Deck 1: What Is Social Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following questions would a social psychologist be most likely to study?

A) Is there a link between social environment of one's upbringing and his/her cognitive abilities?
B) What risk factors contribute to the onset of schizophrenia?
C) Is there a link between playing violent video games and engaging in aggressive behavior?
D) What is the relationship between race and ethnicity?

Answer 1

Is there a link between playing violent video games and engaging in aggressive behavior?

Question 2

To examine the relationship between temperature and violence, Priti manipulates the thermostat in her laboratory while participants are engaged in a military simulation game. She then looks at the effect of this manipulation on aggressive behavior during the game, comparing participants in the "warm" condition to those in the "comfortable" condition. Priti's research best characterizes the field of

A) sociology.
B) social psychology.
C) clinical psychology.
D) anthropology.

Answer 2

social psychology.

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true of social psychology?

A) A goal of social psychology is to develop general principles that describe human behavior.
B) An assumption of social psychology is that only social factors influence human behavior.
C) Social psychology argues that implied or imagined presence of others never influence individuals.
D) Social psychology focuses exclusively on subconscious thoughts of human beings.

Answer 3

A goal of social psychology is to develop general principles that describe human behavior.

Question 4

The question, "When is a bystander more or less likely to help you in in an emergency?" examines which major domain of social psychology?

A) Social perception
B) Social cognition
C) Social influence
D) Social interaction

Question 5

Walton and colleagues (2015) studied students in an engineering program, focusing on specific factors related to first year grade point averages (GPAs). They found that women's GPAs were very similar to men's when

A) the students received the brief information designed to counter concerns about belonging.
B) academic advisors were trained in avoiding gender stereotypes in class assignments.
C) professors were recorded giving class lectures to help them identify unequal behaviors.
D) residence hall advisors were instructed to "urge" females to take more difficult classes.

Question 6

Courses in social psychology are most often required for students majoring in

A) biological sciences.
B) journalism.
C) performing arts.
D) philosophy.

Question 7

Sociologists tend to study behavior at the ____ level, whereas social psychologists study behavior at the ____ level.

A) group; individual
B) interpersonal; cultural
C) specific; general
D) social; cognitive

Question 8

A social psychologist would be least likely to conduct a study examining the effect of

A) sleep on the ability to concentrate.
B) temperature on highway shootings.
C) political attitudes on friendship formation.
D) academic performance on self-esteem.

Question 9

To examine the relationship between economic conditions and violence, Gunther compares the murder rates for counties with different median incomes. Gunther's research best characterizes the field of

A) social psychology.
B) clinical psychology.
C) anthropology.
D) sociology.

Question 10

Sarunas is a social psychologist. He is probably most interested in reading about a study demonstrating the effects of

A) similarity of attitudes on interpersonal attraction.
B) immigration patterns on stock market activity.
C) distraction of attention to a visual display.
D) narcotic substances on neurotransmitter activity in the brain.

Question 11

What makes social psychology unique?

A) The study of group factors contributing to the functioning of social institutions
B) The study of race relations in a social context
C) The emphasis on classification of people in terms of socioeconomic class
D) The emphasis on the social nature of individuals

Question 12

Social psychology differs from history and philosophy in its

A) attention to the scientific method.
B) concern with human behavior.
C) greater focus on cultural influences.
D) more narrowly defined areas of interest.

Question 13

Anita wants to spend her career studying the factors that predict whether the members of a couple are satisfied with their marriage. If she chooses to do so as a social psychologist, it is likely that her pursuit will

A) focus more on the thoughts of various couples than on their actual behavior.
B) emphasize the importance of different personality types of couples.
C) examine groups rather than individuals as the unit of analysis.
D) include systematic observation, description, and measurement of couples.

Question 14

Brad is a social psychologist. Marion is a sociologist. Which of the following research questions is most likely of interest to both of them?

A) How do societal factors influence racial differences in academic achievement?
B) How does positive and negative feedback impact conceptions of the self?
C) Do different socioeconomic groups express different political attitudes?
D) Can an authority figure influence people to act in ways that they normally would not?

Question 15

Which of the following statements describes a central characteristic of social psychology?

A) Social psychology uses historical events as its primary source of data.
B) Social psychology assumes that thoughts and behaviors are influenced by other people.
C) Social psychology focuses more on the behavior of groups than on that of individuals.
D) Social psychology emphasizes the solitary nature of human behavior.

