Question 1

Although the _____ is common in individualistic cultures, such as Australia and the United States, in collectivistic cultures, such as Japan and China, the _____ is more common.

Accepted Answer

In individualistic cultures, people tend to attribute their successes to internal factors and failures to external factors, known as the self-serving bias. In collectivistic cultures, people are more likely to attribute successes to external factors and failures to internal factors, known as the self-effacing bias.

Question 2

Social psychologists have found that we are most likely to behave in accordance with our attitudes when:

Accepted Answer

According to social psychologists, attitudes are most likely to influence our behavior when they are formed through direct experience and we have a vested interest in the subject. This is because attitudes formed through experience are more strongly held and have a greater impact on behavior. Additionally, when we care about a subject, we are more motivated to act in accordance with our attitudes.

Question 3

In a seminar discussion on the death penalty, Bertha said she believed that the ultimate penalty should be applied to the ultimate crime of murder. Bertha's statement best reflects the _____ component of attitudes.

Accepted Answer

Bertha's statement reflects the cognitive component of attitudes, as it involves her belief and reasoning about the death penalty being appropriate for the crime of murder.

Question 4

Researchers Michael Morris and Kaiping Peng compared Chinese and American newspaper reports of two mass murders. Morris and Peng found that:

Accepted Answer

Morris and Peng found that American reporters were more likely to emphasize personal, internal attributes in explaining the behavior of the murderers, whereas Chinese reporters were more likely to emphasize situational external attributes.

Question 5

How might an Asian university student who is demonstrating the self-effacing bias explain her poor academic performance on an exam?

Accepted Answer

The self-effacing bias is the tendency to underestimate one's own abilities and achievements while attributing them to external factors. Option B shows the student taking personal responsibility for their poor performance, but without belittling themselves or blaming external factors. Options A, C, and D all involve external factors that the student is attributing their poor performance to, which is not in line with the self-effacing bias.

Question 6

According to your textbook, attitude is formally defined as:

Accepted Answer

The formal definition of attitude, as stated in the textbook, is "a learned tendency to evaluate some object, person, or issue in a particular way that may be positive, negative, or mixed." Choices A, B, and C are not accurate definitions of attitude.

Question 7

When Ainslie did poorly on the physics midterm exam, she blamed her low score on the unfairness of the exam and the lousy professor. But when the final grades in the course were curved and she received an A minus, she concluded that she had a real talent and mental capacity for logical, scientific thinking. This example illustrates:

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias refers to the tendency to attribute one's successes to personal factors (such as ability or effort) and failures to external factors (such as luck or unfairness). In this example, Ainslie initially blamed her poor performance on external factors but attributed her success to her own ability, indicating the presence of the self-serving bias.

Question 8

The tendency to overestimate one's ability to have foreseen or predicted the outcome of an event after it has occurred is to _____ as the tendency to blame an innocent victim of misfortune for having somehow caused the problem is to _____.

Accepted Answer

The first part of the question describes hindsight bias, which is the tendency to overestimate one's ability to have predicted an event after it has occurred. The second part describes blaming an innocent victim, which is an example of the just-world hypothesis. Therefore, the answer is D, hindsight bias and blaming the victim.

Question 9

The tendency to attribute successful outcomes of one's own behavior to internal causes and unsuccessful outcomes to external, situational causes is called:

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias refers to the tendency to attribute our own successes to internal factors (such as our own abilities or efforts) while attributing failures or setbacks to external factors (such as bad luck or difficult circumstances). This bias serves to protect our self-esteem and maintain a positive self-image.

Question 10

Collectivistic cultures differ from individualistic cultures in that:

Accepted Answer

Collectivistic cultures prioritize group harmony and interdependence, so individuals in these cultures are more likely to consider situational factors when explaining someone else's behavior. In contrast, individualistic cultures prioritize personal autonomy, so individuals in these cultures may be more likely to attribute the causes of their own behavior to personal factors.

Question 11

According to the discussion in your text, which of the following is TRUE about the effect of attitudes on behavior?

