observers may decrease the likelihood of help being received.
Bystanders may feel a diffusion of responsibility, reducing individual incentive to act.

Personality Differences

Helping behavior is sometimes linked to specific personalities.
Differences exist in motivations and incentives.

Purity of Heart

A belief that helpfulness is purely selfless, but this requires further discussion.

Mood Dependent

Mood, positive or negative, can influence helpful behavior.

The Imitation Game

Prosocial behavior can be learned from observing another individual exhibiting similar behaviors.
Prosocial traits are not purely innate, but can be developed through experience and observation.

Playing a Public Good Game

Laboratory games demonstrate common-interest dilemmas. Cooperation and punishment play a significant role in these situations.

Neuroscience Weighs In

Brain research reveals neural correlates to helping behavior.
Empathy and reward-based mechanisms are key to reciprocal altruism.

Empathy

Empathy involves understanding and sharing the feelings of another person.
Empathy is thought of as an emotional response; it's important to distinguish this from cognitive sympathy for another person.

Is Empathy Heritable?

Studies show genetic influences on individual differences in empathy.
Environmental factors can also impact empathetic development.

Empathy in the Brain

Multiple brain structures are involved in empathy, primarily in the limbic system.
Empathetic responses are often linked to System 1 thinking.

Emotive Language

Words and phrases have strong emotional associations and are part of persuasive strategies.

Euphemisms

Words that obscure the true meaning of something, often to soften unpleasant concepts.

Weasel Words

Words that qualify a statement to the point that the statement's original meaning is obscured.

Pseudo-Profound Bullshit

Vague, grandiose statements that evoke a sense of deeper meaning but hold little factual support.
Often employed as a manipulative or persuasive tool.

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Description

Explore the intricate connections between moral judgment, motivation, and emotions in psychological terms. This quiz covers intuitive and rational thinking processes and how they influence our behavior towards various moral issues. Delve into the complexities of how motivations shape emotions and cognition in human experience.