Deck 16: Social Psychology

Question 1

__________ psychology looks at how the actual or imagined presence of others affects our thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

A) Evolutionary
B) Social
C) Humanistic
D) Behavioral

Answer 1

Social

Question 2

Attributions are __________

A) explanations that account for one's own behaviors and/or the behaviors of others.
B) innate personality traits.
C) genetic predispositions to behave a certain way.
D) physical qualities people have such as attractiveness.

Answer 2

explanations that account for one's own behaviors and/or the behaviors of others.

Question 3

When we assign causes to explain the behavior of others or ourselves we are making __________

A) attributions.
B) observations.
C) inferences.
D) assumptions.

Answer 3

attributions.

Question 4

A group of Ray's friends have been waiting for Ray for an hour. One says, "He never remembers anything." Another says, "He's probably caught in rush hour traffic." What are these friends doing that might be of interest to a social psychologist?

A) they are making attributions
B) they are reducing dissonance levels
C) they are conforming to the group's norms
D) they are forming initial impressions of Ray

Question 5

What is the term for the process of developing our first knowledge about another person?

A) social interaction
B) stereotyping
C) impression formation
D) interpersonal judgment

Question 6

Our overall impression of, and attitude toward, an individual is often predominantly influenced by the first information we receive about that person, rather than information that comes later. This phenomenon is called the __________

A) first-person effect.
B) primacy effect.
C) social contagion effect.
D) situational attribution effect.

Question 7

Tyra blames her poor performance in college on a poor memory that she has had since birth. Tyra's behavior is an example of __________

A) a situational attribution.
B) the primacy effect.
C) a self-serving bias.
D) a dispositional attribution.

Question 8

What is the primacy effect, as it relates to impression formation, more commonly known as?

A) first impression
B) negative attribution
C) situational bias
D) altruism

Question 9

Social psychology differs from psychology in its focus on __________

A) people's susceptibility to clever advertising.
B) the influences of the social world in which we exist.
C) abnormal behavior.
D) conformity.

Question 10

Jovan believes that his poor performance on his psychology test was due to his consistent lack of preparation. This is an example of __________

A) the self-serving bias.
B) the primacy effect.
C) a situational attribution.
D) a dispositional attribution.

Question 11

When Michela was hired, her new boss was impressed because she came highly recommended by her former boss. After three months on the job, Michela's boss found out that her former boss had given her a good recommendation just to get rid of her and that Michela was really a poor, very unreliable, unqualified worker. Still, Michela's new boss thought she was a pretty good employee. This overall impression of her was probably due to __________

A) the halo effect.
B) the primacy effect.
C) self-serving bias.
D) cognitive dissonance.

Question 12

"Look, Officer, I didn't see the stop sign back there because the sun was in my eyes." The police officer responds, "You were not paying attention." How would a social psychologist describe this situation?

A) both individuals were making fundamental attribution errors
B) both individuals were making situational attributions
C) the driver was making a dispositional attribution; the officer was making a situational attribution
D) the driver was making a situational attribution; the officer was making a dispositional attribution

Question 13

Social psychology is the scientific study of how a person's behavior, thoughts, and feelings are influenced by __________

A) cognition.
B) mental processes.
C) the real, imagined, or implied presence of others.
D) psychology.

Question 14

If you fail this exam, and you believe it is the professor's fault for not adequately preparing you, your belief might be an example of __________

A) a self-fulfilling prophecy.
B) a situational attribution.
C) a dispositional attribution.
D) an internal attribution.

Question 15

Alex is standing in line at Wal-Mart waiting to pay for his purchases. A man cuts in front of the line and drops his items on the counter. Alex says to his friend, "That man is incredibly rude." A social psychologist who is within earshot jots down a note so she can use the example in class. What does she write concerning Alex?

A) he made a situational attribution
B) he made a dispositional attribution
C) his remark is based on a stereotype
D) his remark is considered a collectivistic remark

Question 16

When we make situational attributions we are identifying the cause of an action as something __________

A) in the environment.
B) in the person's disposition.
C) that is a biological trait.
D) with an unconscious motivation.

Question 17

Your best friend has been acting rather cool toward you lately. As you try to figure out why, you are engaging in the process called __________

A) attribution.
B) causal analysis.
C) ascribing values.
D) nonverbal communication.

Question 18

The process we use to obtain critically important social information about others is known as __________

A) social investigation.
B) social validity.
C) social perception.
D) social identity.

Question 19

A(n) __________ attribution involves looking at a particular behavior exhibited by an individual as resulting from their character or a particular trait.

A) objective
B) situational
C) dispositional
D) primacy

Question 20

Two weeks after April had a wonderful first date with Justin, he still hasn't called her again. Which of the following would be a situational attribution for why he hasn't called?