Accepted Answer

The text states that attitudes can and do influence behavior in many instances, although there are also instances where attitudes do not translate into behavior. So, option A is the correct choice. Option B and D are incorrect as they are extreme statements that do not reflect the nuanced nature of the relationship between attitudes and behavior. Option C is also incorrect because attitudes can and do influence behavior, although behavior can also influence attitudes in some cases.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a common attributional bias or explanatory pattern?

Accepted Answer

The bystander effect is not an attributional bias or explanatory pattern, but rather a social psychological phenomenon describing the tendency for individuals to be less likely to offer help in emergency situations when others are present. The self-serving bias, fundamental attribution error, and hindsight bias are all common attributional biases or explanatory patterns in social psychology.

Question 13

During a discussion about junk food with her two adolescent children, Mrs. Kozena made it very clear that she thought junk food was disgusting and that it upset her to see her children eat it. Mrs. Kozena's negative feeling about junk food best illustrates the _____ component of attitudes.

Accepted Answer

The emotional component of attitudes refers to the individual's feelings or emotions associated with the object of the attitude. In this case, Mrs. Kozena's negative feeling about junk food illustrates the emotional component of her attitude towards it.

Question 14

The tendency to attribute successful behavior to internal, personal characteristics is to _____ as the tendency to blame ourselves for our failures while downplaying our successes is to _____.

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias involves attributing successes to internal factors, while the self-effacing bias involves attributing failures to oneself and downplaying successes.

Question 15

When Yoshiko's hard work and ability landed a big contract for her company, she would not accept the credit, insisting it was pure luck. When she failed to get the contract in another situation, however, she said it was her fault for not trying hard enough. This example illustrates:

Accepted Answer

This example illustrates the self-effacing, or modesty, bias, where Yoshiko attributes her success to external factors (luck) and her failures to internal factors (not trying hard enough).

Question 16

Leslie is concerned about the environment and consistently sorts her garbage by placing paper, plastic, metal, and glass in their respective recycling containers. This example best illustrates the _____ component of attitudes.

Accepted Answer

The behavioral component of attitudes refers to the actions or behaviors that are consistent with one's attitude. In this case, Leslie's behavior of sorting her garbage into recycling containers demonstrates her attitude toward the environment and the importance of recycling.

Question 17

The self-serving bias is to _____ as the self-effacing bias is to _____.

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias refers to blaming failure on situational factors and attributing success to internal, personal factors. In contrast, the self-effacing bias is attributing failure to internal, personal factors and giving situational factors credit for success. Therefore, the best choice is D - blaming failure on situational factors; blaming failure on internal, personal factors.

Question 18

A(n) _____ is a learned tendency to evaluate some object, person, or issue in a particular way that may be either positive, negative, or ambivalent.

Accepted Answer

An attitude refers to a learned tendency to evaluate some object, person or issue in a particular way that may be positive, negative or ambivalent. It typically involves affective, behavioral and cognitive components and can influence behavior and decision-making. Option A is incorrect because attribution refers to the process of explaining one's own or others' behavior, whereas attitudes involve evaluations or judgments. Option C is incorrect because self-effacing bias refers to a tendency to attribute success to external factors and failure to internal factors. Option D is incorrect because prosocial behavior refers to actions that benefit others, whereas attitudes are primarily concerned with evaluations and feelings.

Question 19

Attitudes:

Accepted Answer

Attitudes can have cognitive (thoughts or beliefs), behavioral (actions or intentions), and emotional (feelings or affect) components. The strength of attitudes may vary across individuals and cultures, and is not necessarily stronger in individualistic cultures.

Question 20

Steve frequently expresses his extreme attitude about gun control legislation. He is very knowledgeable about the topic, and he has a vested interest in the subject. According to your textbook, Steve:

Accepted Answer

The textbook suggests that people with strong attitudes about a topic, who also have knowledge and a vested interest in the subject, are more likely to behave in accordance with their attitudes. Therefore, Steve is likely to act in a way that is consistent with his extreme attitude about gun control legislation.

Quiz 11: Social Psychology

Although the _ is common in individualistic cultures, such as Australia and the United States, in collectivistic cultures, such as Japan and China, the _ is more common.