Question 1

Using concrete examples, articulate and explain how perceptual accuracy can be influenced by social and occupational roles.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Using concrete examples, articulate and explain how...

Question 2

Identify and briefly define each of the three stages of the perception-making process.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Identify and briefly define each of the...

Question 3

When competent communicators discover that their perceptions are inaccurate, they will respond by

Accepted Answer

When competent communicators discover that their perceptions are inaccurate, they will respond by seeking more information, considering alternative perceptions, and revising their perceptions accordingly. All the answers are correct because there is no one specific approach to correcting inaccurate perceptions, but a combination of strategies and approaches are necessary to ensure accuracy and promote effective communication. Therefore, it is important to be open-minded and flexible in one's approach to perception correction.

Question 4

Idealizing a romantic partner at the beginning of a new relationship is a common example of the ________ bias.

Accepted Answer

The positivity bias refers to the tendency to perceive and remember positive information more than negative information. In the context of a new relationship, this bias can lead to idealizing a romantic partner and focusing on their positive qualities while overlooking any potential flaws or negative traits.

Question 5

Define the primacy and recency effects and explain how they work together to influence perceptions.

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Question 6

Which of the following was NOT suggested in your textbook as a way to combat perceptual inaccuracies?

Accepted Answer

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Question 7

How are interpretations different from facts?

Accepted Answer

Facts are objective and can be independently verified, while interpretations are subjective and depend on the perspective and experience of the person making them. Facts provide the raw material or data, whereas interpretations are the result of analyzing and synthesizing that data to make sense of it. Therefore, while facts are concerned with the what, interpretations are concerned with the why and how.

Question 8

Samantha was a fantastic softball player, but she rarely took credit for her success. Every time a reporter from the school paper would ask her for a quote, Samantha would say, "I just got lucky today," or, "Their pitcher just gave me something I could hit." Which of the following likely factors into Samantha's personality?

Accepted Answer

Samantha's tendency to attribute her success to external factors such as luck or the opposing team's mistakes suggests an external locus of control. She does not perceive her accomplishments as a result of her own abilities or efforts, which would indicate an internal locus of control. Negative attribution and self-serving bias are not applicable in this case.

Question 9

Compare and contrast the fundamental attribution error and the self-serving bias as common attribution errors.

Accepted Answer

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Question 10

In which of the following instances might you have committed the self-serving bias?

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute our successes to internal, stable causes and failures to external, unstable causes. Option D fits this definition as the individual is attributing all their failures to external, unstable causes.

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true with respect to the process of stereotyping?

Accepted Answer

Stereotypes are sometimes accurate, but often based on incomplete or inaccurate information. However, relying on stereotypes can lead to unfair treatment and inaccurate assessments. It is important to recognize and challenge our own stereotypes in order to make fair and accurate evaluations of others.

Question 12

People "see" faces in all sorts of natural phenomena, including clouds, tree bark, and even rocks on Mars. That is an example of which perception-making process?

Accepted Answer

Perceptual set refers to the tendency for expectations to influence perception. In this example, people have a perceptual set for seeing faces, so they perceive them even in natural phenomena that do not actually contain faces.

Question 13

An explanation for why something occurred is called a(n)

Accepted Answer

An attribution is the explanation for why something occurred.

Question 14

Which of the following processes is at work when we are able to recall only information that confirms our existing stereotypes?

Accepted Answer

This type of bias is called selective memory bias, where we selectively remember information that confirms our existing beliefs or stereotypes while forgetting or ignoring information that contradicts them.

Question 15

Regarding the fundamental attribution error, which of the following statements is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

The statement "We don't usually commit it when we are told that a person's behavior is externally caused" is not true because even when we are told that a person's behavior is externally caused, we still tend to make internal attributions. The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overemphasize dispositional (internal) explanations for other people's behavior and underemphasize situational (external) factors.

Question 16

Which of the following techniques can help in the perception-checking process?

Accepted Answer

Generating alternative perceptions is a helpful technique in the perception-checking process. It allows for consideration of multiple perspectives and can prevent assumptions from being made based on one interpretation. Options A and C are not helpful in perception-checking, and option D is incorrect as there is a correct answer.

Question 17

Forming an accurate snap-judgment of someone else illustrates which of the following truisms of forming attributions?

Accepted Answer

More information doesn't necessarily lead to better attributions because snap judgments can sometimes be surprisingly accurate, indicating that additional information might not always improve the accuracy of our perceptions.

Question 18

You liked most everything about your new roommate when you first met, but when you found out she smokes, that overshadowed all of her good qualities in your mind. What perception-making process are you displaying here?

Accepted Answer

The negativity bias is the tendency for negative information to have a greater impact on our perceptions and behavior than positive information. In this case, the roommate's smoking habit is seen as a negative trait and has overshadowed all of her other positive qualities.

Question 19

One of your hallmates, Ling, is an exchange student from Taiwan. Ling never goes out with the other students, goes to bed at 9:30 every night, and studies quietly in her room most of the time. You assume that Ling behaves the way she does because she is Asian. Which of the following attribution errors might you have committed?

Accepted Answer

Overattribution occurs when someone attributes a person's behavior to their membership in a particular group, such as assuming Ling's behavior is due to her being Asian.

Question 20

Rick and Jamie recently started dating. To commemorate their first month as a couple, Rick surprised Jamie when he picked her up at work in a rented limousine with floor-level tickets to a concert. After the show, Rick was very upset because Jamie would barely speak to him. Jamie was also upset because she was planning on surprising Rick with a quiet dinner at home. After two days of angry fighting, the couple broke up. What was likely at the root of this conflict?

Accepted Answer

The conflict likely arose from egocentrism, where each person focused on their own perspective and plans without considering the other's intentions or desires. Rick and Jamie both had different ideas of how to celebrate, leading to a misunderstanding and disappointment.

Quiz 4: Interpersonal Perception