Question 1

Which of the following is not a behavior that research found in the employees' schemata of good leaders?

Accepted Answer

Research found that employees do not see an autocratic leadership style as a positive attribute in a good leader. Therefore, E is the correct answer as it goes against the employees' schema of good leaders.

Question 2

Kelley hypothesized that people make causal attributions by observing:

Accepted Answer

Kelley's Covariation Model proposes that people make causal attributions by observing three types of information: consensus (whether others would also act the same way in the situation), distinctiveness (whether the behavior is unique to the situation or occurs in other situations as well), and consistency (whether the behavior is consistent over time). These factors help people determine whether the cause of behavior is internal or external. Effort and ability (C) are more related to self-attributions rather than causal attributions. Implicit and explicit factors (D) are not directly related to the Covariation Model. Stereotypes (E) may affect causal attributions, but they are not a part of Kelley's model.

Question 3

If a person views a situation as having low consensus, low distinctiveness, and high consistency, he or she is likely to make an attribution of:

Accepted Answer

When a situation has low consensus (meaning other people are not behaving similarly), low distinctiveness (meaning the behavior is consistent across various situations), and high consistency (meaning the behavior has been exhibited consistently over time), a person is likely to attribute the behavior to internal causes such as personality traits, abilities, or attitudes of the individual. This is known as the fundamental attribution error.

Question 4

________ are suspected or inferred causes of behavior.

Accepted Answer

Causal attributions are the suspected or inferred causes of behavior. Implicit cognitions refer to automatic, unconscious thoughts or beliefs. Stereotypes are preconceived notions or generalizations about a group of people. Selectivity biases refer to a tendency to interpret information in a way that aligns with preexisting beliefs or expectations. Semantic memories refer to long-term memory for general knowledge or facts.

Question 5

Managers must accurately identify and communicate the behavioral characteristics and results they look for in good performance:

Accepted Answer

It is important to set clear expectations and goals at the beginning of a review cycle to ensure that employees have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and how their performance will be evaluated. This helps to avoid confusion or misunderstandings that may arise during the evaluation process.

Question 6

David's boss has observed that David took about 12 hours to perform tasks A, B, and C. However, he took 24 hours to complete task D. David's boss concluded that task D must have been tougher than the other tasks. Which of the following attributional information led David's boss to this conclusion?

Accepted Answer

High distinctiveness means that David's performance on task D is significantly different from his performance on tasks A, B, and C, suggesting that task D is unique or more challenging.

Question 7

The steps in the process of stereotype formation and maintenance in order are:

Accepted Answer

The first step in the process of stereotype formation and maintenance is categorization, where individuals are classified into groups based on their characteristics. Inferences are then made about those individuals based on the perceived characteristics of the group they belong to. Expectations are then formed, where the individual is expected to behave in a certain way based on the inferences made about their group. Finally, these stereotypes are maintained through confirmation bias, where individuals seek out information that supports their preconceived notions and reject information that contradicts it.

Question 8

Chris has studied for his mathematics test and his English test. He expects to do moderately well in both subjects. He gets an "A" in English, but fails mathematics. While Chris feels that the grade he got for English was well-deserved, he blames his failure in mathematics on the fact that his teacher, Mr. Wallace, does not like him. In this situation, Chris is exhibiting __________.

Accepted Answer

Chris is exhibiting a self-serving bias, as he attributes his success in English to his own abilities and his failure in mathematics to external factors (his teacher's dislike).

Question 9

John, a mid-level manager, noticed that all his subordinates were filling out their monthly reports incorrectly. He concluded that the report forms were too complicated and needed to be revised. On which type of attributional information is John's decision based?

Accepted Answer

Consensus involves a comparison of an individual's behavior with that of his or her peers. There is high consensus when one acts like the rest of the group, as in this case; and low consensus when one acts differently.

Question 10

Camilla, a manager, notes that while Wilhelm's written reports are very thorough and accurate, his oral presentations are not effective. Camilla is looking at:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Camilla, a manager, notes that while Wilhelm's...

Question 11

All the employees in Mostafa's unit are performing poorly on one aspect of their jobs during the month of June. They are performing well on all other parts of their job. This is likely to be attributed to:

Accepted Answer

The fact that all employees are performing poorly on only one aspect of their jobs suggests that the cause is likely external, such as a change in company policy or equipment malfunction. If the issue was caused by internal factors, it would be less likely that all employees would perform poorly on the same job aspect at the same time.

Question 12

Carlos, a manager, is looking at records of Mary's work performance. He notes that she performed very well on task A, but poorly on task B. He is observing:

Accepted Answer

Carlos is observing distinctiveness, which is the degree to which an individual's behavior is unique to a particular situation or if it is similar across different situations. Mary's performance on task A and B is different, indicating unique behavior for each task.

Question 13

The fundamental attribution bias says that we tend to overattribute others' behaviors to _________ factors.

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution bias states that we tend to overemphasize personal/internal factors when explaining the behavior of others, ignoring situational/external factors that may have contributed to their behavior. Therefore, the best choice is D, personal.

Question 14

Eury observes that his subordinate Nate is performing and acting like the other members of the unit. He is observing:

Accepted Answer

Consensus refers to the extent to which other people behave in the same way as the person being observed. Since Nate is acting like the other members, Eury is observing consensus.

Question 15

At its most basic, a person's behavior can be attributed to either ______ or ______ factors.

Accepted Answer

Internal factors refer to a person's thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, while external factors refer to environmental or situational influences. These two factors play a significant role in determining a person's behavior.

Question 16

Which of the following is not one of the recommendations to managers about reducing stereotypes?

Accepted Answer

The recommendation for managers to actively ignore stereotypes is not included as a recommendation for reducing them. In fact, ignoring stereotypes can lead to perpetuation and reinforcement of them, rather than their reduction. The other recommendations listed - educating people about stereotypes, creating opportunities for diverse employees to work together, encouraging increased awareness of stereotypes, and providing accurate data about other groups of people - are all effective ways for managers to reduce stereotypes in the workplace.

Question 17

A(n) ______ is an individual's set of beliefs about the characteristics of a group.

Accepted Answer

A stereotype is an individual's set of beliefs about the characteristics of a group. Implicit cognition refers to attitudes or beliefs that people have without being consciously aware of them. Negativity bias refers to the tendency for negative information to have a greater impact than positive information. Attribution refers to the process of explaining the causes of behavior. Memory refers to the ability to store and retrieve information.

Question 18

Joyce finds that the members of the project team to which she has been assigned in her management class are all athletes on the college's football and basketball teams. She immediately considers dropping the class because she thinks her experience with that team will be negative. Joyce is likely to be reacting to a:

Accepted Answer

Joyce's reaction suggests that she is relying on the stereotype that athletes, especially those on high-profile sports teams, are not serious about their academic work and may not contribute positively to group projects or assignments.

Question 19

Janelle, one of Abdul's employees, has performed poorly on many aspects of her job since she was hired four months ago. This is likely to be attributed to:

Accepted Answer

Poor job performance is likely to be attributed to internal causes, such as lack of skill or effort on the part of the employee, rather than external factors beyond their control.

Question 20

Josef, a manager, reviews Arturo's performance over the past six months and notes that during February he was late to work five times. He was not late during any other months. Josef is observing:

Accepted Answer

Consistency refers to the extent to which an individual behaves in the same way in different situations over time. Here, Arturo's behavior of being late was limited only to the month of February, while he was on time during other months. Therefore, this observation does not demonstrate consistency.

Quiz 4: Social Perception and Managing Diversity