Deck 16: Social Psychology

Question 1

The explanations that people use about the causes of events or behaviors (others' or their own)are called _____.

A)impression managements
B)stereotaxic determinations
C)attributions
D)person perceptions

Answer 1

attributions

Question 2

You and a friend are watching a ballgame.The batter swings and misses, ending the inning as he strikes out.You believe this is because the sun is setting and probably cast a glare in his eyes.Your friend believes this is because the batter lacks talent.You made a _____ attribution and your friend made a(n)_____ attribution.

A)circumstantial; personal
B)situational; dispositional
C)realistic; biased
D)correct; incorrect

Answer 2

situational; dispositional

Question 3

Regarding attitudes toward birth control, being fearful of unwanted pregnancy reflects the ______component of attitude.

A)affective
B)behavioral
C)cognitive
D)situational

Answer 3

affective

Question 4

The study of how other people influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions is called _____.

A)sociology
B)social science
C)social psychology
D)social anthropology

Question 5

When you attempt to maintain a positive self-image by taking credit for your successes and emphasizing external causes for your failures, you are engaged in _____.

A)a self-delusion
B)the self-serving bias
C)rationalization
D)an actor-observer error

Question 6

A stranger walking in front of you trips.You assume this is because he is clumsy, rather than considering the fact that the sidewalk might be uneven.You have just committed _____.

A)the saliency bias
B)the fundamental attribution error
C)a self-serving bias
D)a defensive attribution

Question 7

The fact that husbands and wives both report doing more than 50% of the household chores is an example of _____.

A)self-handicapping
B)the fundamental attribution error
C)the self-attribution error
D)the self-serving bias

Question 8

A learned predisposition to respond positively or negatively toward a particular object, person, or event is called a(n)________.

A)belief
B)concept
C)schema
D)attitude

Question 9

Amelia failed a test and said it was because the questions were "tricky"; Oscar passed the same test and said it was because he studied hard.Amelia is using _____; Oscar is using _____.

A)a dispositional locus of control; a situational locus of control
B)the fundamental attribution error; the self-serving bias
C)the self-serving bias; the self-serving bias
D)external self-efficacy; internal self-efficacy

Question 10

We misjudge the causes of another person's behavior because we overestimate internal, personal factors and underestimate external, situational influences.This is called_____.

A)the saliency bias
B)the actor-observer error
C)the fundamental attribution error
D)the self-serving bias

Question 11

The tendency to focus on the most noticeable factors when explaining the cause of behavior is called the _____ bias.

A)obvious
B)just noticeable difference
C)saliency
D)pseudo-reality

Question 12

Compared to individualist cultures, collectivist cultures tend to have lower rates of

A)attributions.
B)prejudice and discrimination.
C)the fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias.
D)social influence.

Question 13

Regarding attitudes toward birth control, the belief that birth control is important reflects the ______component of attitude.

A)affective
B)behavioral
C)cognitive
D)situational

Question 14

In contrast to other fields within psychology, social psychology emphasizes _____.

A)the influence of genetics on our development
B)the effects of social forces on behavior
C)the influence of culture on our actions
D)love relationships

Question 15

Which of the following is most often TRUE of social behavior?

A)Most people judge others more harshly than they judge themselves.
B)Opposites attract.
C)Prejudice is the same as discrimination.
D)Punching a pillow is a good way to release tension and reduce aggression.

Question 16

The tendency to attribute other people's behaviors to personality factors while attributing our own behaviors to situational factors is called the ________ bias.

A)self-serving
B)actor-observer
C)fundamental attribution
D)saliency

Question 17

One explanation for why people commit the fundamental attribution error is _____.

A)the self-serving bias
B)the saliency bias
C)the obviousness bias
D)prejudice

Question 18

The desires to maintain self-esteem and project a good public image are two motivations for the use of _____.

A)the fundamental attribution error
B)the self-serving bias
C)the saliency bias
D)an internal locus of control

Question 19

Two of the major attributional mistakes people make are _____.

A)the fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias
B)situational attributions and dispositional attributions
C)the actor bias and the observer bias
D)stereotypes and prejudices

Question 20

According to the text, the main question about attributions are whether a given action is about

A)temperament or circumstances.
B)dispositions or situations.
C)personality or factors.
D)traits or reality.

Question 21

The theory that proposes that people are motivated to make attitudinal changes when they experience tension after becoming aware of inconsistencies between their attitudes or between their attitudes and their behaviors is ________ theory.

