A merchant owed a large sum of money to a moneylender. The old, ugly moneylender fancied the merchant's beautiful daughter. He proposed that he would forget the debt if he could marry the merchant's daughter. The merchant and his daughter were horrified. The cunning moneylender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would have to pick a pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble she would have to marry the moneylender and the debt would be forgotten. If she picked the white pebble, she need not marry him, and the debt would be forgotten. If she refused to pick a pebble, the merchant would have to go to jail. The moneylender bent over and picked up two pebbles. The sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag. 1. Devise a plausible solution to the problem which allows the daughter to avoid marrying the moneylender and resolves her father’s debt without her father going to jail.

CREATIVITY Ability to produce new, novel, valuable ideas Convergent vs. divergent thinking: 2. Which type of thinking does the moneylender problem require you to use? 3. Why is this so?

Confirmation Bias: In the media? 4. How does the following clip highlight the concept of confirmation bias? (use either link – same video) tapwater-i-hear-its- divine/56690d1dacdf0b22708a56690d1dacdf0b22708a ?q=confirmation%20bias%20psychologyhttp:// tapwater-i-hear-its- divine/56690d1dacdf0b22708a56690d1dacdf0b22708a ?q=confirmation%20bias%20psychology (Tap Water) tapwatery-i-hear_fun#from=embedhttp:// tapwatery-i-hear_fun#from=embed (Tap Water)

Belief Perseverance When beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false (new information discredits the basis on which they were formed) Once we have decided that we believe something, we will tend to keep on believing it, even in the face of disconfirming evidence. the best advice to give people who want to avoid belief perseverance is: “Consider the Opposite” Example: I think that the current health care bill is terrible. I actually research it and find out that it is wonderful for all - and that my belief is not valid based on my research - YET I persevere and say - oh no that study is biased I am right.. :) 5. Can you relate belief perseverance to any social psychology concepts?????

Confirmation Bias and Belief Perseverance 6. How does belief perseverance differ from confirmation bias??? 7. What would need to happen next in the scenario if we were to test whether or not belief perseverance had occurred? 8. What behavior would you expect of the subjects in the tap water “experiment” if belief perseverance were to occur?

Scenario 1 Imagine that you serve on the jury of an only-child sole custody case following a relatively messy divorce. The facts of the case are complicated by ambiguous economic, social, and emotional considerations, and you decide to base your decision entirely on the following few observations. To which parent would you award sole custody of the child? Parent A, who has an average income, average health, average working hours, a reasonable rapport with the child, and a relatively stable social life, or Parent B, who has an above-average income, minor health problems, lots of work-related travel, a very close relationship with the child, and an extremely active social life. Explain the reasons for your decision.

Scenario 2 Imagine that you serve on the jury of an only-child sole custody case following a relatively messy divorce. The facts of the case are complicated by ambiguous economic, social, and emotional considerations, and you decide to base your decision entirely on the following few observations. Which parent would you deny custody of the child? Parent A, who has an average income, average health, average working hours, a reasonable rapport with the child, and a relatively stable social life, or Parent B, who has an above-average income, minor health problems, lots of work-related travel, a very close relationship with the child, and an extremely active social life. Explain the reasons for your decision.

Framing Answer each of the following in writing: 9. What is framing? 10. How do the custody scenarios relate to the concept of framing? 11. How might framing affect an individual’s decision making? 12. Can you relate framing to any research studies discussed in a previous unit?

Can you measure out the amount of water in the right- hand column, using any of the three jars (A, B, and C) with volumes as shown in the middle column? Luchins' Water Jar Problem Luchins, A. S. (1942). Mechanization in problem solving. Psychological Monographs, 54 (Whole No. 248).

Luchins’ Water Jar Solution follows

Problems 1 through 7 can all be solved by filling Jar B, then pouring off enough water to fill Jar A once and Jar C twice desired volume = B - A - 2C Problem 6 can be solved with a simpler formula (A - C), and so can Problem 7 (A + C). Many people miss these easy solutions because the mental set from the first several problems becomes fixated. Did your thinking stay flexible?

Problems 1 through 7 can all be solved by filling Jar B, then pouring off enough water to fill Jar A once and Jar C twice desired volume = B - A - 2C Problem 6 can be solved with a simpler formula (A - C), and so can Problem 7 (A + C). Many people miss these easy solutions because the mental set from the first several problems becomes fixated. Did your thinking stay flexible?

Obstacles to Problem Solving 13. What is a mental set? 14. How is a mental set an example of fixation? 15. Using Luchins’ Water Jar Problem as your reference, explain how mental sets can be both beneficial and problematic in problem solving.

Obstacles to Problem Solving: Apollo How would the clip have been different if the characters had not overcome functional fixedness?