Question 1

Fundamental attribution error would cause a supervisor to believe that an employee's lateness is due to factors beyond the employee's control rather than to a lack of motivation to attend work.

Accepted Answer

Fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute others' behavior to internal (personal) factors rather than external (situational) ones. In this case, if a supervisor assumes the employee's lateness is due to external factors beyond their control, rather than considering the possibility that the employee may simply lack motivation, they are committing the fundamental attribution error.

Question 2

Stereotyping helps up in several valuable ways.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Stereotyping helps up in several valuable ways....

Question 3

The combination of social identity and self-enhancement occurs through categorization and attribution activities.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The combination of social identity and self-enhancement...

Question 4

Attribution theory mainly explains the selective attention process.

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory explains how people interpret and explain events, not the selective attention process.

Question 5

For the most part the stereotyping process is hardwired in our brain cells.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that our brains are naturally predisposed to categorize information and make generalizations, which can lead to stereotypes. However, it is important to recognize and challenge these stereotypes in order to promote equality and reduce prejudice.

Question 6

People who believe that their successful completion of a project is due to their skill and hard work are making an internal attribution.

Accepted Answer

Internal attribution refers to attributing the cause of an event or outcome to one's own actions or abilities. If someone believes that their success on a project was due to their own skill and hard work, they are making an internal attribution.

Question 7

Stereotyping is partly responsible for prejudice and discrimination.

Accepted Answer

Stereotyping involves making assumptions about a group of people based on limited information, which can lead to unfair generalizations and negative attitudes towards them. This can contribute to prejudice and discrimination.

Question 8

The easiest way to minimize stereotyping is by preventing the activation of stereotypes in our heads.

Accepted Answer

Stereotyping is a complex cognitive process, and while preventing the activation of stereotypes can help, it's not the easiest way to minimize them. More effective methods include increasing contact with diverse groups, engaging in perspective-taking, and challenging and replacing stereotypical thoughts with accurate information.

Question 9

One problem with stereotyping is that few traits assigned to a particular social category accurately describe every person identified with that group.

Accepted Answer

Stereotyping involves making assumptions about a group of people based on their perceived characteristics or traits. However, individuals within a group may have different experiences, personalities, and beliefs, which may not fit the assumptions made through stereotyping. Therefore, few traits assigned to a particular social category accurately describe every person identified with that group.

Question 10

You are more likely to make an internal attribution about someone's poor performance if you have also observed the person performing that task poorly in the past and have observed other employees performing the task well.

Accepted Answer

This is because when we have observed someone performing poorly in the past, we tend to attribute their current poor performance to their internal traits or abilities, rather than situational factors. And when we see other employees performing well, we attribute their success to their internal abilities as well. This is known as the actor-observer bias, where we tend to attribute our own behavior to external factors, but others' behavior to internal factors.

Question 11

We can eliminate the activation of stereotyping by choosing to ignore stereotypic information.

Accepted Answer

Ignoring stereotypic information does not eliminate the activation of stereotypes because they are often activated automatically and unconsciously, making them difficult to control simply through the act of ignoring.

Question 12

People tend to make an internal attribution about someone's behaviour if that person has rarely acted like this either in the past or in other situations.

Accepted Answer

People tend to make an external attribution about someone's behavior if the behavior is rare or unusual for that person, attributing the behavior to situational factors rather than internal characteristics.

Question 13

Homogenization and differentiation are two activities in the process of social identity and self-enhancement.

Accepted Answer

Homogenization refers to the process of individuals conforming to the norms and values of a group, while differentiation refers to the process of individuals seeking to distinguish themselves from others in the group. Both of these activities can contribute to the development and enhancement of social identity and self-esteem.

Question 14

Systemic discrimination is often unintentional.

Accepted Answer

Systemic discrimination refers to patterns of discrimination that are built into the structures, policies, and practices of organizations or societies. It is often unintentional because it arises from systemic biases, assumptions, and norms rather than explicit discrimination by individuals.

Question 15

When making an internal or external attribution about a person's behaviour,we tend to look at whether the person has acted this way in the past and other situations,and whether other people act similarly in this situation.

Accepted Answer

When making attributions, we tend to consider the consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus of the person's behavior in order to determine whether it is due to internal or external factors. This involves taking into account the person's past behavior and the behavior of others in similar situations.

Question 16

The first step in a self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when the observer acts differently towards people with whom he or she has high expectations than towards those with whom he or she has low expectations.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The first step in a self-fulfilling prophecy...

Question 17

Self-fulfilling prophecy may result in either better or worse performance than if the employee is not exposed to the self-fulfilling prophecy effect.

Accepted Answer

This is because if the self-fulfilling prophecy is positive and the employee believes they are capable, they may perform better than if they did not have that belief. However, if the self-fulfilling prophecy is negative and the employee believes they are incapable, they may perform worse than if they did not have that belief.

Question 18

Self-serving bias is the tendency to take credit for our successes and blame others or the situation for our mistakes.

Accepted Answer

Self-serving bias is a well-known psychological bias and refers to the tendency to attribute personal successes to internal factors such as one's own abilities or effort, while blaming external factors such as other people or circumstances for one's failures or mistakes.

Question 19

Self-fulfilling prophecy occurs whenever supervisors accurately predict the future performance of recently hired employees.

Accepted Answer

Self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when initial expectations or beliefs about someone or something leads to actions or behaviors that ultimately confirm those expectations or beliefs, regardless of their accuracy. In the case of recently hired employees, supervisors' predictions about their future performance may influence their own behavior toward those employees, which could then impact the employees' actual performance. Therefore, even if the supervisors' predictions are accurate, their behavior toward the employees could create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 20

Fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to attribute the behaviour of other people to internal factors more than external factors.

Accepted Answer

Fundamental attribution error is a well-established concept in social psychology where people tend to overemphasize dispositional or internal factors in explaining other people's behaviour rather than situational or external factors.

Quiz 3: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations