Deck 15: Social Psychology

Question 1

Gordon Allport once described __________ as the study of how "the thoughts, feelings, and behaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others."

A) social cognition
B) social perception
C) sociobiology
D) social psychology
E) sociology

Answer 1

social psychology

Question 2

The processes involved in perceiving, interpreting, and acting on social information are called social

A) psychology.
B) perception.
C) interaction.
D) cognition.
E) reactions.

Answer 2

cognition.

Question 3

The way in which we integrate information to enable us to attribute specific characteristics and traits to another person is called

A) social cognition.
B) social perception.
C) impression formation.
D) a schema.
E) social psychology.

Answer 3

impression formation.

Question 4

When social psychologists study how "the perceptions, thoughts, and motives of one person become known to other persons,"they are studying

A) social cognition.
B) social perception.
C) impression formation.
D) a schema.
E) social psychology.

Question 5

A mental framework that organizes and synthesizes information about people, places, and things is called a(n)

A) schema.
B) attitude.
C) impression.
D) cognitive processor.
E) perception.

Question 6

Suppose that you have never been bowling. One reason that you have never bowled is that you thought it would be boring. One night, though, your friends persuade you to go to the local bowling alley, and much to your surprise, you have a wonderful time. From the perspective of social cognition, what is the most fundamental aspect of your thinking that has changed?

A) your opinion of bowling
B) your schema for bowling
C) your attitude for bowling
D) your tendency to go bowling
E) your impression of bowling

Question 7

Personality attributes that organize and influence the interpretation of other aspects of a person are called

A) central traits.
B) stereotypes.
C) schemata.
D) primary impressions.
E) cardinal traits.

Question 8

When you met Jim for the first time you thought he was cold. Other people you talk to about Jim feel the same way. For Jim, "coldness"seems to be a __________ trait.

A) source
B) cardinal
C) primary
D) central
E) prominent

Question 9

The tendency to form an impression of people based on the first information that we learn about them is called the __________ effect.

A) primacy
B) recency
C) central
D) initial
E) primary

Question 10

The development of schemata about people would appear to be strongly influenced by

A) the primacy effect.
B) the sum total of a person's attributes.
C) our own self-impressions.
D) what they tell us about themselves.
E) all of the above

Question 11

Evelyn explained to Ted that Chantal was considerate, caring, emotional, envious and stubborn. According to the primacy effect Ted will probably characterize Chantal as

A) a perfect person.
B) a good person but with some shortcomings.
C) a bad person but with some good qualities.
D) a terrible person.
E) a very emotional person.

Question 12

In support of an associationistic interpretation of impression formation, Brown & Bassili (2002) found that traits can become associated with

A) people we like.
B) people towards whom we feel neutral.
C) inanimate objects.
D) bananas.
E) all of the above

Question 13

A person's unique individuality is called

A) a self-concept.
B) the self.
C) self-esteem.
D) personality.
E) self-perception.

Question 14

One's knowledge, feelings and ideas about oneself is called

A) a self-concept.
B) the self.
C) self-esteem.
D) personality.
E) self-perception.

Question 15

Your self-identity is also known as your self-

A) efficacy.
B) knowledge.
C) schema.
D) concept.
E) perception.

Question 16

The cognitive structure that organizes the knowledge, feelings, and ideas that constitute the self-concept is called the

A) schema.
B) self-schema.
C) central trait.
D) self.
E) self-esteem.

Question 17

Because our self-concepts change with experience, some researchers have suggested that we should think of ourselves in terms of a __________ self-concept.

A) changing
B) working
C) malleable
D) labile
E) adjustable

Question 18

The __________ is part of the __________.

A) self-schema; self-concept
B) impression formation; primacy effect
C) self-concept; self-schema
D) primacy effect; self-serving bias
E) self- schema; self-serving bias

Question 19

__________ tests the generality of psychological research findings that derive from a Western context.

A) Attribution theory
B) Cross-cultural psychology
C) Impression formation
D) Social cognition
E) Social Psychology

Question 20

The two major classes of variable by which cultures differ according to the text are

A) individual and social variables.
B) internal and external factors.
C) biological and ecological variables.
D) geographical and political variables.
E) psychological and genetic.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) At the core of the self-concept is a central trait.
B) Thinking of ourselves as we are at present accurately reflects our potential selves.
C) People in Western cultures emphasize the relatedness of individuals to each other.
D) Each of us has many potential selves that we might become, depending on our experience.
E) none of the above

Question 22

The independent construal of the self emphasizes the __________ of the self.

