Which statement is correct?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: The prompt asks which statement is correct among four options about decision-making and related biases.
Option 1: 'Status quo bias describes how decisions can be influenced by how a problem is stated.' This is a valid description of status quo bias or framing effects in some contexts, where people prefer the current state or are influenced by presentation. However, this statement does not address the broader or more nuanced point that is typically tested here about the utility approach and outcome optimization, which is why it may not be the best answer in this particular question.
Option 2: 'Utility approach is useful but many decisions do not maximize the probability of the best outcome.' This statement highlights an important distinction: maximizing expected utility or choosing action by utility is a common normative model, but in real-world decision making, people often do not maximize the probability of the single best outcome due to risk, uncertainty, bounded rationality, or the difference between maximizing utility and maximizing probability of the top outcome. This captures a nuanced and widely recognized limitation of a purely probabilistic or utility-focused perspective, making it a strong candidate for being correct.
Option 3: 'The finding of Wason's four-card problem experiment showed that most participants are able to apply the falsification principle.' In fact, the classic Wason selection task demonstrates that most people struggle to apply falsification principles heuristically, so this statement is incorrect because it overstates people’s ability to apply falsification in that experiment.
Option 4: 'Framing effect describes tendency to do nothing when faced with making a decision.' The framing effect refers to how the presentation or wording of options changes preferences or decisions, not a general propensity to abstain or do nothing. It is more about choices shifting with framing rather than a universal inertia to act, so this description is inaccurate as a definition of framing.
Additional nuance: While option 1 and option 4 touch on well-known cognitive bias concepts (status quo bias, framing), they do not precisely capture the core claim encapsulated by the statement in option 2 about the utility approach and decision outcomes. The line of reasoning here emphasizes how normative models interact with actual decision behavior, highlighting potential gaps between maximizing expected value and achieving the best outcome in practice.
In summary, the analysis weighs common biases and theories against the specific claim about the utility approach and real-world decision performance, noting why the other options mischaracterize the respective concepts or are less aligned with the stated correct idea.

Which statement is correct?

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