Deck 3: The Social Self

Question 1

Frank Sulloway's research on the relationship between birth order and personality shows that

A) younger siblings tend to be more agreeable than older siblings.
B) older siblings tend to be less honest than younger siblings.
C) younger and older siblings are equally open to novel ideas and experiences.
D) older siblings tend to be less achievement-oriented than younger siblings.

Answer 1

younger siblings tend to be more agreeable than older siblings.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the correlation between how we think others view us, and how they actually view us, according to the textbook?

A) Generally, most people are pretty accurate in knowing how others really think about them.
B) In close relationships, we are accurate in knowing how those close others really think about us.
C) Generally, there is little correlation between how we think people see us and how they really see us.
D) People who are very intuitive are better at understanding how others see them.

Answer 2

Generally, there is little correlation between how we think people see us and how they really see us.

Question 3

John is thinking about how he is a good baseball player and really enjoys eating pizza.John is thinking about his _________________ self.

A) individual
B) relational
C) collective
D) universal

Answer 3

individual

Question 4

Maria defines herself in terms of many different domains, each of which includes distinct traits and abilities.Arthur defines himself in terms of just a few domains, with similar traits and preferences represented in each domain.According to Linville's self-complexity theory, who will be able better to manage a negative event that threatens one of these life domains?

A) Maria will be better at managing a negative event than Arthur.
B) Arthur will be better at managing a negative event than Maria.
C) Both Maria and Arthur will be able to manage a negative event.
D) Neither Maria nor Arthur will be able to manage a negative event.

Question 5

According to Festinger's social comparison theory, people often form judgments about their traits and abilities by comparing themselves with others.According to the theory, this process is most likely to occur when

A) the people around them are judgmental and unkind.
B) people have a clear and detailed self-concept.
C) the people around them have superior traits and abilities.
D) people have no objective standard by which to judge themselves.

Question 6

According to the textbook, research findings on the self-reference effect and self-schemas help explain why so many aspects of the self are

A) stable over time.
B) highly variable from one situation to the next.
C) inconsistent with social norms.
D) difficult to measure.

Question 7

According to the symbolic interactionist idea, we learn about ourselves through

A) completing different kinds of personality tests.
B) imagining what other people think of us.
C) our parents telling us what we like and dislike, and what we are good at.
D) deep reflection about our behaviors, preferences, and attitudes.

Question 8

Consider the following finding from a study conducted in the United States that asked children to describe themselves: "Forty-four percent of children who were born outside of the United States mentioned this biographical fact when describing themselves, whereas only 7 percent of those born in the United States mentioned their place of birth." This finding best supports the

A) contrasting traits hypothesis.
B) self-perception hypothesis.
C) social comparison hypothesis.
D) distinctiveness hypothesis.

Question 9

Relational self-beliefs are

A) the roles, duties, and obligations we assume in groups.
B) social groups to which we belong.
C) our preferences, tastes, personality traits, and talents.
D) our identities in specific relationships.

Question 10

The quote, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" reflects which type of self-construal?

A) independent
B) interdependent
C) communal
D) distinctiveness

Question 11

Research on gender and self-concept indicates that compared with men, women are more likely to

A) experience confusion over how they should define themselves.
B) view themselves as unique and different from others.
C) define themselves in terms of social characteristics and relationships.
D) notice their own internal responses, such as increases in physiological arousal.

Question 12

Linda tries to memorize a bunch of theories for her psychology class.Specifically, right after she reads about a theory, she thinks of personal experiences that are relevant to its predictions.According to research on the self-reference effect, Linda's study strategy should

A) decrease her memory for the theories because thoughts of previous experiences are distracting.
B) increase or decrease her memory for the theories, depending on how long she studies.
C) increase her memory for the theories by integrating them into her self-knowledge.
D) increase her memory for the theories if the experiences are consistent with a theory, but it should decrease her memory if the experiences are inconsistent with a theory.

Question 13

Bill has an older brother named Dan.Both Bill and Dan are physics professors.According to Frank Sulloway's research on birth-order effects, Bill should

A) conduct more research.
B) be more demanding of his students.
C) be more open to "off-the-wall" or "revolutionary" theories.
D) be more physically attractive.

Question 14

According to the textbook, which of the following tend to have interdependent self-construals?

A) many Mediterranean cultures
B) many African cultures
C) many Northern European cultures
D) Both a and b are correct.

Question 15

The tendency to elaborate on and recall information that is integrated into our self-knowledge is called the

A) self-verification effect.
B) private self-consciousness effect.
C) self-reference effect.
D) self-monitoring effect.

Question 16

Self-schemas are

A) wishes and aspirations people have for themselves.
B) objective standards that people use to learn about their own abilities, attitudes, and personality traits.
C) beliefs about the roles, obligations, and duties people assume in groups.
D) knowledge-based summaries of our beliefs and feelings about the self in particular domains.

Question 17

Barbara just received a "B" on her test.Her friends, Gina and Mica, received an A" and a "C," respectively.Later that night, Barbara tells her roommate that she did "really well" relative to other people in the class.According to social comparison theory, Barbara appears to have engaged in ____________.

A) upward comparison.
B) downward comparison.
C) promotional comparison.
D) prevention comparison.

Question 18

According to the textbook, ____________ is useful in developing our self-concept, but it can lead us to lose some self-esteem, at least temporarily.

A) upward comparison
B) downward comparison
C) self-affirmation
D) self-aggrandizement

Question 19

Dan McAdams writes about and does research on the "narrated self," which consists of

A) our personality traits.
B) our independent or interdependent self-construals.
C) the story we tell about our social self.
D) how other people describe our social self.

Question 20

The part of our self-knowledge that is conscious to us at any given time is called the

A) self-concept.
B) conscious self-concept.
C) working self-concept.
D) distinctive self-concept.

Question 21

Research supporting self-verification theory has shown that

A) people tend selectively to attend to and recall information that is consistent with their self-views.
B) people tend to provide identity cues that help others form accurate judgments of their personality traits.
C) people tend to form relationships that maintain their preexisting view of the self, even when that view is negative.
D) All of the above have been shown by research.

Question 22

When is the "better-than-average" effect most likely to occur?

A) when people use objective, concrete measures of performance to assess their abilities
B) when people assess their abilities on ambiguous traits that can be construed in different ways
C) when men are rating their performance compared with women
D) when people are rating themselves on negative traits

Question 23

According to the sociometer hypothesis,

A) self-esteem is an internal, subjective index of the extent to which people feel included or excluded by others.
B) people are social animals who thrive on conflict and dominating others.
C) people use reflection and social comparison processes to maintain a positive self-image.
D) people strive for accurate beliefs about the self in order to form adaptive judgments and decisions.

Question 24

When we are being sensitive to negative outcomes and avoid things that upset us, we are ___________ focused.

A) prevention
B) ideal
C) ought
D) promotion

Question 25

Which of the following statements is consistent with research on culture and self-esteem?

A) People from Western cultures are less likely to say or do things to enhance other people's self-esteem (relative to people from Asian cultures).
B) The Japanese praise each other for their achievements more often than do Americans.
C) People from Asian cultures generally feel worse about themselves than do people from Western cultures.
D) Americans utter many more self-complimentary statements during conversations (relative to Japanese individuals).

Question 26

____________ holds that people are motivated to view themselves in a favorable light and that they do so through reflection and social comparison.

A) Self-discrepancy theory
B) The self-evaluation maintenance model
C) Self-verification theory
D) The Five-Factor Model

Question 27

According to the contingencies of the self-worth account of self-esteem (Crocker and Wolfe, 2001), a person's self-evaluations

A) are stable across situations and time.
B) depend on success and failure in various life domains.
C) are learned through principles of classical conditioning.
D) are a direct result of parenting styles.

Question 28

Jim has been trying to lose weight and spent all day ignoring the entire bowl of candy bars on his coworker's desk.When Jim gets home that evening, he feels exhausted and eats an entire container of ice cream.According to the researchers Baumeister, Vohs, and Tice, Jim is probably experiencing

A) food cravings
B) ego depletion
C) ego strength
D) prevention focus

Question 29

Jim tries hard at work, but he is just not very good at his job.According to _______________, Jim should feel better about himself if he gets a new job he is good at.

