Deck 1: Section 1 : Introduction

Question 1

Of the following, which has been shown to be the best model of impression formation?
a. The algebraic model
b. The configural model
c. Neither the algebraic nor configural model
d. Both the algebraic and configural models

Answer 1

Both the algebraic and configural models

Question 2

What theory claims that behavior has certain rewarding and punishing effects, causing an organism to repeat or avoid the behavior?
a. Asch's configural model
b. Thorndike's theory of instrumental learning
c. Lewin's person-situation field theory
d. Asch's algebraic model

Answer 2

Thorndike ' s theory of instrumental learning

Question 3

Which if the following is the best example of a consistency theory?
a. Stereotyping
b. Altruism
c. Stimulus-response
d. Cognitive dissonance

Answer 3

Cognitive dissonance

Question 4

Which of the following best characterizes cognition within the naïve scientist model?
a. Motivation to resolve uncomfortable inconsistencies among cognitions and feelings
b. A rational search for relevant information, leading to logical conclusions
c. Using perceptions of others to imagine how they might react to a situation
d. Studying natural neural processes to better understand processes like category learning

Question 5

What was one of the primary reasons the study of introspection fell out of favor with researchers?
a. It is impossible to publically reproduce introspections, so the evidence could not be confirmed by other researchers
b. The advent of computers led to more sophisticated techniques for studying mental processes
c. Linguistic developments showed how the complexity of language required a more complex model to explain its development
d. Nonverbal behaviors were shown to be a better measurement of attitudes and emotions

Question 6

Which of the following researchers emphasized human behavior as a result of the dynamic equilibrium among multiple, often-conflicting psychological forces?
a. Wilhelm Wundt
b. Kurt Lewin
c. Hermann Ebbinghaus
d. Edmund Gestalt

Question 7

Which of the following best describes a way in which Gestalt psychology influences the research of Kurt Lewin?
a. Emphasizing holistic models of behavior and how an individual's perceptions of the social environment can be influential
b. Showing how objective, external interpretations of situations can explain social behavior in that environment
c. Emphasizing how a focus on individual aspects of a situation can in and of itself predict behavior
d. Showing how motivation plays an important role in determining what a person will do in any given situation

Question 8

Which of the following best describes "naïve psychology"?
a. Estimates of behavioral processes based on a lack of understanding of cognitive processing
b. The ways in which young and/or sheltered people perceive and react to their environments
c. People's common sense, non-scientific theories about themselves and other people
d. How people feel about others in their social circles

Question 9

The configural model is an example of what approach to the study of social cognition?
a. Elemental
b. Social
c. Behavioral
d. Holistic

Question 10

"People sometimes prioritize efficiency over accuracy in mental processing because they are limited in their capacity to process information." This statement best characterizes which of the following models of cognition?
a. Information processing model
b. Activated actor model
c. Cognitive miser model
d. Naïve scientist model

Question 11

The medial prefrontal cortex is most closely associated with which of the following?
a. Memory storage and recall
b. Extreme emotions
c. Social processes
d. Category recognition

Question 12

What two Gestalt ideas that Kurt Lewin import into social and ultimately cognitive psychology?
a. Phenomenology and holistic view
b. Phenomenology and elemental view
c. Phenomenology and introspection
d. Behaviorism and holistic view

Question 13

According to the elemental view of social cognition, what allows ideas to develop from association through simple contiguity to mental compounds?
a. Reward
b. Repetition
c. Motivation
d. Information Processing

Question 14

When a person is described as both "mean" and "funny," which of the following would best fit with the configural model of person perception?
a. The combination of a positive trait and a negative trait lead to an overall neutral impression
b. The perceiver re-interprets "funny" as a caustic or sarcastic humor, making the traits fit well together into a single impression
c. The negative-warmth characteristic of "mean" carries more weight, overshadowing any other descriptions
d. The high-warmth characteristic of "funny" carries more weight, overshadowing any other descriptions

Question 15

An elevated cortisol response would most likely result from which of the following?
a. Giving a speech in public
b. Seeing a picture of a childhood friend
c. Categorizing objects based on their external properties
d. Remembering a sequence of numbers

Question 16

The "motivated tactician" model is best described by which of the following?
a. People are fully engaged in their thought processes, and choose between a number of different cognitive strategies depending on which best suits their current goals, motives, and needs
b. People are motivated to look for quick solutions that adequately fit the problem at hand, rather than focusing on completely accurate solutions that would take a long time
c. People are unconsciously or consciously affected by environmental cues which motivate them to behave in particular ways
d. People are motivated to rationally assess available information and arrive at the most reasonable solution to any problem

Question 17

In the early 20th century, the first laboratory psychologists began conducting research. Which of the following best describes their methods?
a. Careful randomized trials to observe human behavior in varying environments
b. Observing animal behavior to draw parallels to human mental processes
c. Using introspection to examine the researchers' own thought processes
d. Making careful observations of social interactions between laboratory participants

Question 18

Which of the following would Kurt Lewin believe is least predictive of a person's behavior?
a. Characteristics unique to person, such as beliefs, perceptual abilities, and past experiences
b. The person's cognitions about the environment
c. The behaviors of past people faced with the same environment and situation
d. The person's personal motivations in that situation

Question 19

What is meant by "mental chemistry," according to the British elemental tradition?
a. Mental concepts are "elements," which can be "bonded" to other concepts through typically repeated) associations
b. Different concepts have different properties, and can create entirely new concepts when added together
c. Cognition can result in combinations of thoughts which trigger other cognitions, like a chemical chain reaction
d. Associating one concept with another typically happens instantly and powerfully, like a chemical bond

Question 20

Dissonance theory is an example of what kind of view of the thinker in social psychology?
a. Consistency seeker
b. Motivated Tactician
c. Activated Actor
d. Cognitive Miser

Question 21

Which social neuroscience technique can only detect approximate spatial locations, but precise temporal locations?
a. EEG
b. TMS
c. EMG
d. None of the above

Question 22

The most recent social cognitive neuroscience techniques relies on what tool?
a. Twin-based studies
b. Studying brain damaged patients
c. Detailed brain imaging techniques
d. Measuring milliseconds of reaction times

Question 23

What striking social cognitive difference in cultures has cognitive implications ranging from self-definition, to self-esteem, to life tasks, to the role of others?
a. Comparisons of the self as more independent or interdependent
b. Variations of belief in religiosity
c. General beliefs in social cynicism
d. Language-based difference

Question 24

What describes the process of perceiving an entity as heaving intentions and personality?
a. Psychological field
b. Theory of mind
c. Attribution theory
d. Both B and C

Question 25

One recent shift in attitude research and in social psychology has been away from _______ approaches and toward examinations of _______.
a. Outcome-oriented, process
b. Process-oriented, process
c. Experimental, longitudinal studies
d. None of the above

Question 26

What basic assumption in research on social cognition concerns how cognitive elements form, operate and change over time?
a. Mental representation of the self
b. Mentalism
c. Cognitive Process
d. Information Processing

Question 27

A concept includes both the relevant ________ and the _______ among these ________.
a. Attributes, relationships, attributes
b. Relationships, attributes, relationships
c. All of the above
d. None of the above