Deck 13: Social Psychology

Question 1

As he was just learning how to play tennis, Dave did worse when in the presence of others in a phenomenon known as ________.

A)social facilitation
B)social disruption
C)attribution
D)social agitation

Answer 1

social disruption

Question 2

Mike is a great football player. Last Saturday, his new girlfriend attended the game to watch him play, and Mike played even better than usual. Mike's enhanced performance demonstrates the phenomenon known as ________.

A)social influence
B)social facilitation
C)social conformity
D)the bystander effect

Answer 2

social facilitation

Question 3

Research on inmates placed in solitary confinement suggests that they experience more psychological symptoms, especially mood and anxiety problems, than other inmates. However, this finding may be difficult to interpret because some inmates may be more emotionally maladjusted to begin with. Which of the six principles of scientific thinking does this research finding fit into?

A)Extraordinary claims
B)Replicability
C)Occam's Razor
D)Ruling out rival hypotheses

Answer 3

Ruling out rival hypotheses

Question 4

According to research, humans have a biological need for interpersonal interactions. This is called the ________.

A)need-for-friends theory
B)need-for-intimacy theory
C)need-for-interpersonal-interactions theory
D)need-to-belong theory

Question 5

People over the years have claimed to see flying saucers, particularly when others in their community have made similar claims. This is an example of ________.

Question 6

________ is the study of how people influence others' behaviour, beliefs, and attitudes.

Question 7

After a particularly difficult psychology exam, you and your friends confide in one another about the test, comparing your answers and reactions to the test. This is known as Leon Festinger's ________.

A)social relevance theory
B)social experiment theory
C)social comparison theory
D)social comprehensive theory

Question 8

The approximate number of people that each of us knows reasonably well is ________.

A)50
B)100
C)150
D)200

Question 9

Marika was confronted by the jealous girlfriend of a guy that Marika had dated. She backed down from the confrontation and fled the scene. Later, she asked several others what they would have done in that type of a situation and they agreed that they would have done the same thing. Marika felt better. This is an example of ________.

A)fundamental attribution theory
B)social comparison theory
C)collective delusions
D)mass hysteria

Question 10

"Oh my gosh, it's a UFO!" This scream came from the backyard of a suburban home, after which several other people came out and agreed that they were all seeing a UFO. As it turns out, there was merely a weather balloon flying high in the sky after it had separated from its tethering cord. This simpler explanation for the sighting of a UFO is consistent with the conceptual principle of ________.

A)Occam's Razor
B)correlation versus causation
C)falsifiability
D)replicability

Question 11

After a couple of cars were broken into, neighbours began to believe that there was a crime spree occurring in their neighbourhood. In fact, many were reporting minor dings and scratches on their cars to the police, claiming that criminals had tried to break in and steal their cars. The police believed that the original crimes were isolated incidents carried out by teenagers as nothing was stolen. Which of the six principles of scientific thinking does this example best fit?

A)Extraordinary claims
B)Replicability
C)Occam's Razor
D)Ruling out rival hypotheses

Question 12

When Clorinda was young, she heard the story that Walt Disney had been frozen and that when scientists find a cure for the disease he died from, they will bring him back to life. This is an example of a(n)________.

Question 13

Alan and his friends were playing a game of pool at the local pub. Jackie, a girl Alan likes, and her friends came over to talk. As Alan is an inexperienced pool player, his pool game suffered from Jackie's presence. Social psychologists would explain his poor performance as ________.

A)social facilitation
B)prosocial facilitation
C)attribution
D)social disruption

Question 14

The ________ theory suggests that we humans have a biologically based need for interpersonal connections.

Question 15

According to ________ theory, we evaluate our beliefs, abilities, and reactions by comparing them to those of others.

Question 16

Social psychology is best defined as the scientific study of ________.

A)deviant behaviour
B)sociology
C)social mores
D)social influence

Question 17

Co-workers in one office building noticed a foul odour outside and suspected it might be a terrorist attack using a biochemical weapon. Soon, a number of reporters covered the story and reports of foul odours were popping up everywhere. Despite the mayor and the sewer department stating that a line in the sewer had burst, workers were convinced of the possible attack. This phenomenon is better explained by ________.

A)mass hysteria
B)mass stupidity
C)mass delusions
D)mass reactions

Question 18

Demonstrating the phenomenon of ________, Zajonc found that cockroaches will run faster when ________.

A)conformity; running together
B)learning; reinforced
C)social facilitation; other cockroaches are present
D)social loafing; they are alone

Question 19

When Jacob's girlfriend and her friends stopped by his house during a basketball game with his friends, Jacob's performance increased slightly due to what Zajonc calls ________.

