Question 1

Emil has an unfavorable attitude toward his landlord.In explaining Emil's attitude, a psychologist who took an operant conditioning perspective would consider:

Accepted Answer

An operant conditioning perspective would focus on how Emil's behavior has been reinforced or punished in the past when dealing with his landlord. This could include experiences such as the landlord being unresponsive to Emil's requests or complaints, or not providing necessary repairs or maintenance to Emil's living space. Over time, these negative experiences could have shaped Emil's attitude toward the landlord, leading to an unfavorable attitude.

Question 2

Election commercials that attempt to persuade viewers by listing the candidate's views and accomplishments are using:

Accepted Answer

The commercial is using a central route strategy by providing important information about the candidate's views and accomplishments to persuade viewers. This is a direct and substantive approach that appeals to a viewer's critical thinking and decision-making skills.

Question 3

Amber has a favorable attitude toward the incumbent in the upcoming election because all her friends have said that the incumbent is the best candidate and the person they plan to vote for.In this case, Amber's attitude appears to have developed as a result of:

Accepted Answer

Amber's attitude toward the incumbent has likely developed through the process of observational learning, as she has observed her friends' positive attitudes and behaviors towards the incumbent and taken them into account in forming her own opinion. Classical conditioning involves learning through the association of stimuli, operant conditioning involves learning through consequences, and cognitive dissonance involves discomfort or tension resulting from conflicting beliefs or values.

Question 4

Daisy listens carefully to a debate between two political candidates.She evaluates the merits of the arguments that each candidate presents, and she decides which candidate to vote for on the basis of that candidate's position on key issues.In this instance, Daisy has processed the information contained in the debate using the:

Accepted Answer

The central route involves careful and thoughtful processing of information, considering the evidence and its merits. Daisy's evaluation of the arguments and position of each candidate suggests that she has taken the central route in this instance.

Question 5

The two routes to persuasion proposed by the elaboration likelihood model are the:

Accepted Answer

The elaboration likelihood model proposes two routes to persuasion – the peripheral and central routes. The peripheral route involves being persuaded by superficial cues such as attractiveness, likes/dislikes of the speaker, and other emotional appeals. The central route, on the other hand, involves analyzing the information critically and engaging in cognitive elaboration, leading to a more stable and thoughtful persuasion. These two routes to persuasion have a significant impact on the final persuasive outcome.

Question 6

A recent antismoking campaign showed graphic images of the internal effects of smoking.Daisy has seen a number of these advertisements, and they made her feel nauseated.Now she finds she has developed an unfavorable attitude toward smoking.In this case, Daisy's attitude appears to have developed as a result of:

Accepted Answer

Daisy's attitude appears to have developed through classical conditioning, as she was repeatedly exposed to the graphic images of the internal effects of smoking, which associated smoking with negative feelings such as nausea.

Question 7

Kara has an unfavorable attitude toward her landlord.Every time she sees him in the hallway, she starts to get angry and her blood pressure starts to rise.These emotional responses form part of:

Accepted Answer

The affective component of an attitude involves the emotional reactions or feelings one has toward an object, person, or situation. Kara's anger and physiological responses like increased blood pressure are emotional reactions, thus part of the affective component.

Question 8

When an individual listens carefully to the arguments presented in a persuasive message, and evaluates the merits of the arguments that are presented, the message is being processed using the:

Accepted Answer

When an individual carefully listens and evaluates the merits of arguments presented in a persuasive message, it indicates that they are processing the message via the central route to persuasion. This route involves cognitive processing, where the receiver scrutinizes the information presented, considers the arguments carefully, and makes rational judgments. The peripheral route, on the other hand, involves superficial processing, where the receiver relies on peripheral cues, such as the speaker's attractiveness, credibility, or emotional appeals, to form an opinion. The attribution methods (internal and external) are not relevant to the processing routes of persuasion.

Question 9

If being given a free mug when you buy a particular brand of coffee-maker improves your attitude about that brand, your attitude change was influenced by:

Accepted Answer

The answer of If being given a free mug when...

Question 10

The head of marketing often claimed, "Say it often enough, and people will start to believe it." This suggests she believes attitudes are influenced by:

Accepted Answer

The statement suggests that attitudes can be influenced through mere exposure, which means that the more people are exposed to a particular message, the more likely they are to believe and accept it. This is also known as the mere-exposure effect. Classical conditioning involves associating a neutral stimulus with a response, while instrumental conditioning involves learning through rewards and punishments. Deindividuation refers to the loss of individual identity in a group setting.

