Deck 13: Social Psychology

Question 1

Which statement provides an explanation of the fundamental attribution error?

A) We explain most of what people by looking at the influence of the situation.
B) We rely on the first information we receive to make internal attributions.
C) We are more likely to explain someone's behaviour with internal rather than situational causes.
D) We tend to attribute our successes to our own efforts and failures to the shortcomings of others.

Answer 1

We are more likely to explain someone's behaviour with internal rather than situational causes.

Question 2

According to evolutionary theories about social psychology, when do phenomena like conformity and obedience become maladaptive?

A) Nearly always
B) When politics are involved
C) Under most laboratory conditions
D) When they are blind or unquestioning

Answer 2

When they are blind or unquestioning

Question 3

Humans seem to have a biological need for interpersonal interactions. Which theory is consistent with this view?

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

Answer 3

need-to-belong theory.

Question 4

Amos works as a forest ranger, and often spends weeks in the wilderness all alone. As the days pass, he begins to feel extremely lonely and isolated, and begins talking to himself, the trees, and the nearby animals. Which of the following theories best explains Amos's behaviour?

A) Attributional theory
B) Social comparison theory
C) Cognitive dissonance theory
D) The need-to-belong theory

Question 5

Urban legends often include details that are plausible, and elicit strong negative emotions like disgust or fear, and typically include vague details about how 'it happened to a friend of my cousin' or 'I think I heard it on the news'. These legends spread through a process called

A) conformity.
B) social comparison.
C) fundamental attribution.
D) social contagion.

Question 6

Examples such as UFO sightings, and urban legends demonstrate how _________________ can lead to mass hysteria and collective delusions.

A) fundamental attributions
B) social contagion
C) conformity
D) obedience

Question 7

A community member reports seeing a spaceship the night before crop circles were discovered in a local farmer's field. Suddenly, multiple members of the community are reporting that they have seen spaceships in other areas of the county. They are convinced that aliens are making the crop circles. This is an example of

A) a fundamental attribution error.
B) an urban legend.
C) a collective delusion.
D) the need to belong theory.

Question 8

According to Dunbar's research about the size of human social groups, which of the following directly influences how many people the average human can keep track of or know reasonably well?

A) The size of the city we live in
B) Personality traits
C) Effort
D) The size of human cortex

Question 9

The tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences, like personality or attitudes, is known as

A) social facilitation.
B) social influence.
C) the social comparison theory.
D) the fundamental attribution error.

Question 10

Nora participated in a psychology experiment where she completed several psychological tests, and the researchers told her that her personality reflected that of someone who was likely to end up alone later in life. Compared with the students who did not receive such feedback, Nora is more likely to

A) join a book club to increase social bonding.
B) engage in unhealthy behaviours, such as overeating or drinking.
C) start acting in more prosocial ways to those around her.
D) discount the feedback and get angry because she believes it isn't true.

Question 11

Which subfield of psychology is the study of how people influence others' behaviour, beliefs, and attitudes?

A) personality psychology
B) cognition
C) social psychology
D) behaviourism

Question 12

You observe a person at the grocery store get angry and yell at the cashier. Which of these attributions illustrates the fundamental attribution error?

A) The yeller is a mean, angry person.
B) The cashier is overworked.
C) The yeller has had a bad day.
D) The cashier has had a bad day.

Question 13

Annie plays volleyball on her university team. For Annie, someone who belongs to a different team would be considered a member of the

A) in-group
B) out-group
C) prosocial group
D) antisocial group

Question 14

Which of the following is an example of 'downward social comparison'?

A) Comparing yourself to an ideal form of yourself
B) Comparing yourself to a role model
C) Comparing your skills now to your skills from five years ago
D) Comparing yourself to someone in a terrible situation

Question 15

_______________ is a 'contagious' outbreak of irrational behaviour that is analogous to how the flu spreads among people.

A) Mass hysteria
B) Conformity
C) An urban legend
D) Fundamental attribution

Question 16

What term is used for false stories that are surprising but plausible, spread through social contagion, and tend to elicit strong negative emotions?

A) mass hysteria
B) urban legends
C) fundamental attributions
D) collective delusions.

Question 17

According to Dunbar's research about the size of human social groups, what is the approximate number of people that each of us knows reasonably well?

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

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of 'upward social comparison'?

A) Comparing yourself to an ideal form of yourself
B) Comparing yourself to a role model
C) Comparing your skills now to your skills from five years ago
D) Comparing yourself to someone in a terrible situation

Question 19

Social psychology is best defined as the scientific study of

A) how deviant behaviour emerges within a society.
B) sociological factors in behaviour.
C) how we use and engage in social influence.
D) how people influence others' behaviour, beliefs, and attitudes.

Question 20

Most people experience contagious yawning. Which mental disorders are associated with resistance to this effect?

A) Obsessive compulsive disorder and depression
B) Generalized anxiety disorder and antisocial personality disorder
C) Autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia
D) Bipolar depression and post-traumatic stress disorder

Question 21

You get on an elevator. 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 22

According to research on the fundamental attribution error, we are more likely to attribute our own behaviour to

A) dispositional factors.
B) emotional factors.
C) situational factors.
D) cultural factors.

Question 23

The tendency of people to alter their behaviour as a result of group influence or pressure is called

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

Question 24

Which factor significantly decreased the likelihood of conformity in Solomon Asch's studies?

A) The task difficulty was increased.
B) The confederates were all adults.
C) One confederate gave a correct response.
D) The participants were given two chances at responding.

Question 25

Experiments showing the effects of group pressure on conformity, using judgments about line lengths, were conducted by

A) Zimbardo.
B) Asch.
C) Gibb.
D) Milgram.

Question 26

What is main message of Solomon Asch's series of experiments in which participants were asked to judge the lengths of lines? People will modify their answers

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 27

According to Asch and others, which of the following is a social factor that influences conformity?

A) Status of the group.
B) Unanimity of the group.
C) Intelligence level of group members.
D) Social setting of the task.

Question 28

While watching Jeopardy, your roommate says, "The host, Alex Trebek, knows all the answers. He must be a genius." Which of the following helps explain your roommate's belief?

A) social facilitation
B) social influence
C) the social comparison theory
D) the fundamental attribution error

Question 29

In Solomon Asch's study, which factor increased the rate of conformity for judgments of line lengths?

A) The task difficulty was increased.
B) The confederates were all adults.
C) Increasing the number of confederates to 4 or 5 confederates.
D) Giving participants two chances to respond.

Question 30

There are cultural influences on vulnerability to the fundamental attribution error. Compared to North American participants, which of the following is more likely among Chinese participants in studies of attribution?

A) greater emphasis on internal factors to explain behaviour
B) more conformity and obedience
C) more guilt associated with their own responses
D) greater emphasis on external factors to explain behaviour

Question 31

It is 1951, and you are participating in a perception experiment. You join seven others seated in a room. You are shown a 25-cm test line and must choose the line that matches it in length from a choice of three lines. You hear the choices of the others before you make your choice. The experimenter, Solomon Asch, is studying

A) bystander apathy.
B) conformity.
C) groupthink.
D) social loafing.

Question 32

What do social psychologists call the tendency to rely on internal characteristics for explanations of the behaviour of others and to ignore the influence of the situation?

A) Social facilitation
B) Social influence
C) The social comparison theory
D) The fundamental attribution error

Question 33

An individual from which of the following cultures would be LEAST likely to engage in the fundamental attribution error?

A) Canada
B) England
C) Japan
D) France

Question 34

According to studies of brain activity during conformity tasks, like the ones in Asch's line judgment studies, which part of the brain is active when participants learn that the other group members all have reported the same incorrect answer?

A) Hippocampus
B) Amygdala
C) Thalamus
D) Hypothalamus

Question 35

If you walk into a library talking with a friend, and you notice that the rest of the people in the library are not talking, you are likely to be quiet and stop your conversation. This behaviour is an example of ______________.

A) obedience
B) compliance
C) conformity
D) persuasion

Question 36

In which of the following scenarios, based on the Asch studies of conformity, would you be most likely to conform by giving the same response as the confederates?

A) Twelve confederates give the same wrong answer and one confederate provides the correct response.
B) Eight confederates give the same wrong answer and one provides a different incorrect response.
C) Four confederates give the same wrong answer and all of the responses are the same.
D) Two confederates give the same wrong answer and one provides another incorrect answer.

Question 37

Which of the following tends to reduce conformity in studies like the line-judgment ones conducted by Asch?

A) being in a large group
B) being in a group where everyone else chose the wrong answer
C) seeing someone else voice a different opinion than the rest of the group
D) having an authority figure present

Question 38

Vince has always believed in providing supports for people who are poor. During a class discussion, he hears the first of several speakers express very negative attitudes toward spending tax money on the poor. When it is his turn to speak, he voices an opinion more in keeping with the previous speakers even though he doesn't really believe what he says. Vince's behaviour is an example of

A) compliance.
B) persuasion.
C) conformity.
D) obedience.

Question 39

Voluntarily yielding to social norms, even at the expense of one's own preference, is called

A) delusion.
B) conformity.
C) compliance.
D) obedience.

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of the fundamental attribution error?

