Question 1

Lori, a person with whom you are not friends, volunteers at the local hospital. You assume that she is volunteering so that she will look good on her college applications. However, when your best friend adamantly refuses to volunteer his time, you assume it is because he is so busy with all of the other activities in his life. Which of the following attributional errors does this situation illustrate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Lori, a person with whom you are...

Question 2

Your roommate Perry is often cranky. One night you overhear Perry yelling at someone on his cell phone. You conclude that Perry is being his irritable self again and feel bad for the person he's talking to. You have made a(n)__________ attribution for Perry's behavior.

Accepted Answer

By assuming that Perry's behavior is due to his internal disposition or personality, rather than external circumstances or factors, the attribution made is internal.

Question 3

Devin is running to catch a bus when he sees a person trip and fall. As Devin is getting on the bus, he sees another man walk right past the person in need of help. Devin thinks to himself, "I can't believe that man didn't help that person. He is really a selfish person. I would have helped, if I hadn't been in such a hurry." He is displaying

Accepted Answer

The answer of Devin is running to catch a bus...

Question 4

Felipe always drives over the speed limit, and he never wears a seat belt. When Felipe's mom tells him that he should be more careful, he responds by saying, "I am not going to have an accident." Although statistics show that people in Felipe's age group are more likely to get into a car accident, Felipe believes nothing bad will happen to him. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

Felipe's belief that nothing bad will happen to him despite evidence to the contrary is an example of unrealistic optimism, where individuals believe they are less likely to experience negative events compared to others.

Question 5

Which of the following people is not demonstrating unrealistic optimism?

Accepted Answer

Betty is not demonstrating unrealistic optimism because her belief that she will get a scholarship is based on her academic achievements.

Question 6

Your new housemate comes home from on-campus registration, throws his coat angrily on the floor, goes to his room, and slams the door without greeting you. You conclude that your housemate is a hostile, unfriendly person. Your conclusion is the result of

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to attribute behavior to a person's internal characteristics rather than to external circumstances. In this case, assuming that your housemate is a hostile and unfriendly person is an example of the fundamental attribution error because you are attributing their behavior to their personality traits rather than considering that there may be external factors contributing to their behavior (e.g. a bad day at registration).

Question 7

Zewde is usually very friendly and outgoing. She is typically polite to others and always leaves a large tip when she goes out to eat. Earlier today, however, you saw her yell at a waiter at a local restaurant. You also noticed that other customers yelled at this waiter. According to the fundamentals of attribution theory, you are likely to make a(n)__________ attribution for Zewde's behavior.

Accepted Answer

The behavior of other customers suggests that the situation (external factors) might be causing Zewde's unusual behavior, leading to an external attribution.

Question 8

Barry received an A on his first group project. He believes this grade is the result of his superior intelligence and hard work. He received a D on his second group project, and he attributes this grade to the other group members' poor work and stupidity. What attributional error is Barry demonstrating?

Accepted Answer

Barry is demonstrating a self-serving bias, as he is attributing his success to internal factors (his own intelligence and effort) while attributing his failure to external factors (the other group members' poor work and intelligence).

Question 9

Bauer and McKinley elementary schools are involved in a canned food drive to see which school donates the most cans to a local homeless shelter. Alan, a student at Bauer elementary, says, "All the kids at McKinley elementary are just donating so they can win the contest. We're donating to help feed the homeless!" Alan's comment demonstrates

Accepted Answer

The answer of Bauer and McKinley elementary schools are involved...

Question 10

Terranceis watching the Olympics at his home in Montreal, Quebec. Whenever his country wins an event, Terrance boasts about the skills and talents of the Canadian athletes. Whenever another country wins an event, he claims that the athletes of that country "got lucky." Terrance is demonstrating

Accepted Answer

Terrance is demonstrating how people tend to attribute the behaviors of ingroups and outgroups differently, showing bias in favor of his own group (Canada) and attributing success to skill, while attributing outgroup success to luck.

Question 11

Vendela believes she did poorly on her driver's exam because she was too busy with other responsibilities to practice enough. However, she believes the other low scorers did poorly because they are bad drivers. Vendela's reasoning demonstrates the

Accepted Answer

The actor-observer effect is when people attribute their own actions to situational factors but attribute others' actions to dispositional factors. Vendela attributes her poor performance to external factors (being busy) and others' poor performance to internal factors (being bad drivers).

Question 12

Regina believes she did well in her psychology class because she is smart but blames her poor performance in chemistry on her "incompetent instructor." Regina's reasoning demonstrates the

Accepted Answer

Regina's reasoning demonstrates the self-serving bias, where individuals attribute their successes to internal factors (like being smart) and their failures to external factors (like an incompetent instructor).

Question 13

In the newspaper, Rex rated the movie The Big Baloo as "a waste of money." What would make you decide that Rex's review was due to characteristics of Rex and his poor judgment?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In the newspaper, Rex rated the movie...

Question 14

The tendency to attribute others' behaviors to internal factors, particularly in the absence of adequate information with which to make a judgment, is called the ________ error.

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors when judging others' behavior.

Question 15

Ogun is at a football game. He watches a receiver fumble an easy pass. If Ogun is making the fundamental attribution error, he is most likely to remark that the player

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error involves attributing others' behaviors to their character or disposition rather than situational factors. Ogun would likely attribute the fumble to the player's lack of skill rather than external factors.

Question 16

When we attribute the positive attributes of a people from a different racial, cultural, or ethnic group to external causes, but attribute those individuals' negative attributes to internal causes, we are making the ________ error.

Accepted Answer

The ultimate attribution error occurs when we attribute positive behaviors of out-group members to external factors and negative behaviors to internal factors, often due to prejudice or bias.

Question 17

The tendency to attribute one's successes to internal factors but one's failures to external attributions is called the

Accepted Answer

Self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute one's successes to internal factors (e.g., ability, effort) and one's failures to external factors (e.g., bad luck, unfair circumstances).

Question 18

The assumption that a person's behavior is due to some characteristic of their own identity or personality is a(n)________ attribution.

Accepted Answer

An internal attribution refers to the assumption that a person's behavior is due to their own identity or personality traits.

Question 19

Reece is talking with her friends about what they are likely to experience in their first year of college. Although her health and academic abilities are normal, Reece thinks that she is more likely to get good grades and less likely to get the flu than the average college student. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of unrealistic optimism, which is a tendency to think that good things are more likely to happen to oneself than to others, and bad things are less likely to happen to oneself than to others. Reece's belief that she is less likely to get the flu and more likely to get good grades than the average college student is a manifestation of this bias.

Question 20

The tendency to attribute other's behaviors to internal causes while attributing one's own behavior to external causes is the

Accepted Answer

The actor-observer effect refers to the tendency to attribute our own actions to external factors while attributing others' actions to internal factors.

Quiz 14: Social Psychology

Your roommate Perry is often cranky. One night you overhear Perry yelling at someone on his cell phone. You conclude that Perry is being his irritable self again and feel bad for the person he's talking to. You have made a(n) __________ attribution for Perry's behavior.