A)social facilitation
B)prosocial facilitation
C)attribution
D)social disruption

Question 20

The way we each affect the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours of others and are, in turn, affected by others is the study of ________.

A)social psychology
B)sociology
C)anthropology
D)social philosophy

Question 21

A(n)________ attribution is made when we blame an individual's behaviour on the situation; a(n)________ attribution is made when we blame the individual's behaviour on his or her personality or other personal characteristics.

A)external; situational
B)internal; external
C)external; internal
D)dispositional; situational

Question 22

A(n)________ is a claim about the cause of a person's behaviour.

A)explanation
B)inference
C)attribution
D)assumption

Question 23

The tendency of people to alter their behaviour as a result of group pressure is called ________.

A)obedience
B)attribution
C)conformity
D)social comparison

Question 24

When driving down the highway, Caesar could not help but notice the young-looking teenager who seemed to be driving in a reckless manner. He immediately assumed that he was one of those defiant, careless, and irresponsible teens who really did not deserve a license. Caesar just made a(n)________.

A)situational attribution
B)impression attribution
C)personal attribution
D)dispositional attribution

Question 25

While sitting in the movie theatre watching the latest Iron Man movie, Michael hears a person behind him talking on his mobile phone. "What an inconsiderate jerk that person is," Michael thinks to himself. He does not consider that the telephone call may have been some very serious emergency that required immediate attention. Michael has fallen prey to the ________ error.

A)self-serving
B)fundamental attribution
C)ultimate attribution
D)actor-observer

Question 26

Which of the following researchers' work was the most influential in shaping our understanding of conformity?

A)Hans Eysenck
B)Solomon Asch
C)Martin Seligman
D)Muzafer Sherif

Question 27

When a person assigns causes to another individual's behaviour and assumes that the behaviour is due to that individual's personal characteristics, a(n)________ is made.

A)situational attribution
B)dispositional attribution
C)attribution error
D)external attribution

Question 28

________ refers to the tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences on others' behaviour.

Question 29

When half of his class earned Ds and Fs on the midterm exam, Professor Bush came back to the next class and delivered a stern lecture about their effort. He admonished the class for failing to meet their obligations, for being lazy, and for not taking their studies seriously. These attributions, which were all ________ attributions, did not really give any consideration to the fact that the students may have had other reasons for failing the exam that were beyond their immediate control.

A)cooperative
B)dispositional
C)accusatory
D)situational

Question 30

The ________ attribution error is a phenomenon in which people make an attribution based on character, even when they know that the behaviour is situational.

A)dispositional
B)negative
C)presumptive
D)fundamental

Question 31

When their friend Vincent was walking down the hall after a pleasant conversation, Neil and Michaela watched as he suddenly tripped and fell to the floor, scattering his schoolbooks all over the hallway. They ran over to him, helped him pick up his books, and commented, "I didn't know that the floor was so slippery in this part of the hall!" Neil and Michaela have made a(n)________ attribution to explain why Vincent fell over.

A)dispositional
B)assistive
C)situational
D)cooperative

Question 32

Georgina was coming home from work and could not help noticing a young woman who seemed to be driving in a reckless manner. She immediately wondered if the girl was in an emergency or if something important was going on to make her drive like that. Gianna just made a(n)________.

A)internal attribution
B)dispositional attribution
C)situational attribution
D)impression attribution

Question 33

What is the basic underlying reason why we tend to make attributional mistakes?

A)We generally do not pay enough attention to our surroundings, and so miss essential information that would help us avoid attributional mistakes.
B)We are generally quick to assume the worst of intents in other people, so this leads us to attributional mistakes.
C)We don't have enough information to know why a person behaved as they did, so we make rapid assumptions.
D)We are more concerned with getting an attribution made quickly than getting it made correctly, and this causes us to make mistakes.

Question 34

Wendy is walking down the street when she suddenly falls down and lands squarely on her backside. A group of girls standing about 50 feet away start laughing hysterically, telling each other what a klutz Wendy is. The unsympathetic girls in this group are making a(n)________ attribution to explain why Wendy fell down.

A)situational
B)negative
C)positive
D)dispositional

Question 35

What is the fundamental attribution error? Discuss the cultural influences on the fundamental attribution error.

Question 36

When we attempt to explain the cause of someone's behaviour, we are using ________.

A)impression management
B)attributions
C)the self-serving bias
D)behaviour assignment

Question 37

________ is the tendency of people to change their behaviour as a consequence of group behaviour.

Question 38

A ________ attribution looks at ________ factors, while a(n)________ attribution looks at ________ factors.