A)Bandura's social learning
B)Festinger's cognitive dissonance
C)Freud's defense mechanisms
D)Leon's power of inconsistencies

Question 22

In the classic dissonance experiment, which group had more attitude change?

A)The group that was paid $1
B)The group that was paid $20
C)The control group
D)There was no difference in attitude change between the two groups

Question 23

According to cognitive dissonance theory, which of the following advocates of managed care services for mental health is MOST likely to change his or her attitude?

A)Jeanette, who is paid $1 for arguing against managed care
B)Homer, who is paid $50 for arguing against managed care
C)Belinda, who had to argue against managed care to save her job
D)Brandon, who has worked for a doctor's office for years and regularly calls managed care companies to arrange payments

Question 24

This is a cognitive process in which members of an outgroup are judged as less diverse than members of an ingroup.

A)The melting-pot phenomenon
B)Homeostatic similarity
C)The birds-of-a-feather phenomenon
D)Outgroup homogeneity

Question 25

Charlton says, "I think that handguns should be registered, and that owners should be required to keep a trigger lock on them." This is an example of which component of Charlton's attitude about guns?

A)affective
B)cognitive
C)behavioral
D)emotional

Question 26

Negative behavior directed at members of a group is called _____.

A)prejudice
B)stereotyping
C)discrimination
D)harassment

Question 27

The REASON a person is being paid $1 to lie changes her or his attitude more than the person who is being paid $50 to lie is that _____.

A)$1 was insufficient justification for arguing against a cause
B)$50 was overcompensation for arguing against a cause
C)doing what the experimenter wants should be reward enough without getting money
D)simply arguing against an attitude would not cause a change in that attitude

Question 28

Louise is so disillusioned by the actions of politicians from both political parties that she plans to vote for independent candidates in the next election.Her new voting plan is an example of which component of Louise's attitude about politicians?

A)affective
B)cognitive
C)behavioral
D)emotional

Question 29

_____ is a learned, generally negative, attitude toward members of a group.

A)Discrimination
B)Stereotyping
C)Cognitive biasing
D)Prejudice

Question 30

Prejudice is _____; discrimination is _____.

A)a behavior; a belief
B)unethical; illegal
C)an attitude; a behavior
D)innate; learned

Question 31

With regard to Ina's attitude toward her homeland of Greece, which of the following illustrates the affective component?

A)"I believe that Greece is the best place on earth to live."
B)"I feel much happier when I am at home in Greece."
C)"I'm going back to Greece when this semester is over."
D)"I know that everyone wishes that they could be Greek."

Question 32

Which of the following is an example of a prejudice?

A)All blondes are dumb.
B)All men are strong.
C)All Asians are smart.
D)All Jewish people are good with money

Question 33

This is a cognitive process in which members of an ingroup are viewed more positively than members of an outgroup.

A)Reciprocity of liking
B)Positive familiarity
C)Ingroup favoritism
D)Outgroup prejudice

Question 34

Mr.Bundy believes that women make poor shoe salespersons, but hires a woman to sell his shoes anyway and treats them the same as his male employees.Based on this information, which of the following is TRUE regarding Mr.Bundy?

A)He is prejudiced, but does not discriminate against women.
B)He discriminates, but is not prejudiced against women.
C)He is prejudiced and discriminates against women.
D)He stereotypes, is prejudiced, and discriminates against women.

Question 35

Regarding attitudes toward birth control, using birth control on a regular basis to avoid an undesired pregnancy demonstrates the ______component of attitude.

A)affective
B)behavioral
C)cognitive
D)situational

Question 36

Cross-cultural research suggests that cognitive dissonance may be a result of placing a high value on _____.

A)independence and individualism
B)connection with others
C)appraisal by others
D)honesty and integrity

Question 37

Who is LEAST likely to learn a prejudice against a new group of people?

A)Angela watches a movie in which members of this group are demeaned.
B)Gabriel hears his parents and friends make derogatory statements about members of this group.
C)Kema demeans a member of this group and experiences a rise in his own self-esteem.
D)Marquita goes to school with classmates from a variety of different backgrounds.

Question 38

A set of beliefs about the characteristics of people in a group that is generalized to all group members is called a _____.

A)cognitive bias
B)cognitive resonance
C)negative schema
D)stereotype

Question 39

Prejudice is an attitude, and its cognitive component is called _____.

A)discrimination
B)a stereotype
C)a cognitive bias
D)a negative schema

Question 40

The mental shortcut explanation for the initiation and maintenance of prejudice suggests that _____.

