Question 1

Social psychologists use the term ____ to refer to the self's capacity to alter its own responses.
A)self-regulation
B)self-monitoring
C)response modification
D)prosocial behavior

Accepted Answer

Self-regulation refers to the ability of an individual to control or adjust their emotions, behaviors, and desires in the face of external demands to achieve personal goals or adhere to societal standards. This term is widely used in psychology to describe how people manage their own actions and reactions.

Question 2

One of the biggest differences between attending to current concerns and engaging in long-term planning is the fact that people dealing with current concerns tend to be more focused on ____.
A)intrinsic rewards rather than extrinsic rewards
B)the cultural or social significance of things
C)high levels of meaning
D)practical constraints

Accepted Answer

When dealing with current concerns, individuals are more likely to focus on practical constraints because these are immediate issues that need to be addressed to manage day-to-day life effectively. Long-term planning might involve broader considerations like intrinsic rewards, cultural significance, or seeking meaning, but immediate concerns are typically more about navigating practical challenges.

Question 3

Martina is studying for her calculus exam.  She needs to write a paper for another class, too, but while she is studying for her calculus class, her mind shuts off the paper so that she can focus on her math.  Martina is experiencing ____.
A)learned helplessness
B)the panic button effect
C)the Zeigarnik effect
D)goal shielding

Accepted Answer

Martina is experiencing goal shielding, which occurs when focusing on one goal suppresses the awareness of other goals, allowing her to concentrate on studying for her calculus exam without being distracted by the need to write a paper for another class.

Question 4

The purpose of goal shielding is to ____.
A)ensure that you achieve your most important goals
B)provide rules to monitor your progress towards your goals
C)help develop plans to achieve your goals
D)manage the competition between multiple goals

Accepted Answer

Goal shielding is a cognitive process that helps manage the competition between multiple goals by focusing on one goal and suppressing the others, thus preventing distractions and enhancing the chances of achieving the prioritized goal.

Question 5

Which individual is LEAST likely to experience effective  goal shielding?
A)Kayla, who is not very committed to achieving her current goals
B)Leo, who is somewhat committed to achieving his current goals
C)Martin, who is very committed to achieving his current goals
D)Nan, who has decided in theory to commit to her current goals

Accepted Answer

Kayla, who is not very committed to achieving her current goals, is least likely to experience effective goal shielding because strong commitment to a goal is crucial for effectively focusing on it and shielding it from competing goals.

Question 6

Both parts of the duplex mind play a role in navigating through a hierarchy of goals. The automatic system helps ____, while the conscious system ____.
A)keep track of and initiate specific goals; revises plans when goals are blocked
B)assess progress; carries out plans
C)evaluate opportunities that are in line with goals; acts on plans associated with these goals
D)monitor whether or not progress through the hierarchy is satisfactory; initiates new goals

Accepted Answer

The automatic system is adept at keeping track of and initiating specific goals due to its efficiency and speed in processing routine or well-learned tasks. The conscious system, on the other hand, is better suited for revising plans when goals are blocked, as it can deliberate, make decisions, and adjust strategies based on new information or changing circumstances.

Question 7

Research on the planning fallacy indicates that we tend to ____ when making predictions about ourselves and we tend to ____ when making predictions about other people.
A)be overly optimistic; be overly optimistic also
B)be overly optimistic; be realistic
C)be overly optimistic; be overly pessimistic
D)be realistic; be overly pessimistic

Accepted Answer

The answer of Research on the planning fallacy indicates that...

Question 8

Jacopo has a long-term goal of becoming a neurologist. At the moment, though, he is only seven years old. He therefore also has several "stepping stone goals" (finishing high school, going to college, going to medical school, etc.). Given this information, we can say that Jacopo has a complete ____.
A)hierarchy of goals
B)action identification system
C)incremental system map
D)self-determination map

Accepted Answer

Jacopo's progression from finishing high school to going to college, and then to medical school before becoming a neurologist, outlines a series of steps or goals that lead to a final, long-term goal. This sequence of goals forms a hierarchy, where each goal serves as a stepping stone to the next, fitting the definition of a hierarchy of goals.