A)biased: genuine; unbiased; influenced
B)biased; influenced; unbiased; genuine
C)dispositional; external; situational; internal
D)situational; external; dispositional; internal

Question 39

You get in a lift. Everyone is facing to the right. You turn and also face to the right. This is an example of ________.

A)obedience
B)comparison
C)attribution
D)conformity

Question 40

The mere presence of others can enhance our performance in a phenomenon known as ________.

Question 41

What is the moral or take-home message of Solomon Asch's series of experiments in which participants were asked to judge the lengths of lines? People will go to great lengths

A)to please people on whom they depend.
B)to fit in with others.
C)to assert their independence.
D)to convince others of their points of view.

Question 42

The emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking is called ________.

A)deindividuation
B)conformity
C)obedience
D)groupthink

Question 43

Explain conformity and discuss the social factors that influence the level of conformity.

Question 44

Can the Milgram obedience study and the Zimbardo prison study be considered ethical? Could they be conducted today?

Question 45

As the Stanford prison study was not carefully controlled, it was more of a demonstration than an experiment, and the prisoners and guards may have experienced demand characteristics to behave in their more assigned roles. Researchers have not been able to demonstrate Zimbardo's findings. This lack of research consistency is a problem for which of the six principles of scientific thinking?

A)Falsifiability
B)Replicability
C)Ruling out rival hypotheses
D)Occam's Razor

Question 46

Although he knew he was right, Paul changed his answer under pressure from the other three members on the panel. Paul's behaviour demonstrates the power of ________.

A)conformity
B)the social foci
C)leadership
D)the social attribution error

Question 47

According to Asch and others, all of the following are social factors that influence conformity EXCEPT

A)status of the group.
B)unanimity of the group.
C)difference in the wrong answer.
D)size of the majority.

Question 48

The Stanford prison study ended ________ days early.

A)4
B)6
C)8
D)9

Question 49

In his famous study, this researcher recruited college students to portray either guards or prisoners with some rather shocking results.

A)Spears
B)Milgram
C)Asch
D)Zimbardo

Question 50

________ is the tendency to engage in uncharacteristic behaviour when people are stripped of their usual identities.

Question 51

The Bay of Pigs invasion, the Challenger explosion, and countless other meetings where group unanimity comes at the expense of critical thinking and sound decision-making, is known as ________.

A)socialthink
B)thinktank
C)groupthink
D)group polarisation

Question 52

The Stanford prison study involved a total of ________ male undergraduates.

A)12
B)24
C)36
D)48

Question 53

If you're like ________ per cent of participants in the original Asch study, you'd conform to the incorrect norm on at least one of 12 trials.

A)45
B)55
C)65
D)75

Question 54

Zimbardo concluded from his Stanford prison study that prisoners and guards adopted their designated roles more easily than anyone might have imagined because of ________.

A)conformity
B)obedience
C)influence
D)deindividuation

Question 55

Devoid of any retribution, thousands of fans at a football game swarmed the field, climbed on the goal posts, yelled, screamed, and took their clothes off. This behaviour of normally mild-mannered citizens is known as ________.

A)individuation
B)deindividuation
C)demoralisation
D)demonification

Question 56

Asch also tried to rule out alternative hypotheses for his findings. He examined whether group norms affected participants' perceptions of the lines, and he then conducted his original study but asked participants to write, rather than call out, their responses. In this condition, he found the answers to be right more than 99 per cent of the time. Which of the six principles does this example demonstrate?

A)Extraordinary claims
B)Replicability
C)Occam's Razor
D)Correlation versus causation

Question 57

Many early studies have suggested that women are more likely to conform than men. This sex difference may have been due to the experimenters being all male. Later studies found these differences had vanished when the studies were conducted by female experimenters. Which of the six principles does this example demonstrate?

A)Extraordinary claims
B)Replicability
C)Occam's Razor
D)Ruling out rival hypotheses

Question 58

Zimbardo maintained that the Abu Ghraib fiasco was a product of ________.

A)institutional forces
B)situational forces
C)propositional forces
D)oppositional forces

Question 59

The overwhelming majority of United States prison guards during the Iraqi War did not engage in abuse, so the reasons for such abuse don't lie entirely in the ________, but in the ________ of the guards.

A)disposition; situation
B)situation; propositional stance
C)situation; oppositional defiance
D)situation; disposition

Question 60

In the experiments conducted by Solomon Asch, what was the main task that subjects had to perform?

A)Pretend they were prison guards
B)Select line sizes
C)Plunge their hands into buckets of water that were either ice cold or scalding hot
D)Deliver electric shocks to helpless victims

Question 61

The Bay of Pigs fiasco was the result of ________.

A)mob action
B)deindividuation
C)blind obedience
D)groupthink

Question 62

In order to reduce the influence of cults, McGuire demonstrated that the best way is to first introduce reasons why the perspective might be correct and then debunk it in an approach known as the ________.

A)introspection effect
B)introduction effect
C)innovation effect
D)inoculation effect

Question 63

In extreme forms, groupthink can lead to ________.

A)new clubs
B)anger
C)loyalty
D)cults

Question 64

________ is the treatment in which people are first introduced to the reasons why a belief seems to be correct, and then exposed to the reasons why the belief is incorrect.

A)Brainwashing
B)Groupthink
C)The bystander effect
D)Inoculation

Question 65

Which of the following statements is most likely to contribute to groupthink?

A)"Let's hear some differing opinions."
B)"What do you think?"
C)"I'm sure we all agree on this."
D)"We need to look at all of the evidence."

Question 66

Milgram examined other explanations for obedience and was able to manipulate the independent variables such as the amount of feedback and proximity from the learner to the teacher, and the physical proximity and prestige of the experimenter. Milgram was not only trying to replicate his original findings, but he was also trying to demonstrate which of the other principles of scientific thinking?

A)Falsifiability
B)Replicability
C)Ruling out rival hypotheses
D)Occam's Razor

Question 67

The ________ is an approach to convincing someone to change his or her mind about something by first introducing reasons why the perspective might be correct.

Question 68

Research suggests that cults promote groupthink in the following ways EXCEPT

A)having a persuasive leader who fosters loyalty.
B)connecting group members to the outside world.
C)discouraging questioning of the group's or leader's assumptions.
D)using training practices that gradually indoctrinate members.

Question 69

A group of chemists, who have been working together on a new diet pill for the last four years, meet to discuss their new drug. Over the years, they have all come to respect each other and have formed a close bond. Upon discussing the effectiveness and safety of the diet pill, many members of the group found themselves agreeing with most of the comments that were made. Somewhere along the way, no one seemed to pay much attention to the fact that some of the subjects in the clinical trials of that drug became ill. It seemed that because nobody wanted to disrespect anyone else, the topic of ill subjects was dropped. What psychological phenomenon occurred here?

A)Social facilitation
B)Group polarisation
C)Groupthink
D)Social loafing

Question 70

Discuss groupthink. Give several examples and explain the treatments for groupthink.

Question 71

Despite warnings from NASA engineers that the shuttle might explode because rubber rings on the rocket booster could fail in freezing temperatures, the project managers of the Challenger agreed to launch it after a series of bitterly cold days in January. This is an example of intelligent people making a catastrophic decision due to the phenomenon of ________.

Question 72

In Stanley Milgram's classic study on obedience, the teacher was the ________, whereas the learner was the ________.

A)confederate; person posing to be a subject
B)confederate; naive subject
C)person posing to be a subject; a true subject
D)naive subject; confederate

Question 73

________ can occur when individuals who are part of a group focus on preserving group solidarity at the expense of considering all possible alternatives or even failing to use rational thought in the process.

A)Social facilitation
B)Groupthink
C)Social loafing
D)Group polarisation

Question 74

The difference between conformity and obedience is

A)conformity is influence from peers or colleagues and obedience is influence from authority.
B)conformity occurs to most anything, while obedience is unquestioning devotion to a single cause.
C)conformity is the result of inoculation, while obedience is the result of fear.
D)nonexistent, since there is no difference.

Question 75

In Milgram's famous shock experiment, ________ per cent of subjects displayed complete compliance.

A)62
B)72
C)82
D)92

Question 76

In a televised "social experiment" by the local television network, 12 people-six white and six African American-were asked to live together for one week. They varied in their level of prejudice; however, those with low levels of prejudice became less prejudiced, while those with high levels became more prejudiced. A psychologist from the university coined this behaviour

A)group polarisation.
B)group norms.
C)groupthink.
D)group dynamics.

Question 77

________ is an emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking.

Question 78

The tendency of a group discussion to strengthen the dominant positions held by individual group members is known as ________.

A)social facilitation
B)group polarisation
C)groupthink
D)social loafing

Question 79

The best way to avoid groupthink is to encourage ________ within an organisation.

A)passive agreement
B)dissent
C)active agreement
D)apathetic presence

Question 80

Guru Mana is the leader of the cult of "The Divine Purification of the Body". His members

A)are probably emotionally disturbed.
B)are probably brainwashed.
C)probably have had their beliefs permanently altered.
D)are probably psychologically normal.