Deck 28: Causes of Conflict

Question 1

In playing the laboratory version of the Prisoner's Dilemma,you would personally obtain the best payoff on any given trial if you _____ and the other person _____.

A)confess; does not confess
B)confess; confesses
C)do not confess; confesses
D)do not confess; does not confess

Answer 1

confess; does not confess

Question 2

Which one of the following is an example of a non-zero-sum game?

A)the Prisoner's Dilemma
B)the Commons Dilemma
C)both the Prisoner's and the Commons Dilemmas
D)neither the Prisoner's nor the Commons Dilemmas

Answer 2

both the Prisoner's and the Commons Dilemmas

Question 3

Despite official government warnings of a severe water shortage,most citizens fail to conserve in the belief that their personal water consumption will have little effect on the community's total water supply.The eventual depletion of the community's water resources provides an example of

A)mirror-image perceptions.
B)individualistic calamity.
C)the Tragedy of the Commons.
D)rational disaster.

Answer 3

the Tragedy of the Commons.

Question 4

Attempting to explain one's own behavior situationally is a characteristic of

A)the Prisoner's Dilemma.
B)the Commons Dilemma.
C)both dilemmas.
D)neither dilemma.

Question 5

In the Tragedy of the Commons,the "commons" refers to

A)disputed border territory.
B)stolen goods or winnings.
C)any jointly used,finite resource.
D)private property that repeatedly changes ownership.

Question 6

If an attorney creates a Prisoner-like Dilemma for two suspects,the attorney's goal is to

A)trick either one of them into revealing what really happened.
B)create an incentive for one of them to confess while the other maintains innocence.
C)create an incentive for both of them to confess privately.
D)achieve the greatest punishment for both suspects.

Question 7

Attempting to explain others' behavior dispositionally is a characteristic of

A)the Prisoner's Dilemma.
B)the Commons Dilemma.
C)both dilemmas.
D)neither dilemma.

Question 8

In real life,which of the following parallels the Tragedy of the Commons?

A)Pollution of rivers and streams
B)Gun control
C)The death penalty
D)Online auctions

Question 9

Christina and Massimo have been saving money since they got married.Now,Massimo wants to buy a new car,but Christina wants to continue saving for a new house.Massimo and Christina

A)are experiencing conflict.
B)are experiencing equity.
C)have mirror-image perceptions.
D)are developing superordinate goals.

Question 10

Facing the recurring dilemma of cookie-jar depletion within 24 hours of its restocking,mom and dad decide to do something.What strategy will be most effective?

A)Do not allow family members to talk to one another about how many cookies they eat.
B)Restrict each family member to just two cookies per day.
C)Stop buying cookies.
D)Call a family meeting and scold everyone for eating too many cookies.

Question 11

Which of the following is true of a non-zero-sum game involving two individuals?

A)Both individuals will have gained nothing as a result of the game.
B)If one individual loses,then the other individual always wins.
C)Even when both individuals behave rationally,harm can result.
D)The individual that is the most impulsive is likely to win.

Question 12

A(n)_____ is a situation when conflicting parties are caught in mutually destructive behavior.

A)social trap
B)arbitration
C)conciliation
D)group homogenization

Question 13

In both the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Commons Dilemma,people are tempted to explain their own behavior _____ and others' behavior _____.

A)situationally; situationally
B)dispositionally; dispositionally
C)situationally; dispositionally
D)dispositionally; situationally

Question 14

When individuals consume more than their share,and the cost of doing so is dispersed among all,the result is called

A)greed.
B)environmental devastation.
C)overconsumption.
D)the Tragedy of the Commons.

Question 15

Which of the following is a feature shared by both the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Commons Dilemma?

A)One party's wins necessarily equals the other party's losses.
B)Participants tend to commit the fundamental attribution error.
C)Participants' motives change in the course of the entrapment.
D)Both are non-zero-sum games.

Question 16

Pursuing one's self-interest to the collective detriment of one's community or society is the central pattern in

A)mirror-image perception.
B)the jigsaw problem.
C)perceived injustice.
D)a social dilemma.

Question 17

Kaori Sato (1987)gave Japanese students opportunities to harvest trees in a simulated forest for money.When the students equally shared the costs of planting the forest,the result was that

A)most of the trees were left to grow too tall for harvesting because the students bickered about the criterion to be used in sharing profits.
B)most of the trees were harvested before they had grown to the most profitable size.
C)none of the trees were harvested because the collectivist students did not want to be the first to ask for his or her share.
D)students made maximum profit not only for themselves individually but for the group.

Question 18

Conflict is defined as

A)a perceived incompatibility of actions or goals.
B)dissatisfaction with relationship outcomes.
C)hostility that results from frustrating interaction.
D)a competition for mutually exclusive goals.

Question 19

In the Prisoner's Dilemma,if both prisoners confess,each will get a _____; if neither confesses,each will _____.

A)moderate sentence; get a light sentence
B)severe sentence; get a light sentence
C)severe sentence; go free
D)moderate sentence; get a severe sentence

Question 20

Some individuals have many children so that they can ensure someone will take care of them in the future.However,this contributes to the collective devastation of overpopulation.This is an example of

A)mirror-image perception.
B)the jigsaw problem.
C)perceived injustice.
D)a social dilemma.

Question 21

Which one of the following is one of the seeds of misperception according to your text?

A)The self-serving bias
B)Reduced competition
C)The fundamental attribution error
D)Groupthink

Question 22

The smaller the commons,the more

A)responsibility each person feels for it.
B)intense the conflict among individual members.
C)apathetic people are about its preservation.
D)likely communication will take the form of intimidation and deception.

Question 23

As Sherif noted,despite the fact that the behavior of the boys in the warring camps seemed "wicked,disturbed,and vicious," what actually triggered their evil behavior was

A)their leaders' modeling of aggression.
B)their delinquent backgrounds.
C)their ethnic identities.
D)an evil situation.

Question 24

In Sherif's research,the camper groups became hostile toward each other when

A)they learned of the other group's existence.
B)the two groups first met.
C)competition between the groups was introduced.
D)competition between the groups ended.

Question 25

In small groups,as opposed to large ones,individuals are

A)less likely to feel that their contributions matter.
B)less anonymous and thus less cooperative.
C)less likely to take more than their equal share.
D)less likely to depersonalize conflicts.

Question 26

Which of the following is cited in the text as a method for resolving social dilemmas?

A)communication
B)punishment
C)increasing group size
D)competition

Question 27

Research on laboratory dilemmas reveals that cooperation is facilitated if

A)one person is 100 percent cooperative.
B)the opponents can communicate with one another.
C)the game is changed into a zero-sum game.
D)the size of the payoffs is increased.

Question 28

A common excuse for noncooperation is

A)"I couldn't have made a difference anyway."
B)"The devil made me do it."
C)"That's unfair."
D)"Cooperation is for the weak and cowardly."

Question 29

In a non-zero-sum game,

A)both can win and both can lose.
B)one side wins and the other loses.
C)one's gains equal another's losses.
D)altruistic motives dominate.

Question 30

Which of the following is cited in the text as an example of changing payoffs to resolve social dilemmas?

A)Allowing carpoolers to drive in the faster,freeway lane
B)Requiring carpool cars and vans to park in special,larger parking lots farther away from the office building
C)Lowering the price of gasoline well below $1 per gallon
D)Raising the price of gasoline well above $5 per gallon

Question 31

In research on social dilemmas,it has been found that group communication

A)polarizes competitive tendencies.
B)has no effect on the outcome.
C)leads to greater cooperation and better outcomes for all participants.
D)leads to escalated conflict and tension.

Question 32

What do self-serving biases,group polarization,and negative stereotypes have in common?

A)They illustrate the importance of personalizing conflict.
B)They are potential seeds of misperception.
C)They illustrate that humans are cognitive misers.
D)They are necessary for groupthink to occur.

Question 33

Rodney and Ralph are twin brothers who each contributed $75 to purchase a new bicycle.Rodney rides it 75% of the time.This would be an example of

A)an inequitable relationship.
B)the Tragedy of the Commons.
C)a zero-sum relationship.
D)mirror-image perceptions.

Question 34

Which of the following is cited in the text as a method for resolving social dilemmas?

A)Regulation
B)Making the group smaller
C)Communication
D)Competition

Question 35

In the context of resolving social dilemmas,mistrust in a group is most effectively reduced by

A)treating dilemmas as zero-sum games.
B)removing regulations on resources.
C)increasing group size.
D)improving communication.

Question 36

Which of the following is an effect of residential stability?

A)It strengthens communal identity.
B)It enables groupthink by emphasizing the individualistic nature of people.
C)It weakens procommunity behavior.
D)It eliminates the need for regulations on common resources.

Question 37

Which of the following statements is true of groups in competition-fostering situations?

A)Groups tend to have less polarizing opinions than do individuals.
B)Ingroup cohesiveness and pride diminishes.
C)Outgroups are viewed more positively than ingroups.
D)Groups behave more competitively than do individuals.

Question 38

Before they married,Melinda and Michael,who are both employed full time and collect the same pay,agreed to share equally in routine household tasks such as cleaning and grocery shopping.In reality,Melinda is now doing about 80% of the household work.This situation is an example of

A)an integrative disaster.
B)an inequitable relationship.
C)a social dilemma.
D)a zero-sum relationship.

Question 39

The relationship between the size of a commons and a person's feeling of responsibility for it is

A)positive.
B)negative.
C)neutral.
D)curvilinear.

Question 40

Equity exists when

A)rewards are distributed in proportion to individuals' contributions.
B)partners share equally in the rewards of collective effort.
C)rewards are distributed in relation to individuals' needs or deservingness.
D)group members decide among themselves how rewards should be distributed.

Question 41

John believes that he is hardworking and that his wife Rachel is lazy.Rachel believes that she is hardworking and that John is lazy.This is an example of

A)an equitable relationship.
B)mirror-image perception.
C)self-serving bias.
D)groupthink.

Question 42

The reciprocal views that parties in conflict often hold of one another are referred to as

A)mirror-image perceptions.
B)stereotypic reciprocation.
C)complementary images.
D)reciprocal illusions.

Question 43

The misperceptions of those who are in conflict with each other,such as two nations who regard each other with suspicion and hostility,are usually

A)nonreciprocal.
B)unilateral.
C)mutual.
D)inequitable.

Question 44

The Republic of Fredonia believes its long-time enemy,the kingdom of Franistan,is aggressive,greedy,and impulsive.On the other hand,Franistan believes Fredonia is hostile,selfish,and unpredictable.This is an example of

A)an inequitable relationship.
B)a zero-sum relationship.
C)mirror-image perceptions.
D)reciprocal illusions.

Question 45

One aspect of mirror-image perception is that one side tends to

A)exaggerate their differences from their adversaries.
B)see itself reflected in the way others see it.
C)see the situation as the reflection of an evil situation.
D)agree with the other side.

Question 46

When two sides have clashing perceptions,at least one of them is misperceiving the other,and when that is the case,according to Urie Bronfenbrenner (1960),"It is characteristic of such images that they are _____."

A)self-defeating
B)self-confirming
C)self-handicapping
D)self-monitoring