Question 9

The planning fallacy is probably a result of the fact that people adopt a(n)____.
A)optimistic mindset when setting goals but a realistic mindset when striving toward goals
B)pessimistic mindset when setting goals
C)optimistic mindset when setting goals
D)optimistic mindset when striving toward goals

Accepted Answer

The answer of The planning fallacy is probably a result...

Question 10

Research on proximal goals and distal goals suggests that MOST people ____.
A)have goal hierarchies (including proximal goals and distal goals)
B)have proximal goals but not distal goals
C)have distal goals but not proximal goals
D)have either proximal goals or distal goals (but not both)

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that most people have goal hierarchies that include both proximal (short-term) and distal (long-term) goals, suggesting an integrated approach to goal setting and achievement.

Question 11

Many of the problems that afflict people in modern society-such as drug addictions, anger management problems, obesity, sexually transmitted diseases, and crime-involve some component of an inadequate ____.
A)self-regulation
B)planning fallacy
C)temporal discounting
D)reactance

Accepted Answer

Self-regulation is crucial in managing behaviors and impulses that can lead to issues like drug addiction, obesity, and crime. It involves controlling one's emotions, behaviors, and desires to meet long-term goals, which is directly related to the problems mentioned.

Question 12

When people make short-range decisions (e.g., what they are going to do that week)rather than long-range decisions (e.g., decisions about things that are far off in the future), they tend to focus more on ____.
A)intrinsic rewards rather than extrinsic rewards
B)the cultural or social significance of things
C)high levels of meaning
D)practical constraints

Accepted Answer

When making short-range decisions, individuals are more likely to focus on practical constraints such as time, resources, and immediate needs rather than on intrinsic rewards, cultural significance, or high levels of meaning, which might play a more significant role in long-range planning.

Question 13

Even though Tyra knows that most people take much longer than they anticipate in completing their dissertations (sometimes even years longer), she is certain that she will be able to conduct her dissertation research, write her dissertation, and defend it to the members of the dissertation committee, all within nine months. She is sure that if she works hard, she will be able to successfully finish per schedule. Tyra appears to be ____.
A)a victim of the planning fallacy
B)showing evidence of the Zeigarnik effect
C)a victim of the omission bias
D)an entity theorist

Accepted Answer

Tyra's belief that she can complete her dissertation much faster than is typical, despite evidence to the contrary, is an example of the planning fallacy. The planning fallacy is a cognitive bias where people underestimate the time, costs, and risks of future actions and overestimate the benefits, leading to a belief that projects can be completed more quickly or more cheaply than is actually the case.

Question 14

When a person starts working toward one goal and the mind automatically shuts off other goals from consciousness, ____ is said to have occurred.
A)goal shielding
B)self-regulation
C)tradeoffs
D)monitoring

Accepted Answer

Goal shielding occurs when the focus on one goal suppresses the awareness of other goals, allowing for more concentrated effort towards achieving the primary objective.

Question 15

The two main drawbacks of plans are that ____ and ____.
A)they can be discouraging if they are too rigid and detailed; they tend to be overly optimistic
B)they can be discouraging if they are too rigid and detailed; they often fail to prioritize the most important things
C)they tend to distract people from actually completing the tasks at hand; they tend to be overly optimistic
D)they tend to distract people from actually completing the tasks at hand; they often fail to prioritize the most important things

Accepted Answer

Plans can be discouraging if they are too rigid and detailed because they may not allow for flexibility when unexpected situations arise. Additionally, plans tend to be overly optimistic, underestimating the time, resources, or challenges involved in achieving the goals.

