Deck 17: Social Psychology and Education

Question 1

According to the textbook, why did an "affirmation intervention" help to improve the grades of minority students?

A) The self-affirmation helped to block the worries prompted by stereotype threat, and therefore stereotype threat did not reduce student's performance.
B) The self-affirmation helped to change students' theories of intelligence from entity to incremental.
C) The self-affirmation helped to reduce the biases the students held against doing well in school.
D) The self-affirmation helped to improve teachers' perceptions of the students.

Answer 1

The self-affirmation helped to block the worries prompted by stereotype threat, and therefore stereotype threat did not reduce student's performance.

Question 2

According to the textbook, which of the following may account for the above-average performance on academic tasks and tests by many people from Asian cultures?

A) Asians are genetically smarter than Europeans and Americans.
B) Asians are less likely to be affected by stereotype threat than Europeans and Americans.
C) Asian culture emphasizes an incrementalist view of intelligence, leading people to work harder to succeed.
D) Asian culture emphasizes an entity view of intelligence, leading people to be more confident in their strengths.

Answer 2

Asian culture emphasizes an incrementalist view of intelligence, leading people to work harder to succeed.

Question 3

The entity theory of intelligence proposes that intelligence can be modified with regular, focused studying and problem solving.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

When a group of students was told by its mentors that intelligence was changeable and could be improved,

A) they later scored no better than a control group on math tests but showed minor increases in tests of comprehension.
B) they later scored much higher on math tests than did a control group, and this was particularly true for girls.
C) the girls improved significantly, but the boys did not, compared with a control group.
D) the boys improved significantly, but the girls did not.

Question 5

Which of the following best summarizes the results of airing the telenovelas described in the textbook that focused on presenting positive role models who accept different specific values?

A) The programs did change people's attitudes but did not actually influence behaviors.
B) The programs did not influence people's attitudes or behaviors related to those values.
C) The programs changed behaviors only in people who already agreed with the values being portrayed.
D) The programs changed people's attitudes and influenced behaviors related to those values.

Question 6

According to the textbook,

A) there is strong evidence that people of Asian heritage are genetically smarter.
B) there is modest evidence that people of Asian heritage are genetically smarter.
C) there is no sound evidence that people of Asian heritage are genetically smarter.
D) people of Asian heritage typically have to make substantial efforts to overcome genetic predispositions toward lower IQs.

Question 7

Entertainment-education is based on the work of the learning theorist

A) B.F.Skinner.
B) Nathan Aaronson.
C) Albert Bandura.
D) Philip Zimbardo.

Question 8

Students who start with negative beliefs and expectations about their own abilities can show significant improvement in their academic performance if they become convinced that their intelligence level can be improved.

Question 9

The belief that intelligence is something one is born with and cannot change is referred to as

A) the entity theory of intelligence.
B) the genetic theory of intelligence.
C) the incrementalist theory of intelligence.
D) an attributional fallacy.

Question 10

Lehman and Nisbett studied the effects of different college majors on students' ability to use statistical and methodological principles in their reasoning.What did they find?

A) Students who majored in the humanities improved their reasoning abilities the most.
B) College major did not influence how students reasoned.
C) Students majoring in psychology and the social sciences improved their reasoning abilities the most.
D) Students majoring in the natural sciences improved their reasoning abilities the most.

Question 11

The textbook describes research conducted by Walton and Cohen on improving the academic performance of minority students in college.In their study, they devised an intervention for students that addressed students'

A) worries about failing tests.
B) worries about social acceptance.
C) study habits and note-taking skills.
D) theories of intelligence.

Question 12

A person who holds an incrementalist theory of intelligence will

A) spend more time working toward improving his or her abilities.
B) avoid challenging experiences.
C) believe that failures are due to lack of intelligence rather than lack of effort.
D) earn lower grades.

Question 13

Cohen and colleagues conducted research in which, at the beginning of middle school, minority students were asked to write about their most important values.What was the result of this intervention?

A) Students began to show an incremental theory of intelligence.
B) Students whose values were unrelated to academics saw their grades decline.
C) Students' grades improved over the subsequent years.
D) Students reported better social relationships but not improved grades.

Question 14

One of the most striking aspects of the "Pygmalion in the Classroom" study by Rosenthal and Jacobson is that

A) once teachers learned about it, they were able to modify their teaching to improve the performance of all of their students.
B) most researchers attempting to replicate the study have found either much smaller effects or no effects at all.
C) it emphasizes the fact that teachers are the primary influence determining whether a child will perform well in school.
D) it indicates that the amount of studying a child does is less important than teacher expectations.

Question 15

As the smartest kid in his class, Geoffrey believes that his intelligence is innate, permanent, and relatively unchangeable.His classmate, Brian, believes that with effort and many hours of studying, he can increase his intelligence.Which of the following statements is accurate?

A) Geoffrey has an incrementalist theory of intelligence; Brian has an entity theory of intelligence.
B) Geoffrey has an entity theory of intelligence; Brian has an incrementalist theory of intelligence.
C) Geoffrey is more likely to work hard at school and to seek out new learning opportunities.
D) There is no evidence that beliefs about intelligence influence behaviors.

Question 16

Susan believes that if she works hard in her math classes, she will improve her math ability and score better on her math tests.Susan is showing an incremental theory of intelligence in regard to her math ability.

Question 17

There is no evidence that presenting societal values via entertainment-education techniques can change people's attitudes or behavior.

Question 18

Bob is from a working-class family and is the first in his family to attend college.He is accepted to a university and receives a welcome letter that emphasizes how he will be able to explore his personal interests and participate in independent research.According to the research discussed in the text, how is Bob likely to respond to this letter?

A) Bob is likely to be excited about attending college and taking advantage of these opportunities.
B) Bob is likely to focus on how he can impress his professors and do well in his classes.
C) Bob is likely to become more stressed about college and more worried about making social connections.
D) This particular letter will not influence Bob's thoughts about attending college.

Question 19

The textbook presents examples of television programs in Mexico that help to present specific values such as literacy and family planning, featuring characters who accept and practice those values.This is an example of the concept of

A) incremental intelligence.
B) entertainment-education.
C) value-based education.
D) teaching principles.

Question 20

Asking minority students to write about their most important values helps block the effects of stereotype threat and improve grades.