Question 16

Social psychology is all the following except

A) a science addressing a diverse set of topics.
B) the study of how people think, feel, and behave in the presence of others.
C) a compilation of anecdotal observations and case studies.
D) an approach applying the scientific method.

Question 17

Which of the following statements concerning social psychology and sociology is false ?

A) Sociologists tend to study societal level variables, whereas social psychologists focus on more specific and immediate variables.
B) Social psychology studies human behavior at the level of the individual, whereas sociology studies human behavior at the group level.
C) Social psychology is a science, whereas sociology concerns artistic and humanistic endeavors.
D) Sociologists are more likely than social psychologists to rely on experimental studies to study human behavior.

Question 18

Social psychologists typically

A) focus their studies on socioeconomic class and race.
B) use the scientific method in their research.
C) avoid studying individuals in favor of groups.
D) view behavior in the same ways as sociologists.

Question 19

A social psychologist studying the effects of media violence would

A) conduct experiments manipulating the amount of media violence viewed by participants.
B) assess how television availability and murder rates have increased over the last 30 years.
C) assess the socioeconomic background of people engaging in violence.
D) focus on the types of individuals who choose to view media violence.

Question 20

The scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave when in the real, implied, or imagined presence of others is called ____ psychology.

A) clinical
B) social
C) developmental
D) interactive

Question 21

Marilyn is interested in whether individuals with schizophrenia tend to interpret verbal feedback from others as negative even if it is positive. It might be said that Marilyn is doing research at the intersection of social psychology and

A) evolutionary psychology.
B) sociology.
C) personality psychology.
D) clinical psychology.

Question 22

One of the notable aspects of social psychology is that it

A) is anecdotal.
B) is scientific.
C) relies on intuition to provide insights.
D) relies on experience to provide insights.

Question 23

Social psychology differs from common sense in that

A) common sense tends to produce more accurate knowledge about human behavior than social psychology.
B) common sense captures the full complexity of human behavior.
C) social psychology is far more intuitive than common sense.
D) social psychology relies on the scientific method to test its theories.

Question 24

Although related to other fields, social psychology is distinct in its emphasis on

A) using scientific method of systematic observation.
B) classifying and treating psychological disorders.
C) identifying individual characteristics that are relatively stable across time.
D) describing the relationship between common sense and scientific findings.

Question 25

Which of the following statements is true of social psychology?

A) It mostly relies on anecdotal evidence.
B) It focuses on studying the human society as a whole.
C) It can be used by lawyers to support or refute evidence.
D) It cannot be used in any other fields of study.

Question 26

Which of the following branches of psychology studies how behaviors of individuals are influenced by other people?

A) Clinical psychology
B) Cognitive psychology
C) Personality psychology
D) Social psychology

Question 27

Social psychological research is a necessary endeavor because our commonsense intuitions

A) put their theories to test.
B) often are at opposite ends of each other.
C) rely heavily on critical thinking.
D) are generally accurate but are held with little confidence.

Question 28

The "social context" referred to in social psychology

A) focuses on group behaviors rather than individual ones.
B) does not have to be real or present.
C) does not focus on scientific method of systematic observation.
D) focuses on people's nationality, race, and socioeconomic class

Question 29

Astrid has developed a 12-item questionnaire to help her identify individuals who tend to be skeptical of authority figures across all sorts of different situations. Astrid is most likely a ____ psychologist.

A) cognitive
B) social
C) clinical
D) personality

Question 30

On certain occasions, social psychologists study

A) how nationality influences people's social behavior.
B) people's thoughts or feelings about common sense.
C) people's thoughts or feelings about nonsocial things.
D) how intuition influences scientific findings.

Question 31

Which of the following statements about commonsense explanations and social psychology is the most accurate?

A) Social psychology typically avoids studying phenomena for which there are widely accepted commonsense explanations.
B) Commonsense explanations form the basis of nearly all modern social psychological theories.
C) At least at present, commonsense explanations can more accurately predict behavior than can social psychology.
D) The scientific approach of social psychology does not always yield results that support commonsense explanations.

Question 32

Hyunwoo is a human resource professional working for an electronics firm. She is studying various researches on group dynamics, and how it can provide the best working condition for an employee. She is most likely to use

A) clinical psychology.
B) cognitive psychology.
C) social psychology.
D) forensic psychology.

Question 33

Which of the following branches of psychology can be applied to various other fields such as law, healthcare, business, and academics?

A) Forensic psychology
B) Cognitive psychology
C) Social psychology
D) Developmental psychology

Question 34

Which of the following researchers is regarded as one of the original founders of social psychology?

A) Norman Triplett
B) Stanley Milgram
C) Michael Norton
D) Philip Zimbardo

Question 35

American psychologist Normal Triplett is credited with which of the following accomplishments?

A) Emphasizing the use of empiricism in research
B) Focusing his writings on larger cultural surroundings
C) Noting that people often perform worse when watched
D) Publishing the first research article in social psychology

Question 36

The phenomenon that makes people question how social psychology is different from common sense is called the ____ phenomenon.

A) "I knew it all along"
B) "science is stupid"
C) "self-superiority"
D) "hale and hearty"

Question 37

Ringelmann and Triplett are best labeled as

A) the first researchers to explore conformity.
B) researchers who used anecdotal findings to establish social psychology.
C) pioneers in the field of social cognition.
D) the founders of social psychology.

Question 38

The field of social psychology emerged as a distinct discipline around the end of the

A) 17th century.
B) 18th century.
C) 19th century.
D) 20th century.

Question 39

The remarkable success of human beings can be traced to their

A) physical size and strength in the animal kingdom.
B) ability to focus on their own needs irrespective of what other people think.
C) ability to coordinate with extended networks of other people.
D) aggressive and territorial tendencies.

Question 40

Who among the following can use social psychology in research?

A) Marlon, who wants to study the relationship between trauma and juvenile delinquency
B) Jane, who researches on the effect of climate change on human migration
C) Trevor, who wants to study the mental health of violent criminals in a prison
D) Marion, who researches on the effect of cross-cultural factors on employees

Question 41

By stressing both internal differences among individuals and differences among external situations, the interactionist perspective

A) emphasized the dynamic interplay of internal and external factors.
B) combined the approaches of social psychology with clinical psychology.
C) emphasized the dynamic interplay of psychology and common sense.
D) combined the approaches of social psychology with sociology.

Question 42

Which of the following perspectives in social psychology was the result of the bold and creative work of Kurt Lewin?

A) The multicultural perspective
B) Evolutionary psychology
C) The interactionist perspective
D) Behavioral economics

Question 43

Which of the following classic investigations does not have its roots in violence, war, or wartime culture?

A) Sherif's experiments on social influence
B) Triplett's research on performance in groups
C) Milgram's study of destructive obedience
D) Lewin's research on conservation

Question 44

Annie wants to find the first source that established social psychology as a separate field with an emphasis on experimentation and the scientific method. What should she probably read?

A) Allport's (1924) text
B) Ringelmann's (1913) article
C) McDougall's (1908) text
D) Triplett's (1897-1898) article

Question 45

According to your text, one of the people who had the greatest impact on the developing field of social psychology was not a psychologist. Who was this person?

A) Winston Churchill
B) Charles Lindbergh
C) Adolf Hitler
D) Jackie Robinson

Question 46

An emphasis on experiments addressing the interaction of individuals and their social context is particularly clear in the writings of

A) John Cacioppo.
B) Norman Triplett.
C) Muzafer Sherif.
D) Kurt Lewin.

Question 47

Of the following important figures in the history of social psychology, who most explicitly emphasized the importance of making important practical contributions to society?

A) Gordon Allport
B) Fritz Heider
C) Max Ringelmann
D) Muzafer Sherif

Question 48

Who of the following published groundbreaking experimental research on social influence?

A) Muzafer Sherif
B) Gordon Allport
C) Edward Ross
D) Kurt Lewin

Question 49

Which of the following events is regarded as having established social psychology as a distinct field of study?

A) The publication of the first three textbooks in social psychology
B) The publication of the first research article in social psychology
C) The formation of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
D) The introduction of the interactionist perspective to the field of psychology

Question 50

Blaine works in a factory producing car stereos. He notices that workers produce more stereos by the end of the day when they work together in the same room than when they work in separate rooms. His observation is consistent with a classic study conducted by which of the following researchers?