A)defense mechanisms are responsible for prejudice
B)stereotypes allow us to make quick judgments and free mental resources for other activities
C)self-talk and automatic thoughts cause prejudicial thinking
D)the self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error cause prejudicial thoughts

Question 41

A cultural rule of behavior that prescribes what is acceptable or unacceptable in a given situation is called a _____.

A)norm
B)motivator
C)behavioral determinant
D)meta-rule

Question 42

Cooperation, increased contact, and cognitive retraining all create _____ by increasing the discrepancy among your beliefs, emotions, and behaviors toward members of an outgroup, thus motivating you to change your prejudicial attitudes toward that group.

A)superordinate beliefs
B)non-discriminatory attitudes
C)cognitive dissonance
D)all of these options

Question 43

This is the change in behavior that occurs in response to real or imagined group pressure.

A)Norm compliance
B)Obedience
C)Conformity
D)Mob rule

Question 44

When a natural disaster strikes, members of a community who previously distrusted or fought with each other often work together to deal with the aftermath.Once the emergency is over, there is usually a decrease in prejudice as a result of _____.

A)the friendly competition fostered by the emergency team leaders
B)increased contact and cooperation brought on by the common goal
C)sharing the near-death experience
D)the scarcity of resources and abundance of problems

Question 45

With regard to the norm for personal space, which of the following persons is MOST likely to break the U.S.norm by standing too close to an American adult?

A)A Scandinavian tourist
B)An American teenager
C)A Mediterranean guest
D)A violent prisoner

Question 46

People will attack an alternate target group rather than the real source of their frustration when the source is either bigger and retaliatory, or ambiguous or unknown.This is the _____ explanation for prejudice.

A)displaced aggression
B)realistic conflict
C)outgroup
D)projected frustration

Question 47

After the first week at his new school, Gratias had his hair cut the way others were wearing theirs and started tucking in his shirt the way other boys on campus did in order to fit in.This is an example of _____.

A)ingroup favoritism
B)an outgroup wannabe
C)normative social influence
D)gang influence

Question 48

When someone lacks adequate knowledge about how to behave, they often conform to group pressure if the group provides them with direction and information.This is called _____ social influence.

A)normative
B)intellectual
C)educational
D)informational

Question 49

The economic and political competition explanation for prejudice suggests that people_____ will be more prejudiced.

A)in the lower class
B)in the upper class
C)in the middle class
D)with little political power

Question 50

Two of the MAJOR kinds of social influence are _____.

A)lowball and foot-in-the-door
B)persuasion and agreement
C)agreement and disagreement
D)conformity and obedience

Question 51

If Earth was threatened by a comet from outer space, it is likely that ethnic fighting would decrease as nations came together to prevent this global calamity.This is an example of how _____ is/are important in reducing prejudice.

A)supernatural phenomena
B)common goals
C)cosmic cooperation
D)intergalactic interference

Question 52

Which of the following principles of social psychology may have made it easier for American soldiers to kill Vietnamese civilians in the 1970s?

A)Outgroup homogeneity
B)Ingroup favoritism
C)Homeostatic similarity
D)Reciprocal dislike

Question 53

Undoing negative associations and learning positive ones, and selectively attending to similarities rather than differences, are examples of _____.

A)modeling
B)empathy
C)cognitive retraining
D)superordinate goals

Question 54

In the classic Sherif study, prejudice was initiated in two groups of boys at summer camp by encouraging _____, and successfully eliminated by creating _____.

A)ingroups; mixed groups
B)aggressive competition; friendly competition
C)competition; common goals
D)passive cooperation; active cooperation

Question 55

Saying that members of another ethnic group "all look alike to me" may be an example of _____.

A)ingroup favoritism
B)the outgroup homogeneity effect
C)outgroup negativism
D)ingroup bias

Question 56

When someone has a need for approval and acceptance by a group, they often conform to the norms set by that group.This is called _____ social influence.

A)normative
B)desirable
C)in-group
D)informational

Question 57

Research suggests that one of the best ways to decrease prejudice is to encourage _____.

A)cooperation
B)friendly competition
C)reciprocity of liking
D)conformity

Question 58

For increased contact to diminish prejudice between two groups of people, which of the following factors MUST be present?

A)close interaction, interdependence, and equal status
B)common goals and homogeneous tasks
C)reciprocity of liking, equality, and friendly competition
D)positive experiences, close interdependence, and heterogeneous goals

Question 59

What are three factors that explain why people conform?