A) "He's such a loser."
B) "He's probably just trying to see how many women he can score with."
C) "He's obviously just a momma's boy."
D) "He's so busy he hasn't had time to call."

Question 21

Which of the following represents an example of the actor-observer effect?

A) I like football because I'm interested in it. My cousin likes football because he won a football scholarship.
B) I cut that person off while I was driving because the rain made my windshield foggy. That person who cut me off the other day did it because she was just an idiot.
C) I can't cook because my mother was a lousy cook. My sister can't cook because she is too busy.
D) I copied my term paper because I only had a week to get the thing done. My brother cheated on the test because he didn't have time to study.

Question 22

Upon arriving at college and meeting your roommate, you sigh mightily as you listen to his endless droning on about how wonderful his girlfriend back home is. "I miss her so much and I can't wait to see her during Thankiving break," he comments. Knowing a bit about social psychology and the rules of interpersonal attraction, what are you most likely to think to yourself?

A) This relationship is doomed, because the rule of proximity says that people are most attracted to those who are nearby, not far away.
B) I'm going to have to listen to this all year, because relationships that have some distance usually get stronger in the long run.
C) I wish he'd realize that everything he's saying makes it sound like they are too similar for each other, and people who date others with whom they share a lot of similarities usually end up breaking up.
D) This relationship will never work out because research suggests that students going away to college change so much that they become unrecognizable to those with whom they formerly had relationships.

Question 23

Which of the following serves to increase the mere-exposure effect?

A) similarity
B) closure
C) priming
D) repeated exposure

Question 24

While watching Jeopardy, your roommate says, "Alex Trebek knows all the answers. He must be a genius." You tell your roommate she probably would not have said that if she had attended class the day the instructor discussed the topic of __________

A) social facilitation.
B) stereotyping illusions.
C) internal attribution biases.
D) fundamental attribution errors.

Question 25

Mary has noticed that now that she has played her new music CD several times she is liking it more. This is an example of __________

A) a self-serving bias.
B) the mere-exposure effect.
C) reciprocal liking.
D) the Pygmalion effect.

Question 26

The term that refers to the fact that interpersonal attraction is influenced by physical availability is __________

A) priming.
B) closure.
C) similarity.
D) proximity.

Question 27

The tendency to blame the situation for our problems and other people's problems on their own dispositions, is an example of the __________

A) self-serving bias.
B) false-consensus effect.
C) actor-observer effect.
D) the primacy effect.

Question 28

The term psychologists use for how close two people live to each other is __________

A) similarity.
B) proximity.
C) propinquity.
D) complimentarity.

Question 29

How are proximity to others and attraction correlated?

A) not correlated
B) positively correlated
C) negatively correlated
D) inversely correlated

Question 30

You observe a person at the grocery store get angry and yell at the cashier. Which of these attributions illustrates the fundamental attribution error?

A) the yeller is a mean, angry person
B) the cashier is overworked
C) the yeller has had a bad day
D) the cashier has had a bad day

Question 31

"I adore the girl next door." This phrase refers to what rule of attraction?

A) saturation effect
B) proximity
C) birds-of-a-feather effect
D) foot-in-the-door effect

Question 32

The cliché "familiarity breeds contempt" contradicts which of the rules of interpersonal attraction?

A) reciprocal liking
B) physical attractiveness
C) similarity
D) proximity

Question 33

What do social psychologists call the tendency to rely on internal characteristics for explanations of the behavior of others and to ignore the influence of the situation?

A) availability heuristic
B) augmenting principle
C) self-fulfilling prophecy
D) fundamental attribution error

Question 34

The tendency for terrorists to defend their actions as 'self-preserving' or 'self-justifying' efforts to oppose crusaders is an example of __________

A) the actor-observer effect.
B) a self-serving bias.
C) the halo effect.
D) the mere-exposure effect.

Question 35

Clay, a professional football player, feels that when his team wins it is because of his play. However, recently when his team lost, Clay went on TV to complain about the poor officiating in the game. This is an example of__________

A) a self-fulfilling prophecy.
B) a situational bias.
C) an internal bias.
D) a self-serving bias.

Question 36

The term that explains the fact that people generally marry people they have had some continuous exposure to, as opposed to people they don't know well is __________

A) priming.
B) closure.
C) similarity.
D) proximity.

Question 37

When we attribute our success to internal causes while blaming others for our failures, we are applying __________

A) a self-fulfilling prophecy.
B) a situational attribution.
C) a self-serving bias.
D) human nature.

Question 38

Which statement is the best explanation of the fundamental attribution error?

A) We attribute most of what people do to the influence of situations.
B) We rely on the first information we receive to make internal attributions.
C) We are more likely to attribute another's behavior to internal rather than to situational causes.
D) We tend to attribute our successes to our own efforts and failures to the shortcomings of others.