A) Lewin
B) Asch
C) Triplett
D) Sherif

Question 51

Which of the following individuals did not author one of social psychology's first textbooks?

A) William McDougall
B) Muzafer Sherif
C) Edward Ross
D) Floyd Allport

Question 52

Which of the following researchers observed that cyclists raced faster in the presence of others than when racing against the clock?

A) Max Ringelmann
B) Norman Triplett
C) Floyd Allport
D) John Haharwood

Question 53

Floyd Allport's social psychology textbook, published in 1924, is credited with

A) establishing the field's emphasis on experimentation and the scientific method.
B) imbuing the field with a cross-cultural orientation.
C) introducing the major theories of social psychology.
D) bridging the "hot" and "cold" perspectives on behavior and cognition.

Question 54

Which of the following historical events sparked great interest in and gave shape to the field of social psychology?

A) The Great Depression
B) The U.S. military involvement in Korea
C) The actions of Nazis during World War II
D) The American Civil Rights Movement

Question 55

Which of the following statements regarding Kurt Lewin is most accurate?

A) His interactionist perspective argues that human behavior is mostly a function of situational pressures.
B) His push for practical research was met with great resistance in the early days of social psychology.
C) He was the first to test social psychological hypotheses in a scientific manner.
D) He conducted research on what kinds of leaders elicit the best work from group members.

Question 56

"Founders of social psychology" Norman Triplett and Max Ringelmann both performed research that examined

A) the influence groups exert on their members.
B) the impact of the presence of others on performance.
C) how behaviors are shaped by perceptions.
D) the impact of different leadership strategies on group performance.

Question 57

Muzafer Sherif's research was crucial for the development of social psychology because it

A) introduced the idea of cognitive dissonance.
B) marked the beginning of the pluralistic approach that continues to characterize the field.
C) firmly established the importance of an interactionist perspective.
D) demonstrated the feasibility of studying complex social issues in a rigorous manner.

Question 58

Phoebe is a graduate student in social psychology who will only agree to conduct research that will help address an ongoing social problem. Phoebe's desire is most consistent with the philosophies of which of the following pairs of individuals?

A) Gordon Allport and Floyd Allport
B) Gordon Allport and Kurt Lewin
C) Kurt Lewin and Leon Festinger
D) Leon Festinger and Gordon Allport

Question 59

The work of Muzafer Sherif was important for the development of social psychology because he

A) demonstrated the interaction between personality characteristics and situational factors.
B) designed an experiment to study the effects of artistic endeavors on human behaviors.
C) showed that complex social behavior could be examined scientifically.
D) helped to find solutions to the crisis in the field during the 1960s and 1970s.

Question 60

According to the interactionist perspective, behavior is a result of the interaction between

A) motivation and cognition.
B) intuition and common sense.
C) personality and environmental characteristics.
D) theoretical and practical concerns.

Question 61

Elliot is interested in how people can change their attitudes through their own behavior. The best approach for him would be to read the writings of

A) Gordon Allport.
B) Solomon Asch.
C) Leon Festinger.
D) Stanley Milgram.

Question 62

Because of his research on practical issues, such as the research he conducted in the 1940s concerning promotion of more economical and nutritious eating habits, Kurt Lewin could be considered one of the founders of

A) evolutionary social psychology.
B) psychoneuroimmunology.
C) "hot" theories of social psychology.
D) applied social psychology.

Question 63

Mona would like to understand the interactionist perspective. She has enough time to skim two textbooks. She should probably read one textbook in social psychology and one in

A) forensic psychology.
B) cognitive psychology.
C) clinical psychology.
D) personality psychology.

Question 64

From the middle 1970s through the 2000s, a(n) _____ emerged as a wider range of research techniques and questions became established.

A) recidivistic approach
B) activist approach
C) pluralistic approach
D) interactionist approach

Question 65

Abe understands human behaviors through the lens of the theories of psychoanalysis. Abe's view probably differs from that of Kurt Lewin in that Abe is more likely to emphasize the power of

A) external rewards.
B) internal motives.
C) situational factors.
D) interpersonal relationships.

Question 66

When Taka is teaching his social psychology class, he emphasizes that the field must encompass a range of research techniques and cultural perspectives if it is to flourish. Taka's emphasis reflects a(n)

A) contextualist orientation.
B) empirical approach.
C) "hot" approach to studying social behavior.
D) pluralistic orientation.

