Question 1

In the 1977 study regarding the story about Donald and priming, the researcher wanted to study the impact of priming on the students' __________.

Accepted Answer

The researcher wanted to study the impact of priming on the students' impressions of Donald.

Question 2

Professor Chadwick is young and looks even younger than his years. He dresses in jeans, grubby tennis shoes, and Hawaiian print shirts. One day in the hallway, he strikes up a conversation with a student. During the conversation, the student begins to complain about the poor teaching of the faculty in the department and about the bad things he's heard about the course that Professor Chadwick teaches. Needless to say, when the student finds out he was actually talking to a professor, he feels embarrassed and avoids Professor Chadwick. What is the moral of this story?

Accepted Answer

The story highlights the concept of schemas, where the student had a preconceived idea of what a professor should look and behave like, and therefore assumed that Professor Chadwick was not a professor. This led to his inaccurate perception of the faculty and the course.

Question 3

According to the perspective presented in the chapter, a person who grew up in a home with an alcoholic parent who sees a man acting in a somewhat strange manner may be __________ likely to interpret this behavior as due to alcohol because of __________.

Accepted Answer

The chronic accessibility of an alcoholic schema refers to the ease with which a person's mind automatically associates certain behaviors or situations with alcohol due to past experiences, such as growing up with an alcoholic parent. Thus, a person who grew up in a home with an alcoholic parent would likely have a highly accessible alcoholic schema and be more likely to interpret strange behavior as due to alcohol.

Question 4

In the 1977 study regarding the story about Donald and priming, the researchers wanted to measure the impact of the __________ on their positive or negative interpretation of Donald's behaviors.

Accepted Answer

The study specifically aimed to measure the impact of the words that participants learned on their interpretation of Donald's behaviors. The researchers presented a story about Donald, which contained either positive or negative words, and then asked participants to describe his behavior. This allowed them to observe how the priming effect influenced the participants' interpretations of his actions. The other answer choices (B, C, and D) are not relevant to the study's focus on priming and interpretation.

Question 5

Ethan and Heather see a man stumbling around as he walks down the street. Ethan, who belongs to Alcoholics Anonymous, thinks the man is drunk, but Heather, who just watched a TV special on Michael J. Fox, thinks the man has Parkinson's disease. These differing interpretations of the same behavior seem to be caused by Ethan and Heather's differences in __________.

Accepted Answer

Ethan and Heather are likely accessing different information and experiences that influence their interpretation of the man's behavior. Ethan's experience with AA may have led him to associate stumbling with drunkenness, while Heather's recent exposure to Parkinson's may have influenced her interpretation. This difference in accessibility is likely the cause of their differing interpretations.

Question 6

In an experiment by Harold Kelley (1950), some college students were told that their guest lecturer was a warm person, while others were told that he was a cold person. Those students who were told that he was a warm person evaluated him more positively than those who had been told he was cold. This demonstrates that schemas can be subject to __________.

Accepted Answer

Priming refers to the psychological phenomenon where exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious guidance or intention. In Kelley's experiment, the pre-information about the lecturer being "warm" or "cold" primed the students to perceive and evaluate the lecturer in line with that initial description, demonstrating how schemas (mental structures that organize our knowledge and assumptions about something) can be influenced by priming.

Question 7

In a study described in the textbook, participants memorized either the word "reckless" or the word "adventurous" before reading an ambiguous passage in which Donald is described as engaging in a number of recreational activities (e.g., driving in a demolition derby, white-water rafting) where he risks injury and even death. This method was used to study the concept of __________.

Accepted Answer

This study was used to study the concept of priming, as the participants were primed with either the word "reckless" or "adventurous" before reading the ambiguous passage about Donald's activities, which could influence their interpretation and judgment of his behavior.

Question 8

Daniel is headed out on a blind date. The friend who set him up told him that his date was valedictorian of her graduating class. As Daniel is talking with his date, he begins to question his own understanding of math when she tells him that 1+1=3. His perception that she is right, even though it goes against what he understands, is due to __________.

Accepted Answer

Priming is the psychological phenomenon where exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a later stimulus. In this case, Daniel's friend telling him that his date was valedictorian primes him to believe that she is highly intelligent. Therefore, when she makes an unconventional statement about math, Daniel is more inclined to question his own understanding rather than doubt her intelligence.

Question 9

According to the authors of your text, what are the three reasons that schemas become accessible?

Accepted Answer

Schemas become accessible for three main reasons: chronic accessibility due to past experiences, relevance to a current goal, and priming. These factors influence how easily a schema comes to mind.

Question 10

Recall that Harold Kelley (1950) told some college students that their guest lecturer was a warm person, and others that he was a cold person. The visitor then lectured for twenty minutes and behaved in a very arrogant way during the lecture. When students evaluated the lecturer, __________.