A) uniqueness
B) autonomy
C) self-reliance
D) distinctiveness
E) all of the above

Question 23

Independent construal is to __________ as interdependent construal is to __________.

A) strong social bonds; self-reliance
B) self-reliance; strong social bonds
C) autonomy; uniqueness
D) personal achievement; autonomy
E) uniqueness; insensitive to others

Question 24

In support of Markus and Kitayama's conception of independent and interdependent construals of the self, students from __________ have been found to judge the self as being similar to others and __________ students have been found to describe the self as being more dissimilar to others.

A) India; American
B) Japan; Chinese
C) America; Canadian
D) Mexico; Indian
E) Britain; Mexican

Question 25

Based on research we would expect that Canadian students will show __________ self-concept clarity and judge themselves __________ compared to Japanese students.

A) greater; more negatively
B) less; more positively
C) stronger; as more similar to others
D) greater; as more dissimilar to others
E) less; more successful

Question 26

When Canadian students defined their own attributes more sharply and perceived the self as more consistent compared to Japanese students, they were showing greater

A) independence.
B) interdependence.
C) self-concept clarity.
D) self-esteem.
E) schematic thinking.

Question 27

In line with the idea that abilities are malleable, Japanese students were more likely than Euro-Canadian students to persist at a task following a __________ experience.

A) changing
B) boring
C) successful
D) formative
E) failure

Question 28

The well-being of students from Eastern cultures, in contrast to Western cultures, is more likely to be associated with

A) self-reflective emotions.
B) pride.
C) individual achievement.
D) interpersonal behaviours.
E) independence

Question 29

The process by which we infer the causes of other people's behaviour is called

A) attribution.
B) social cognition.
C) the inferential effect.
D) the representativeness heuristic.
E) social perception.

Question 30

Attribution involves people focusing on two different types of causes:

A) cognitive and behavioural.
B) internal and external.
C) biological and environmental.
D) social and nonsocial.
E) behavioural and coincidental.

Question 31

Dispositional inferences are directed mainly toward

A) the environment.
B) a person's genetic endowment.
C) the person's personality traits, needs and intentions.
D) the interaction of the person with his or her social environment.
E) all of the above

Question 32

Situational factors direct causal analysis toward

A) the environment.
B) a person's genetic endowment.
C) the person's personality traits, needs and intentions.
D) the interaction of the person with his or her social environment.
E) all of the above

Question 33

If you have a friend who tells you that he really likes you, but you also know that he tells almost everyone he meets the same thing, you will likely attribute his behaviour as being due to internal factors based on the idea of

A) consensus.
B) consistency.
C) distinctiveness.
D) discounting.
E) autonomy.

Question 34

If you have a friend who tells you that you are a good writer and you have other friends who tell you the same thing, you will likely attribute her remark as being caused by __________ factors based on __________.

A) internal; consistency
B) external; consensus
C) consistency; consensus
D) external; consistency
E) internal; distinctiveness

Question 35

__________ is the aspect of attribution that focuses on the extent to which a person's behaviour is similar across time.

A) Consistency
B) Consensus
C) Distinctiveness
D) Discounting
E) Uniqueness

Question 36

The complex cognitive processes described in Kelley's theory of attribution are more likely to occur when

A) asked why someone behaved as she did.
B) the events are unexpected.
C) the behaviour is abnormal.
D) the event is important to the attributor.
E) all of the above

Question 37

The tendency to apply dispositional rather than situational attributions to explain other people's behaviour is called the

A) discounting rule.
B) covariation rule.
C) fundamental attribution error.
D) consensus principle.
E) false consensus error.

