Question 1

In achievement attribution studies, Diener and Dweck (1978) suggest that individuals with a _____ orientation set challenging goals, and individuals with a _____ orientation avoid challenging goals.
A) challenging; withdrawing
B) positive; negative
C) mastery; helpless
D) social; individual

Accepted Answer

Diener and Dweck (1978) suggest that individuals with a mastery orientation set challenging goals, while individuals with a helpless orientation avoid challenging goals.

Question 2

The _____ model of learned helplessness relies on the type of attribution the person makes to overcome problems.
A) old
B) social conformity
C) reformulated
D) individual

Accepted Answer

The reformulated model of learned helplessness emphasizes the role of attribution in how individuals respond to problems and challenges. It suggests that individuals who attribute negative outcomes to internal, stable, and global factors are more likely to experience learned helplessness and give up when faced with future challenges. Therefore, the reformulated model focuses on changing an individual's attributions to promote a more optimistic and self-efficacious mindset. The other choices are not applicable to the concept of learned helplessness.

Question 3

Dweck and colleagues (1993) suggest that some people are _____ theorists and view themselves and others as acting on the basis of fixed traits, and other people are _____ theorists and view themselves and others as acting on basis of malleable traits.
A) environmental; hereditary
B) entity; incremental
C) internal; external
D) incremental; global

Accepted Answer

Dweck's theory distinguishes between two types of people: entity theorists, who believe that traits are fixed and unchangeable, and incremental theorists, who believe that traits can be cultivated and developed through effort and practice. So, the correct choices are entity and incremental. Option A refers to environmental and hereditary theorists, which is not related to Dweck's theory. Option C refers to internal and external theorists, which is also not related. Option D refers to incremental and global theorists, which is not correct according to Dweck's theory.

Question 4

Seligman suggests that helplessness that is perceived as the result of _____ factors will greatly extend the time course of the helplessness.
A) objective
B) stable
C) personal
D) temporary

Accepted Answer

Seligman's theory suggests that when helplessness is perceived as a stable and unchangeable factor, it greatly extends the feeling of helplessness. Objective factor refers to external circumstances, personal factors refer to individual characteristics, and temporary factors suggest that the situation is fleeting and may change soon.

Question 5

A man robbed a liquor store. If we say he did it because he is a bad person or a criminal type person, we are making a _____ attribution.
A) dispositional
B) situational
C) mistaken
D) personal

Accepted Answer

Making a dispositional attribution means attributing the behavior to the person's internal characteristics, such as personality or nature, rather than external factors or circumstances, which would be situational attributions. In this case, saying that the man robbed the liquor store because he is a bad person suggests a dispositional attribution.

Question 6

The tendency to attribute behavior to internal, stable characteristics is called:
A) naive psychology
B) nonnormative attribution
C) the fundamental attribution error
D) psychological error attribution

Accepted Answer

The tendency to attribute behavior to internal, stable characteristics is called the fundamental attribution error. Naive psychology refers to people's tendency to develop beliefs and explanations about human behavior without necessarily holding a formal understanding of how psychological processes work. Nonnormative attribution and psychological error attribution are not recognized concepts in psychology.

Question 7

Mikulincer, based on his study of the conditions under which learned helplessness or reactance occurs, has found that:
A) only reactance occurs
B) only learned helplessness occurs
C) neither reactance nor learned helplessness occurred under the conditions he studied
D) both reactance and learned helplessness occurred depending upon conditions

Accepted Answer

Mikulincer found that both reactance and learned helplessness can occur depending upon the conditions. For example, if individuals feel like they have some control over their situation, they are less likely to experience learned helplessness. On the other hand, if individuals feel like their freedom is threatened, they are more likely to experience reactance.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in attribution suggested by Gilbert and Malone (1995)?
A) retrospective memory
B) situation perception
C) behavioral expectation
D) attribution

Accepted Answer

Retrospective memory is not one of the steps in attribution suggested by Gilbert and Malone (1995). The other three steps are situation perception, behavioral expectation, and attribution.

