Question 1

Langer (1975) found that people were willing to request a higher resale value for a lottery card they selected themselves (over $8) than one they were given by others (less than $2). Langer termed the phenomenon driving people's perceptions the:

Accepted Answer

Langer termed this phenomenon the "illusion of control," where individuals believe they have more control over outcomes than they actually do, leading them to value self-selected lottery cards higher.

Question 2

Which of the following conceptual variables is not linked to illusory control?

Accepted Answer

Time is not typically associated with illusory control, which is the belief that one can influence outcomes that are actually determined by chance. Competition, choice, and skill can all contribute to this illusion.

Question 3

An independent variable:

Accepted Answer

An independent variable typically has at least two levels, is manipulated, and is controlled by the experimenter in an experiment.

Question 4

Milgram's (1974) obedience to authority experiment is probably best described as:

Accepted Answer

Milgram's experiment is best described as an impact study because it focused on the effects of authority on participants' willingness to obey commands, even when those commands involved harming another person.

Question 5

To keep a participant's attention during a social psychology experiment, instructions should be:

Accepted Answer

All of the options contribute to maintaining a participant's attention by ensuring clarity, engagement, and focus on the task.

Question 6

In social psychological research, the experimenter's accomplice who often pretends to be a fellow participant is commonly referred to as:

Accepted Answer

In social psychological research, a "confederate" is an individual who is part of the research team but acts as if they are a participant to help manipulate the social situation as part of the experimental design.

Question 7

Variables, such as sex and personality traits, are common in social psychology experiments but they differ from traditional independent variables because they are:

Accepted Answer

These variables are considered nonmanipulated because they are inherent characteristics of participants and cannot be altered or controlled by the experimenter.

Question 8

Before collecting data, an experimenter wants to verify that people will believe that a film clip is pleasurable rather than upsetting to watch. He pilot tests the clip on a group of people and assesses their responses. He has used a:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Before collecting data, an experimenter wants to...

Question 9

When an independent variable fails to create anticipated behavioral responses, an experimenter can:

Accepted Answer

An experimenter can use all these methods: questioning participants to understand their responses, performing an internal analysis to check for errors or confounding variables, and increasing the variable's impact to ensure it is noticeable.

Question 10

A series of studies by Nisbett and Wilson (1977) found that:

Accepted Answer

Nisbett and Wilson (1977) demonstrated that people often lack introspective access to the causes of their own behavior, meaning they are not always aware of the factors that influence their actions.

Question 11

Briefly describe Langer's (1975) lottery card study demonstrating what she called the "illusion of control." What role do skill-related perceptions play in this illusion?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Briefly describe Langer's (1975) lottery card study...

Question 12

What is an independent variable? Define this term and provide a concrete example.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is an independent variable? Define this...

Question 13

Independent variables are key parts of impact and judgment studies. In what way(s) do impact studies and judgment studies differ from one another?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Independent variables are key parts of impact...

Question 14

In social psychology experiments, some independent variables cause behavior directly while in other studies behavior is caused indirectly. Why does this distinction matter when conducting a piece of research?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In social psychology experiments, some independent variables...

Question 15

What are mediator and moderator variables? What role do they play in social psychology theory and experiments?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are mediator and moderator variables? What...

Question 16

When doing a social psychology experiment, does one operationalization of an independent variable represent all possible operationalizations? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The answer of When doing a social psychology experiment, does...

Question 17

How do the nature and delivery of instructions affect participant involvement in social psychology experiment? List and explain some of the qualities such instructions should possess.

Accepted Answer

The answer of How do the nature and delivery of...

Question 18

Discuss some of the ways an experimenter can deliver or introduce the independent variable to participants. Which methods are more common in impact studies? In judgment studies?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss some of the ways an experimenter...

Question 19

Why are experimenters well-advised to deliver instructions clearly, to repeat them, and to then carefully "probe" the participants about the instruction's contents?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why are experimenters well-advised to deliver instructions...

Question 20

Can individual differences and variables like sex serve as independent variables? How? What are these sorts of variables called? How do they differ from traditional independent variables?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Can individual differences and variables like sex...

Quiz 7: Introducing a Difference: Independent Variables

Langer (1975) found that people were willing to request a higher resale value for a lottery card they selected themselves (over $8) than one they were given by others (less than $2) . Langer termed the phenomenon driving people's perceptions the: