Deck 6: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Question 1

Person perception is

A) the process of forming impressions of others.
B) the act of reading someone else's mind.
C) using behavioral cues to categorize personality.
D) a level of sensory acuity.

Answer 1

the process of forming impressions of others.

Question 2

All but which of the following are key sources of information in the process of person perception?

A) appearance
B) actions
C) nonverbal messages
D) material possessions

Answer 2

material possessions

Question 3

External attributions ascribe causes of behavior to

A) extraneous factors.
B) dispositional factors.
C) situational factors.
D) personal factors.

Answer 3

situational factors.

Question 4

Which of the following is not among the consequences of categorizing people according to race, sex, age, sexual orientation, and so forth?

A) We tend to have more favorable attitudes toward ingroup members than toward outgroup members.
B) We usually see outgroup members as being more similar to each other than they really are.
C) Categorizing heightens the visibility of outgroup members when there are only a few of them in a larger group.
D) We tend to make excuses for the shortcomings we observe in outgroup members.

Question 5

If you think that someone's behavior was caused by situational factors, you're making a(n)

A) internal attribution.
B) external attribution.
C) defensive attribution.
D) fundamental attribution.

Question 6

An assessment of a ____ is most likely to be made using a snap judgment.

A) waiter
B) boss
C) friend
D) potential mate

Question 7

The best-known experiments on the self-fulfilling prophecy have been conducted in which of the following settings?

A) classrooms
B) bus stations
C) summer camps
D) basketball games

Question 8

Explaining the behavior of outgroup members on the basis of the characteristic that sets them apart is known as the

A) fundamental attribution error.
B) self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) outgroup homogeneity effect.
D) outgroup heterogeneity effect.

Question 9

An attribution is

A) a defense mechanism used in social situations.
B) an inference about the causes of behavior.
C) always negative in tone.
D) all of these.

Question 10

Explaining your friend's poor performance on a test by suggesting that the test was unfair exemplifies which of the following type of attribution?

A) internal
B) external
C) rational
D) fundamental

Question 11

According to the research on expectations and self-fulfilling prophecy,

A) perceivers behave towards targets according to expectations.
B) targets adjust behaviors to fit perceiver expectations.
C) expectations of authority figures, such as teachers, influence subordinates' performance.
D) all of these.

Question 12

The attribution process refers to the inferences we make about the

A) causes of behavior.
B) consequences of behavior.
C) nature of our self-concept.
D) likelihood of failure on a given task.

Question 13

____ are assessments of others that are made quickly and on the basis of only a few bits of information.

A) Attributions
B) Snap judgments
C) Systematic judgments
D) Recency judgments

Question 14

Perceiver expectations include

A) Pygmalion effect.
B) internal attributions.
C) Michelangelo effect.
D) self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 15

Internal attributions ascribe causes of behavior to

A) situational factors.
B) interpersonal factors.
C) environmental factors.
D) personal dispositions.

Question 16

The process whereby expectations about a person cause the person to behave in ways that confirm the expectations is called

A) the self-fulfilling prophecy.
B) the fundamental attribution error.
C) self-regulatory attribution.
D) confirmation bias.

Question 17

You make a new acquaintance at a football game, and you ask him only questions about sports and athletics. This is an example of probable

A) external attribution.
B) confirmation bias.
C) self-serving bias.
D) fundamental bias.

Question 18

Which of the following are not likely to be used when making attributions about someone?

A) when events are personally relevant
B) whenever we meet someone
C) when others behave in unexpected ways
D) when others' motives arouse suspicion

Question 19

Which of the following individuals coined the term "self-fulfilling prophecy"?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) Robert Merton
C) Stanley Milgram
D) Robert Cialdini

Question 20

Confirmation bias occurs

A) in casual social interactions.
B) job interviews.
C) courtrooms.
D) all of these.

Question 21

____ are widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group.

A) Attributions
B) Stereotypes
C) Person perceptions
D) Self-fulfilling prophecies

Question 22

Since individualistic cultures, such as America's, tend to view people as responsible for their own actions, Americans are probably more likely to

A) demonstrate confirmation bias.
B) be influenced by the primacy effect.
C) commit the fundamental attribution error.
D) fall prey to the outgroup homogeneity effect.