Question 9

According to Dweck's research on helpless versus mastery oriented individuals:
A) mastery oriented individuals seek learning goals
B) mastery oriented individuals seek performance goals
C) helpless individuals seeks learning goals
D) mastery oriented individuals believe that their intelligence is unchangeable

Accepted Answer

Dweck's research found that mastery oriented individuals seek learning goals, meaning they are focused on developing new skills and improving their abilities. Helpless individuals, on the other hand, are more likely to seek performance goals, meaning they are focused on proving their abilities and avoiding failure. Additionally, mastery oriented individuals believe that their intelligence is malleable and can be developed through effort, rather than being fixed and unchangeable.

Question 10

If we observe someone donating to a charity during the holiday season, we probably assume she is a generous person. This is called the:
A) false consensus hypothesis
B) actor-observer bias
C) self-serving bias
D) locus of control effect

Accepted Answer

The actor-observer bias refers to the tendency for individuals to attribute their own behavior to external situational factors, while attributing the behavior of others to their internal characteristics. In this case, we assume the person is generous based on their behavior of donating to charity during the holiday season, without considering external factors that may have influenced their behavior.

Question 11

Sabini and colleagues (2001) suggest the reason for fundamental attribution error is a tendency to underestimate the power of motives (such as motive to 'save face') called:
A) self-serving attributional motives
B) channel factors
C) global recognition
D) locus of control motives

Accepted Answer

Channel factors refer to the often underestimated situational influences on behavior, which Sabini and colleagues highlight as a key reason for the fundamental attribution error. This error involves attributing others' actions more to their character than to situational factors.

Question 12

Wortman and Brehm (1975) proposed that the initial reaction to a loss of control is a resistance to the loss of control with subsequent increased effort, which they called:
A) depression
B) anger
C) reactance
D) resolve

Accepted Answer

Wortman and Brehm (1975) proposed that the initial response to a loss of control is reactance, which is a resistance to the loss of control with subsequent increased effort to regain control. This can manifest as frustration, anger, or defiance.

Question 13

Fixed traits are to _____ theorists as malleable traits are to _____ theorists.
A) entity; incremental
B) incremental; entity
C) dispositional; situational
D) situational; dispositional

Accepted Answer

Entity theorists believe that traits are fixed, while incremental theorists believe that traits are malleable and can be developed over time.

Question 14

The "fundamental attribution error" refers to:
A) the fact that attributions are biased toward dispositional explanations
B) the fact that attributions are biased toward situational explanations
C) the fact that most attributions are wrong
D) the fact that attribution theory is based on fundamental errors in reasoning

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency for people to overemphasize dispositional (internal/personality) explanations for someone else's behavior, rather than taking into account situational factors. This bias can lead to inaccurate or unfair judgments of others.

Question 15

The reformulated learned helplessness model states that:
A) lowered self-worth results from attributions of universal helplessness
B) attributions of "unstable helplessness" lead to a longer duration of depression
C) lowered self-worth results from attributions of personal helplessness
D) "specific" attributions of helplessness lead to general depression

Accepted Answer

The reformulated learned helplessness model states that lowered self-worth results from attributions of personal helplessness, which can lead to negative beliefs about the self and a greater likelihood of experiencing depression. Option A is partially correct, as attributions of universal helplessness can also be a contributing factor, but it is not the central focus of the model. Option B is not supported by the model, as unstable helplessness is not specifically mentioned as a factor in the duration of depression. Option D is not accurate, as the model proposes that specific attributions of helplessness may only apply to certain situations, rather than leading to a general state of depression.

Question 16

The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to stable, internal characteristics and underestimate the influence of situational factors, is called the:
A) locus of control hypothesis
B) self-serving bias
C) fundamental attribution error
D) false consensus effect

Accepted Answer

The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to stable, internal characteristics and underestimate the influence of situational factors is referred to as the fundamental attribution error. It is a cognitive bias that influences our perceptions of others and how we interpret their behavior. It is the tendency to place too much emphasis on dispositional factors and ignore or underestimate situational influences.