Question 67

Sarai studies stereotypes and prejudice; Kevin studies how people learn about themselves by comparing themselves to others. Sarai and Kevin probably feel particular gratitude to _____ and _____, respectively, for helping to establish these areas in social psychology.

A) Solomon Asch; Gordon Allport
B) Gordon Allport, Leon Festinger
C) Leon Festinger; Muzafer Sherif
D) Muzafer Sherif; Solomon Asch

Question 68

Raynei criticized the field of social psychology during the 1960s and 1970s. It is likely that Raynei despaired about the ability of social psychological researchers to do all the following except

A) suggest possible solutions to everyday social concerns.
B) acknowledge their role in artificially producing the results of their studies.
C) consider the cultural context in which their findings were obtained.
D) design ethical experimental contexts.

Question 69

The reference to social psychology in the 1960s and 1970s as being in the midst of "confidence and crisis" reflects an expansion in the types of issues studied by researchers, as well as increased criticism that largely came from

A) sociologists.
B) fellow social psychologists.
C) the general public.
D) the popular media.

Question 70

Which of the following statements is true of pluralism in social psychology?

A) It established variations in what aspects of human behavior are emphasized.
B) It emphasizes the motivational more than the cognitive underpinnings of behavior.
C) It limited the possibility of cross-cultural differences in behavior.
D) It limited the kinds of topics that social psychologists can study.

Question 71

Roger would like to read about social psychological research on conformity. He should look at the research of

A) Solomon Asch.
B) Kurt Lewin.
C) Leon Festinger.
D) Floyd Allport.

Question 72

Lewin's research was important in establishing the idea that

A) different topics require different research strategies.
B) social psychology could be used to understand and help solve practical problems.
C) early theories in social psychology were often historically and culturally limited.
D) social psychologists may unwittingly influence the behavior of research participants.

Question 73

Arguably, the most famous research in social psychology focused on the situational factors influencing obedience to authority and was conducted by

A) Floyd Allport.
B) Edward Ross.
C) Leon Festinger.
D) Stanley Milgram.

Question 74

Research on the social psychological underpinnings of prejudice might be said to have its roots in research by

A) Kurt Lewin.
B) Gordon Allport.
C) Solomon Asch.
D) Edward Ross.

Question 75

Much of the debate in social psychology during the period of "confidence and crisis" occurred in reaction to

A) the usefulness of applied research.
B) the use of laboratory experiments.
C) the significance of common sense in social psychology.
D) the interactionist perspective.

Question 76

Which of the following criticisms has been leveled against social psychology in the 1960s and 1970s?

A) The discipline failed to address topics of social relevance.
B) The discipline failed to distinguish itself from other fields of psychology.
C) Researchers had not yet agreed upon a conventional methodology.
D) The expectations of experimenters influenced participants' behavior.

Question 77

Which of the following best illustrates Lewin's interactionist perspective?

A) Sally is a very creative kind of person who likes to build things.
B) Jerry only works because he receives a very large income.
C) Rikki is usually shy, but at work she appears to be quite outgoing.
D) Maury gives money to charities because he wants other people to think he is very generous.

Question 78

Which of the following statements is not a valid criticism of laboratory experimentation in the 1960s and 1970s?

A) Experiments were sometimes unethical.
B) Experimenters' expectations might influence the results.
C) The theories being tested in the laboratory were often historically and culturally limited.
D) Experiments did not allow researchers to draw conclusions about causal relationships.

Question 79

During the 1960s and 1970s, social psychologists who favored laboratory experiments rebuffed critics about the limitations of laboratory work by arguing that

A) the theories being tested were historically and culturally abundant.
B) the benefits of running these experiments outweighed the costs even if some studies were unethical.
C) experimental studies were easier to conduct than nonexperimental studies.
D) the theoretical principles being tested in the lab were widely applicable across eras and cultures.

Question 80

Social psychologists reacted to critiques of the field in the 1960s and 1970s by doing all of the following except

A) adopting more rigorous and formalized ethical standards.
B) paying more attention to cross-cultural differences in cognition and behavior.
C) denouncing experiments as unacceptably artificial.
D) developing more stringent procedures to avoid the effects of experimenter bias.