Question 1

The fundamental attribution error is due in part to

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error occurs when we overemphasize dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining someone else's behavior. This is often due to perceptual salience, or the fact that the person's behavior is more noticeable or "salient" than the situational factors surrounding them. We tend to focus on what stands out in our attention and may miss the hidden influences on behavior.

Question 2

Consider the following headline: "Evil Empire Masses Troops on Border." In which of the following newspapers would you be most likely to encounter such a headline?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Consider the following headline: "Evil Empire Masses...

Question 3

In a study by Lassiter and his colleagues (2007),judges and police officers viewed tapes of interrogations and were asked to evaluate the extent of 'voluntariness' of a confession.The focus of these tapes was varied.In which condition were judges and police officers most likely to show the correspondence bias in their evaluations?

Accepted Answer

When the tape showed only the suspect, judges and police officers were most likely to show the correspondence bias in their evaluations because they focused solely on the suspect's behavior without considering the influence of the interrogation context, leading them to attribute the confession more to the suspect's dispositional characteristics.

Question 4

At the party,Jenny overheard her friend say to Richard,"Be nice to Jenny! She's had a fight with her boyfriend and is feeling a bit low." Later Richard remarked to Jenny that she looked "so lovely tonight." Based on research by Gagné and colleagues,would Jenny believe that Richard was expressing his true opinion?

Accepted Answer

DResearch by Gagné and colleagues suggests that Jenny would probably not believe Richard was expressing his true opinion due to the correspondence bias, which is the tendency to attribute a person's behavior to their personality or disposition rather than to situational factors. Knowing that Richard was told to be nice to her because she's feeling low might lead Jenny to doubt the sincerity of his compliment, thinking it's not based on his true opinion but rather on the situation. Additionally, if Jenny has low self-esteem at the moment due to the fight with her boyfriend, this could further contribute to her skepticism of Richard's compliment, as people with low self-esteem might be more prone to doubt positive feedback. However, the specific combination of low self-esteem and dating someone else (C) is not directly related to Gagné's research findings on belief in sincerity but is included as a plausible reason for skepticism.

Question 5

Based on research in Chapter 4,you would expect that the effect of increasing perceptual salience of an individual on attribution is to

Accepted Answer

Increasing the perceptual salience of an individual tends to focus attention on the person rather than the situation, leading to a greater likelihood of making internal attributions about their behavior. This, in turn, increases the likelihood of the correspondence bias, where observers infer that a person's actions correspond to their disposition or personality, even when situational factors may be influential.

Question 6

Shelley Taylor and Susan Fiske (1975)conducted a clever experiment in which a group of participants observed a scripted conversation between two male confederates.Some could see both of the men; others could see the face of only one man or the other.When asked questions about the two confederates (e.g.,who had taken the lead in the conversation),participants who had a clear view of both men thought they were equally influential,whereas those who faced one or the other thought that the man whose face they saw was more influential.These results demonstrated that

Accepted Answer

The results of Taylor and Fiske's experiment suggest that the salience of perceptual stimuli (in this case, being able to see both men or only one) can influence the occurrence of the fundamental attribution error. This supports choice B as the best answer. The other choices are either incorrect (e.g., choice A) or not directly related to the experiment described (e.g., choice C). Choice E is partially relevant, as the experiment suggests that people go through two steps in making attributions (perception of the situation and interpretation of the behavior), but it doesn't fully capture the main point of the experiment.

Question 7

Daniel Gilbert and Patrick Malone (1995)have pointed out that we often fall prey to the fundamental attribution error because

Accepted Answer

We often fall prey to the fundamental attribution error because we lack insight into how actors interpret their situations, leading us to overemphasize personal traits over situational factors.

Question 8

One reason that people make the fundamental attribution error is that they

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error occurs when people attribute someone's behavior to dispositional factors rather than considering situational factors. This can happen when a person does not have access to any situational information and can only rely on the person's behavior to make a judgment. For example, if a person sees someone yelling, they may assume that the person is an angry or aggressive person, without considering that the person may be reacting to a stressful situation.

Question 9

The fundamental attributional error occurs more often in _______ cultures.

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to attribute others' behaviors to their dispositions while ignoring situational factors, occurs more often in Western cultures. Western cultures tend to emphasize individualism, leading people to focus more on individual traits and less on situational contexts.

Question 10

According to Fritz Heider (1958),people more likely to make internal rather than external attributions because they are

Accepted Answer

According to Fritz Heider, people are more likely to make internal attributions because they are perceptually focused on the person and not the situation. This means that they tend to interpret behavior in terms of the individual's personality or disposition rather than external factors such as the situation or environment.

Question 11

A study by Lassiter and his colleagues (2007)found that when judges and police officers viewed tapes of interrogations,they were more likely to find the confession of a suspect voluntary when the camera focused only on the suspect.Why?

Accepted Answer

The perceptual salience of the suspect, when the camera focuses solely on them, triggers the correspondence bias. This bias leads observers to attribute the suspect's behavior more to their personal dispositions and underestimates the situational pressures, such as the interrogation tactics used, which might make the confession seem more voluntary.

Question 12

Gagné and colleagues (2008)asked subjects to rate the extent to which a positive evaluation about themselves from an attractive opposite-sex person reflected that person's true opinion.The researchers also varied whether the positive evaluation was constrained (compelled by the researchers)or unconstrained (not influenced by the researchers).Which subjects took account of constraint in making their ratings?