Question 38

Jay and Helen both failed their psychology tests. Jay states that he failed because he was too tired on the day of the exam. Given research on the fundamental attribution error he will probably think that Helen failed because

A) she is not very intelligent.
B) she was also very tired on the day of the exam.
C) the test was unfair.
D) she did not have enough time to study.
E) all of the above

Question 39

Suppose that on the first day of your psychology class, you observe a particular classmate to be a bit rude and arrogant. You attribute his conceit to personality factors rather than to the fact that some external factor may have upset him. Your attribution about the causes of his behaviour is an example of the

A) principle of consensus.
B) actor-observer effect.
C) phenomenon known as belief in a just world.
D) fundamental attribution error.
E) false consensus error.

Question 40

Most people are likely to attribute the causes of other people's behaviour as being due to __________ rather than __________.

A) situational factors; dispositional factors
B) dispositional factors; situational factors
C) consensus; consistency
D) environmental factors; personality factors
E) personality factors; genetics

Question 41

Last week Tara's notebook was stolen at the high school. Tara's parents claim that it was her fault that the notebook was stolen because she should have known better than to leave her locker unlocked. Her parents told her, "That's what you get when you're not careful." These comments reflect an idea called the

A) actor-observer effect.
B) self-serving bias.
C) theory of cognitive dissonance.
D) belief in a just world.
E) the distinctiveness principle.

Question 42

Hafer (2000) found that students who were focused on their own long-term goals were more likely

A) to blame innocent victims.
B) to blame the perpetrators of crime.
C) make external attributions.
D) to show the actor-observer effect.
E) see the world as an unjust place.

Question 43

The tendency of people to explain their behaviour in terms of situational factors and others' behaviour in terms of dispositional factors is termed

A) belief in a just world.
B) the actor-observer effect.
C) the distinctiveness principle.
D) self-serving bias.
E) cognitive dissonance.

Question 44

Bill and Ben have an accident in which their cars collide. Bill blames the rainy weather for his skid. Ben blames Bill's bad driving skills for the accident and believes that his own driving was exemplary. They are showing which of the following attributional biases?

A) the fundamental attribution error
B) the actor-observer effect
C) the self-serving bias
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 45

The tendency to attribute our accomplishments and successes to internal causes and our failures and mistakes to external causes defines the

A) fundamental attribution error.
B) actor-observer effect.
C) self-serving bias.
D) false consensus effect.
E) representativeness heuristic.

Question 46

The exception to the rule that we make external attributions when explaining our own behaviour occurs with the

A) fundamental attribution error.
B) actor-observer effect.
C) base-rate fallacy.
D) false consensus effect.
E) self-serving bias.

Question 47

The tendency of a person to perceive that his or her own views are representative of what others also perceive is called

A) the representativeness heuristic.
B) the actor-observer effect.
C) the false consensus effect.
D) the self-serving bias.
E) the fundamental attribution error.

Question 48

A heuristic by which people classify things into the category to which it appears to be the most similar is called the __________ heuristic.

A) representativeness
B) availability
C) general
D) similarity
E) base-rate

Question 49

Debbie, a recent acquaintance of yours, is an attractive, outgoing, and ambitious woman. When someone asks you whether Debbie is a secretary or an executive, you reply, "I don't know for sure but knowing what she is like, I'd say that she is an executive." Your response reflects the __________ heuristic.

A) representativeness
B) availability
C) general
D) similarity
E) base-rate

Question 50

Overuse of the representativeness heuristic can lead to

A) the medical student syndrome.
B) the actor-observer effect.
C) the false consensus effect.
D) the base-rate fallacy.
E) the fundamental attribution error.

Question 51

A general rule that relies on information that we already have on hand is called the __________ heuristics.

A) representativeness
B) availability
C) general
D) similarity
E) base-rate

Question 52

Suppose that you have a lot of friends who do not drink alcoholic beverages. Suppose further that you are asked in a class to answer the following question: "How many people do you think drink alcoholic beverages?" You reply, "Not many," based on the number of your friends who imbibe. In this case you have made an error based on your use of the __________ heuristic.

A) representativeness
B) availability
C) general
D) similarity
E) base-rate

Question 53

The medical student syndrome occurs because __________ allows the __________ to bias our perceptions.