Question 16

Who is MOST likely to experience effective goal shielding?
A)Marlena, who is not very committed to her current goal
B)Justin, who is very committed to his current goal
C)Leann, who is somewhat committed to her current goal
D)Fabio, who is avoiding the decision of committing to his current goal

Accepted Answer

Justin, who is very committed to his current goal, is most likely to experience effective goal shielding because high commitment to a goal enhances focus and reduces the impact of distractions, leading to better shielding of the goal from competing desires or tasks.

Question 17

The term self-regulation essentially refers to ____.
A)self-monitoring
B)self-control
C)behaving consistently across time
D)behaving similarly to other people

Accepted Answer

The answer of The term self-regulation essentially refers to ____.
A)self-monitoring
B)self-control
C)behaving...

Question 18

Peter is the team leader of a major project at work. The project is very complex and will require a number of months to complete. Peter wants to ensure that his team members stay motivated and focus on the task at hand despite the inevitable frustrations that are likely to come up along the way. Based on research, when it is MOST likely that the team will experience the lowest motivation?
A)At the start of the project
B)Midway through the project
C)When the project is very close to completion
D)Almost randomly, throughout the course of the project

Accepted Answer

Midway through the project, teams often experience the lowest motivation, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "mid-project slump." This is due to the initial excitement wearing off, the realization of the amount of work still required, and potential frustrations from early obstacles or challenges.

Question 19

In social psychology, the "belief that one's own project will proceed as planned, even while knowing that the vast majority of similar projects have run late" is known as the ____.
A)planning fallacy
B)omission bias
C)Zeigarnik effect
D)capacity to delay gratification

Accepted Answer

The planning fallacy is a phenomenon where individuals underestimate the time, costs, and risks of future actions and at the same time overestimate the benefits of the same actions. This leads to the belief that one's own project will proceed as planned, despite evidence that most similar projects have experienced delays or issues.

Question 20

Which of the following is an accurate statement about goals?
A)Goals are typically independent.
B)People usually have a hierarchy of goals.
C)Distal goals operate as stepping stones toward proximal goals.
D)Having only proximal goals is better than having only distal goals.

Accepted Answer

People often have a hierarchy of goals, where some goals are subordinate to others, reflecting different levels of priority and abstraction. This hierarchy helps in organizing and prioritizing actions towards achieving these goals.

Quiz 4: Choices and Actions: The Self in Control

Social psychologists use the term ____ to refer to the self's capacity to alter its own responses.

One of the biggest differences between attending to current concerns and engaging in long-term planning is the fact that people dealing with current concerns tend to be more focused on ____.

Martina is studying for her calculus exam. She needs to write a paper for another class, too, but while she is studying for her calculus class, her mind shuts off the paper so that she can focus on her math. Martina is experiencing ____.

The purpose of goal shielding is to ____.

Which individual is LEAST likely to experience effective goal shielding?

Both parts of the duplex mind play a role in navigating through a hierarchy of goals. The automatic system helps , while the conscious system .

Research on the planning fallacy indicates that we tend to when making predictions about ourselves and we tend to when making predictions about other people.

The planning fallacy is probably a result of the fact that people adopt a(n) ____.

Research on proximal goals and distal goals suggests that MOST people ____.

Many of the problems that afflict people in modern society-such as drug addictions, anger management problems, obesity, sexually transmitted diseases, and crime-involve some component of an inadequate ____.

When people make short-range decisions (e.g., what they are going to do that week) rather than long-range decisions (e.g., decisions about things that are far off in the future) , they tend to focus more on ____.

When a person starts working toward one goal and the mind automatically shuts off other goals from consciousness, ____ is said to have occurred.

The two main drawbacks of plans are that and .

Who is MOST likely to experience effective goal shielding?

The term self-regulation essentially refers to ____.

In social psychology, the "belief that one's own project will proceed as planned, even while knowing that the vast majority of similar projects have run late" is known as the ____.

Which of the following is an accurate statement about goals?