Question 1

The tendency to develop more positive feelings towards an attitude object when we are exposed to it more, is known as ______.

Accepted Answer

The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon where people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.

Question 2

The way in which animals and people learn by observing associations between stimuli in their environment is known, in general terms, as ______.

Accepted Answer

Associative learning is the general term used to describe the process by which animals and people learn to associate different stimuli or events in their environment. This includes both classical and operant conditioning, but the term itself directly refers to the broader concept of learning through association.

Question 3

If positive words were repeatedly paired with a social group such as French and negative words were repeatedly paired with German, what would happen to the perceiver's evaluations of these social groups? The perceiver would develop ______.`

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is explained by associative learning, where the perceiver would develop a slightly more positive evaluation of the group associated with positive words (French) and a slightly more negative evaluation of the group associated with negative words (Germans), due to the repeated pairing of these groups with positive or negative stimuli.

Question 4

The idea that we form attitudes based on the observations of our own behaviour is known as ______.

Accepted Answer

Self-perception theory suggests that individuals develop their attitudes by observing their own behavior and concluding what attitudes must have caused them. This contrasts with theories that suggest attitudes come before behaviors.

Question 5

Chaiken and Baldwin (1981) demonstrated that people would infer their attitude towards an issue based on the way in which they had been asked questions about it, for example, perceivers asked about pro-environmental practices thought they were more environmentally friendly than those asked about anti-environmental practices.
This effect was more likely if the perceiver ______.

Accepted Answer

This effect was more likely if the perceiver had weak attitudes about the environment, as individuals with less defined attitudes are more susceptible to influence by question framing.

Question 6

The idea that the movement of facial muscles may alter blood flow to the brain, which subsequently alters temperature and mood is ______.

Accepted Answer

The vascular theory of emotion suggests that facial muscle movements can influence blood flow to the brain, affecting temperature and mood.

Question 7

There are four basic needs that adopting different attitudes can address. These are ego-defensive, ______, utilitarian, ______.

Accepted Answer

The four basic needs that adopting different attitudes can address are ego-defensive, knowledge, utilitarian, and value-expression.

Question 8

Attitudes that function to protect the perceivers from a threatening truth about themselves are known to be ______.

Accepted Answer

Ego-defensive attitudes are mechanisms that help individuals defend their self-esteem or ego from threats and to maintain their sense of security.

Question 9

The theory of planned behaviour suggests that the most proximal determinant of intentional behaviour is ______.

Accepted Answer

The theory of planned behavior posits that the most immediate determinant of a person's behavior is their intention to perform that behavior, which is influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.

Question 10

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that if the perceiver performs a specific behaviour that is incongruent with their attitude, the perceiver will feel some discomfort and, as a last resort to remove this, will be motivated to ______.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory posits that when individuals perform actions that are inconsistent with their beliefs, they experience discomfort. To alleviate this discomfort, they are motivated to adjust their attitudes to align with their actions, rather than changing the behavior or simply forgetting the incident.

Question 11

Whether dissonance occurs or NOT following a behaviour that is incongruent with an attitude that the perceiver holds is affected by ______.

Accepted Answer

Dissonance occurs when there is a conflict between attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. Justification, choice, and investment all affect whether dissonance occurs following a behavior that is incongruent with an attitude, as they influence the degree of conflict perceived and the motivation to resolve it.

Question 12

In self-perception theory, a ______ prior attitude is a prerequisite for the effect. In cognitive dissonance theory, dissonance will NOT occur unless there is a prior attitude that is fairly ______.

Accepted Answer

Self-perception theory suggests that people infer their attitudes from their behavior when their prior attitudes are weak or ambiguous. Cognitive dissonance theory posits that dissonance arises when there is a conflict between strong prior attitudes and behavior.

Question 13

There are two models of how persuasion changes attitudes. Both of these are dual process models and suggest that the central route is taken when ______.

Accepted Answer

The central route to persuasion, as described in dual process models like the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM), is taken when individuals are motivated and able to think deeply about the content of a message. This involves careful consideration and elaboration of the message's arguments.

Question 14

Attitude change via the peripheral route may be more effective if the source of the attitude is ______.

Accepted Answer

Attitude change via the peripheral route is often more effective if the source of the message is attractive, as attractiveness can serve as a peripheral cue that influences acceptance of the message without deep processing of the content.

Question 15

The credibility of the source may influence how persuasive a message is. For example, you may be ______ likely to buy a social psychology textbook that a ______ has told you about.

Accepted Answer

The credibility of a source, such as a lecturer who is likely to be knowledgeable about the subject matter, can make a message more persuasive, hence you may be more likely to buy a textbook recommended by them.

Question 16

Mita, Dermer and Knight (1977) found that people prefer a photograph of themselves that is a ______ print, rather than a ______ print, demonstrating the ______ effect.

Accepted Answer

Mita, Dermer, and Knight (1977) discovered that individuals tend to prefer a mirror image of themselves over a normal photo, which is attributed to the mere exposure effect. This effect suggests that people develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them, and since we usually see ourselves in mirrors, the mirror image becomes the preferred version.

Question 17

Associative learning is a more powerful determinant of attitude formation when ______.

Accepted Answer

Associative learning has a stronger impact on attitude formation when there is little knowledge available about the attitude object, as the lack of information makes individuals more susceptible to forming attitudes based on new associations.

Question 18

Which approach to attitude formation focuses on how attitudes are formed passively, outside of our awareness?

Accepted Answer

All of these approaches to attitude formation—self-perception theory, associative learning, and mere exposure—involve processes where attitudes can be formed passively and outside of our conscious awareness. Self-perception theory suggests we infer our attitudes from our behavior when our attitudes are unclear. Associative learning involves forming attitudes through associations with positive or negative stimuli. Mere exposure effect posits that repeated exposure to a stimulus increases our liking for it, all without active, conscious processing.

Question 19

Which of the following are identified by the functional approach to attitude formation as psychological needs that can be addressed by adopting different attitudes?

Accepted Answer

The functional approach to attitude formation identifies four main psychological needs that attitudes can fulfill: utilitarian (related to rewards and punishments), knowledge (related to understanding the world), ego-defensive (related to protecting self-esteem or justifying actions), and value-expression (related to expressing core values and beliefs).

Question 20

Fishbein and Coombs (1974) found that the correlation between attitudes and voting behaviour was ______ one week before voting in an election, compared to one month before voting.

Accepted Answer

Fishbein and Coombs (1974) found that the correlation between attitudes and voting behavior was stronger one week before voting in an election, compared to one month before voting. This suggests that as the election date approaches, people's attitudes more closely predict their voting behavior.

Quiz 4: Attitudes