Question 1

Five-year-old Tonya has often observed her mother react negatively to bald men. In time, Tonya develops a prejudicial attitude toward bald men. Tonya's attitude was influenced by

Accepted Answer

Tonya's attitude was influenced by vicarious classical conditioning, where she learned to associate a negative reaction with bald men by observing her mother's reactions, without directly experiencing any negative encounters herself.

Question 2

Our attraction to stimuli that are familiar to us is known as the

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 3

The more that Bill sees Connie, the more he likes her. This example reflects the

Accepted Answer

The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them. In this case, Bill's increasing liking for Connie as he sees her more often is a classic example of this effect.

Question 4

When research showed that people who viewed a nonsense word more often came to feel more positive towards it, this provided support for the

Accepted Answer

The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them. In this case, the increased positivity towards a nonsense word with more exposure is a classic example of the mere exposure effect.

Question 5

Attitudes that are formed by observing the emotional responses of others are learned through the process of __________ classical conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Vicarious classical conditioning involves learning attitudes or behaviors by observing the reactions of others, rather than through direct personal experience.

Question 6

The relation between attitudes and behaviour is affected by

Accepted Answer

The relation between attitudes and behavior is indeed influenced by the degree of specificity of the attitude, its accessibility, and the motivational relevance of the behavior. These factors collectively determine how strongly an attitude might predict or influence a corresponding behavior.

Question 7

When people were asked their attitudes to "the Sierra Club,"an environmental organization (rather than their attitudes to "a pure environment"), their attitudes were more predictive of their willingness to volunteer for the Sierra Club because of

Accepted Answer

The degree of specificity in the question (mentioning "the Sierra Club" specifically vs. a general concept like "a pure environment") makes attitudes more predictive of behavior, as it aligns more closely with the action (volunteering for the Sierra Club).

Question 8

Suppose that you and your parents begin to disagree over your efforts in college. You want to speak your mind to them, but you know that if you do, they may punish you by taking away your car or refusing to pay next term's tuition. In this case, your behaviour does not match your attitude because of

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates constraints on your behavior, where external factors (potential punishment by your parents) prevent you from acting in accordance with your true attitudes or desires.

Question 9

If an audience knows very little about an issue, a(n) __________ argument will be the most persuasive to its members.

Accepted Answer

When an audience knows very little about an issue, a one-sided argument tends to be more persuasive because it presents a clear, unambiguous position without introducing the complexity or potential confusion of opposing viewpoints.

Question 10

If you were designing an advertising campaign for a product that had very few really positive qualities that you could emphasize, which kind of method of persuasion would you use?

Accepted Answer

The peripheral route to persuasion is more effective when the product lacks strong, positive qualities. This method focuses on indirect cues like the attractiveness of the presenter or catchy slogans rather than the quality of the arguments about the product itself.

Question 11

According to the elaboration likelihood model, __________ is/are to a central route of persuasion as __________ is/are to a peripheral route of persuasion.

Accepted Answer

The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion suggests that the central route involves careful and thoughtful consideration of the true merits of the information presented (akin to critical thinking), while the peripheral route relies on superficial cues, such as associations with celebrities, rather than on the content of the message itself.

Question 12

When Mrs. Keech's predictions for the end of the world were proven wrong, the reaction of her group was to reaffirm their beliefs and seek more publicity. According to Festinger and colleagues such a reaction makes sense in terms of

Accepted Answer

This reaction is explained by cognitive dissonance theory, which suggests that when people experience inconsistency between their beliefs and reality, they take steps to reduce the dissonance, in this case, by reaffirming their beliefs and seeking validation from others.

Question 13

The notion that people seek to reduce anxiety when their cognitions and behaviours do not correspond is called

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that individuals experience discomfort (dissonance) when their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors are inconsistent with each other, leading them to seek ways to reduce this discomfort, often by changing their attitudes or beliefs to align with their actions.

Question 14

According to Festinger, inconsistencies between behaviour and cognitions give rise to __________ , which motivate(s) a person to __________ it.

Accepted Answer

C) Dissonance; reduce. According to Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance, inconsistencies between a person's beliefs and behaviors create discomfort known as dissonance, which the person is then motivated to reduce.

Question 15

Tony is an environmentalist who works in a local logging mill producing pulp and paper. Although he feels that working at the mill is a contradiction, he says that it was the only job that he could find, and now that he has gotten two raises, he is making more money there than he could if he were to find another job. In this example, Tony

Accepted Answer

Tony reduced dissonance by adding consonant elements, such as the necessity of the job and the financial benefits he receives, which help justify his work at the logging mill despite his environmentalist values.

Question 16

Angela is a vegetarian who works in a local fast-food restaurant whose main fare is burgers and dogs. Although she feels that working at the restaurant is a bit of a contradiction, she says that vegetarianism is not the central belief system of her life and supporting herself is more important. In this example, Angela

Accepted Answer

Angela reduced her cognitive dissonance by minimizing the importance of her vegetarian beliefs in comparison to the necessity of supporting herself, thus resolving the conflict between her job and her dietary preferences.

Question 17

The independent variable in the Festinger and Carlsmith induced compliance study was

Accepted Answer

The independent variable in the Festinger and Carlsmith induced compliance study was the amount of money paid to the subjects for telling a lie. This variable was manipulated to observe its effect on the subjects' attitudes, making it the independent variable.

Question 18

Which subjects in the Festinger and Carlsmith study justified their behaviour by changing their cognitions?

Accepted Answer

In the Festinger and Carlsmith study, the subjects who were paid $1 justified their behavior by changing their cognitions because the amount was not sufficient to externally justify lying about the task being enjoyable, leading them to reduce cognitive dissonance by altering their internal perceptions of the task.

Question 19

In the Festinger and Carlsmith study, which subjects reported the experimental task to be the most interesting?

Accepted Answer

In the Festinger and Carlsmith study, the subjects who were paid $1 reported the experimental task to be the most interesting. This is because the small reward was not sufficient to justify the effort, leading them to change their attitude about the task to resolve cognitive dissonance.

Question 20

In Croyle and Cooper's (1983) study of arousal and cognitive dissonance, which group showed greatest arousal?

Accepted Answer

In Croyle and Cooper's (1983) study, the greatest arousal was observed in participants who were free to choose and then wrote an essay against their own position. This condition creates cognitive dissonance, a psychological discomfort experienced when holding two or more conflicting cognitions, leading to higher arousal.

Quiz 15: Social Psychology