Psych 458 - Practice problems

1. Tina has been to 10 Phish concerts. On a scale from 1 to 10, she rates three of these concerts 10, five of them as 7, and 2 as 6's. What is Tina=s expected utility for going to a Phish concert?

2. If Aaron gets to dance with Amanda at the prom, he will rate the prom as a 10 on a 10-point scale. If she doesn=t dance with him, it will be a 2. Aaron guesses there is a 50% chance of Amanda dancing with him. What is his expected utility for attending the prom?

3. Cassie and Fossie are auditioning for parts in a musical. The producers of the musical rate their performances in the following way:

           Dance        Looks         Singing
Cassie     10           3             7
Fossie     8            8             8

a. If the producers weight the 3 dimensions the same way, who has the highest expected utility?

b. If the producers are making a lexicographic decision, with dance as the most important dimension, who will they hire?

c. Suppose the producers higher the first person whose average is above 6. What strategy is this? If the producers see Cassie before Fossie, will they be getting the best performer?

d. Suppose anyone who scores lower than a 5 on looks is automatically out of contention. What strategy is this? Is it noncompensatory or compensatory?

4. Rudy has an 85 average in French class. Kaya has a 92. Rudy thinks taking the midterm will increase his grade by 7 points; Kaya thinks the midterm will decrease his grade by 7 points. Who will perceive his overall Awealth@ (in terms of grades) as changing most with the midterm?