Accepted Answer

Students expecting a warm person rated the lecturer as funnier, but no less arrogant, than students who expected a cold person. This demonstrates how expectations can influence perceptions of ambiguous behavior.

Question 11

In Kelley's (1950) research about the guest lecturer, the researcher wanted to study the impact of __________ on the students' later impressions of the lecturer.

Accepted Answer

Kelley's research focused on how prior information, specifically personality descriptions given to students about a guest lecturer before they heard the lecture, influenced their impressions of the lecturer. This study demonstrated how expectations could shape perceptions.

Question 12

In Kelley's (1950) research about the guest lecturer, the students were told that the guest lecturer was either a "warm" person or a "cold" person. The researcher wanted to see if this information would impact how they __________ after the lecture.

Accepted Answer

The research was focused on how the students would rate the lecturer on personality based on the information given to them about the lecturer being either "warm" or "cold".

Question 13

Jerrica received an F on a recent exam at school. When her mother arrives home, the house is clean, dinner has been started, and the laundry is all done. Jerrica is trying to get her mother to see her as very responsible before she breaks the news about the exam. Jerrica is using __________ to help her in this situation.

Accepted Answer

Jerrica is using priming, a psychological technique where exposure to one stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious guidance or intention. By doing chores and starting dinner, she's priming her mother to view her as responsible, hoping this perception will influence her mother's reaction to the bad news about the exam.

Question 14

Alice goes to see a rerun of Jaws (a movie about a vicious shark) a few days before she takes off to Florida on spring break. On break, she finds that she is now too nervous to spend much time actually in the water, since she is convinced that anything she sees in the water is a shark. Her heightened sensitivity is due to __________.

Accepted Answer

Alice's heightened sensitivity is due to priming, which occurs when exposure to one stimulus influences a person's response to a subsequent stimulus. In this case, Alice's viewing of the Jaws movie primed her to be hyperaware of the possibility of encountering a shark in the water, leading to her nervousness and perception of anything in the water as a shark.

Question 15

You are listening to a radio broadcast that describes a person who donated a kidney to a complete stranger in need of a transplant, when the phone rings and the firemen's association asks you to make a donation. The idea of priming suggests that you will __________.

Accepted Answer

The idea of priming suggests that activating a certain schema or category in our minds can make us more likely to behave in a way consistent with that schema. In this case, hearing about someone's charitable act may make the schema of being charitable more accessible in our minds, and therefore make us more likely to donate to the firemen's association.

Question 16

Based on the study by Harold Kelley (1950) presented in your text, if you were to describe yourself to a blind date as being witty, how would she be most likely to view a slightly sarcastic comment you made?

Accepted Answer

According to Kelley's study, if someone presents themselves as having a certain trait (such as wit), then actions that align with that trait are more likely to be perceived positively. Therefore, if you have presented yourself as witty and make a slightly sarcastic comment, your blind date is more likely to perceive it as funny and witty rather than rude or insensitive.

Question 17

Researchers had participants memorize a number of words before reading an ambiguous passage about a character named Donald. The words participants read influenced how they interpreted Donald's somewhat ambiguous behavior. The take-home message of this study is that thoughts have to be __________ before they affect our impressions of the social world.

Accepted Answer

The study suggests that thoughts have to be both accessible (able to be brought to mind) and applicable (relevant to the situation) before they affect our impressions of the social world. The participants had to remember the words in order for them to influence how they interpreted Donald's behavior, which shows that the thoughts were both accessible and applicable in this case.

Question 18

Faustino is a musician who plays the trumpet in the band at his school. When he sees Isabel carrying a case into the school, he assumes she is a musician as well. Faustino's schema is __________.

Accepted Answer

Faustino's schema is accessible because of his past experience with musicians in the band. He is using his past knowledge and experience to make assumptions about Isabel because of the case she is carrying, which is likely associated with being a musician. The other answers do not accurately describe Faustino's behavior or motivations in this scenario.

Question 19

Diana currently has a goal to lose fifteen pounds by the summer, and she notices that lately her friend Sarah hasn't been eating much. Based on your text's discussion of how current goals can affect accessibility, how is Diana most likely to interpret Sarah's behavior?

Accepted Answer

Diana's current goal to lose weight may make her more likely to notice others who are also trying to lose weight or restrict their food intake. Therefore, she may interpret Sarah's behavior as being on a diet as it aligns with her own goal.

Question 20

When the psychologist asks, "Tell me the first thing that comes to mind," he/she is asking for the most __________ schema.

Accepted Answer

When the psychologist asks for the first thing that comes to mind, they are looking for the most accessible schema - the one that is easily activated and readily available in the person's memory. This can provide insight into their thought processes and underlying beliefs. The other answer choices (functional, colorful, fulfilled) are not directly related to the concept of schema.

Quiz 3: Social Cognition: How We Think About the Social World