¶ … Illusory thinking. What is illusory thinking? What are the two types of illusory thinking -- A a Please explain each type and give an example. Illusory thinking can be fundamentally explained as a desire and an attempt to find order in random events which fundamentally have no order. Often times illusory thinking manifests in two ways: either the illusion of control or with a false illusory correlation. Gamblers commonly manifest the illusion of control, when in reality they are betting their money on events that are random, such as the roll of a dice. However, this belief of control is false as all the event taking place are completely subject to chance. For example, some gamblers might think that if it's raining or if they wear their lucky shoes, they might have a more profound chance of winning or leaving the casino with profits. However, this is completely false.

Another type of illusory thinking is the belief that there is a connection between two random events. For example, some people might assert that it always rains after they wash their car, however, that is a perceived connection. There is simply a chance relation between these two events.

2) This chapter focuses on ways we perceive the social world and how we judge our social world. Let's explore the steps one takes to perceive the social world. What are the steps one takes to perceive the social world? Which step do you think is most crucial? Please explain.

The steps taken in perceiving the social world is through priming, the next is through perceiving and interpreting events, the following is a belief perseverance, the next is via constructing memories to refer back to, and the following is using one's intuition. To me the step which is most crucial is the ability to use one's intuition, as it provides insight without reasoning, allowing one to gauge one's environment using senses and gut feelings. Certain popular authors and social scientists have written books on how using one's intuition and gut instincts can be just as effective as taking time to critically assess and plan for a situation.

3) One of the most important concepts of this chapter is the Cognitive Dissonance Theory. Please explain this theory. What is an example of cognitive dissonance?

am curious; have you, personally, experienced a cognitive dissonance situation? Have you done something against your values and justified the action?

Cognitive dissonance theory was one which was developed by Leon Festinger and it revolved around the desire of most people to achieve a certain amount of internal consistency....

This belief argues that people have the inherent desire to ensure their beliefs match up with their behaviors. When behaviors don't match up with beliefs, then it causes a sense of inner disharmony. I've experienced this during all the times I've worn leather. I consider myself to believe strongly in the rights of animals and wearing leather negates that for me.
4) This chapter provides great insight into the connection between attitudes and attitude. Based on this chapter and your own experiences, do you think attitudes are an accurate predictor of behavior? Why or why not?

The relationship between attitudes and behavior is indeed one which has fascinated social scientists for a long time and I truly believe that attitudes are really poor predictors of behavior. The attitude that someone expresses about a situation or a person might not be accurate and their behavior can be influenced by a range of situational factors. For example, a person might have no problem lying to a real estate agent, and one might assume that this person is deceptive and untruthful in general. However, that person might never lie to his wife or family. Again, the attitude of being okay to lie sometimes, in this example, is by no means an accurate predictor of whether or not someone is a liar.

Cognitive Psychology

1)how might color blindness effect visual perception and cognitive functioning?

One of the main ways that color blindness can impact one's visual perception is profound. Color blindness can reduce the world to a more narrow palette, where certain colors are simply not perceived. These people have difficulty in distinguishing between reds, greens, browns and oranges, or might have difficulty perceiving the differences between blues and purples or might have difficulty distinguishing between different shades of warm colors. This can make the world and other people represented in ways which aren't precise or accurate. This prevents one from participating in a version of the world which is most accurate. Thus, the disruption to cognitive functioning is obvious: one is able to perceive events and people as accurately as possible which means that the decisions and assessments formed don't have the highest level of accuracy.

2) how does ADD and ADHD (issues with attention specifically impact cognitive processing and functioning? Are there interventions that can offset any impact on cognitive processing? use/overuse of ADD/ADHD meds has become very popular not only with children who have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD but by adults who want to gain an edge on having…