Deck 11: Section 4: Social Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following is a fairly common attributional bias?

A)hindsight bias
B)the in-group bias
C)the "feel good, do good" effect
D)diffusion of responsibility

Answer 1

hindsight bias

Question 2

In the chapter Prologue, you read about Fern, who labeled the man sitting on the steps with a cup in his hand as "homeless" on the basis of very limited information. Fern's label, in turn, caused her to make an embarrassing mistake, which is a disadvantage of using:

A)person perception.
B)attributions.
C)visual cues.
D)social categories.

Answer 2

social categories.

Question 3

Anita is a very attractive young woman. Other people are likely to perceive Anita as:

A)aloof, rude, and unapproachable.
B)intelligent, happy, and well adjusted.
C)lonely, unpopular, and socially anxious.
D)similar to less attractive people.

Answer 3

intelligent, happy, and well adjusted.

Question 4

Cognitive dissonance occurs when:

A)conflicting implicit and explicit cognition occurs at the same time.
B)two thoughts or perceptions are inconsistent, and an unpleasant psychological tension results.
C)we use internal, personal attributions, rather than external, situational attributions, to explain our own behavior.
D)we overestimate the extent to which we could have predicted or foreseen the outcome of an event after it occurred.

Question 5

Researchers Michael Morris and Kaiping Peng compared Chinese versus American newspaper reports of two different mass murders. Morris and Peng found that:

A)the Chinese reporters were more likely than the American reporters to emphasize personal, internal attributes in explaining the actions of the murderer, such as the person's "bad temper" or "history of being mentally unstable."
B)Chinese and American reporters both tended to emphasize situational, external factors in explaining the behavior of each murderer.
C)if the murderer was of the same nationality as the reporter, the reporter was much more likely to blame the victim because of hindsight bias.
D)American reporters were more likely than the Chinese reporters to emphasize personal, internal attributes in explaining the actions of the murderer, such as the person's "bad temper" or "history of being mentally unstable."

Question 6

Cross-cultural research reveals that conformity:

A)tends to be higher in collectivistic cultures compared with individualistic cultures.
B)tends to be lower in collectivistic cultures compared with individualistic cultures.
C)is similar in both collectivist and individualistic cultures.
D)is more harmful to group harmony in collectivist than individualistic cultures.

Question 7

_____ are the "rules," or expectations, for appropriate behavior in a particular social situation.

A)Moral imperatives
B)Context rules
C)Social norms
D)Rules of reciprocity

Question 8

As you slowly inch your way toward the intersection, you finally see the auto accident that was stalling traffic. As you look at the two drivers standing by their crumpled cars, you think to yourself, "They probably had the accident because they're careless drivers." Your thinking reflects which of the following concepts?

A)hindsight bias
B)implicit cognition
C)the self-serving bias
D)the fundamental attribution error

Question 9

In Milgram's original obedience experiment, how many of the participants remained obedient to the very end of the experiment, administering the full 450 volts to the learner?

A)none (0 percent)
B)14 out of 40 (35 percent)
C)6 out of 40 (15 percent)
D)26 out of 40 (65 percent)

Question 10

The front page of the newspaper has a story about a man wearing a clerical collar who robbed several people in their homes and escaped. That the victims readily allowed this trustworthy-looking man to enter their home shows the potential disadvantages of relying on:

A)informational social influence.
B)the rule of reciprocity.
C)normative social influence.
D)the process of social categorization.

Question 11

Research indicates that physical attractiveness is:

A)negatively correlated with self-esteem.
B)correlated with intelligence, happiness, and self-esteem.
C)associated with increased risk for mental health problems, such as eating disorders.
D)unrelated to intelligence, mental health, or self-esteem.

Question 12

Research indicates that people have a strong tendency to perceive others in terms of two basic social categories:

A)the in-group and the out-group.
B)popular and unpopular.
C)friendly and antisocial.
D)conformists and nonconformists.

Question 13

In Milgram's original experiment, the:

A)"learner" was given actual electric shocks, some of them very severe, by the "teacher" during the course of the experiment.
B)"teacher" was allowed to decide which level of shock, if any, to administer to the "learner."
C)subject assigned to the "teacher" role was given a sample electric shock at the 45-volt level.
D)"learner" was allowed to leave once the level of shock administered by the "teacher" became too painful.

Question 14

Normative social influence results from people's desire to:

A)reduce cognitive dissonance.
B)be correct and have accurate information.
C)be liked and accepted by others.
D)avoid the fundamental attribution error.

Question 15

_____ is the tendency to see members of out-groups as very similar to each other.

A)Ethnocentrism
B)The out-group homogeneity effect.
C)The bystander effect.
D)A self-serving bias.

Question 16

Howard explained the low evaluation he received on his job performance review by saying that his boss was a jerk and had it in for him. Howard appears to be:

A)using hindsight bias.
B)experiencing cognitive dissonance.
C)using the self-serving bias.
D)making the fundamental attribution error.

Question 17

Your _____ is your unique sense of identity that has been influenced by social, cultural, and psychological experiences.

A)sense of self
B)personality
C)frame of reference
D)person perception

Question 18

Michael has a class with Brittany. During his interactions with Brittany, Michael feels drawn to her and experiences many positive thoughts and feelings. Michael is experiencing:

A)attraction.
B)magnetism.
C)a biased attribution.
D)a fight-of-flight response.

Question 19

The Robbers Cave experiment showed that an effective way to reduce prejudice and tension between members of different groups was to:

A)create a situation in which members of different groups cooperate to achieve a common goal.
B)set up competitive situations in which members of different groups can demonstrate their expertise.
C)provide opportunities for members of different groups to socialize.
D)force members of different groups to have contact with one another in a stressful situation, in this case being trapped in a cave.

Question 20

_____ can have cognitive, behavioral, and emotional components.

A)Heritability estimates
B)Hypotheses
C)Attitudes
D)Evolved traits

Question 21

Diffusion of responsibility:

A)contributes to an explanatory pattern called blaming the victim.
B)is one of the key reasons that bystanders will help a stranger.
C)was the tactic used to reduce the hostility between the two groups of boys at Robbers Cave State Park.
D)plays a key role in explaining the bystander effect.

Question 22

According to Critical Thinking: Abuse at Abu Ghraib, the Stanford Prison experiment demonstrated that _____ is more likely in confusing or ambiguous situations.

A)normative social influence
B)aggression
C)antisocial behavior
D)prosocial behavior

Question 23

When people feel good, successful, happy, or fortunate, they are more likely to help others. This is called:

A)diffusion of responsibility.
B)the bystander effect.
C)"feel-good, do-good."
D)a halo bias.

Question 24

The deliberate attempt to influence the attitudes or behavior of another person in a situation in which that person has some freedom of choice is called:

A)pseudoscience.
B)altruism.
C)social loafing.
D)social striving.

Question 25

Studies show that _____ of drivers admit to having been the aggressor in a road-rage situation.

A)one-tenth
B)one-fourth
C)one-third
D)two-thirds

Question 26

Follow-up research on Milgram's obedience study indicated that participants were LEAST likely to deliver high levels of shocks when:

A)the experimenter was standing in the same room as the learner.
B)there was physical and psychological separation between the teacher and the learner.
C)the experimenter took responsibility for the learner's well-being.
D)teachers were free to choose the level of shock.