Question 23

____ is a tendency to blame victims for their misfortune, so that one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way.

A) Defensive attribution
B) Fundamental attribution
C) Person perception
D) Environmental attribution

Question 24

Which of the following reactions to a news account of a rape illustrates a defensive attribution on the part of a female?

A) Most men are animals.
B) Policemen don't consider rape to be serious.
C) The victim probably asked for it.
D) Women need training in self-defense.

Question 25

The tendency for people to see what they expect to see helps to perpetuate

A) individualism.
B) outgroup heterogeneity effects.
C) external attributions.
D) stereotypes.

Question 26

An observer's bias in favor of personal attributions of another person's behavior rather than situational factors is called

A) defensive attribution.
B) the fundamental attribution error.
C) the motivational error.
D) self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 27

Melissa grew up in the South and is prejudiced against New Yorkers. She sees a TV program about a kind-hearted but clumsy New Yorker and afterward she talks about how the program made the New Yorker appear to be bumbling, stupid, and ignorant. Melissa's behavior best illustrates which of the following?

A) self-serving bias
B) the selectivity of person perception
C) defensive attribution
D) the fundamental attribution error

Question 28

____ is not a key theme in person perception.

A) Selectivity
B) Defensiveness
C) Efficiency
D) Consistency

Question 29

After reading about a rape that occurred in the neighborhood, Jane says "all men are violent, sex-crazed, and dangerous." This is an example of the

A) fundamental attribution error.
B) self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) ingroup homogeneity effect.
D) outgroup homogeneity effect.

Question 30

Defensive attributions help people maintain a belief in a(n)

A) "just world".
B) "imperfect society".
C) distorted sense of cultural identity.
D) synchronized society.

Question 31

The fact that first impressions have a powerful influence on our perceptions of others is most consistent with which of the following concepts?

A) recency effect
B) primacy effect
C) categorizing
D) defensive attribution

Question 32

Which of the following was not given as a reason why stereotypes persist?

A) cognitive functionality
B) confirmation bias
C) self-fulfilling prophecy
D) clarify from simple to complex

Question 33

Of the following people, who is most likely to be prone to the fundamental attribution error?

A) a Chinese farmer
B) an American accountant
C) a Hindu high school student
D) a Japanese businessman

Question 34

Categorizing leads to heightened visibility, which means that

A) ingroup members may strive to become more visible so they don't simply "blend in" with others of a group.
B) the visibility of outgroup members is greater when there are only a few of them in a group.
C) we tend to attribute the behavior of outgroup members to the characteristic that sets them apart.
D) we are more likely to notice ingroup members as opposed to outgroup members.

Question 35

Which of the following is not among the most prevalent stereotypes in America?

A) age
B) gender
C) ethnicity
D) intelligence

Question 36

In explaining the causes of behavior, the fundamental attribution error refers to the overestimation of the role of ____ factors.

A) personal and situational
B) situational
C) personal
D) correlational

Question 37

Compared to those who are less attractive, physically attractive people are actually likely to

A) be more competent.
B) be more assertive.
C) have better social skills.
D) have better mental health.

Question 38

East Asian mentality, characterized by attention focused on the field surrounding an object and causality understood to reside in the relationship between the object and its field, is referred to as

A) analytic.
B) dynamic.
C) holistic.
D) diagnostic.

Question 39

Which of the following is not consistent with the "what-is-beautiful-is-good" stereotype?

A) Attractive people have an advantage in the social arena.
B) Attractive individuals are judged as less assertive than unattractive individuals.
C) Attractive individuals are perceived in a more favorable light than is actually the case.
D) The tendency to associate attractiveness with positive qualities occurs outside the United States.

Question 40

The tendency of humans to categorize allows for cognitive processing, but also contributes to the creation of ____.

A) impressions
B) stereotypes
C) attributions
D) expectations

Question 41

Which of the following best describes the process of person perception?

A) People prefer to exert as little cognitive effort as necessary.
B) People are likely to remember traits about people that are inconsistent with their expectations, because these traits "catch their eye."
C) First impressions are easily changed, because people are well aware that these may be distorted.
D) Recent studies indicate that the accuracy of Web-based impressions are not comparable to the accuracy of face-to-face impressions.

