Question 1

Which of the following represents the affective component of an attitude?

Accepted Answer

The affective component of an attitude refers to the emotional aspect of the attitude. Choice A reflects a positive emotional response to going to clubs, indicating an affective component. Choices B, C, and D are more focused on behavior or beliefs rather than emotions.

Question 2

Studies on similarity and interpersonal attraction have found that __________.

Accepted Answer

Studies have consistently found that people tend to be attracted to others who are similar to them, such as having similar interests, values, personality traits, and backgrounds. However, there is also evidence that too much similarity can lead to boredom and reduced attraction. Therefore, there appears to be an optimal level of similarity that maximizes attraction.

Question 3

How are proximity to others and the establishment of friendships related?

Accepted Answer

Proximity to others and the establishment of friendships are positively correlated. Being closer to someone physically can increase the likelihood of interacting with them, getting to know them, and potentially forming a friendship.

Question 4

The adage "Birds of a feather flock together" pertains most directly to the __________ factor in interpersonal attraction.

Accepted Answer

The adage "Birds of a feather flock together" refers to the tendency for people to be attracted to others who are similar to themselves in attitudes, values, interests, and other characteristics. This is known as the similarity factor in interpersonal attraction.

Question 5

Behavior directed at helping others with no expectation of personal gain is called __________ behavior.

Accepted Answer

Altruistic behavior is behavior that is directed towards helping others without any expectation of personal gain. Primacy refers to the state of being first or the most important, conformity refers to the act of changing behavior or beliefs to fit in with a group, and manipulative behavior is behavior that is intended to control or influence others for personal gain.

Question 6

A major reason why people won't help when there are many bystanders is because __________.

Accepted Answer

Diffusion of responsibility is the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to take action or feel responsible when there are others present. This is because each individual feels that someone else will take action, thus diffusing the responsibility onto the group as a whole. It is a well-documented and researched phenomenon in social psychology. Therefore, option A is the best choice for the given question.

Question 7

Erin hates snakes, even though she has never been bitten by or close to one. She developed her feelings by seeing how scared her mother was when she came across them in the garden or even when watching a movie or television show in which there was a snake. Erin's attitude toward snakes was most likely acquired through __________.

Accepted Answer

Erin's attitude toward snakes was acquired through vicarious conditioning, as she learned to fear them by observing her mother's fearful reactions even though she had never had direct contact with a snake.

Question 8

Which of the following would NOT be effective in minimizing groupthink?

Accepted Answer

Voting by a show of hands can still lead to groupthink, as members may feel pressure to conform to the majority opinion. The other options promote openness to ideas and accountability for decisions, while also avoiding pressure to conform.

Question 9

According to research, __________.

Accepted Answer

Research in social psychology, particularly the bystander effect, suggests that the fewer people present, the greater the chance an individual will receive help. This is because with fewer witnesses, individuals feel more personal responsibility to act.

Question 10

One of your friends tells you, "I didn't like the environmental-awareness presentation today. First of all, it was too long, not to mention the person that gave it was drinking out of a polystyrene cup and drove away in a huge SUV." What kind of processing might your friend be using?

Accepted Answer

Your friend is focusing on peripheral cues (the length of the presentation, the speaker's behavior) rather than the central message (environmental awareness). This suggests peripheral-route processing.

Question 11

According to research, the larger the group, the __________.

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is known as the "bystander effect," where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help, due to a diffusion of responsibility and social influence.

Question 12

The term __________ refers to the tendency to help others who are in need even when there is not likely to be a reward for helping.

Accepted Answer

Altruism is the term used to describe the behavior of helping others even in the absence of any personal gain or reward. It is often based on a sense of empathy or concern for the well-being of others. Bystander mitigation refers to the actions taken to reduce the negative effects of bystander apathy, while sympathetic collusion is a term used to describe the phenomenon of two or more individuals colluding to maintain an unjust or harmful system.

Question 13

Caleb almost always shows up late for work. His friends attribute this to Caleb's laziness. This is an example of a __________ cause.

Accepted Answer

The attribution of Caleb's lateness to his laziness suggests that his friends are making a dispositional attribution, meaning they are attributing his behavior to his personal characteristics or traits rather than situational factors outside of his control.

Question 14

Conner needs just $20 more to go out with his friends. He asks his mother for $50, but she tells him he can have $30 instead. In the end, Conner ended up with $10 more than he originally planned. What technique did Conner use?

Accepted Answer

Conner used the door-in-the-face technique, which involves making a large request that is expected to be refused so that a smaller request (the actual goal) seems more reasonable by comparison. He asked for $50, expecting to get less, and was happy with the $30, which was more than he needed.

Question 15

One of the keys to deindividuation is __________.

Accepted Answer

Anonymity is one of the keys to deindividuation, as it allows individuals to feel less accountable for their actions and therefore more likely to engage in behaviors that they might not otherwise do if they were identifiable. Group protection, conformity, and group polarization can also contribute to deindividuation, but anonymity is seen as the primary factor.

Question 16

The most important situational variable in altruism is the __________.

Accepted Answer

The presence of other people is the most important situational variable in altruism. The presence of others can influence whether or not someone is willing to help, as well as the degree and urgency of that help. This is known as the bystander effect, which states that people are less likely to help when there are others around, because they assume someone else will take responsibility.

Question 17

According to reports of Stanley Milgram's original studies, the most often cited statistic is that __________ percent of "teachers" will deliver shocks up to the point of being lethal.

Accepted Answer

Stanley Milgram's original studies on obedience, conducted in the 1960s, are most often cited with the statistic that 65 percent of "teachers" were willing to deliver shocks up to the maximum level, which was labeled as potentially lethal, when instructed to do so by an authority figure.

Question 18

If a person sees a victim in dire need, but doesn't know how to help, that person will most likely __________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If a person sees a victim in...

Question 19

In Asch's study, conformity decreased when __________.

Accepted Answer

Conformity in Asch's study decreased when at least one confederate agreed with the participant, as this provided social support, reducing the pressure to conform to the incorrect majority.

Question 20

Kohanna thinks that everyone who smiles must always be happy, and those people who are quiet must be naturally shy. Such assumptions are the basis for __________.

Accepted Answer

Implicit personality theory refers to the set of assumptions we have about people based on our own observations and experiences. Kohanna’s belief that people who smile are always happy and those who are quiet are naturally shy are examples of her implicit personality theory.

Quiz 12: Social Psychology