A) Dorothy thinks that her co-worker's bad mood is because their boss was overworking them.
B) Craig assumes that his classmate is stupid, because his classmate got a poor grade on the midterm exam.
C) Blanche is angry because she didn't get the promotion she applied for, and it was given to someone she doesn't respect.
D) Taylor knows that there is a rip in the carpet that trips people, and he laughs every time someone falls down.

Question 41

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 42

Which of the following features of a culture should lead to the highest level of conformity?

A) collectivism
B) individualism
C) egalitarian ideals
D) traditional ideals

Question 43

Research on crowd behaviour has demonstrated that

A) there is a consistent relationship between being in a crowd and increased levels of aggression.
B) prosocial responses to crowd outbursts are more common than aggressive responses, even in an aggression-inducing situation.
C) crowd behaviour is a special case of deindividuation that results in violent responses.
D) crowds can be related to aggressive or prosocial behaviour depending on the prevailing social norm of the situation.

Question 44

Close, friendly groups usually work well together, but they may face a problem involving an extreme form of conformity called

A) fundamental attribution error.
B) generational identity.
C) self-serving bias.
D) groupthink.

Question 45

Being part of a large crowd that stampedes into a store for a massive Boxing Day Sale would be an example of

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

Question 46

Which of the following provides a "real-world" example of the power of social influence and deindividuation?

A) The Walkerton water scandal
B) The Bay of Pigs invasion
C) Abu Ghraib prison abuse
D) Heaven's Gate mass suicide

Question 47

All of the following statements about deindividuation are true EXCEPT

A) Deindividuation makes us more likely to conform to whatever norms are present in the situation.
B) Deindividuation makes people more likely to engage in helping behaviour when others are helping out.
C) Deindividuation typically makes us behave badly.
D) Deindividuation makes us perform more like a member of a group.

Question 48

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 49

After a group of gang members learned that their friend had died in a seemingly random accident, several of the friends started blaming a rival gang for the death. Even though there was no evidence whatsoever that the death had been intentional, the more the friends talked the more passionate they became in their belief that an act of revenge was necessary. What concept from social psychology may contribute to an act of violent revenge in this case?

A) Deindividuation
B) Conformity
C) Social influence
D) Groupthink

Question 50

Carlos and his work associates form a close, friendly group, and they usually work well together. However, they may face a problem involving an extreme form of conformity called

A) generational identity.
B) self-serving bias.
C) fundamental attribution error.
D) groupthink.

Question 51

When members of a group give priority to the cohesiveness of the group over the facts of a situation, they are engaging in what social psychologists call

A) mass thought.
B) consumerism.
C) solidarity.
D) groupthink.

Question 52

George is at a pub watching the Stanley Cup final game. When the game ends, some fights start in the bar, and all along the street. People smash windows of cars and business, and some people begin to loot stores. George gets "caught up" in this and joins in the rioting behaviour, as just another member of the crowd. What concept is depicted in this example?

A) Groupthink
B) Conformity
C) Deindividuation
D) Obedience

Question 53

The prime minister notices that his closest advisers never seem to disagree with him or with each other on a lot of important issues, such as gun control or taxation. He worries that he is not hearing the pros and cons of different issues because his advisers are engaging in

A) obedience.
B) deindividuation.
C) enlightenment.
D) groupthink.

Question 54

One criticism of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment is that participants may have experienced ___________________ to behave according to their assigned roles as prisoners or guards.

A) deindividuation
B) demand characteristics
C) confirmation bias
D) obedience

Question 55

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) utilizing training practices that gradually indoctrinate members.

Question 56

All of the following are symptoms of groupthink EXCEPT

A) openness to differing opinions.
B) feeling that the group is invulnerable.
C) perceiving that everyone in the group shares the same opinion.
D) the belief that the group is superior.

Question 57

The launch and subsequent explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, despite warnings of danger from NASA engineers that parts might malfunction due to weather conditions, demonstrates the concept of ___________________.

A) conformity
B) groupthink
C) obedience
D) group polarization

Question 58

________________ is the tendency of people to engage in atypical behaviour when stripped of their usual identities.

A) Autokinesis
B) Deindividuation
C) Groupthink
D) Conformity

Question 59

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

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

Question 60

Imagine you are a contestant on the popular game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and you have been asked a question that you don't know the answer to. You use the option to poll the audience for their opinion of the correct answer. Even though you think differently, you become convinced that the audience is correct as 87 percent of them agree on a particular answer. You have experienced which psychological phenomenon?

A) social conversion
B) deindividuation.
C) blind obedience.
D) groupthink.

Question 61

Horizontal influence is to ___________________ as vertical influence is to __________________.

A) obedience; conformity
B) persuasion; groupthink
C) conformity; obedience
D) groupthink; persuasion

Question 62

Zimbardo's prison experiment is to ________________ as Milgram's shock experiment is to _________________.

