Question 1

In a study conducted in Mauritius, young men participated in a painful religious ritual, watched other young men participate in the ritual, or sang and prayed. The young men who ____ donated the least amount to the temple.

Accepted Answer

The young men who sang and prayed as their part in the ritual donated the least amount to the temple, likely because they did not experience the same level of personal sacrifice or group bonding as those who participated in or watched the painful ritual.

Question 2

According to the principles of ____ people are relatively likely to repeat behaviors that have been rewarded and relatively unlikely to repeat behaviors that have been punished.

Accepted Answer

The principle that people are likely to repeat behaviors that have been rewarded and unlikely to repeat behaviors that have been punished is a core principle of operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is focused on pairing two stimuli together to create a response, and does not directly address rewarding or punishing behaviors. Vicarious learning involves learning from observing the behavior of others, and effort justification is a phenomenon where people value a task more highly if they put more effort into it.

Question 3

If the idea of effort justification is to be believed, the best way to get people to commit to a particular group is to ____.

Accepted Answer

According to the idea of effort justification, when people put in effort to join a particular group, they tend to value that group more and become more committed to it. Making it somewhat difficult to join, such as requiring an application or screening process, can increase the perceived value of the group and lead to greater commitment.

Question 4

One of the reasons university officials have so much difficulty in eliminating hazing rituals is that ____.

Accepted Answer

Hazing rituals are often seen by group members as a way to increase the cohesiveness of the group and strengthen ties between members. This belief can make it difficult for university officials to eliminate these rituals, as they may be perceived as necessary or beneficial by group members.

Question 5

Attitude polarization refers to the finding that ____.

Accepted Answer

Attitude polarization refers to the phenomenon where reflecting on a given attitude tends to make people's positions more extreme, rather than making them more open-minded.

Question 6

Research suggests that the more people think about their attitudes, the stronger their attitudes tend to become. For example, the more a Lakers fan thinks about how much she likes the Lakers, the more of a die-hard fan she is likely to become. This effect is called ____.

Accepted Answer

Attitude polarization is the phenomenon where the more people think about their attitudes, the more extreme and entrenched those attitudes become. This is often seen in the context of political attitudes, where individuals become more firmly entrenched in their views the more they think about and discuss them.

Question 7

Beth and Jean are talking about welfare reform in America. Beth is very passionate about the issue, and makes strong statements about her views. Jean later e-mails Beth an article which contains some information that is consistent with Beth's views, as well as some information that is inconsistent with Beth's views. Beth chooses to believe the consistent information but discounts the inconsistent information. As a matter of fact, after reading the article and thinking about the data it contained-even though these data were mixed-Beth actually feels even more passionate and more strongly about her position. This is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

Attitude polarization occurs when individuals become more extreme in their opinions and beliefs even when presented with information that contradicts their original views. In this scenario, Beth's belief in welfare reform is only strengthened by the consistent information in the article and she discounts the inconsistent information, leading to greater polarization of her attitudes.

Question 8

Paul is trying to train his puppy, Cupcake. He yells "Bad dog!" whenever Cupcake fails to do what he wants. Paul seems to be using ____.

Accepted Answer

Paul is using operant conditioning by providing negative reinforcement (yelling "Bad dog!") in response to Cupcake's behavior. He is trying to decrease the frequency of Cupcake's unwanted behavior through punishment, which is a type of operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a reflexive response, and social learning involves observing and imitating the behavior of others. Attitude polarization refers to the tendency for people to become more extreme in their beliefs after being exposed to information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs.

Question 9

In a study conducted in Mauritius, young men who participated in the Kavadi, a painful religious ritual requiring piercing the skin with needles, dragging a cart attached by hooks to the skin, and climbing a mountain barefoot, ____.

Accepted Answer

The study found that participants in the Kavadi showed increased prosocial behavior, such as volunteering to help others in their community. This suggests that the painful ritual may strengthen their connection to their religious community and inspire them to engage in more positive behaviors towards others.

Question 10

Research has demonstrated that people are more likely to imitate behaviors if they have seen others rewarded for performing those behaviors, and less likely to imitate behaviors if they have seen others punished for performing those behaviors. This type of learning is known as ____.

Accepted Answer

The statement describes social learning, which involves learning through observing the behaviors of others and the consequences of those behaviors. Instrumental learning and operant conditioning both refer specifically to learning through consequences (rewards and punishments), but do not necessarily involve observing others. Classical conditioning involves learning through the association of two stimuli, rather than through observation of others' behaviors.

Question 11

According to research studies, people who hold strong attitudes toward an issue are least likely to do which of the following?

Accepted Answer

People who hold strong attitudes toward an issue tend to seek out information that supports their initial view and tend to evaluate relevant information in a biased manner. However, they are unlikely to seek out relevant information from outgroup members, as this information may challenge or contradict their preexisting attitudes. This is known as the "confirmation bias," which refers to the tendency to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs. Therefore, option C is the best choice.

Question 12

Hazing rituals make use of the idea of ____.

Accepted Answer

Hazing rituals rely on the idea of effort justification, which is the tendency for individuals to justify their membership in a group or organization by enduring difficult or challenging experiences. Hazing rituals often involve physically and emotionally demanding tasks or activities, and those who successfully complete them are seen as more dedicated and deserving of membership in the group.

Question 13

Social learning is also sometimes referred to as observational learning or ____.

Accepted Answer

Social learning is often referred to as observational learning because it involves learning through observing and imitating the behaviors of others, such as parents, peers, or media figures. It is also sometimes referred to as vicarious conditioning, which emphasizes the role of modeling in learning. Instrumental learning, on the other hand, refers to the process of learning through the consequences of one's own behavior, while justified learning and conditional learning are not commonly used terms in the field of psychology.

Question 14

Which of the following is the best example of social learning?

Accepted Answer

Social learning involves observing and modeling the behavior of others. In option A, the individual is observing their classmates and modeling the behavior of speaking with professors after class. This is an example of social learning. Option B is an example of classical conditioning, option C is an example of operant conditioning, and option D is an example of mere exposure effect.

Question 15

Kevin has just moved to a new neighborhood. In his old neighborhood, everyone wore Vans and board shorts, but he notices that the kids on his new block are wearing Nikes and basketball shorts. He also notices that they tease people who are not dressed this way. Kevin immediately asks his mom to take him to the store to buy new clothes. What has taken place here?

Accepted Answer

Kevin has observed the behavior and dress of the kids in his new neighborhood and is motivated to conform to their norms and avoid being teased. This is an example of observational learning, where an individual learns by observing and imitating the behavior of others.

Question 16

Henry's mother always praises him when he practices the piano and denies him dessert when he doesn't. Henry's mother is apparently employing techniques based on ____ in order to encourage her son to practice more.

Accepted Answer

Henry's mother is using positive reinforcement (praising him) and negative punishment (denying him dessert) to encourage his behavior of practicing the piano. This is a classic example of operant conditioning, where behavior is shaped through consequences.

Question 17

One technique that advertisers often use to influence consumers is celebrity endorsement. The logic works like this: If people like Catherine Zeta-Jones and repeatedly see T-Mobile products together with Catherine Zeta-Jones, then people will learn to associate T-Mobile with her and will in turn like T-Mobile more. That is, celebrity endorsement is expected to lead to ____.

Accepted Answer

The use of a celebrity to promote a product is an example of classical conditioning, where a stimulus (the celebrity) that naturally elicits a certain response (positive emotions or feelings of admiration for the celebrity) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (the product), with the goal of transferring those positive feelings to the product.

Question 18

Operant conditioning is also sometimes referred to as ____.

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning is also known as instrumental learning because it involves learning through the consequences of one's actions, or the instrumental behaviors. This type of learning is based on the principle that behaviors that are rewarded or reinforced are more likely to be repeated in the future, while behaviors that are punished or not reinforced are less likely to be repeated.

Question 19

Which of the following is the best example of operant conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Option C is the best example of operant conditioning as it involves the process of reinforcement. The individual asks for an extension on a paper, and the teacher grants the request, leading to a positive outcome (a good grade). This positive outcome strengthens the behavior of asking for extensions, making it more likely to occur in the future.

Question 20

In a study conducted in Mauritius, young men participated in a painful religious ritual, watched other young men participate in the ritual, or sang and prayed. The young men who ____ identified more with the larger social group as a result of their participation.

Accepted Answer

The study states that young men who participated in the painful ritual, watched others participate in the ritual, or sang and prayed all showed an increase in identification with the larger social group. Therefore, performing or watching the painful ritual (option D) would be the best choice.

Quiz 7: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Consistency