Question 42

Which of the following is not considered an essential element of reducing intergroup hostility through cooperative interdependence?

A) working together for a common goal
B) successful outcomes to cooperative efforts
C) ensuring that everyone has equal status
D) assigning specific titles or names to each group

Question 43

An example of applying intergroup contact as a means for reducing prejudice is the

A) "jigsaw classroom".
B) "network classroom".
C) "superordinate worksite".
D) "connection worksite".

Question 44

Which of the following is generally not considered as a contributor to racial prejudice?

A) ingroup favoritism
B) stereotyping
C) defensive attribution
D) the fundamental attribution error

Question 45

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Derogatory stereotypes no longer exist in modern society.
B) People tend to selectively recall instances that counteract their stereotypes.
C) People tend to see what they expect to see when they encounter minorities they view with prejudice.
D) Although prejudice toward minorities still exists in America, discrimination has all but disappeared.

Question 46

Research supports the theory that a shift from ____ to ____ can reduce stereotyping and prejudice.

A) automatic processing; controlled processing
B) "old-fashioned" discrimination; symbolic racism
C) cooperative interdependence; intergroup competition
D) defensive attribution; diffusion of responsibility

Question 47

An unrealistically negative attitude that is held toward a particular group of people is referred to as

A) perceptionism.
B) prejudice.
C) discrimination.
D) defensive attribution.

Question 48

Blaming racial minorities for their plight by saying they should be able to "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps" discounts the importance of situational factors. This illustrates

A) the primacy effect.
B) the recency effect.
C) the fundamental attribution error.
D) defensive attribution.

Question 49

Threats to personal and social identity motivate individuals to restore

A) social order.
B) self-esteem.
C) "old-fashioned" discrimination.
D) cooperation.

Question 50

Right-wing authoritarianism is characterized by all of the following except

A) authoritarian submission.
B) authoritarian aggression.
C) conventionalism.
D) deconstruction.

Question 51

Which of the following researchers conducted the classic study of group competition at Robbers' Cave State Park in Oklahoma?

A) Albert Bandura
B) Muzafer Sherif
C) Robert Cialdini
D) Mark Snyder

Question 52

In general, prejudice is ____ and discrimination is ____.

A) an attitude; a behavior
B) a behavior; an attitude
C) a behavior; an attribution
D) an attitude; an attribution

Question 53

Jane thinks that women don't need the ERA or sexual harassment laws anymore and opposes such governmental actions. Jane's attitudes are examples of

A) "old-fashioned" discrimination.
B) modern discrimination.
C) situational prejudice.
D) nondiscrimination.

Question 54

Which of the following is the most common response to threats to collective self-esteem?

A) ingroup favoritism
B) "old-fashioned" discrimination
C) cooperative interdependence
D) diffusion of responsibility

Question 55

Prejudice is defined as

A) an effort to subjugate a racial group.
B) a negative attitude toward members of a group.
C) behaving differently toward someone because of their race.
D) all of these.

Question 56

Over the past 40 years, prejudice and discrimination against minority groups have

A) diminished.
B) increased.
C) stayed about the same.
D) become more blatant.

Question 57

Which of the following personality types is most likely to be associated with prejudice?

A) authoritarian personality
B) right-wing authoritarian
C) social dominance orientation
D) all of these

Question 58

The classic Robbers' Cave State Park study illustrates the correlation between prejudice and

A) competition.
B) threats to social identity.
C) cognitive distortions.
D) right-wing authoritarianism.

Question 59

When people say it is more important to encourage boys than girls in athletics, they are engaging in

A) "old-fashioned" discrimination.
B) modern discrimination.
C) defensive discrimination.
D) perceptual discrimination.

Question 60

Treating Asian people unfairly just because they're Asian constitutes

A) racism.
B) prejudice.
C) discrimination.
D) all of these.

Question 61

Persuasion is most likely to be successful when the source of the persuasive communication is

A) perceived as trustworthy.
B) perceived as ingratiating.
C) dissimilar to the receiver.
D) likely to benefit from changing the receiver's attitudes.

Question 62

Arah sees an ad for shoes that stresses everyone is wearing them. Then she sees an ad for the same shoes that stress they fit with individual looks. If she prefers the first ad, she is more likely to be from which culture?