A) self-verification theory
B) the sociometer hypothesis
C) the principle of self-handicapping
D) the contingencies of the self-worth account of self-esteem

Question 30

When our college football team wins, we are more likely to wear our school's colors the following Monday and to use the pronoun we when describing the game-winning touchdown or goal.According to Abraham Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model, these behaviors illustrate how the process of ____________ can be used to boost our self-esteem.

A) reflection
B) social comparison
C) positive reference
D) public self-consciousness

Question 31

The processes by which people initiate, alter, and control their behavior in the pursuit of their goals is called _______________.

A) self-discrepancy
B) self-enhancement
C) self-verification
D) self-regulation

Question 32

Although many people tend to view themselves in an unrealistically positive light, other people strive for stable, accurate beliefs about the self.This tendency is emphasized by

A) self-verification theory.
B) self-determination theory.
C) self-consistency theory.
D) self-presentation theory.

Question 33

Recall that Steve Heine and colleagues compared how Canadian and Japanese students responded to positive or negative feedback after taking a creativity test.After the feedback, participants took a second creativity test.Results showed that

A) overall, the Japanese tended to score better on both creativity tests.
B) regardless of feedback type, the Japanese tended to score worse on the second creativity test (relative to the Canadians).
C) Canadians worked longer on the second creativity test after receiving positive feedback than after receiving negative feedback.
D) the Japanese worked longer on the second creativity test after receiving positive feedback than after receiving negative feedback.

Question 34

According to the text, research shows that state self-esteem can be influenced by

A) odors.
B) complex weather patterns.
C) ambient light levels.
D) momentary mood states.

Question 35

One implication of Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model is that

A) we are biased to believe that our friends' self-concepts are similar to our own.
B) we can expect our good friends to help us succeed at anything because all of our successes reflect well on them.
C) we should choose friends whom we outperform in domains relevant to our self-concept but who are talented in domains that are not relevant to the self.
D) our friends' competencies (or lack thereof)do not influence our self-concept.

Question 36

According to Baumeister and his colleagues, high self-esteem has a dark side.These researchers have argued that

A) people with very high self-esteem are particularly sensitive to insults, which could then lead to violence.
B) most people with high self-esteem are psychopaths who lack the ability to empathize with others.
C) people with high self-esteem are more likely to become alcoholics.
D) few people with high self-esteem have the modesty and humility needed to sustain satisfying close personal relationships.

Question 37

Matthew Galliot and his colleagues asked participants to engage in an initial self-control task, such as suppressing their emotions.Next, participants drank Kool-Aid sweetened with either sugar or Splenda.How did the drink affect participants' performance on a later self-control task?

A) Participants who drank the Splenda drink did better on the second self-control task.
B) Both groups of participants did poorly on the second self-control task.
C) Participants who drank the sugar drink did better on the second self-control task.
D) Both groups of participants did well on the second self-control task.

Question 38

Researchers have studied whether college students' beliefs about their academic talents predict how well they actually perform in college.Results show that students who

A) had self-enhancing beliefs at the start of their college careers performed worse-over time-than students who did not have self-enhancing beliefs.
B) did not have self-enhancing beliefs at the start of their college careers performed worse-over time-than students who did have self-enhancing beliefs.
C) experienced self-discrepancies at the start of their college careers performed worse-over time-than students who did not experience self-discrepancies.
D) experienced self-discrepancies at the start of their college careers performed better-over time-than students who did not experience self-discrepancies.

Question 39

The "better-than-average" effect refers to

A) the finding that most people assume others are better than themselves at difficult tasks.
B) the finding that people tend to think that they are above average.
C) the finding that people who are better than average are happier.
D) the finding that people who are better than average are actually more modest about their abilities.

