Question 1

Rhea has two sons.She promises to give incentives to her sons for weeding the garden every Sunday.Her elder son,Aaron,gets $1 an hour,whereas her younger son,John,gets $5 an hour for the same task.Contrary to her expectation,Rhea notices that although Aaron is paid less for the task and has probably experienced more dissonance than John,he does a better job than John.In this scenario,Aaron's attitude toward the task exemplifies:

Accepted Answer

Aaron's attitude exemplifies the insufficient justification effect, which refers to the phenomenon where people who receive insufficient external justification for a behavior will often internalize the behavior and adopt an attitude that is consistent with the behavior, even if the behavior conflicts with their beliefs or values. In this case, Aaron is paid less for the same task as John, which provides insufficient external justification for his behavior of weeding the garden every Sunday. As a result, he may have internalized the behavior and developed an attitude that is consistent with it, leading him to perform the task better than John despite being paid less.

Question 2

Although your mother had to nag you to clean your room as a child,she always praised your effort when you finished cleaning your room.Her comments likely _____ your intrinsic motivation to maintain a clean and hygienic environment as an adult without being nagged.

Accepted Answer

Praise and positive reinforcement are known to increase intrinsic motivation, meaning that the individual becomes motivated to engage in the activity for its own sake rather than for external rewards or pressure. Therefore, it is likely that the mother's praise increased the child's motivation to maintain a clean and hygienic environment as an adult.

Question 3

You are an obese teenager who enjoys jogging.Your parents are concerned about your health and give you money whenever you jog.According to self-perception theory,your parents' behavior is most likely to _____ your intrinsic motivation for jogging.

Accepted Answer

According to self-perception theory, external rewards (in this case, receiving money from parents) can actually decrease a person's intrinsic motivation for an activity because they begin to perceive the activity as solely being done for the external reward, rather than for their own personal enjoyment or benefit. Therefore, the parents' behavior is likely to decrease the teenager's intrinsic motivation for jogging.

Question 4

_____ assumes that when our attitudes are weak or ambiguous,we infer them by looking at our behavior and the circumstances under which it occurs.In other words,we deduce our attitudes in the same manner as would an outside observer.

Accepted Answer

Self-perception theory suggests that when our attitudes are weak or ambiguous, we infer them by observing our own behavior and the context in which it occurs, similar to how an outside observer would perceive our behavior. This theory contrasts with cognitive dissonance theory, which proposes that we experience discomfort or tension when our attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent and seek to reduce that discomfort by changing our attitudes. The overjustification effect refers to a phenomenon where intrinsic motivation to perform a task is reduced when external rewards are introduced, and game theory is a mathematical framework for analyzing decision-making in strategic situations.

Question 5

In the context of behavior and attitudes,identify an example of the overjustification effect.

Accepted Answer

The overjustification effect occurs when an external incentive such as money or reward is offered for a behavior that was previously intrinsically motivated. In this example, Zoe loved gardening, which was an activity she enjoyed doing for its sake. However, when her parents offered her money for doing it, her intrinsic motivation decreased, and her interest in gardening declined. This is a clear example of the overjustification effect.

Question 6

Which theory assumes that when our attitudes are weak,we will simply observe our behavior and its circumstances and then infer our attitudes?

Accepted Answer

Self-perception theory assumes that when our attitudes are weak, we will infer our attitudes by observing our own behavior and the circumstances in which it occurred. In other words, we infer our attitudes from our behavior, rather than having a pre-existing attitude lead to our behavior.

Question 7

According to the theory of _____,you can best predict a person's behavior when you know that person's intended behaviors and their perceived self-efficacy and control.

Accepted Answer

The theory of planned behavior suggests that a person's behavioral intentions are the best predictor of their actual behavior. However, these intentions are influenced not only by attitudes and beliefs but also by the individual's perceived self-efficacy and perceived control over the behavior. Therefore, knowing a person's intended behavior and their level of perceived self-efficacy and control can help predict their actual behavior.

Question 8

Dissonance conditions do indeed arouse tension,especially when they threaten:

Accepted Answer

Dissonance conditions, such as encountering information that conflicts with one's beliefs or values, can threaten an individual's positive feelings of self-worth. This can lead to tension and the need to resolve the dissonance, often by changing one's attitudes or behaviors in order to reduce the psychological discomfort.

Question 9

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)found that when people act in a manner that is contrary to their internal attitudes they feel uncomfortable.To reduce this discomfort,they may change their attitudes.This is known as:

Accepted Answer

Festinger and Carlsmith's study describes the insufficient justification effect, which refers to the phenomenon where people reduce the discomfort they feel when behaving against their attitudes by changing their attitudes to match their behavior. The other choices are unrelated to this specific phenomenon.