Accepted Answer

Subjects who had low self-esteem and were currently in a dating relationship took account of constraint in making their ratings. This is because they were more likely to believe that the positive evaluation was not genuine if it was constrained, and therefore less likely to rate it as reflecting the person's true opinion.

Question 13

A number of researchers have found that participants from Asian cultures are less likely than participants from Western cultures to commit the fundamental attribution error and make self-serving attributions.These findings suggest that

Accepted Answer

The findings suggest that cultural values may influence attribution processes, specifically the tendency to commit the fundamental attribution error and make self-serving attributions. This highlights the importance of considering cultural differences in understanding social cognition.

Question 14

Why do we sometimes skip the second step in making attributions?

Accepted Answer

We may lack the time, energy, and motivation to consider revising our initial attributions. This is often referred to as the cognitive miser approach, where people conserve mental energy by relying on quick, efficient, and sometimes inaccurate mental processes. Additionally, the second step may not be necessary if the initial attribution is already accurate based on the available information.

Question 15

Althea doesn't talk much on her first date with Sean.Sean assumes that is because she's shy.She isn't shy.Althea is quiet because she has recently had a root canal and it still hurts to move her mouth.This example best illustrates that differential _______ can be a source of actor/observer differences in attributions.

Accepted Answer

Sean does not have access to the same information that Althea does about why she is not talking much. This lack of information leads to a difference in attribution between the observer (Sean) and the actor (Althea).

Question 16

Based on a study by Lassiter and his colleagues (2007)examining how judges and police officers viewed tapes of interrogations,if you were going to be interrogated by a detective,you would NOT want the camera pointed

Accepted Answer

The study found that when the camera is focused solely on the suspect, observers are more likely to perceive the confession as voluntary and the suspect as guilty, due to a lack of context and potential bias.

Question 17

In research by Lassiter and colleagues (2007),when were judges and police officers who had been shown a videotaped confession by a suspect more likely to evaluate the confession as 'voluntary'?

Accepted Answer

The study found that judges and police officers were more likely to evaluate a confession as voluntary when they watched a videotape that focused on the suspect only, rather than the interrogator or both the suspect and interrogator.

Question 18

Gagné and colleagues (2008)asked subjects to rate the extent to which a positive evaluation about themselves from an attractive opposite-sex person reflected that person's true opinion.The researchers also varied whether the positive evaluation was constrained (compelled by the researchers)or unconstrained (not influenced by the researchers).Which kind of attribution did most subjects make for the attractive person's evaluation in the constrained condition?

Accepted Answer

In the constrained condition, where the positive evaluation was compelled by the researchers, most subjects made dispositional attributions for the attractive person's evaluation. This means they believed that the attractive person genuinely held the positive opinion about them, rather than attributing the evaluation to external or situational factors.

Question 19

What are the two steps in making attributions?

Accepted Answer

The two steps in making attributions are first making an internal attribution and then adjusting the attribution by considering the situation the person was in. This process is called the fundamental attribution error. Making an external attribution first and then adjusting it is not accurate. Making a self-serving attribution is a separate process and not necessarily the first step in making an attribution. Considering the personality of the person is not necessarily a step in making an attribution. Distinctiveness and consensus are factors that can affect attribution, but they are not the two steps in making an attribution.

Question 20

You are on a balcony in Hong Kong reading the morning newspaper and you notice a headline about a double murder that took place in the city overnight.A suspect is in custody.Which of the following headlines is most likely to accompany the story?

Accepted Answer

The headline "Dispute Over Gambling Debt Ends in Murder" suggests a motive for the crime and implies that the suspect may not be a psychopathic killer, but rather someone who was involved in a criminal activity that led to violence. This headline is more likely to provide a factual and objective account of the crime, rather than sensationalizing it with exaggerated language.

Quiz 4: Social Perception

The fundamental attribution error is due in part to

Consider the following headline: "Evil Empire Masses Troops on Border." In which of the following newspapers would you be most likely to encounter such a headline?

Based on research in Chapter 4,you would expect that the effect of increasing perceptual salience of an individual on attribution is to

Daniel Gilbert and Patrick Malone (1995) have pointed out that we often fall prey to the fundamental attribution error because

One reason that people make the fundamental attribution error is that they

The fundamental attributional error occurs more often in _______ cultures.

According to Fritz Heider (1958) ,people more likely to make internal rather than external attributions because they are

A study by Lassiter and his colleagues (2007) found that when judges and police officers viewed tapes of interrogations,they were more likely to find the confession of a suspect voluntary when the camera focused only on the suspect.Why?

A number of researchers have found that participants from Asian cultures are less likely than participants from Western cultures to commit the fundamental attribution error and make self-serving attributions.These findings suggest that

Why do we sometimes skip the second step in making attributions?

Based on a study by Lassiter and his colleagues (2007) examining how judges and police officers viewed tapes of interrogations,if you were going to be interrogated by a detective,you would NOT want the camera pointed

In research by Lassiter and colleagues (2007) ,when were judges and police officers who had been shown a videotaped confession by a suspect more likely to evaluate the confession as 'voluntary'?

What are the two steps in making attributions?

You are on a balcony in Hong Kong reading the morning newspaper and you notice a headline about a double murder that took place in the city overnight.A suspect is in custody.Which of the following headlines is most likely to accompany the story?