Question 1

Molly knows the history of her home city of Philadelphia. There are three landmarks downtown that she always shows to friends who visit. This knowledge of Philadelphia is the ________ component of her attitude toward her city.

Accepted Answer

Molly's knowledge of the landmarks and history of Philadelphia reflects the cognitive component of her attitude towards her city. This refers to the beliefs and thoughts one holds about an object, such as a city or a place. The affective component refers to the emotional component of an attitude, while the behavioral component refers to one's intentions and actions towards the object. "Knowledge" is not a recognized component of attitude.

Question 2

According to research by Wilson and colleagues, why might introspecting about the reasons for an attitude decrease the association between the attitude and behavior?

Accepted Answer

Introspection can lead individuals to focus on reasons that are not truly reflective of their genuine attitudes, thus misleading them about their "real" attitudes and weakening the attitude-behavior association.

Question 3

Recall that Wilson and his colleagues asked students about their current romantic relationships. Participants in Group 1 were asked for an overall evaluation of their relationships, whereas partici- pants in Group 2 were additionally asked to explain why they felt the way they did. Nearly nine months later, the researchers recontacted the participants and asked them about the current status of the relationships. Which of the following statements most accurately captures the study's results?

Accepted Answer

The study found that Group 1 participants, who gave an overall evaluation without explaining their feelings, had attitudes that better predicted the current status of their relationships compared to Group 2 participants.

Question 4

Candice really likes action films. Under which condition is introspecting about why she likes action films likely to WEAKEN the association between her attitude toward action films and her intention to go to see an action film at the theater?

Accepted Answer

When the basis for the attitude is largely affective, meaning it is based on emotional or intuitive reactions rather than cognitive evaluation, introspection may lead Candice to overthink or rationalize her enjoyment of action films, leading to weakened association between her attitude and behavior.

Question 5

Michelle just watched a film that showed several high-speed chases on city streets. On her way home from the theater, she drives much faster than normal. This example best illustrates that

Accepted Answer

This example best illustrates that behavior can be automatic, primed by features in our environment. The film with high-speed chases may have primed Michelle's behavior to drive faster, even if her conscious attitudes towards speeding were not in line with this behavior.

Question 6

Researchers should make use of ________ when assessing attitudes that people may be unwilling or unable to report.

Accepted Answer

Implicit measures, such as the Implicit Association Test (IAT) or the affect misattribution procedure (AMP), can be useful when assessing attitudes that people are unwilling or unable to report. These measures indirectly measure attitudes by measuring response times to certain stimuli or associations between concepts. This allows for a more accurate assessment of potentially sensitive or socially undesirable attitudes. Likert scales, questionnaires, and surveys rely on self-reported responses and may not accurately capture attitudes that individuals are hesitant to disclose.

Question 7

When researchers use a Likert scale to assess participants' attitudes, they

Accepted Answer

Researchers using a Likert scale ask participants to use numbers to indicate the extent to which they agree with a particular statement. The Likert scale typically asks people to indicate whether they strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with a statement. This produces numerical data that can be analyzed quantitatively.

Question 8

For obvious reasons, department store managers strongly disapprove of shoplifters. However, some stores allow shoplifters to leave with merchandise! These stores do not want to create a scene that will disturb good patrons. This scenario illustrates the social psychological finding that

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates the social psychological finding that behaviors are not determined solely by attitudes. The department store managers strongly disapprove of shoplifting, which indicates that they have a negative attitude towards it. However, the stores allow shoplifters to leave with merchandise to avoid creating a scene, indicating that their behavior is not entirely consistent with their attitude. This finding suggests that factors other than attitudes, such as social norms and situational constraints, also influence behavior.

Question 9

Jamal loves strawberry ice cream, whereas Maria does not feel strongly about strawberry ice cream. Which of them would have longer response latencies (e.g., would respond slower) to a question about his or her attitude toward strawberry ice cream?

Accepted Answer

Maria would have a longer response latency because she does not have a strong attitude toward strawberry ice cream, making her response less automatic compared to Jamal, who has a clear preference.

Question 10

The ________ component of an attitude consists of the degree to which the person likes or dislikes the attitude object.

Accepted Answer

The affective component of an attitude involves the individual's emotional response to the attitude object, including their level of liking or disliking towards it. The cognitive component involves beliefs and thoughts about the object, the behavioral component involves actions or intentions towards the object, and knowledge is not a component of attitude.

Question 11

Although Quan believes that child safety is important, he often forgets to use a car seat when taking his toddler to day care. What does this best illustrate about the relationship between attitudes and behavior?

Accepted Answer

Quan's belief that child safety is important is an attitude, but his failure to use a car seat for his toddler is a behavior that is inconsistent with his attitude. This illustrates that attitudes are sometimes poor predictors of behavior.

Question 12

A(n) ________ is an evaluation of an object in a positive or negative fashion.

Accepted Answer

An attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, usually reflected in a positive or negative evaluation of an object.

Question 13

In the 1930s, a time when anti-Asian sentiments were common, Richard LaPiere toured the United States with a young Chinese couple. Together they visited numerous hotels, auto camps, restaurants, and cafes. LaPiere compared the attitudes of people who managed these various establishments with how well (or poorly) these people actually treated the Chinese couple. The text used this study to introduce an important point, namely, that the effect of ________ than people think.

Accepted Answer

LaPiere's study demonstrated that although many establishments expressed negative attitudes towards Asians, they often behaved more positively when interacting with the Chinese couple. This suggests that attitudes do not always predict behavior strongly.

Question 14

Attitudes do a good job predicting behavior when

Accepted Answer

Attitudes are most likely to predict behavior when they are measured and assessed at the same level of specificity as the behavior being observed. For example, if an attitude towards recycling is assessed at a generic level, such as "do you support recycling?" it may not accurately predict whether an individual will actually recycle. However, if the attitude towards recycling is assessed at a specific level, such as "do you intend to recycle your plastic water bottle right now?" it is more likely to predict actual behavior. Therefore, choice C is the correct answer.

Question 15

Ruben, a marketing executive for Apple, wants to predict a person's iPod-related behavior from his or her attitude about iPods. To this end, Ruben will administer a survey asking people their attitudes about iPods. Two years later, he will ask these same people to report on their behavior related to iPods. According to research on attitude-behavior consistency, Ruben should measure people's attitudes and behavior at the same level of specificity. Which of the following pairs of questions best satisfies this criterion?

Accepted Answer

Option C ("How much do you want to buy an iPod within the next two years?" and "Have you bought an iPod in the last two years?") best satisfies the criterion of measuring attitudes and behavior at the same level of specificity because both the attitude and behavior questions are specifically related to the intention to purchase and the actual purchase of an iPod within the same time frame.

Question 16

According to research on cognitive dissonance theory, people betting on horses at the racetrack should feel ________ after placing their bets than before placing their bets.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that when individuals make a decision, they experience discomfort or dissonance if their thoughts and behaviors are inconsistent or contradictory. In the case of betting on horses, individuals may feel uncertain or anxious before placing their bets, as they are unsure of the outcome. However, after placing their bets, they may experience a sense of confidence or certainty that they have made the right decision, reducing their cognitive dissonance. Therefore, the best choice would be B, as individuals should feel more confident after placing their bets.

Question 17

Which of the following studies best supports Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that people experience discomfort when their beliefs or actions are inconsistent, leading them to change their attitudes or beliefs to reduce this discomfort. The study in option C illustrates this by showing that people increase their confidence in a decision (the bet) after making it, likely to reduce dissonance between their action and any lingering doubts.

Question 18

Although you want to chat with your friend during class, you're worried that the professor or other students would notice. You choose not to talk to your friend. This illustrates that

Accepted Answer

This scenario highlights the power of social norms in shaping behavior, where the norms of the classroom environment override the desire to chat with a friend. It shows how our attitudes may not always translate into corresponding behavior due to the influence of external factors such as social norms.

Question 19

Luisa just made a dentist appointment. Although she feels terrified of the dentist, she thinks that maintaining a healthy smile is important. This example best illustrates that

Accepted Answer

When the components of an attitude (cognitive and affective) are inconsistent, such as Luisa's fear (affective) and her belief in the importance of dental health (cognitive), attitudes may not reliably predict behavior.

Question 20

According to what you learned in this chapter, ________ attitudes tend to be stronger than ________ attitudes.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to what you learned in this...

Quiz 7: Attitudes, Behavior, and Rationalization