Question 10

Zimbardo attributed the behavior of the subjects in his Stanford prison study to:

Accepted Answer

Zimbardo attributed the behavior of the subjects to the roles they were playing as either prisoners or guards. He believed that the power of the situation and the assigned roles had a profound effect on their behavior, rather than their individual personality traits or ability to process information.

Question 11

In the context of the overjustification effect,if you want Harry to spend less time watching MTV and more time watching PBS,you should:

Accepted Answer

The overjustification effect suggests that providing external rewards for an activity that someone already finds intrinsically motivating can reduce their intrinsic interest in that activity. By rewarding Harry for watching MTV, it may decrease his intrinsic motivation to watch it, potentially leading him to spend more time on other activities like watching PBS.

Question 12

Tim,a 30-year-old businessman,is asked by his friend if classical music is his favorite genre.Tim replies that it might be his favorite genre because he listens to it regularly and does not dislike it.In the context of psychology,which of the following theories will most accurately explain Tim's behavior?

Accepted Answer

Self-perception theory suggests that individuals infer their attitudes or preferences based on their behavior. In this case, Tim listens to classical music regularly, which leads him to perceive it as his favorite genre, even though he does not strongly prefer it over other genres. This aligns with the principles of self-perception theory.

Question 13

An attitude predicts one's behavior when:

Accepted Answer

Attitudes are more likely to predict behavior when they are strong and deeply felt, which is what is meant by an attitude being "potent." This means the individual is more likely to act in accordance with their attitudes because those attitudes are salient and influential in guiding behavior.

Question 14

A researcher who measures attitudes by assessing whether White people take longer to associate positive words with Black faces than with White faces is most likely using:

Accepted Answer

The researcher described is most likely using the implicit association test, which measures people's automatic associations between mental representations of objects in memory. In this case, the test would be measuring the automatic association between positive words and White faces versus Black faces, which could reveal underlying biases or attitudes towards people of different races. A and B are not accurate descriptions of this type of test, and D is unrelated to the measurement of attitudes.

Question 15

According to Rosenfeld et al.(1980)and Sansone (1986),rewards that seek to control people and lead them to believe it was the reward that caused their effort diminish the intrinsic appeal of an enjoyable task.In the context of psychology,this behavior is likely caused by:

Accepted Answer

The behavior described in the question is a result of the overjustification effect, where extrinsic rewards cause a decrease in intrinsic motivation. This is because individuals come to view the reward, rather than their own desire or enjoyment of the task, as the reason for their effort.

Question 16

As a teenager,you enjoy jogging.Your parents purchase new running shoes for you after every major milestone (e.g. ,when you ran your first marathon).According to self-perception theory,your parents' behavior is most likely to _____ your intrinsic motivation for jogging.

Accepted Answer

The provision of rewarding or positive feedback, in this case, new running shoes as a representation of appreciation and achievement, is likely to increase one's intrinsic motivation, as per self-perception theory.

Question 17

Identify a similarity between dissonance theory and self-perception theory.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Identify a similarity between dissonance theory and...

Question 18

Based on studies conducted by implicit attitude researchers,which of the following statements is true of implicit biases?

Accepted Answer

Implicit biases have been found to be pervasive, meaning they exist across various domains and individuals. The other options are not entirely accurate. While implicit biases may predict consumer behavior to some extent, explicit self-reports can also be useful. Additionally, a combination of implicit and explicit biases may be better predictors of behavior than just implicit biases alone. Finally, people can have different types of implicit biases, depending on various factors such as culture and personal experiences.

Question 19

Which theory states that people often experience a self-image threat after engaging in an undesirable behavior,and they can compensate by affirming another aspect of the self?

Accepted Answer

The theory described in the question is self-affirmation theory, as it posits that when individuals engage in behavior that is inconsistent with their self-image, they experience a threat to that image. To compensate for this threat, they may affirm another aspect of the self that is important to them. This theory emphasizes the desire for individuals to maintain a positive self-image and the ways in which they do so.

Question 20

Dissonance theory explains attitude _____,whereas self-perception theory explains attitude _____.

Accepted Answer

Dissonance theory explains attitude change as it involves altering attitudes to reduce discomfort from conflicting beliefs. Self-perception theory explains attitude formation as it involves forming attitudes by observing one's own behavior.

Quiz 4: Behavior and Attitudes