A) Korea
B) the United States
C) England
D) any culture as long as she is not an adolescent

Question 63

Vicki is a persuasive, successful salesperson. It is most likely that she possesses which of the following sets of characteristics?

A) attractiveness and affluence
B) sense of humor and verbal skills
C) knowledge and charm
D) credibility and likeability

Question 64

Which of the following characteristics of the source is least likely to help make persuasion successful?

A) credibility
B) likeability
C) similarity to the audience
D) having a stake in the issue at hand

Question 65

Which of the following is not considered a basic element of the persuasion process?

A) source
B) signal
C) message
D) receiver

Question 66

In Asch's studies, ____ and ____ were found to be key determinants of conformity.

A) task difficulty; group size
B) group size; group unanimity
C) group size; the participants' intelligence
D) the group leader's personality; group unanimity

Question 67

Fear arousal is likely to be an effective persuasive tactic

A) as long as the level of fear is sufficiently high.
B) with an audience that is relatively ignorant of the issues.
C) as long as the receiver thinks the source's advice is reasonable, and the level of fear is extremely high.
D) if the negative consequences are unpleasant, e.g., fairly probable if the receivers don't follow the source's advice, and avoidable if they do.

Question 68

People who look to other to know which fork to use at a 7-course dinner are conforming through

A) informational influence
B) normative influence
C) social norms
D) compliance

Question 69

People in collectivist cultures might be ____ easily persuaded if ____ is stressed.

A) less; conformity
B) more; individualism
C) more; collectability
D) more; conformity

Question 70

Which of the following statements about the routes of persuasive messages is true?

A) Persuasion usually occurs via the central route.
B) Attitudes formed via the central route are longer lasting than those formed via the peripheral route.
C) Attitudes formed via the peripheral route are better predictors of behavior than those formed via the central route.
D) Attitudes formed via the central route are longer lasting, but those formed via the peripheral route are more resistant to challenge.

Question 71

Asch found that group size had little influence on group conformity if

A) the task was ambiguous.
B) the experimenter ridiculed the group's wrong answers.
C) just one accomplice failed to go along with the rest of the group.
D) at least several accomplices failed to go along with the rest of the group.

Question 72

You are dealing with an audience that is uneducated on the issue you're speaking about. Your best strategy is to present a message that

A) is one-sided.
B) is two-sided.
C) avoids fear.
D) avoids positive feelings.

Question 73

In Asch's studies of conformity, participants

A) were ordered to deliver painful electric shocks to a stranger.
B) were the recipients of painful electric shocks delivered by an accomplice.
C) indicated which of three lines matched a standard line in length.
D) were ordered to give consistently wrong answers to simple questions.

Question 74

Research shows that a key consideration in likability of a persuasive source is

A) gender.
B) tone of voice.
C) physical attractiveness.
D) authoritative presence.

Question 75

How did Asch induce conformity in his studies involving judgments of line length?

A) An authority figure urged participants to select a certain line.
B) Participants discussed the problem and came to a group consensus.
C) An attractive confederate of the opposite sex persuaded the participants.
D) Several accomplices gave incorrect answers before the true participant answered.

Question 76

In follow-ups of Asch's studies of conformity, the behavior of participants who responded anonymously implies that

A) no conformity actually took place.
B) the participants who responded publicly truly changed their beliefs.
C) the extent of conformity in the real world is probably very limited.
D) the participants in the earlier studies complied with social pressure without actually changing their private beliefs.

Question 77

Persuasion tends to work best when the receiver's initial position on an issue ____ the position advocated by the source.

A) is the opposite of
B) is compatible with
C) conforms to
D) all of these

Question 78

Persuasion involves the communication of arguments and information intended to change another person's

A) attitudes.
B) personality.
C) perceptions.
D) attributions.

Question 79

Conformity occurs when people change their behavior

A) as a result of punishment.
B) as a result of positive reinforcement.
C) in response to real or imagined social pressure.
D) after observing a model being reinforced for a particular response.

Question 80

In follow-ups of Asch's studies of conformity, participants who made their responses anonymously

A) conformed significantly less than those who made their responses publicly.
B) conformed significantly more than those who made their responses publicly.
C) conformed about as often as those who made their responses publicly.
D) failed to conform under any conditions.