IB Psychology SL 3.4.1 Cognitive Biases Questions

Refer to the paper 1 section B assessment criteria when awarding marks.
The command term "discuss" requires candidates to offer a considered review of the influence of biases in thinking and/or decision-making.

Thinking and decision-making are closely related cognitive processes and candidates do not need to make a distinction between the two.

Candidates may address examples of biased thinking and/or decision-making in relation to specific aspects of human behaviour or address behaviour in general. Both approaches are equally acceptable.

Examples of biased thinking and/or decision-making may include, but are not limited to:
- specific biases (eg confirmation, optimism, selective attention)
- illusory correlation
- effects of framing
- heuristics (eg anchoring, availability, representativeness).

Relevant studies may include, but are not limited to:
- studies on heuristics: Strack and Mussweiler (1997) and Englisch and Mussweiler (2001) on anchoring bias;
Tversky and Kahneman (1981) on framing effects;
Tversky and Kahneman (1973) on availability heuristic;
Tversky and Kahneman (1973) on representativeness heuristic.
- confirmation bias: Chapman (1969), Stone (1997), Darley and Gross (1983), Wason (1960).
- halo effect: Dion et al (1972), Zebrowitz and McDonald (1991)
- illusory correlation: Hamilton and Gifford (1976), Snyder and Schwann (1978)
- matching bias: Wason (1968), Cox and Griggs (1982) - participants use the language of the rule to choose which cards to turn over.

Discussion may include, but is not limited to:
- Applications of findings - for example, in marketing or in understanding health-related behaviour
- Cultural and gender considerations
- Difficulties in studying cognitive processes - for example isolation of variables and measuring cognition;
artificial nature of experimental research
- Explanations of why cognitive biases occur - for example linking to Dual Process Theory
- Implications of the findings
- Methodological and ethical considerations.

Candidates may discuss one bias in thinking or decision making in order to demonstrate depth of knowledge, or may discuss more than one bias in thinking and/or decision making in order to demonstrate breadth of knowledge. Both approaches are equally acceptable.