Question 1

A cultural rule of behavior that prescribes what is acceptable or unacceptable in a given situation is called a _____.

Accepted Answer

Norms are the established standards of behavior maintained by a society or group that dictate what is considered acceptable or unacceptable conduct.

Question 2

Cooperation, increased contact, and cognitive retraining all create _____ by increasing the discrepancy among your beliefs, emotions, and behaviors toward members of an outgroup, thus motivating you to change your prejudicial attitudes toward that group.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance occurs when there is a discrepancy among beliefs, emotions, and behaviors, leading to discomfort that motivates individuals to change their attitudes or behaviors to reduce the dissonance. In the context of prejudice, increased cooperation, contact, and cognitive retraining can create cognitive dissonance by highlighting inconsistencies between one's prejudicial attitudes and their actual experiences or beliefs about members of an outgroup, thus encouraging a change in prejudicial attitudes.

Question 3

This is the change in behavior that occurs in response to real or imagined group pressure.

Accepted Answer

Conformity is the correct answer because it specifically refers to the change in behavior that individuals undergo to match the expectations or norms of a group, whether those pressures are real or perceived.

Question 4

When a natural disaster strikes, members of a community who previously distrusted or fought with each other often work together to deal with the aftermath.Once the emergency is over, there is usually a decrease in prejudice as a result of _____.

Accepted Answer

Increased contact and cooperation brought on by the common goal during a natural disaster can lead to a decrease in prejudice as members of the community work together, fostering understanding and unity.

Question 5

With regard to the norm for personal space, which of the following persons is MOST likely to break the U.S.norm by standing too close to an American adult?

Accepted Answer

Mediterranean cultures typically have smaller personal space requirements than those in the United States, leading individuals from these regions to stand closer to others than what is customary in the U.S.

Question 6

People will attack an alternate target group rather than the real source of their frustration when the source is either bigger and retaliatory, or ambiguous or unknown.This is the _____ explanation for prejudice.

Accepted Answer

The displaced aggression explanation for prejudice suggests that when individuals cannot express their frustration or aggression towards the actual source due to fear of retaliation or because the source is ambiguous or unknown, they may redirect their aggression towards a more vulnerable or accessible target, often leading to prejudice against that alternate group.

Question 7

After the first week at his new school, Gratias had his hair cut the way others were wearing theirs and started tucking in his shirt the way other boys on campus did in order to fit in.This is an example of _____.

Accepted Answer

Gratias changed his appearance to match the norms and behaviors of his peers, which is an example of normative social influence. This concept describes how individuals conform to the expectations of a group to be accepted or liked by them.

Question 8

When someone lacks adequate knowledge about how to behave, they often conform to group pressure if the group provides them with direction and information.This is called _____ social influence.

Accepted Answer

This is called informational social influence, where individuals conform to group behavior under the assumption that the group knows more than they do, especially in situations where the individual is unsure of the correct form of behavior.

Question 9

The economic and political competition explanation for prejudice suggests that people_____ will be more prejudiced.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The economic and political competition explanation for...

Question 10

Two of the MAJOR kinds of social influence are _____.

Accepted Answer

Conformity and obedience are two major kinds of social influence studied in psychology. Conformity involves changing one's behavior or beliefs in response to implicit or explicit pressure from others, while obedience involves following direct commands or orders from an authority figure.

Question 11

If Earth was threatened by a comet from outer space, it is likely that ethnic fighting would decrease as nations came together to prevent this global calamity.This is an example of how _____ is/are important in reducing prejudice.

Accepted Answer

The statement illustrates how having common goals, such as preventing a global calamity, can bring people and nations together, thereby reducing prejudice. This is based on the idea that cooperation towards a shared objective can help to overcome differences and foster unity.

Question 12

Which of the following principles of social psychology may have made it easier for American soldiers to kill Vietnamese civilians in the 1970s?

Accepted Answer

Outgroup homogeneity is the perception that members of an outgroup are more similar to each other than they really are, which can lead to dehumanization and make it easier to justify harmful actions against them.

Question 13

Undoing negative associations and learning positive ones, and selectively attending to similarities rather than differences, are examples of _____.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive retraining involves techniques aimed at undoing negative associations and learning positive ones, as well as focusing on similarities rather than differences to improve cognitive processes and biases.

Question 14

In the classic Sherif study, prejudice was initiated in two groups of boys at summer camp by encouraging _____, and successfully eliminated by creating _____.

Accepted Answer

Sherif's classic study initiated prejudice through competition between groups and successfully eliminated it by creating situations that required the groups to work together towards common goals.

Question 15

Saying that members of another ethnic group "all look alike to me" may be an example of _____.

Accepted Answer

The outgroup homogeneity effect is a psychological phenomenon where individuals perceive members of an outgroup as more similar to each other than they actually are, often summarized by statements like "they all look alike to me." This effect contrasts with the perception of greater diversity within one's own group (ingroup).

Question 16

When someone has a need for approval and acceptance by a group, they often conform to the norms set by that group.This is called _____ social influence.

Accepted Answer

Normative social influence occurs when an individual conforms to gain acceptance or approval from a group.

Question 17

Research suggests that one of the best ways to decrease prejudice is to encourage _____.

Accepted Answer

Encouraging cooperation among individuals from different groups has been shown to decrease prejudice by promoting understanding and empathy, as supported by the contact hypothesis theory.

Question 18

For increased contact to diminish prejudice between two groups of people, which of the following factors MUST be present?

Accepted Answer

The Contact Hypothesis suggests that for increased contact to effectively reduce prejudice between groups, certain conditions must be met, including close interaction, interdependence, and equal status among the members of the groups. These elements help break down stereotypes and build mutual respect.

Question 19

What are three factors that explain why people conform?

Accepted Answer

Normative social influence, informational social influence, and reference groups are three key factors that explain why people conform. Normative social influence involves conforming to be liked or accepted by others, informational social influence occurs when people conform because they believe others are correct in their judgments, and reference groups are groups that individuals admire and identify with, and thus are influenced by in terms of conforming to their norms and values.

Question 20

In the classic Asch study of conformity, _____ of the subjects conformed and agreed with obviously incorrect choices made by other group members.

Accepted Answer

More than one-third of the subjects in Solomon Asch's conformity experiments went along with the clearly incorrect majority on at least one question.

Quiz 16: Social Psychology