Question 1

If you were a prosecutor, what would you be most likely to do to convince the jury that the defendant is guilty?

Accepted Answer

D

Question 2

Sally was working the night shift at a convenience store. A man came in, pulled out a gun, and demanded that Sally give him all of the money in the cash register. When the police interview Sally about the crime, what would she be most likely to tell them?

Accepted Answer

The most important and relevant information in this scenario is that the man pulled out a gun and demanded money. Sally's attention would have been focused on the weapon and the demands being made, rather than on details like eye color, height, or clothing type.

Question 3

________ refers to the process by which people store some-but not all-information from the environment in memory.

Accepted Answer

B

Question 4

Jake, a convenience store cashier, was extremely afraid when he was held up at gunpoint. The robbery took several minutes, there was little distance between him and the robber, and the lighting was good. Why is it that Jake had trouble remembering details about the crime?

Accepted Answer

Being held up at gunpoint is a traumatic experience that would cause emotional distress and fear in almost anyone. Research shows that experiencing such high levels of emotion can impair memory and make it difficult to recall details accurately. Therefore, Jake's difficulty in remembering details is likely due to the emotional impact of the robbery.

Question 5

You come home from work and find pieces of broken glass on the floor. You realize that your favorite vase was broken. Immediately you blame your new puppy, without even noticing that your toddler's teddy bear is lying on the floor near the broken glass. The fact that you didn't see the teddy bear is probably due to

Accepted Answer

This is likely an example of a schema, which is a mental construct based on past experiences that helps individuals quickly categorize new information. In this case, the schema that puppies are destructive led the individual to automatically blame the puppy without considering other possibilities (such as the toddler accidentally knocking over the vase).

Question 6

Kim witnessed a robbery that occurred over the course of an hour across a rather wide street at night. Which of the following is not a factor hindering Kim's acquisition of the event?

Accepted Answer

The duration of the crime (an hour) is not a hindering factor; in fact, it could aid in acquiring more details. The other factors (unexpectedness, nighttime, and distance) could hinder perception and memory.

Question 7

Complete the analogy about memory processes. Retrieval: acquisition :: ________: ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Complete the analogy about memory processes. Retrieval:...

Question 8

The authors of your text describe an incident in which a friend of theirs, Alan, found the body of an elderly neighbor. Despite obvious signs that she was murdered, Alan insisted that she died of old age. Why?

Accepted Answer

Alan's preconception that the neighbor died of old age led him to ignore obvious signs of murder. This illustrates the concept of confirmation bias, where people tend to seek out information that confirms their preexisting beliefs and ignore information that contradicts them.

Question 9

According to the authors of your text, the most common cause of an innocent person being convicted of a crime is that the

Accepted Answer

The authors of the text state that the most common cause of an innocent person being convicted of a crime is due to incorrect eyewitness testimony. This can occur for a variety of reasons, including faulty memory or suggestion by law enforcement.

Question 10

The introduction to Social Psychology and the Law tells a true story about Randall Adams, who was falsely convicted of murdering a police officer, and who languished on death row for twelve years until he finally won his freedom. This introduction was designed to illustrate

Accepted Answer

The introduction specifically mentions the unreliability of eyewitness testimony as a factor that led to Randall Adams' wrongful conviction.

Question 11

________ refers to the process by which people recall information stored in memory.

Accepted Answer

Retrieval is the process of accessing information that has been stored in memory. This is different from acquisition, which refers to the initial process of taking in new information, and recognition, which involves identifying previously encountered information. Recovery is not a commonly used term in psychology for memory processes.

Question 12

One reason why the legal process is an important application of social psychology is because

Accepted Answer

Prejudice and first impressions can affect jury decisions, which means that social psychology has a significant role to play in the legal process. Social psychologists study the impact of these factors on decision making and can provide insights into ways to minimize their negative effects.

Question 13

According to the authors, accurate eyewitness identification results from a series of three stages:

Accepted Answer

The authors state that the three stages of accurate eyewitness identification are acquisition (taking in information), storage (memory), and retrieval (remembering and recalling information). This is supported by research on eyewitness testimony and how memory works. A is incorrect because credibility is not a stage, but rather a factor that can impact eyewitness identification. B and D do not accurately reflect the stages mentioned by the authors.

Question 14

Margo was frightened and confused when a robber appeared at the convenience store where she works. It seemed that the only thing she could see was the gun he had pointed right in her face. Later, when Margo serves as an eyewitness, she may not be reliable because of problems she had at the ________ stage of memory processing.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Margo was frightened and confused when a...

Question 15

After an armed robbery, witnesses aren't often able to describe the culprit. Which of the following are most likely the reasons why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of After an armed robbery, witnesses aren't often...

Question 16

Which of the following is out of place?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is out of...

Question 17

Marvin was convicted of a robbery several years ago and has recently been exonerated based on DNA evidence. According to the authors of your text, which of the following is the most likely reason that he was falsely convicted?

Accepted Answer

According to the authors of the text, eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, occurring in about 75% of DNA exonerations. Therefore, the most likely reason for Marvin's false conviction is that the eyewitness to the crime reported incorrect information. The other answer choices (A, C, and D) are not supported by the authors of the text as leading causes of wrongful convictions.

Question 18

Four men have been indicted for robbing $20,000 from a bank. After the trial, the jury will be most likely to convict

Accepted Answer

The answer of Four men have been indicted for robbing...

Question 19

Which of the following is a factor that can hinder an eyewitness's memory during the acquisition stage?

Accepted Answer

Poor lighting conditions can hinder an eyewitness's ability to accurately perceive and encode details of the event.

Question 20

When a crime happens quickly and under poor viewing conditions, what stage of memory processing is most likely to be hindered?

Accepted Answer

When a crime happens quickly and under poor viewing conditions, it is likely that the acquisition stage of memory processing will be hindered. This stage involves the initial encoding of sensory information, and if the conditions make it difficult to perceive and attend to the details of the event, the information may not be encoded into memory as well as it would be under optimal conditions.

Quiz 16: Social Psychology in Action 3: Social Psychology and the Law