This Is A Short Essay Assignment With A Mixture Of Multiple

This Is A Short Essay Assignment With a Mixture Of Multiple Choicesho

This is a short essay assignment with a mixture of multiple-choice, short answer, and essay questions that require citing evidence or research to support answers. Responses must be in your own words, with proper paraphrasing and source credit. Quotes are not acceptable in lieu of original responses. Submissions should be in a Word (.docx) format. Number each response for clarity. It is not necessary to rewrite each question; instead, clearly indicate your choice (a, b, c, or d) for multiple-choice questions. Each response should be approximately half a page (double-spaced). The total length of the essay should be around three pages, excluding title and references pages if included.

Paper For Above instruction

Question 1

Jane’s method of weighing the positive and negative aspects of marrying Jim to make her decision exemplifies the concept of felicific calculus (option a). Felicific calculus, introduced by Jeremy Bentham, involves calculating the overall happiness or utility that an action is likely to produce. By listing the pros and cons, Jane is essentially quantifying her preferences and outcomes to determine which choice maximizes her happiness. This rational decision-making process aligns with utilitarian principles, where the individual aims to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Unlike other options, such as decisional framing or the contrast effect, felicific calculus specifically emphasizes evaluating the overall utility of a decision, making it the best fit for Jane’s approach.

Question 2

In the experiment by Kenrick and Gutierres, male college students evaluated a potential blind date after watching “Charlie’s Angels,” which features glamorous actresses. Those who viewed the show rated the potential date more positively than participants who rated the date before watching the show. This difference was attributed to the social comparison effect, where exposure to glamorous media increased the participants' standards or expectations regarding attractiveness and social desirability. The glamour and attractiveness portrayed in the show elevated the students’ appraisal of the potential date, illustrating how media influences social judgments through framing effects and idealized standards (Kenrick & Gutierres, 1980).

Question 3

In Article #13 from Readings About the Social Animal, Gilbert and colleagues discuss the “region-àŸ paradox,” which highlights individuals’ willingness to endure painful medical procedures. They suggest that people often underestimate how much suffering they will be willing to accept for desired outcomes, such as relief from pain or discomfort, due to the bias of affective forecasting inaccuracies and their optimistic neglect of future pain. The paradox illustrates that people are often overly optimistic about their ability to endure pain and believe that such suffering is temporary and manageable, which can lead to overestimating their willingness to tolerate discomfort (Gilbert et al., 1998).

Question 4

The scenario involving the party hats can be explained through social cognition principles, particularly the concepts of social categorization and perceived similarity. Wearing the same color hat (blue) as others creates a shared identity or affiliation, leading to greater liking, trust, and perceived kinship among those with blue hats. This aligns with the principle that people tend to favor others within their ingroup, which enhances feelings of similarity and cohesion. Additionally, the perception of blue-hat wearers as more likable and better dancers exemplifies the "halo effect," where a positive initial impression influences subsequent judgments. The spill at the party might be perceived less negatively because of the in-group favoritism, which reduces the impact of the green-hat person's bump and spill (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).

Question 5

Cognitive biases involving the self serve to maintain and enhance self-esteem and overall self-view. These biases are valuable because they promote psychological resilience, helping individuals cope with setbacks and failures. Two prominent self-biases include the self-serving bias and the better-than-average effect. The self-serving bias involves attributing successes to internal factors (e.g., one’s ability) and failures to external factors (e.g., luck), which preserves self-esteem (Mezulis et al., 2004). The better-than-average effect leads individuals to perceive themselves as superior to others on various traits or skills, bolstering confidence and motivation (Alicke & Govorun, 2005). However, these biases can also lead to overconfidence, poor decision-making, and a lack of motivation to improve. Without such biases, individuals might experience chronic self-doubt and reduced resilience, impairing their mental health and social functioning.

References

• Alicke, M. D., & Govorun, O. (2005). The better-than-average effect. In J. P. Worthy (Ed.), The social psychology of good and evil (pp. 85–106). Guilford Press.
• Gilbert, D. T., Gill, M., & Wilson, T. D. (1998). The paradox of the region-àŸ: Why are people willing to endure pain? Psychological Science, 9(2), 127-132.
• Kenrick, D. T., & Gutierres, J. M. (1980). Contrast effects in ratings of physical attractiveness. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 16(4), 391-399.
• Mezulis, A. H., et al. (2004). The self-serving bias. Review of General Psychology, 8(2), 111-124.
• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole.