Test 2 Flashcards
(51 cards)
what does it mean to be a rational actor
you are able to rank preferences based on satisfaction OR utility
what is bounded rationality
this says people try to act rational but fall short because of not having enough information
what is the system 1 of thinking
the fast unconscious decision maker. often makes mistakes
what is system 2 of thinking
the conscious decision maker. makes complex decisions and can’t be used all the time
what is the loss-aversion theory
where people tend to put more weight on a loss than a win. EX: losing 20 dollars is worse than winning 20 dollars
what is a heuristic
a mental shortcut to help the brain make decisions faster
what is availability heuristic
when people rely on information that quickly comes to mind (also called bias)
what is sacificing
when people make decisions that are “good enough” to reduce energy on making the decision
what is prospect theory
a theory that predicts people will make decisions to maximize utility
what is negativity bias
when people react more to poor performances than good ones. EX: government doing something wrong gets more media attention
what is anchoring bias
when people put too much importance on the first piece of information they receive
what is choice blindeness
failure to remember a choice right after making it
what is motivated reasoning
when people make arguments that promote a certain opinion rather than the actual truth and discredit new information that is against their position
what is confirmation bias
when people go and find information that helps their position. EX: people only look for why trump is bad
what is incremtalism
policy making in small changes at a time
what is parallel processing
when someone deals with several decisions at a time (humans can not do this)
what is serial processing
when someone deals with one decision at a time
how does government achieve parallel processing
by creating subsystems like subcommittees in congress
what is a punctuated equalibrium
when there is a a period of stability and incrementalism followed by rapid change
what causes a punctuated equilibrium to happen
when people pay too little attention to something and it blows up and becomes a problem
what is the garbage can model
when people try to solve a problem from the solution side. they will then try and find problems that fit the solution
what is groupthink
when people strive for the same outcome fail to think of other courses of action
what is overhead democracy
when government agencies are controlled by politicians and the politicians are held accountable by the citizens
why doesn’t overhead democracy work
the average person is not informed or does not care about politics