A)Personality, genetics, and learning
B)Motivational level, level of physiological arousal, and level of interpersonal arousal
C)Normative social influence, informational social influence, and reference groups
D)Introversion-extroversion, bystander bias, and ingroup-outgroup roles

Question 60

In the classic Asch study of conformity, _____ of the subjects conformed and agreed with obviously incorrect choices made by other group members.

A)less than 10 percent
B)about one-quarter
C)more than one-third
D)more than 50 percent

Question 61

In Milgram's original study, when did obedience INCREASE?

A)When orders were given by an ordinary person
B)When the teacher chose the shock level
C)When the teacher watched two others disobey
D)When the teacher read a list of words while another delivered the shock

Question 62

Zimbardo's simulation of prison life provided a dramatic demonstration of the power of _____ on behavior.

A)individuation
B)norms
C)roles
D)conformity

Question 63

Whether a group's final decision is risky or conservative depends on _____.

A)the intellectual capacity of the group
B)the dominant preexisting tendencies of the group
C)the group's emotional intelligence
D)how many sensation-seekers there are in the group

Question 64

Stanley Milgram was really investigating _____ in his classic teacher-learner shock study.

A)the effects of punishment on learning
B)the effects of reinforcement on learning
C)obedience to authority
D)what kind of conformity was most likely to occur

Question 65

Less than _____ percent of the public thought they would shock a learner beyond 300 volts; in reality, _____ percent of the actual participants did so.

A)5; 50
B)50; 5
C)25; 65
D)65; 25

Question 66

The critical factor in deindividuation is _____.

A)loss of self-esteem
B)anonymity
C)identity diffusion
D)group cohesiveness

Question 67

Amorita agrees to party with friends she admires rather than staying home to study even though she'd rather stay home to study.This is an example of _____.

A)the effect of low self-esteem on conformity
B)ingroup social influence
C)desirable social influence
D)how a reference group influences conformity

Question 68

A group's movement toward either riskier or more conservative behavior, depending on members' initial dominant tendency, is called _____.

A)the availability heuristic
B)a cognitive reversal
C)group polarization
D)groupthinking

Question 69

The results of Milgram's research suggest that _____ will follow orders to hurt someone.

A)only "monsters"
B)a majority of "normal" people
C)everyone
D)people with mental disorders

Question 70

Faulty decision making that is the result of a highly cohesive group striving for agreement to the point of avoiding inconsistent information is known as _____.

A)the risky shift
B)group polarization
C)groupthink
D)destructive conformity

Question 71

Which of the following will DECREASE obedience?

A)Having a person with authority give the command
B)Starting low and gradually increasing commands
C)Holding each person responsible for his or her own behavior
D)Providing obedient role models

Question 72

Sometimes people conform because they like and admire a group, and want to be like them.This is the _____ explanation for conformity.

A)need for approval
B)reciprocity of liking
C)reference group
D)foot-in-the-door

Question 73

Milgram's research suggests that _____ factors are MOST important when it comes to obedience.

A)person
B)personality
C)situational
D)cultural

Question 74

Which of the following is a primary antecedent to groupthink?

A)A very diffused, separated group of people
B)Isolation of the group from outside influences
C)Non-directive leadership
D)A high level of open-mindedness

Question 75

Obedience is BEST defined as following _____.

A)the lead of others
B)a direct command or order from an authority figure
C)group norms by way of informational social influence
D)directions from anyone who tells you what to do

Question 76

Lincoln thought he smelled smoke for a second.He looked at others in the classroom and at the teacher.No one seemed concerned, so Lincoln continued taking his test along with his other classmates.This is MOST likely an example of _____.

A)normative social influence
B)focused attention
C)informational social influence
D)the actor-observer effect

Question 77

During _____, a person who feels anonymous within a group experiences an increase in arousal and a decrease in self-consciousness, inhibitions, and personal responsibility.

A)groupthink
B)group polarization
C)authoritarianism
D)deindividuation

Question 78

Zimbardo's prison study had to be stopped prior to the end of the scheduled two weeks because _____.

A)the human ethics committee objected to its effects
B)both prisoners and guards were exhibiting alarming changes in behavior
C)the parents of the students who were participating insisted that it be discontinued
D)guards felt guilty about their behavior and asked to stop the experiment

Question 79

Milgram's participants thought they were participating in an experiment to study the effects of _____.

A)obedience to authority
B)arousal on memory
C)punishment on learning
D)electric shock on brain-wave activity

Question 80

In Zimbardo's classic prison study, the _____ took their roles so seriously that the experiment had to be discontinued prior to completion.

A)prisoners and judges
B)lawyers and prisoners
C)judges and lawyers
D)prisoners and guards