Cognitive Reflection Identifying Cognitive Traps Questions and Answers

Question 1

An investor is asked to assess the long-term financial stability of a complex, unfamiliar tech company.
Instead of conducting deep research, they base their decision on how much they like the company's recent advertisements.
This is a classic example of which cognitive mechanism leading to a trap?

Accepted Answer

Attribute Substitution

Answer

The Law of Small Numbers

Answer

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Answer

The Halo Effect

Question 2

The tendency for the human brain to prefer less computationally intensive modes of thinking is a primary reason for the existence of cognitive traps. This principle is best described by which concept?

Accepted Answer

The Cognitive Miser

Answer

The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Answer

Bounded Rationality

Answer

Prospect Theory

Question 3

A project manager continues to allocate significant resources to a failing project, not because of its future prospects, but because of the large amount of money and time already invested. This is a clear example of which cognitive trap?

Accepted Answer

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Answer

Anchoring Bias

Answer

Confirmation Bias

Answer

Planning Fallacy

Question 4

Which of the following scenarios BEST illustrates the 'Anchoring Bias'?

Accepted Answer

A negotiator's final price is heavily influenced by the first offer made in the negotiation, regardless of its objective merit.

Answer

An employee overestimates their contribution to a team project because their own efforts are more easily recalled.

Answer

A doctor sticks with an initial diagnosis despite new evidence suggesting a different condition.

Answer

An individual is more likely to choose a product described as '95% fat-free' than one described as 'contains 5% fat'.

Question 5

A person is presented with the following riddle: 'A man is looking at a portrait. Someone asks him whose portrait he is looking at, and he replies: "Brothers and sisters I have none, but that man's father is my father's son."' The intuitive, but incorrect, answer is often 'himself.' This error is an example of:

Accepted Answer

A failure in simplification and substitution

Answer

A working memory limitation

Answer

A framing effect

Answer

A base rate neglect

Question 6

The primary goal of engaging System 2 thinking when confronted with a potential cognitive trap is to:

Accepted Answer

Introduce deliberate analysis to override an intuitive impulse.

Answer

Reach a conclusion as quickly as possible.

Answer

Confirm one's initial gut reaction.

Answer

Generate a greater number of creative, unconventional ideas.

An investor is asked to assess the long-term financial stability of a complex, unfamiliar tech company.Instead of conducting deep research, they base their decision on how much they like the company's recent advertisements.This is a classic example of which cognitive mechanism leading to a trap?

An investor is asked to assess the long-term financial stability of a complex, unfamiliar tech company.
Instead of conducting deep research, they base their decision on how much they like the company's recent advertisements.
This is a classic example of which cognitive mechanism leading to a trap?