Question 1

Perceptual defence is
A)the tendency for the perceptual system to defend the perceiver against unpleasant emotions.
B)the tendency to attribute one's own thoughts and feelings to others.
C)the tendency to generalize about people and ignore variations between individuals.
D)the process by which motives are assigned to explain people's behaviour.
E)the process of interpreting messages of our senses to provide meaning.

Accepted Answer

Perceptual defence is the tendency for the perceptual system to defend the perceiver against unpleasant emotions. This can occur when individuals are presented with information that conflicts with their beliefs or values, and their perception is altered to avoid discomfort.

Question 2

The chairperson opened the meeting by saying "I'm sure you all agree with me that ..." What perceptual phenomenon might the speaker be exhibiting?
A)Implicit personality theory
B)Projection
C)Fundamental attribution error
D)Similar-to-me effect
E)Stereotyping

Accepted Answer

The chairperson is likely exhibiting projection, a psychological defense mechanism where individuals attribute their own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another person. By assuming that everyone agrees with their statement, the chairperson is projecting their own beliefs onto the group members.

Question 3

When researchers studied "weight-based bias," they found that the biases in hiring decisions were lower when the decision makers
A)had never met the candidate face-to-face.
B)had performance-relevant information about the candidate.
C)were not able to pre-screen the performance-relevant information about the candidate.
D)had experienced weight-based bias themselves.
E)were not concerned about their budgets for salaries.

Accepted Answer

When decision makers have performance-relevant information about the candidate, their biases in hiring decisions based on weight are lower because they are more focused on the candidate's skills and qualifications rather than their appearance. Therefore, by having objective information about the candidate's job-related skills, decision-makers can overcome their weight-based biases.

Question 4

Knowing that a person falls into some social category,we might assume that he or she possesses certain traits,and that everyone in this category possesses these traits.This is an example of
A)reliance on central traits.
B)a situational attribution.
C)projection.
D)a stereotype.
E)consensus cues.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a stereotype, which is a set of beliefs about the characteristics of a group of people who share a particular social category. Stereotypes are often inaccurate and can lead to unfair treatment of individuals based on their membership in a particular group.

Question 5

The three main components of perception are
A)selectivity,constancy,and primacy.
B)primacy,recency,and projection.
C)perceiver,situation,and target.
D)perceiver,situation,and projection.
E)perceiver,target,and attribution.

Accepted Answer

The three main components of perception are perceiver, situation, and target. The perceiver is the individual who is doing the perceiving, the situation is the context in which the perception occurs, and the target is the object, person, or event being perceived. These three components interact and influence each other in shaping perception.

Question 6

For many months,Sam performed his job excellently.However,just before his performance evaluation,Sam's boss saw him insult a client.In the performance evaluation,the boss gave Sam a very low rating.What happened?
A)Recency effect
B)Harshness
C)Contrast effect
D)Self-serving bias
E)Primacy effect

Accepted Answer

The recency effect refers to the tendency to remember information that is presented most recently, rather than information that was presented earlier. In this case, Sam's boss rated him poorly based on the most recent negative incident of insulting a client, despite his previous months of excellent performance. This is an example of the recency effect.

Question 7

"Geraldo acts differently from everyone else." The speaker in the statement is invoking a ________ cue.
A)consistency
B)recency
C)distinctiveness
D)consensus
E)situational

Accepted Answer

The answer of "Geraldo acts differently from everyone else." The...

Question 8

According to Bruner's model of the perceptual process,when an unfamiliar target is encountered,we are likely to be ________ to target cues.Once the target has been categorized,however,we become ________ selective in our cue search.
A)open; more
B)closed; more
C)open; less
D)closed; less
E)selective; consistent

Accepted Answer

Bruner's model suggests that initially, we are open to various cues to understand an unfamiliar target, but once we categorize it, we become more selective, focusing on specific cues that confirm our categorization.

Question 9

Driving home from an auto repair shop,you find that the repair you just paid for wasn't done properly.Which of the following would increase your tendency to blame the mechanic's error on dispositional factors?
A)You have never had a car repair done right the first time by any mechanic.
B)When you picked up the car,the shop manager said that the mechanic had gone home early because he was injured on the job.
C)This mechanic has done poor repairs on your car twice before.
D)Several friends told you that this mechanic was excellent.
E)You had authorized the mechanic to use reconditioned parts instead of new ones.

Accepted Answer

Past experiences with the same mechanic doing poor repairs suggest a dispositional factor (i.e. the mechanic's lack of skill or care) as the cause of the error.

Question 10

If primacy is operating within a selection interview,the job candidate would be well advised to
A)get an early appointment to see the interviewer.
B)see the interviewer early in the morning.
C)be sure her good qualities come out early in the interview.
D)engage the interviewer in small talk before getting down to business.
E)ask for a different interviewer.

Accepted Answer

Primacy refers to the tendency for people to remember the first information that they receive. In a selection interview, this means that the first impression a candidate creates is especially important. Therefore, the candidate would be advised to ensure that their good qualities are highlighted early in the interview to make a positive first impression. Options A and B are not necessarily helpful in this context, as they relate to the timing of the appointment rather than the content of the interview. Option D might help to build rapport but should not be the candidate's main focus. Option E is only relevant if the interviewer's behavior is inappropriate, not simply because primacy is occurring in the interview.

Question 11

Which of the following statements may indicate projection by the speaker?
A)"I didn't land the contract because the competition was just too good."
B)"I would never assign a woman to that sales territory."
C)"Telling a white lie to clinch a sale is perfectly ethical."
D)"Most of my sales staff think like I think."
E)"I don't steal from the company but I'm sure that others do."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following statements may indicate...

