Deck 7: Social Perception and Cognition

Question 1

Benny auditioned for the lead in the school play every year since sixth grade, but was only ever cast in the chorus.During senior year, Benny remembered the outcomes of previous auditions and concluded that they are incapable of being cast as anything other than a chorus member.Benny experienced _____________.

A)Stereotype threat
B)Confirmation bias
C)Self-fulfilling prophecy
D)Learned helplessness

Answer 1

Learned helplessness

Question 2

A friend is running a half-marathon to raise money for the Special Olympics and sends you a link to donate online.You see that Dan, a common friend who is tight with money, donated $15.You think of yourself as a generous person and donate $40.You used the __________ heuristic.

A)Availability
B)Representativeness
C)Anchoring and Adjustment
D)All of the above

Answer 2

Anchoring and Adjustment

Question 3

External locus of control refers to when people feel powerless over their life outcomes.External locus of control is ______________.

A)Linked to poor school achievement, increased depression, decreased self-control, increased delinquency
B)Increasing among young adults
C)Linked to learned helplessness
D)All of the above

Answer 3

All of the above

Question 4

Belief preservation is the tendency to take credit for acts that yield positive outcomes, and deflect blame for bad outcomes by attributing them to external causes.

Question 5

When Lars arrived on campus in the morning the parking lot was covered in snow, making it hard to see the parking spaces.By mid-afternoon, when he left, the snow had melted.Lars noted how cars were parked crookedly, some taking up two or three spaces.He grumbled that people are terrible drivers and need to take a course on how to park their cars.This is an example of _____________.

A)Focus-of-attention bias
B)The fundamental attribution error
C)Actor-Observer difference
D)Motivational bias

Question 6

"Riley is very attractive," thought Alex."I'm sure she's smart and funny, too." Alex's statement is an example of _____________.

A)The halo effect
B)The complexity-extremity effect
C)Stereotypes
D)Attribution error

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a factor in inferring dispositions from acts?

A)Commonality
B)Social desirability
C)Normative expectations
D)Stereotypes

Question 8

A second grade teacher is told that the new student in his class has ADHD.When interacting with the student, the teacher pays attention to the student's fidgeting and daydreaming.He downplays when the student sits quietly with others and maintains focus on a task.This teacher demonstrates ____________.

A)Stereotype threat
B)Confirmation bias
C)Self-fulfilling prophecy
D)Learned helplessness

Question 9

Researchers recruited Black and White students to take an athletic test-ten rounds of miniature golf.Researchers told students that the task measured either "natural athletic ability" or "sports intelligence." When told that the task assessed "natural athletic ability," _______________ than in the "sports intelligence" condition.

A)Black participants performed better
B)Black participants performed worse
C)White participants performed better
D)Black and White participants performed the same

Question 10

Juliana is reviewing applications for a nursing position.She finds that she has a greater positive response to well qualified male nurses than well qualified female nurses, and conversely, a more negative response to poorly qualified male nurses than poorly qualified female nurses.She suspects that this has something to do with the fact that she spends most of her time with other female nurses since her unit has no male nurses.Her response to the male applicants could be due to the _____________effect.

A)Recency
B)Complexity-extremity
C)Primacy
D)Halo

Question 11

The prototype for any given category can vary from person to person.

Question 12

Marcus's friend set him up on a blind date with a woman named Sharon.His friend told him that Sharon is sociable, so Marcus assumes that she is also happy, humorous, and tolerant.Marcus is relying on _____________.

A)A stereotype
B)An implicit personality theory
C)The availability heuristic
D)The representative heuristic

Question 13

Because of its relation to our perceptions of another's intent-such as whether they may help or harm us-and its ability to capture traits like friendliness and sincerity, warmth is the primary dimension upon which we base our impressions.

Question 14

Harold's mother is a physician.When Harold thinks of his mother, he relies on a _____________schema.When he thinks of physicians, he relies on a _____________schema.

A)Person; group
B)Group; role
C)Role; role
D)Person; role

Question 15

In terms of attributions for success and failure, effort is _____________and _____________, while ability is _____________ and _____________.

A)Internal; stable; internal; unstable
B)Internal; unstable; internal; stable
C)External; unstable; internal; stable
D)External; stable; internal; unstable

Question 16

After graduation Carolyn struggled to find a job.After a particularly bad day filled with rejection letters, Carolyn met up with a friend for coffee.The friend asked Carolyn why she thought she had not yet found a job, and Carolyn stated that it was most certainly due to the poor economy.Carolyn's response may be influenced by _____________.

A)Belief perseverance
B)The fundamental attribution error
C)Actor-observer difference
D)Self-serving bias

Question 17

Jake is a waiter at the local diner.He dislikes waiting on teenagers because he believes they are bad tippers.He prefers to spend his time and energy on ensuring that his older (and, he believes, better tipping) customers get great service, often at the expense of his teenaged customers.As a result, the teens that Jake serves tip him poorly.This is an example of _____________.

A)Stereotype threat
B)Fundamental attribution error
C)Self-fulfilling prophecy
D)Focus-of-attention bias

Question 18

We remember information contradictory to schemas better than schema-irrelevant information.

Question 19

Marge is unemployed.She attributes her state of unemployment to the challenging job market for recent PhDs.This attribution is _____________.She feels powerless over being able to improve her prospects on the job market.This locus of control is ____________.

A)Situational; Internal
B)Situational; External
C)Dispositional; Internal
D)Dispositional; External

Question 20

People of lower status are more likely than people of higher status to rely on stereotypes.

Question 21

The fundamental attribution error is so named because it has been documented repeatedly across a variety of cultures.

Question 22

Making sense of all the information we encounter on a daily basis would be nearly impossible without relying on schemas, but sometimes schemas can lead us astray.What are three drawbacks to schematic processing? Give an example-either from class discussion, lecture, or your own life-of one of these three drawbacks.

Question 23

The subtractive rule states that when making attributions about situational forces, the observer subtracts the perceived influence of dispositional factors.

Question 24

Making sense of all the information we encounter on a daily basis would be nearly impossible without relying on schemas.Identify three ways that schemas help us in our daily lives, and provide an example for each.

Question 25

Stereotype threat and self-fulfilling prophecies are two distinct processes related to social perception and cognition.Define and give an example for each concept.

Question 26

The actor-observer bias suggests that observers attribute the most causal influence to those things, or actors, that capture their attention.

Question 27

Even stereotypes that are positive ("Asians excel at math") may have negative implications.

Question 28

Kelley's (1973) model indicates that attributions are made to the context or situation when consistency is low.

Question 29

Anders attributes his poor performance on an exam to bad luck.He is likely to feel shame and study harder for the next exam.

Question 30

A fixed mindset - the belief that intelligence and ability are set and unlikely to change - is a useful way to combat learned helplessness.

Question 31

In very uncertain situations we often rely on heuristics to help us determine which schemas might be most useful for making sense of the situation.Identify and describe the three heuristics that influence schema selection, and provide an example for one of the three.

Question 32

As a result of gender schemas, men and women have less respect for women who hook up frequently then they do for men who engage in the same behaviors.

Question 33

Attributions of success and failure have important implications for our emotional responses to either success or failure, and our future expectations and aspirations.Imagine that a classmate does poorly on this exam.What is one external factor that they may attribute their poor performance to, and how might this attribution relate to their emotional response and future behavior? What is one internal factor that they may attribute their poor performance to, and how might this attribution relate to their emotional response and future behavior?

Question 34

Culture can play an important role in the attribution process.For instance, college students who major in the social sciences may adopt a "cultural lens" that leads them to make more situational attributions in comparison to their peers majoring in engineering or business.

Question 35

Sam's most recent concert received poor reviews in the local paper.Sam believes that the negative reviews are a result of bad luck.Because of this attribution, Sam is likely to practice harder in hopes of gaining more positive reviews in the future.