Question 17

A student fails a test. If we say the reason the student failed was that the test was unfair, we are making a _____ attribution.
A) dispositional
B) personal
C) situational
D) stable

Accepted Answer

A situational attribution is made when we attribute someone's behavior to an external factor, such as the environment or circumstances they were in. In this case, we are suggesting that the test, an external factor, was unfair, causing the student to fail. This is different from a dispositional attribution, where we would attribute the failure to the student's internal qualities or abilities, such as intelligence or effort. A personal attribution is not a commonly used term in psychology. A stable attribution would refer to a consistent, lasting characteristic of the person, which doesn't apply in this case.

Question 18

Which of the following describe the properties of both ability and task difficulty?
A) stable
B) unstable
C) internal
D) external

Accepted Answer

Both ability and task difficulty are stable characteristics, meaning they are unlikely to change over time without significant intervention or effort.

Question 19

Dweck (1986) suggested that helpless individuals seek _____ goals and mastery-oriented individuals seek _____ goals.
A) performance; learning
B) failure; success
C) helpful; helper
D) global; individual

Accepted Answer

Dweck's theory proposes that helpless individuals focus on performance goals, in which the main objective is to appear competent and impress others, while mastery-oriented individuals focus on learning goals, in which the main objective is to acquire new skills and knowledge. Therefore, option A is the correct answer. Option B is incorrect because helpless individuals do not intentionally seek failure as a goal. Option C and D are irrelevant to Dweck's theory of achievement motivation.

Question 20

According to reformulated learned helplessness theory, if we believe we lack characteristics possessed by others that allow them to control their situations, this _____ of personal helplessness will lead to lower self-esteem.
A) attribution
B) observation
C) globalization
D) experience

Accepted Answer

According to reformulated learned helplessness theory, the attribution of personal helplessness (believing we lack characteristics possessed by others that allow them to control their situations) will lead to lower self-esteem. The other options (observation, globalization, experience) are not directly related to the theory.

Quiz 10: Cognitive Motivation: Attribution Approaches

In achievement attribution studies, Diener and Dweck (1978) suggest that individuals with a _ orientation set challenging goals, and individuals with a _ orientation avoid challenging goals.

The _____ model of learned helplessness relies on the type of attribution the person makes to overcome problems.

Dweck and colleagues (1993) suggest that some people are _ theorists and view themselves and others as acting on the basis of fixed traits, and other people are _ theorists and view themselves and others as acting on basis of malleable traits.

Seligman suggests that helplessness that is perceived as the result of _____ factors will greatly extend the time course of the helplessness.

A man robbed a liquor store. If we say he did it because he is a bad person or a criminal type person, we are making a _____ attribution.

The tendency to attribute behavior to internal, stable characteristics is called:

Mikulincer, based on his study of the conditions under which learned helplessness or reactance occurs, has found that:

Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in attribution suggested by Gilbert and Malone (1995) ?

According to Dweck's research on helpless versus mastery oriented individuals:

If we observe someone donating to a charity during the holiday season, we probably assume she is a generous person. This is called the:

Sabini and colleagues (2001) suggest the reason for fundamental attribution error is a tendency to underestimate the power of motives (such as motive to 'save face') called:

Wortman and Brehm (1975) proposed that the initial reaction to a loss of control is a resistance to the loss of control with subsequent increased effort, which they called:

Fixed traits are to _ theorists as malleable traits are to _ theorists.

The "fundamental attribution error" refers to:

The reformulated learned helplessness model states that:

The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to stable, internal characteristics and underestimate the influence of situational factors, is called the:

A student fails a test. If we say the reason the student failed was that the test was unfair, we are making a _____ attribution.

Which of the following describe the properties of both ability and task difficulty?

Dweck (1986) suggested that helpless individuals seek _ goals and mastery-oriented individuals seek _ goals.

According to reformulated learned helplessness theory, if we believe we lack characteristics possessed by others that allow them to control their situations, this _____ of personal helplessness will lead to lower self-esteem.