A) deindividuation; obedience
B) conformity; deindividuation
C) persuasion; obedience
D) deindividuation; persuasion

Question 63

In Milgram's original study, what percentage of participants displayed complete compliance and administered shocks to the level of 450 volts?

A) 33 percent
B) 54 percent
C) 62 percent
D) 80 percent

Question 64

What type of task was used as a cover story for the Milgram shock study paradigm?

A) Memory task
B) Staged emergency task
C) Autokinetic task
D) Line length judgments

Question 65

________ is the treatment in which people are first introduced to 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 66

In Milgram's classic shock experiment about obedience, which of the following research methods was used?

A) double-blind procedures
B) use of a confederate
C) placebo control group
D) random assignment to groups

Question 67

Cults are to _______________ as riots are to _______________.

A) deindividuation; groupthink
B) obedience; conformity
C) groupthink; deindividuation
D) conformity; social loafing

Question 68

Which statement best describes an important finding of Milgram's classic research?

A) Individuals easily conform to group norms.
B) The presence of other people makes aggression more likely.
C) People will easily obey an authority figure and do harm to others.
D) Agreeing to a small request makes it more likely you will agree to a big request.

Question 69

Which of the following should increase obedience in an experiment like Milgram's shock experiments?

A) Having the experimenter stand next to the participant.
B) Having the experimenter send instructions by telephone or email.
C) Having participants with low levels of authoritarianism.
D) Having a second researcher present, who disagrees with the first researcher.

Question 70

Which of the following was a key result that emerged from research conducted by Milgram?

A) The greater the "psychological distance" between the teacher and the learner, the less the obedience.
B) Obedient participants demonstrated higher levels of personality traits such as sadism and aggressive tendencies than did disobedient participants.
C) The greater the "psychological distance" between the teacher and the experimenter, the less the obedience.
D) Participants with low levels of the personality trait authoritarianism were more likely to comply with the experimenter's demands.

Question 71

What is the difference between conformity and obedience?

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) Conformity is the same as obedience.

Question 72

In which variation on Milgram's classic study of obedience did they find compliance to 450 volts reached over 90 percent?

A) The participant has to tell a different participant to administer shock.
B) Less prestigious location
C) Experimenter gives orders by phone.
D) The participant has to hold the learner's hand on the shock plate.

Question 73

You can teach people to resist the influences of cults by exposing them to information consistent with cult beliefs, and then debunking that information. This reflects the _____________________ and is effective for preventing the development of undesirable beliefs.

A) parametric effect
B) inoculation effect
C) social comparison effect
D) autokinetic effect

Question 74

Milgram's shock studies involved what type of task, as a cover story for the real experiment?

A) judging line lengths
B) a crowd-riot response task
C) decision-making in a group setting
D) learning and memory

Question 75

Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for a book about Milgram's research on obedience?

A) "Obedience and Aggression Are Inborn."
B) "Do Not Underestimate the Power of Perceived Authority."
C) "Training in Ethics Can Overcome the Pull of Obedience."
D) "Make a Small Request First and the World Can Be Yours."

Question 76

Which of the following is a misconception held about cults?

A) Cult leaders likely suffer from serious mental illness.
B) Cult members are discouraged from questioning the group's assumptions.
C) Cult members must be brainwashed.
D) Cult members tend to have a rigid way of thinking

Question 77

Imagine 100 individuals are asked to take part in a replication of Milgram's famous study on obedience. How are these 100 people likely to respond?

A) The majority would administer the highest level of shock, as instructed.
B) The majority would immediately realize the use of deception and leave.
C) Most of the women would refuse to obey, whereas almost all of the men would obey.
D) Most of the participants would work together to force the experimenter to end the experiment.

Question 78

The "banality of evil" refers to the idea that

A) the personality of "evil" people is often socially constructed as devious rather than boring.
B) perfectly normal citizens who follow orders blindly are responsible for horrible events.
C) evil became so commonplace during certain historical periods that it became normal.
D) obedience is always associated with evil intent whereas conformity only involves fitting in to belong.

Question 79

In which variation on Milgram's classic study of obedience did they find compliance to 450 volts fell to 0 percent?

A) A second experimenter debates with the first as to whether they should continue.
B) Less prestigious location
C) Experimenter gives orders by phone
D) The teacher has to hold the learner's hand on the shock plate.

Question 80

One variation of the Milgram paradigm was the touch proximity condition, where teachers were required to hold the learner's hand down on the shock plate. What effect did this have on obedience, compared to the original experiment?

A) Obedience was eliminated.
B) Obedience was lower.
C) Obedience was equal.
D) Obedience was higher.