Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Unit assignment:

Assignment Description:

For this Assignment you will write a 2-3 page essay addressing the topic of decision-making and the heuristics that can influence decision-making. Your essay should be well organized, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful. You should incorporate information from your course textbook to support your essay.

In this unit you learned that decisions can be influenced by heuristics, in particular the representative heuristic, the availability heuristic and the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. In this Assignment you are going to provide three different examples of real-world situations where a person might use the each of these heuristics to make a decision. You will describe the thought processes involved in using each heuristic to make a decision, using the examples you provided. Finally, you will discuss whether you think each heuristic would lead to a good or bad decision in the examples you provided.

Requirements for this Assignment:

The guidelines for your paper are as follows:

• A title page, introduction with thesis statement and conclusion. Below is a link to help you with your introduction and conclusion: https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/MyStudies/AcademicSupportCenter/WritingCenter/WritingReferenceLibrary/TheWritingProcess/IntroductionsAndConclusions.aspx

• Provide an example of a real-world situation where a person might use the representative heuristic to make a decision. Using your example, describe the thought processes involved in using the representative heuristic to make a decision. Discuss whether you think the representative heuristic would lead to a good or bad decision in the example you provided.

• Provide an example of a real-world situation where a person might use the availability heuristic to make a decision. Using your example, describe the thought processes involved in using the availability heuristic to make a decision. Discuss whether you think the availability heuristic would lead to a good or bad decision in the example you provided.

• Provide an example of a real-world situation where a person might use the anchoring and adjustment heuristic to make a decision. Using your example, describe the thought processes involved in using the anchoring and adjustment heuristic to make a decision. Discuss whether you think the anchoring and adjustment heuristic would lead to a good or bad decision in the example you provided.

• Your paper should be 2-3 pages, not including the title page or reference page.

• Your paper should include a reference to the textbook and at least one additional credible academic resource. Below is a link to help you with your citations: https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/MyStudies/AcademicSupportCenter/WritingCenter/WritingReferenceLibrary/ResearchCitationAndPlagiarism/BasicCitationGuidelines.aspx

• Your paper must be APA formatted, including references, title page, 1" margins on all sides, 12 point font size, and double spacing. Information regarding APA formatting and citation can be found in the Writing Center and should be reviewed thoroughly. Below is a link to the document: https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/MyStudies/AcademicSupportCenter/WritingCenter/WritingReferenceLibrary/ResearchCitationAndPlagiarism/CommonCitationsInAPAformat.aspx

• Your paper should use Standard American English including correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and complete sentences and paragraphs. Your paper should be free of typographical errors.

• Your paper should include a highly developed viewpoint and purpose.

• Your paper should demonstrate superior organization. Communication should be highly ordered, logical, and unified.