Question 40

Gene is given a questionnaire that has statements like these printed on it: "I take a positive view of myself" and "I feel that I have a number of good qualities." He is asked to indicate how much he agrees with these kinds of statements.This questionnaire is meant to measure Gene's

A) self-consciousness.
B) identify cues.
C) self-esteem.
D) self-discrepancies.

Question 41

The general process by which we control others' beliefs about us is called

A) self-handicapping.
B) impression management.
C) self-monitoring.
D) private self-consciousness.

Question 42

Recall that Berglas and Jones (1978)led male participants to believe that they either were going to succeed or were going to have difficulty on an upcoming test.Next, participants were given the chance to ingest either a performance-enhancing drug or a performance-inhibiting drug.What did the results of this study show?

A) Regardless of their beliefs about success or difficulty, participants preferred the performance-enhancing drug.
B) Regardless of their beliefs about success or difficulty, participants preferred the performance-inhibiting drug.
C) Participants who thought they would succeed on the test preferred the performance-inhibiting drug.
D) Participants who thought they would have difficulty on the test preferred the performance-inhibiting drug.

Question 43

Reflected self-appraisals come from our perceptions of what other people think of us.

Question 44

Off-record communication is ____________, and it entails tactics such as ____________.

A) direct; metaphorical statements.
B) indirect; metaphorical statements.
C) direct; critical statements.
D) on-record; rhetorical statements.

Question 45

Experimental evidence on self-discrepancy theory shows that

A) thinking about how one might approximate one's ideal self increases the experience of anxiety.
B) thinking about how one might approximate one's ought self elevates cheerfulness.
C) thinking about how one might deviate from one's actual self increases the experience of negative emotions.
D) thinking about how one might approximate one's ideal self increases sensitivity to positive experiences.

Question 46

Ryan begins his twenty-page sociology paper at about 5 p.m.on the night before the paper is due.At around 6 p.m., Gary requests a favor that would take several hours.Ryan grants the favor and ends up leaving himself just a few hours to complete the paper.Later, when friends ask Ryan about his paper grade, he says, "I got a D because I was helping Gary all night instead of writing." This scenario exemplifies a self-presentation process called

A) self-handicapping.
B) self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) overjustification.
D) self-promotion.

Question 47

Goffman's idea of face refers to

A) our self-schemas.
B) our self-esteem.
C) how other people think about us.
D) who we want others to think we are.

Question 48

Self-destructive behaviors can provide an explanation for possible failures and thereby facilitate impression management.

Question 49

Looking ten years ahead, Lola imagines herself to be a celebrated writer and a wonderful mother.According to self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), Lola is reflecting on her

A) unattainable self.
B) ought self.
C) actual self.
D) ideal self.

Question 50

The concept of trait self-esteem refers to changeable self-evaluations that are experienced as momentary feelings about the self.

Question 51

The concept of ____________ refers to our awareness of what other people think about us.

A) private self-consciousness
B) public self-consciousness
C) strategic self-presentation
D) self-monitoring

Question 52

We engage in upward self-comparisons when we want to make ourselves feel better by thinking about those worse off than us.

Question 53

People who define themselves in terms of multiple domains would be said to have low self-complexity.

Question 54

Jim tends to act in accordance with his internal inclinations, impulses, and dispositions.Also, he is not very attuned to the social context in which he finds himself.Thus, Jim would score ____________ on a measure of ____________.

A) high; self-handicapping.
B) low; self-handicapping.
C) high; self-monitoring.
D) low; self-monitoring.

Question 55

The sociometer hypothesis states that our self-esteem reflects the extent to which other people think well of us.

Question 56

Interdependent self-construals are prevalent in many Asian cultures.

Question 57

Self-verification theory predicts that people strive for unrealistically positive views of the self.

Question 58

Most people tend to hold very accurate views of themselves and their abilities.

Question 59

Social comparison theory holds that people tend to compare themselves with others when there is no objective standard in the domain of interest.

Question 60

Recall Tory Higgins's argument that people compare their "actual selves" with other "selves" and that these comparisons have important motivational implications.Which of the following is/are NOT among the "selves" to which Higgins refers?

A) optimal
B) ideal
C) ought
D) neither a nor c