In a Study by Brewer and Treyens, Participants Waited in an Experimenter's

question 26

Multiple Choice

In a study by Brewer and Treyens, participants waited in an experimenter's office for the experiment to begin. After they left the room, they learned that the study was about their memory of that office. This study demonstrated that:

• A) college students do not know what professor's offices typically contain
• B) people make assumptions using prior knowledge about what an academic office typically contains
• C) college students' memories are much worse than the memories of other groups in society
• D) people tend to notice only those items in the environment that most fit with their expectations

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Definitions:

Expected Success

The anticipation of achieving a favorable outcome in any given venture or activity, often quantified based on objective criteria or previous performances.

Representativeness

A cognitive bias in decision-making where an individual assesses the likelihood of an event by comparing it to an existing prototype in their mind.

Control Group

In experimental research, a group of subjects that does not receive the treatment or intervention being tested, used as a benchmark.

Representativeness

A cognitive heuristic where people judge the probability of an event by how much it resembles their expectations of a typical example.