Question 39

"Out of sight, out of mind" is a cliché that is consistent with the __________ rule of interpersonal attraction.

A) physical attractiveness
B) similarity
C) proximity
D) reciprocal liking

Question 40

Which statement is correct concerning cross-cultural research on the fundamental attribution error?

A) Fundamental attribution error appears to be universal.
B) Most cultures attribute behavior to dispositional causes.
C) Eastern cultures like Korea seem to make more situational attributions than Western cultures such as the United States.
D) Western cultures seem to make more situational attributions than Eastern cultures.

Question 41

We tend to like people who also like us. This is __________

A) reciprocal liking.
B) a self-serving bias.
C) the mere-exposure effect.
D) an external attribution.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a form of social influence?

A) conformity
B) compliance
C) obedience
D) altruism

Question 43

One of Gil's favorite television shows is one that tries to find people with singing talent out of the general population. Over the course of several weeks of watching the show, Gil reaches the conclusion that the more attractive singers are getting higher marks from the judges. A likely explanation for this is __________

A) reciprocal liking.
B) the primacy effect.
C) the halo effect.
D) the matching hypothesis.

Question 44

__________ involves adopting a behavior or an attitude in order to be consistent with the social norms of a group.

A) Obedience
B) Social facilitation
C) Depersonalization
D) Conformity

Question 45

Betty joined the college's photography club because she heard that a couple of people in the club had said she took really wonderful pictures. The idea that she liked the people in the club because she believed they liked her is an example of __________

A) reciprocity.
B) the mere-exposure effect.
C) the halo effect.
D) self-serving bias.

Question 46

Due to the halo effect, the store manager of the Retail Super Store is more likely to hire __________

A) people with no sense of humor.
B) people who are not particularly smart.
C) people who are attractive.
D) people with poor time management skills.

Question 47

When six-month-old infants are given pictures of attractive and unattractive adult faces to look at, they tend to __________

A) spend an equal amount of time looking at both types of faces. Incorrect the infants in this research spend more time looking at the attractive faces versus the unattractive faces
B) spend more time looking at the attractive faces.
C) spend more time looking at the unattractive faces.
D) not pay attention to either type of picture.

Question 48

According to research, women are more likely than men to look for a mate who __________

A) is physically attractive.
B) has emotional maturity.
C) will do his share of the house work.
D) has resources and social status.

Question 49

We tend to __________ attractive people more than we do less attractive people.

A) like
B) dislike
C) ignore
D) hate

Question 50

According to Buss, men prefer to mate with beautiful young women because __________

A) being seen with a beautiful woman increases the status of the male.
B) beauty is seen as representing health and fertility, which is important in passing on one's genes.
C) because beauty is associated with resources, which are important to men.
D) it provides them a way in which to recapture their own youth.

Question 51

Vince has always believed children deserve the best prenatal care available. During a class discussion, he hears the first of several speakers express very negative attitudes toward spending tax money on prenatal care for the poor. When it is his turn to speak, he voices an opinion more in keeping with the previous speakers. Vince's behavior is an example of __________

A) compliance.
B) persuasion.
C) conformity.
D) obedience.

Question 52

The matching hypothesis suggests that we are likely to end up with someone __________

A) high in altruism.
B) who is slightly more popular than we are.
C) similar to ourselves in attractiveness.
D) who possesses traits we wish we had.

Question 53

When opposites attract, it is said that they have __________ characteristics.

A) proximal
B) complementary
C) rewarding
D) reciprocal

Question 54

Research has shown that __________ is one of the characteristics that does the most to make an individual's body and face appear attractive.

A) flesh tone
B) symmetry
C) character
D) size

Question 55

Which of the following examples describes the rule of attraction called reciprocity of liking?

A) Mary likes Julio because he is so different from her.
B) Sabrina loves Clark because he lives next door to her.
C) Tameka likes Raphael because he likes her.
D) Marcia likes Donald because he is rich.

Question 56

People sometimes make the mistake of assuming that someone is intelligent, exciting and fun to be around just because they are physically attractive. This is called the __________

A) halo effect.
B) primacy effect.
C) matching effect.
D) mere-exposure effect.

Question 57

Which of the following is NOT noted by Buss as one of the four qualities most important in mate selection?

A) intelligence
B) mutual attraction
C) pleasing disposition
D) emotional stability

Question 58

Which of the following is NOT a quality men and women across cultures rate as important in mate selection?

A) dependable character
B) socially outgoing
C) emotional stability
D) pleasing disposition

Question 59

"Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman!" If you looked up, would you be conforming?