Question 11

Edna has a favorable attitude toward the band OutKast.She buys every record they release as soon as it is available in stores, and she has been to eight of the band's live concerts.These actions form part of:

Accepted Answer

The behavioral component of attitude refers to observable behaviors that reflect one's attitude. Edna's actions of buying the band's records and attending their concerts indicate her behavioral component of attitude towards OutKast. The cognitive component refers to beliefs and thoughts, whereas the affective component refers to emotions and feelings. The physiological component includes physiological responses such as heart rate or sweat, which are not mentioned in the scenario.

Question 12

Although Chu has never actually met anybody who is Irish, he is convinced that all Irish individuals are lazy drunks who can't hold a job.He has heard his father make these types of statements for as long as he can remember.In this case, Chu's prejudiced attitude appears to have formed through the process of:

Accepted Answer

Chu's prejudiced attitude appears to have formed through observational learning, where he has learned this behavior from his father who has consistently made these statements.

Question 13

Lana has a negative attitude toward most lawyers because she has often heard her parents speak poorly of lawyers in general.Lana's attitude appears to have developed through the process of:

Accepted Answer

Lana's negative attitude toward lawyers has developed through the process of observational learning, as she has heard her parents speak poorly of lawyers and has internalized their negative opinions.

Question 14

Reggie listens carefully to the content of an infomercial for some new exercise equipment; Judson focuses on the fact that two of his favorite athletes are endorsing the equipment.After the infomercial has ended, both Reggie and Judson think the exercise equipment is worth purchasing.According to the elaboration likelihood model:

Accepted Answer

According to the elaboration likelihood model, Reggie's careful consideration of the content of the infomercial indicates that he has a high level of elaboration, or cognitive processing. This type of processing leads to more enduring attitudes. On the other hand, Judson's focus on the celebrity endorsement suggests he has a low level of elaboration, which can lead to less enduring attitudes. Therefore, D is the best choice.

Question 15

The central route to persuasion operates in those situations in which people:

Accepted Answer

The central route to persuasion involves the receiver being motivated to process the incoming communication with care and attention. This route is taken when the receiver has a personal interest or investment in the topic and is willing to devote cognitive resources to evaluating the message persuasiveness.

Question 16

Which theory of attitude change proposes two routes to persuasion, a peripheral and a central route?

Accepted Answer

The elaboration likelihood model proposes two routes to persuasion: a peripheral route, which involves superficial cues and leads to attitude change without much critical thinking, and a central route, which involves a thorough processing of information and leads to more stable and enduring attitude change.

Question 17

Carlos has an unfavorable attitude toward his landlord.He spends every Saturday night pouring over the classified ads trying to find a different apartment to rent.This action forms part of:

Accepted Answer

Carlos' behavior of searching for a new apartment indicates the behavioral component of his attitude toward his landlord, which involves the actions or behaviors taken as a result of the attitude. The cognitive component involves beliefs and thoughts about the landlord, and the affective component involves emotions and feelings toward the landlord. The physiological component involves physical reactions to the landlord, such as increased heart rate or sweating.

Question 18

Aubrey has an unfavorable attitude toward smoking because he has seen a number of advertisements where his favorite athlete has spoken out against smoking.In this case, Aubrey's attitude appears to have developed as a result of:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Aubrey has an unfavorable attitude toward smoking...

Question 19

Anabel has a favorable attitude toward fishing.In explaining Anabel's attitude, a psychologist who took an operant conditioning perspective would consider:

Accepted Answer

An operant conditioning perspective focuses on how past reinforcement and punishment experiences shape an individual's behavior and attitudes. Therefore, the psychologist would consider Anabel's history of reinforcement and punishment when she has been fishing as the most relevant factor in explaining her favorable attitude toward fishing.

Question 20

In a number of recent elections, the candidates have been criticized for creating advertisements that show their opponents in a negative light, instead of creating ads that present the candidate's views on key issues.Each of these two different campaign styles illustrates different aspects of:

Accepted Answer

The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion posits that there are two routes to persuasion: the central route (where people thoughtfully consider the logic and arguments of a message) and the peripheral route (where people are swayed by more superficial cues such as the appearance of the speaker or the emotive content of a message). Negative advertising is generally thought to operate via the peripheral route, by evoking emotions such as fear, disgust, or anger rather than by presenting logical arguments. By criticizing opponents rather than presenting their own views, candidates using negative advertising are relying on peripheral cues to persuade voters.

Quiz 13: Social Psychology