Test Bank 7th Edition Chapter.10 Making Good Decisions

1.

Decision-making is the process of 
 

2.

Selecting among alternatives is the process of 
 

3.

Every decision starts with 
 

4.

Identifying your short- and long-term goals should be the first step in 
 

5.

Of the following, which is a useful way to generate a list of flexible alternatives? 
 

6.

Freewriting continuously for five to 10 minutes 
 

7.

What is one key step in assessing alternatives to make a decision? 
 

8.

Determining possible outcomes for each alternative is 
 

9.

Determining the likelihood that an outcome will take place is a step in 
 

10.

Giving your decision time is a strategy to follow when you 
 

11.

If you are having trouble making up your mind, you can always 
 

12.

Changing colleges is referred to as 
 

13.

Transferring is 
 

14.

People who change careers at age 45 
 

15.

You envision yourself in the future and how various options to your problem play out. What are you doing? 
 

16.

Decision-making is focused on choosing among alternatives. What is problem-solving focused on? 
 

17.

Generating alternatives is the primary goal of 
 

18.

What is the first step in solving any problem? 
 

19.

Clearly defining the problem is the first step to 
 

20.

The strategy of starting at the desired solution/goal and working toward the starting point of the problem is what type of strategy? 
 

21.

When you work backward, you 
 

22.

When you break your problem down into small, manageable pieces you 
 

23.

An analogy is 
 

24.

Comparing two concepts or objects that have both similarities and differences is referred to as 
 

25.

Once you effectively solve your problem you should 
 

26.

A limitation, blind spot, or mistake in thinking that leads to illogical or erroneous decisions is referred to as 
 

27.

A cognitive bias is 
 

28.

"All college students who drink beer make less than a 4.0 G.P.A. It is obvious then that drinking beer lowers a student's grades." The person who made this statement believes that 
 

29.

Which of the following is an opinion? 
 

30.

Laura is the only first-year student in her sorority who does not have a date for Saturday night. "I'm just a loser," she tells her mother over the telephone. This is an example of 
 

31.

Many local police forces are taking steps to eliminate racial profiling—the practice of stopping drivers only on the basis of their race or ethnicity. The racial profiling problem might be eliminated if 
 

32.

An example of an absolute statement is: 
 

33.

Which of the following steps should you follow when assessing your alternatives? Click all that apply. 
 
____  Determine the likelihood that your selected outcomes will take place.
____  Flip a coin.
____  Give the decision time.
____  Compare alternatives.
____  Determine possible outcomes for each alternative.

34.

Which of the following strategies would be useful when choosing between several alternatives? Click all that apply. 
 
____  Continue analysis until a solution appeals to you.
____  Consider indecision a decision.
____  Play the alternatives out as mental movies.
____  Let circumstances make the decision for you.
____  Wait and think.

35.

Which of the following should you consider when deciding to transfer to another college? Click all that apply. 
 
____  new requirements you will have to meet at the other school
____  its proximity to part-time work
____  what courses you have taken that the other school will accept
____  the minimum requirements for admission
____  its ability to offer a more interesting social group

36.

Some of the methods for solving life's more difficult problems include which of the following? Click all that apply. 
 
____  Keep working on it until you have a solution.
____  Work backward.
____  Take another person's perspective.
____  Use graphs and charts.
____  Work from the beginning.

37.

Which of the following are common pitfalls in decision-making and problem-solving? Click all that apply. 
 
____  confusing opinion with fact
____  jumping to conclusions
____  accepting vague generalities
____  recognizing bias
____  avoiding cause-and-effect errors

38.

Major decisions are seldom reversible. 
 
True    False

39.

When weighing a decision, you should assume all outcomes have an equal probability of occurring. 
 
True    False

40.

When alternatives seem equally positive or negative to you, it might be a good idea to take some time making your decision. 
 
True    False

41.

In assessing alternatives, it is useful to compare them by taking into account their potential outcomes. 
 
True    False

42.

When making a decision, asking others for advice is not a recommended strategy. 
 
True    False

43.

Having fewer alternatives to choose from makes it easier to reach the right decision. 
 
True    False

44.

Every problem has a clear-cut solution.  
 
True    False

45.

Using simple common sense can be very helpful in making decisions.  
 
True    False

46.

Being aware of the biases that may affect our thinking can help us avoid them. 
 
True    False

47.

Imagine that you have just graduated from college and are exploring various job opportunities. You have researched what each job involves, how likely you are to get it, and how the different workplaces compare with each other. What strategies might you use to make a final decision about which job to apply for? 
 

48.

Consider an important decision that you have made in the last six months (for example, selecting a major, choosing a new roommate, or starting a part-time job to help pay for school), state what it was, and list four questions you could ask yourself to evaluate whether you made the right choice. 
 

49.

List five strategies you might use to solve a complicated problem (for example, how to prioritize paying bills that total more than the amount in your checking account, how to solve a complicated algebra problem, or how to synthesize all the material you have researched for an end-of-term paper). Then provide a brief example of how you would apply one of them to a problem you recently confronted. 
 

50.

"There is no such thing as a bad movie." Do you consider this statement to be a fact or an opinion? Please explain your answer.