A) Yes. You would be looking up because you were told to do so.
B) No. Conformity requires that you base your behavior on what other people are doing, not being told to do so.
C) Yes. Conformity means doing what you are told or else.
D) No. Looking up only means you are curious.

Question 60

Which of the following illustrates the power of complementary traits?

A) a dominant woman marries a submissive man
B) a girl marries the boy next door
C) two tennis players become good friends
D) a girl and a boy who both like jogging fall in love

Question 61

After a group of gang members learned that their friend had died in a seemingly random accident, several of the friends started blaming a rival gang for the death. Even though there was no evidence whatsoever that the death had been intentional, the more the friends talked the more passionate they became in their belief that an act of revenge was necessary. What concept from social psychology may contribute to an act of violent revenge in this case?

A) social influence
B) prosocial behavior
C) altruism
D) groupthink

Question 62

According to Asch, the tendency to conform with the majority requires only __________ confederates.

A) 15
B) 10
C) 3
D) 7

Question 63

In Solomon Asch's study, which factor increased the rate of conformity?

A) the task difficulty was increased
B) the confederates were all adults
C) the number of confederates increased
D) the participants were given two chances at responding

Question 64

Asch's studies showed that overall conformity to group pressure occurred about __________ of the time.

A) one-fifth
B) one-third
C) one-half
D) three-fourth

Question 65

Voluntarily yielding to social norms, even at the expense of one's own preference, is called __________

A) obedience.
B) submission.
C) conformity.
D) compliance.

Question 66

The main task of the Solomon Asch studies was __________

A) selecting paint colors.
B) judging line sizes.
C) rating new fashions.
D) taste-testing new candies.

Question 67

An individual would be most likely to go against the majority opinion of a group if __________

A) they have low status in the group.
B) they are new to the group.
C) they do not like the opinion of the group.
D) they have one other ally in the group.

Question 68

Experiments showing the effects of group pressure on conformity were conducted by __________

A) Asch.
B) Milgram.
C) Luchens.
D) Singer.

Question 69

In what way is compliance different from conformity?

A) Compliance is a response to a direct request, whereas conformity is a response to indirect social pressure.
B) Conformity and compliance are very similar; the distinction depends on whether one is a male or female.
C) Conformity involves direct group pressure for change, whereas compliance involves orders or commands.
D) Compliance involves eliciting reaction on the part of group members, whereas conformity involves subliminal persuasion.

Question 70

When members of a group give priority to the cohesiveness of the group over the facts of a situation, they are engaging in what social psychologists call __________

A) groupthink.
B) mass thought.
C) consumerism.
D) solidarity think.

Question 71

Solomon Asch studied __________ by having several confederates lie about the length of a line to subjects.

A) attitudes
B) compliance
C) conformity
D) groupthink

Question 72

Asch found that the likelihood of conformity increased with group size until __________ confederates were present.

A) three
B) four
C) five
D) six

Question 73

What affected the percentage of subjects who went along with the confederates in Solomon Asch's studies where several confederates lied about the length of a line to subjects?

A) whether the confederates were the same sex as the subjects
B) whether there were 3 or 15 confederates
C) whether the confederates were the same age as the subject
D) whether a confederate voiced a dissenting opinion or not

Question 74

Which factor significantly decreased the likelihood of conformity in Solomon Asch's studies?

A) the task difficulty was increased
B) the confederates were all adults
C) one confederate gave a correct response
D) the participants were given two chances at responding

Question 75

What percentage of the individuals who participated in Solomon Asch's initial study on conformity, involving judgment of line lengths, were never swayed by the group?

A) 55%
B) 40%
C) 35%
D) 25%

Question 76

Which type of group is most susceptible to groupthink?

A) groups that meet casually
B) tightly knit groups
C) groups containing only members of the same sex
D) groups that were randomly assigned to meet together.

Question 77

In Solomon Asch's study on conformity, the number of confederates was found to have a significant impact on the participants' likelihood of giving an incorrect answer. How many confederates did Asch find maximized the likelihood of conformity occurring?

A) 2
B) 3
C) 6
D) 12

Question 78

It is 1951, and you are required to participate in a perception experiment. You join seven others seated in a room. You are shown a 10-inch test line and must choose the line that matches it in length from a choice of three lines. The experimenter, Solomon Asch, is studying __________

A) bystander apathy.
B) social loafing.
C) groupthink.
D) conformity.

Question 79

Close, friendly groups usually work well together, but they may face a problem involving an extreme form of conformity called __________

A) fundamental attribution error.
B) groupthink.
C) generational identity.
D) self-serving bias.

Question 80

What percentage of the individuals who participated in Solomon Asch's initial study on conformity, involving judgment of line lengths, always conformed to the incorrect majority all of the time?

A) 5%
B) 25%
C) 70%
D) 65%