Question 12

If recency is operating within a selection interview,the job candidate would be well advised to
A)see the interviewer late in the day.
B)hold off revealing some good qualities until the end of the interview.
C)try to be the last applicant interviewed.
D)list his or her most recent jobs first on his or her resume.
E)ask for a different interviewer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If recency is operating within a selection...

Question 13

We may rely on dispositional explanations when making judgments about the behaviour of other people because
A)we are making excuses for our own behaviour.
B)we have a tendency to give others the benefit of the doubt when they offend us.
C)we don't appreciate how their behaviour can vary in other situations.
D)we realize that circumstances beyond their control can cause them to act the way they do.
E)we have a tendency to project our own thoughts and feelings on others.

Accepted Answer

We may rely on dispositional explanations when making judgments about the behaviour of other people because we don't appreciate how their behaviour can vary in other situations.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is indicative of an implicit personality theory on the part of the speaker?
A)"Roger is aggressive."
B)"Accountants are intelligent."
C)"Introverts are honest."
D)"Women make bad managers."
E)"Teenagers drive more recklessly than seniors."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following statements is indicative...

Question 15

My perceptions of people are strongly influenced by how kind they are to others.Which concept explains my reaction?
A)Central tendency
B)Central trait
C)Similar-to-me effect
D)Primacy effect
E)Projection

Accepted Answer

The central trait concept suggests that individuals tend to form global impressions based on one salient trait or characteristic. In this case, the trait that is salient is kindness towards others, which strongly influences the individual's perception of others.

Question 16

When we explain a behaviour by referring to some internal personality characteristic,we are not offering
A)an inference about the cause of the behaviour.
B)an attribution.
C)a dispositional explanation.
D)a situational explanation.
E)a rational explanation.

Accepted Answer

A situational explanation refers to external factors influencing behavior, not internal personality characteristics.

Question 17

Which of the following statements most accurately defines "perception"?
A)Perception is reality.
B)Perception is the tendency to attribute one's own thoughts and feelings to others.
C)Perception is the tendency to generalize about people and ignore variations between individuals.
D)Perception is the process by which motives are assigned to explain people's behaviour.
E)Perception is the process of interpreting messages of our senses to provide meaning.

Accepted Answer

Perception is the process of interpreting messages of our senses to provide meaning. It involves the selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory information in order to make sense of the world around us. Therefore, option E accurately defines perception. Option A is not entirely accurate as perception may not always reflect reality. Option B defines projection, while option C defines stereotyping. Option D refers to attribution.

Question 18

"You're just like me.I despise you." Which perceptual tendency might the speaker be revealing?
A)Actor-observer effect
B)Self-serving bias
C)Projection
D)Similar-to-me effect
E)Central Trait

Accepted Answer

This statement is an example of projection, where the speaker is projecting their own feelings onto the other person. The statement implies that the speaker dislikes the other person because they see similar qualities in them that they dislike about themselves. It is not the actor-observer effect, self-serving bias, similar-to-me effect, or central trait, as those perceptual tendencies do not necessarily involve projecting one's own feelings onto others.

Question 19

Which is a potential example of the fundamental attribution error?
A)John explained his failure to land the big account by saying that the competing firm had a better product.
B)Nancy explained her department's success by describing her boss as brilliant.
C)Tom realized that most of his crew failed to get to work because of the big snowstorm.
D)Rodney defended his boss's embezzlement by pointing out that he was under severe marital stress at the time of the incident.
E)Susan acknowledged that her company's sales growth was largely due to the booming economy.

Accepted Answer

Option B is an example of the fundamental attribution error as Nancy attributes her department's success solely to her boss's brilliance, ignoring the contributions of other team members, external factors, and luck. This bias occurs when we overemphasize personal characteristics and fail to appreciate situational factors in explaining someone's behavior or actions.

Question 20

"Kevin acts the same as everyone else." The speaker here is invoking a ________ cue.
A)recency
B)distinctiveness
C)consensus
D)consistency
E)stereotype

Accepted Answer

The speaker is using consensus cue because they are comparing Kevin's behavior to that of everyone else, indicating that his behavior is consistent with the norm or the majority.

Quiz 3: Perception, attribution, and Diversity

Perceptual defence is

The chairperson opened the meeting by saying "I'm sure you all agree with me that ..." What perceptual phenomenon might the speaker be exhibiting?

When researchers studied "weight-based bias," they found that the biases in hiring decisions were lower when the decision makers

Knowing that a person falls into some social category,we might assume that he or she possesses certain traits,and that everyone in this category possesses these traits.This is an example of

The three main components of perception are

For many months,Sam performed his job excellently.However,just before his performance evaluation,Sam's boss saw him insult a client.In the performance evaluation,the boss gave Sam a very low rating.What happened?

"Geraldo acts differently from everyone else." The speaker in the statement is invoking a ________ cue.

According to Bruner's model of the perceptual process,when an unfamiliar target is encountered,we are likely to be to target cues.Once the target has been categorized,however,we become selective in our cue search.

Driving home from an auto repair shop,you find that the repair you just paid for wasn't done properly.Which of the following would increase your tendency to blame the mechanic's error on dispositional factors?

If primacy is operating within a selection interview,the job candidate would be well advised to

Which of the following statements may indicate projection by the speaker?

If recency is operating within a selection interview,the job candidate would be well advised to

We may rely on dispositional explanations when making judgments about the behaviour of other people because

Which of the following statements is indicative of an implicit personality theory on the part of the speaker?

My perceptions of people are strongly influenced by how kind they are to others.Which concept explains my reaction?

When we explain a behaviour by referring to some internal personality characteristic,we are not offering

Which of the following statements most accurately defines "perception"?

"You're just like me.I despise you." Which perceptual tendency might the speaker be revealing?

Which is a potential example of the fundamental attribution error?

"Kevin acts the same as everyone else." The speaker here is invoking a ________ cue.