A) the fundamental attribution error; representativeness heuristic
B) the false consensus effect; availability heuristic
C) the base-rate fallacy; representativeness heuristic
D) priming; availability heuristic
E) priming; representativeness heuristic

Question 54

A new area of research that uses brain imaging techniques to examine brain activity associated with social processes, such as stereotyping, attitudes and interpersonal attraction, is called

A) social neuroscience.
B) cognitive neurology.
C) neuro-social imaging.
D) physiological social science.
E) cogno-neuro analysis.

Question 55

Mirror neurons fire

A) when we perform a specific action.
B) when we observe others performing the same action as ourselves.
C) both when we perform an action and when others perform that same action.
D) only when we are copying someone else's actions.
E) when we are observing ourselves in a mirror.

Question 56

The __________ component of an attitude involves our feelings toward a particular issue.

A) affective
B) behavioural
C) cognitive
D) dispositional
E) attributional

Question 57

The evaluation of a person, place, or thing is called a(n)

A) stereotype.
B) schema.
C) cognition.
D) attitude.
E) attribution.

Question 58

Benny dislikes the police. He thinks they are all stupid. He often throws rocks at them. In this example, disliking the police reflects the __________ component of attitudes, thinking that the police are stupid reflects the __________ component, and throwing rocks at them reflects the __________ component.

A) cognitive; affective; behavioural
B) affective; cognitive; behavioural
C) behavioural; affective; cognitive
D) cognitive; behavioural; affective
E) affective; behavioural; cognitive

Question 59

When Jarrad sees Maggie, Maggie always smiles and is extremely nice. Now every time Jarrad sees her, he feels happy and excited. Jarrad's attitude toward Maggie was influenced by

A) modeling.
B) direct classical conditioning.
C) vicarious classical conditioning.
D) direct operant conditioning.
E) none of the above

Question 60

Attitudes that are developed toward persons, places and things on the basis of their association with the positive or negative experiences that we have of them reflects the role of __________ in the development of social interactions.

A) mere exposure
B) classical conditioning
C) impression formation
D) the primacy effect
E) operant conditioning

Question 61

Five-year-old Tonya has often observed her mother react negatively to bald men. In time, Tonya develops a prejudicial attitude toward bald men. Tonya's attitude was influenced by

A) dissonance training.
B) direct classical conditioning.
C) vicarious classical conditioning.
D) the mere exposure effect.
E) all of the above

Question 62

Our attraction to stimuli that are familiar to us is known as the

A) actor-observer effect.
B) mere exposure effect.
C) normative effect.
D) consistency effect.
E) false consensus effect.

Question 63

The more that Bill sees Connie, the more he likes her. This example reflects the

A) actor-observer effect.
B) mere exposure effect.
C) romantic attraction principle.
D) consistency effect.
E) none of the above

Question 64

When research showed that people who viewed a nonsense word more often came to feel more positive towards it, this provided support for the

A) actor-observer effect.
B) mere exposure effect.
C) false consensus effect.
D) consistency effect.
E) none of the above

Question 65

Attitudes that are formed by observing the emotional responses of others are learned through the process of __________ classical conditioning.

A) vicarious
B) direct
C) implicit
D) explicit
E) second-order

Question 66

The relation between attitudes and behaviour is affected by

A) the degree of specificity of the attitude.
B) accessibility.
C) the motivational relevance of behaviour.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 67

When people were asked their attitudes to "the Sierra Club,"an environmental organization (rather than their attitudes to "a pure environment"), their attitudes were more predictive of their willingness to volunteer for the Sierra Club because of

A) motivational relevance.
B) constraints on behaviour.
C) changes in attitude accessibility.
D) degree of specificity.
E) all of the above

Question 68

Suppose that you and your parents begin to disagree over your efforts in college. You want to speak your mind to them, but you know that if you do, they may punish you by taking away your car or refusing to pay next term's tuition. In this case, your behaviour does not match your attitude because of

A) the degree of specificity of your attitude.
B) a failure to activate your real attitude in this situation.
C) the motivational relevance of your behaviour.
D) constraints on your behaviour.
E) cognitive dissonance.

