Question 1

One potential problem of justifying past behavior in order to protect our self-esteem is that __________.

Accepted Answer

It hinders people from learning from their past mistakes.

Question 2

Melissa, Sally, Kathleen, and Lynne went mountain climbing. According to the self-justification approach, which one of the women would most appreciate the view from the top of the mountain?

Accepted Answer

Sally would most appreciate the view because, according to the self-justification approach, the effort and pain (pulling a muscle and getting scratched by thorns) she endured would make her value the achievement more.

Question 3

Social cognition is the study of how people __________.

Accepted Answer

Social cognition focuses on how individuals perceive, interpret, and make sense of information about themselves and the social world, including the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of others. It is not specifically concerned with problem-solving, group behavior, or actual behavior toward outgroup members, although it can inform our understanding of these areas.

Question 4

Tom saw a weight-loss program advertised on late-night television. The ad claimed that deep breathing exercises would speed up metabolism, causing people to lose weight. He mailed a check for $99.95. When the plan arrived, Tom rearranged his day so that he could complete the breathing exercises as scheduled. They made him nauseated and dizzy, and before long, Tom's friends began to think that he was going overboard with the program, and they began to avoid him. After the end of the ten-week program, Tom got on the scale and saw that he hadn't lost an ounce! Still, he remained enthusiastic and thought, "I may not have lost any weight, but I feel so much healthier!" This situation is best explained by __________.

Accepted Answer

The situation is best explained by the justification of suffering, where Tom continues to believe in the benefits of the program despite its failure to deliver its primary promise, likely because he has invested money and effort into it.

Question 5

The social cognition approach compares people to amateur __________.

Accepted Answer

The social cognition approach suggests that people are like amateur detectives who gather and interpret evidence in order to understand and navigate their social world.

Question 6

Julie and Tina have a very exclusive club. In order to make new members loyal and really enjoy being part of the club, Julie says new members should be rewarded for their good behaviors in the club. Tina, however, suggests that they use an embarrassing initiation. In this example, Julie is taking a __________ approach, while Tina is taking a __________ approach.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Julie and Tina have a very exclusive...

Question 7

Leslie cannot say no to anyone. Consequently, she takes on too much and doesn't fulfill her commitments as promptly as she might. Assume that when asked to explain these behaviors, Leslie is motivated to be accurate in her self-perceptions. What would she be most likely to say?

Accepted Answer

Option C acknowledges Leslie's tendency to take on too much and not fulfill her commitments promptly, and also acknowledges her personality trait of being a pushover. Options A, B, and D do not accurately address Leslie's self-perceptions or motivations for her behavior.

Question 8

Dimitri went through a lot of hard work during Basic Training in the Army. At times, drill sergeants yelled at him; he was physically exhausted and emotionally distressed. But, at the end of Basic Training, he felt that joining the Army had been a very good decision. The self-esteem explanation for Dimitri's feelings about Basic Training is that __________.

Accepted Answer

The self-esteem explanation for Dimitri's feelings suggests that he needed to justify his suffering in Basic Training while maintaining his self-esteem, which explains his positive feelings at the end of it.

Question 9

Mikaela justifies her past behaviors to protect her self-esteem. What is most likely to happen to Mikaela?

Accepted Answer

If Mikaela justifies her past behaviors to protect her self-esteem, she is less likely to take responsibility for her actions and learn from her mistakes, which could hinder her personal growth and development.

Question 10

Many fraternities, sororities, and sports teams have initiation rituals. For example, at one school, all the members of the soccer team must wear unusual clothing everywhere on campus for an entire day and then have embarrassing haircuts. These rituals try to capitalize on the role of __________ in increasing commitment via self-justification.

Accepted Answer

These rituals involve a form of suffering or discomfort, which participants are likely to justify by increasing their commitment to the group, aligning with the concept of self-justification.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a likely consequence of the human tendency to prefer self-justifying information to accurate information?

Accepted Answer

The tendency to prefer self-justifying information can lead to negative consequences such as maintaining one's self-esteem (A), becoming less likely to learn from experiences (B), and making faulty decisions (C). However, gaining feedback that makes for better decisions (D) is not a likely consequence of this tendency.

Question 12

Josh and his friends have just started up a new fraternity on campus, and want to recruit men who will be loyal and love it. Based on the self-esteem approach, which initiation strategy would you recommend to Josh?

Accepted Answer

According to the self-esteem approach, making initiates undergo some form of hardship or challenge (in this case, "make them suffer a little") can increase their loyalty and love for the group. This is because individuals tend to value membership more highly in groups that are harder to join, due to the effort justification bias.

Question 13

Assume that, contrary to research findings, people who undergo a severe initiation to join a group actually like the group less than do people who undergo a mild initiation. If these findings were true, they would provide support for a __________ approach to social influence.

Accepted Answer

This scenario suggests that the severity of the initiation (i.e. behavior) is influencing the liking of the group (i.e. outcome), which aligns with a behaviorist approach to social influence. The other choices (social cognitive, self-esteem, Gestalt) do not directly address the role of behavior in social influence.

Question 14

Social psychological research has convincingly demonstrated that the __________ the initiation to join a group, the __________ the initiates like the group.

Accepted Answer

Research in social psychology has shown that the more severe the initiation to join a group, the more the initiates tend to like the group. This phenomenon is explained by the effort justification aspect of cognitive dissonance theory, where individuals rationalize the effort they put into joining a group by increasing their liking for the group.

Question 15

How people select, interpret, remember, and use information to make judgments and decisions is called __________.

Accepted Answer

The definition given perfectly fits the concept of social cognition, which is concerned with how people process, store, and apply information about themselves and others in social situations. Self-esteem refers to an individual's evaluation of their own worth, social psychology is a broader field that studies how people interact with and influence one another, and behaviorism focuses on how behavior is shaped by environmental stimuli.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is NOT consistent with the social cognition approach to social psychology?

Accepted Answer

The social cognition approach to social psychology emphasizes that people try to view the world as accurately as possible using their thinking and reasoning abilities. However, people may still make errors due to limitations in information processing. The approach does not suggest that people distort reality to make themselves look good, which is more consistent with social identity theory.

Question 17

The social cognition approach is based on the notion that humans are often motivated to __________.

Accepted Answer

The social cognition approach emphasizes the importance of accuracy in perceptions and inferences, as it focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about others and social situations.

Question 18

You might have heard the old Groucho Marx quip, "I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me for a member." From a self-esteem perspective in social psychology, what would be a more accurate-if less humorous-statement?

Accepted Answer

This statement reflects the psychological phenomenon where individuals often value membership more if they have to endure hardship or challenges to gain it. This is related to the concept of effort justification, where people attribute greater value to outcomes they've worked hard to achieve.

Question 19

The __________ approach portrays humans as akin to Sherlock Holmes, who tries his best to accurately make sense of the facts.

Accepted Answer

The social cognition approach focuses on how individuals interpret and understand the social world around them, emphasizing the ways in which people actively seek out and use information to make sense of their environment. This approach encourages individuals to be analytical and objective in their thinking, akin to Sherlock Holmes' approach to solving mysteries.

Question 20

Human beings are often motivated to construe themselves and the social world accurately. The __________ approach is based on this assumption.

Accepted Answer

The social cognition approach is based on the idea that humans have a natural tendency to try and understand the social world around us and to accurately interpret the thoughts and behaviors of ourselves and others. This approach looks at how individuals process, store, and apply information about social situations and people, in order to better understand the factors that influence our perceptions, judgments, and decision-making processes.

Quiz 1: Introducing Social Psychology