Question 69

If an audience knows very little about an issue, a(n) __________ argument will be the most persuasive to its members.

A) one-sided
B) two-sided
C) empirically supported rational
D) emotional
E) spiritual

Question 70

If you were designing an advertising campaign for a product that had very few really positive qualities that you could emphasize, which kind of method of persuasion would you use?

A) the central route
B) the peripheral route
C) dissonance reduction
D) introduce high quality arguments
E) motivational relevance

Question 71

According to the elaboration likelihood model, __________ is/are to a central route of persuasion as __________ is/are to a peripheral route of persuasion.

A) social benefits; considering relevant themes
B) critical thinking; association with celebrities
C) weighing the issues; thoughtful consideration
D) social benefits; financial benefits
E) critical thinking; thoughtful consideration

Question 72

When Mrs. Keech's predictions for the end of the world were proven wrong, the reaction of her group was to reaffirm their beliefs and seek more publicity. According to Festinger and colleagues such a reaction makes sense in terms of

A) the elaboration likelihood model.
B) the fundamental attribution error.
C) attribution theory.
D) cognitive dissonance theory.
E) the false consensus effect.

Question 73

The notion that people seek to reduce anxiety when their cognitions and behaviours do not correspond is called

A) the elaboration likelihood model.
B) the fundamental attribution error.
C) attribution theory.
D) cognitive dissonance theory.
E) the false consensus effect.

Question 74

According to Festinger, inconsistencies between behaviour and cognitions give rise to __________ , which motivate(s) a person to __________ it.

A) confusion and apathy; reduce
B) counterattitudinal behaviour; increase
C) dissonance; reduce
D) arousal; increase
E) dissonance; maintain

Question 75

Tony is an environmentalist who works in a local logging mill producing pulp and paper. Although he feels that working at the mill is a contradiction, he says that it was the only job that he could find, and now that he has gotten two raises, he is making more money there than he could if he were to find another job. In this example, Tony

A) probably never experienced any cognitive dissonance.
B) reduced dissonance by reducing the importance of one of the dissonant elements.
C) reduced dissonance by adding consonant elements.
D) reduced dissonance by changing one of the dissonant elements.
E) maintained dissonance by justifying his behaviour.

Question 76

Angela is a vegetarian who works in a local fast-food restaurant whose main fare is burgers and dogs. Although she feels that working at the restaurant is a bit of a contradiction, she says that vegetarianism is not the central belief system of her life and supporting herself is more important. In this example, Angela

A) probably never experienced any cognitive dissonance.
B) reduced dissonance by reducing the importance of one of the dissonant elements.
C) reduced dissonance by adding consonant elements.
D) reduced dissonance by changing one of the dissonant elements.
E) maintained dissonance by justifying her behaviour.

Question 77

The independent variable in the Festinger and Carlsmith induced compliance study was

A) what the experienced subjects said to the new subjects.
B) whether the subjects agreed to lie.
C) whether the experienced subjects thought the experiment was interesting.
D) the amount of money paid to the subjects for telling a lie.
E) the amount of time that subjects spent performing the boring task.

Question 78

Which subjects in the Festinger and Carlsmith study justified their behaviour by changing their cognitions?

A) the subjects who were paid $20
B) the subjects who were paid $1
C) the control subjects (who were paid nothing)
D) the subjects who were paid $30
E) the subjects who completed the task first

Question 79

In the Festinger and Carlsmith study, which subjects reported the experimental task to be the most interesting?

A) the subjects who were paid $20
B) the subjects who were paid $1
C) the control subjects (who were paid nothing)
D) the subjects who were paid $30
E) the subjects who completed the task first

Question 80

In Croyle and Cooper's (1983) study of arousal and cognitive dissonance, which group showed greatest arousal?

A) those who were free to choose and wrote an essay agreeing with their own position
B) those who were free to choose and wrote an essay against their own position
C) those who were not free to choose and wrote an essay agreeing with their own position
D) those who were not free to choose and wrote an essay against their own position
E) both groups (free to choose or not) who wrote an essay against their own position showed equal arousal