Question 1

What cultural differences have been found in regard to the fundamental attribution error?

Accepted Answer

A good answer will include the following key points.
- The fundamental attribution error refers to overestimating the role of dispositional factors and underestimating the role of situational factors in other people's behaviour.
- The fundamental attribution error is more prevalent in Western nations, where people tend to believe that individuals are responsible for their own actions.
- The fundamental attribution error is less common in East Asian countries, where people are more group-oriented and more likely to be aware of situational constraints on behaviour.

Question 2

What is cognitive dissonance? List one example of this state of psychological tension.

Accepted Answer

A good answer will include the following key points.
- Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person holds two incongruent beliefs or when a person's behaviour is incongruent with his or her stated attitude.
- An example is the discomfort that occurs when a person who professes that smoking is bad for your health nevertheless continues to smoke.

Question 3

Explain the term "deindividuation" and how it affects people. Is the effect on behaviour always the same, or can it vary?

Accepted Answer

A good answer will include the following key points.
- Deindividuation occurs when people feel anonymous in a large crowd and lose awareness of their individuality.
- Deindividuated people in crowds "forget themselves" and do not feel accountable for their actions; they are therefore more likely to violate social norms and laws.
- Deindividuation does not always make people more combative. Sometimes it makes them friendlier.

Question 4

Which of the following is a symptom of groupthink?
A) a feeling of vulnerability
B) weak leadership within the group
C) self-censorship
D) disagreement

Accepted Answer

Self-censorship is a symptom of groupthink, as group members may not express their own opinions or doubts in order to avoid disrupting the perceived unity or consensus of the group. A feeling of vulnerability and weak leadership may contribute to groupthink, but they are not necessarily symptoms of it. Disagreement can actually be a healthy sign of diverse perspectives within a group and is not a symptom of groupthink.

Question 5

What criticisms have been raised regarding Milgram's comparison of his study with the brutality of the Nazis during World War II?

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Question 6

What is meant by the term ethnocentrism? Give one example to illustrate this term.

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Question 7

Before conducting his study of obedience, Stanley Milgram asked a number of psychiatrists, students, and other adults to predict how many people they thought would deliver shocks at the highest levels. What predictions did they make?

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Question 8

If a person had an epileptic seizure in a public place, she would be more likely to be helped if:
A) one person was in the area.
B) four to five people were in the area.
C) a dozen people were in the area.
D) the place was crowded with many people.

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon known as the "bystander effect" suggests that an individual in need is more likely to receive help when there are fewer potential helpers present. This is because when many people are present, responsibility is diffused among them, leading to less action being taken.

Question 9

What important positive role do stereotypes play in human thinking?

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Question 10

Describe the technique that Joseph Goebbels called "The Big Lie."

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Question 11

Describe the experimental design of the conformity studies conducted by Solomon Asch.

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Question 12

What is an attitude? Give an example of an attitude that would be considered explicit and one that would be considered implicit.

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Question 13

Describe the story of entrapment told by the 25 men who had served in the Greek military during the authoritarian regime that ended in 1974.

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Question 14

When students were held as "prisoners" in the Stanford prison study, how did they respond during the first days of the experiment? Why did the researchers end the study at Day 6, instead of Day 14 as initially planned?

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Question 15

Who conducted an experiment on conformity in which people were asked to judge the length of lines?
A) Solomon Asch
B) Stanley Milgram
C) Philip Zimbardo
D) Muzafer Sherif

Accepted Answer

The experiment on conformity in which people were asked to judge the length of lines was conducted by Solomon Asch.

Question 16

A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent is called:
A) cognitive dissonance.
B) the fundamental attribution error.
C) the validity effect.
D) deindividuation.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance is the state of tension that arises when a person holds two or more cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent or when a person's behavior is inconsistent with their beliefs or attitudes. This can lead to discomfort and the person may attempt to reduce the dissonance by changing their beliefs or behaviors. The other options (B, C, and D) do not pertain to this specific phenomenon.

Question 17

The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to:
A) be unable to distinguish between actual experiences and what they have been told.
B) believe that a statement is true simply because it has been repeated a number of times.
C) feel more positive toward a person, item, product, or other stimulus that they have seen often.
D) overestimate their abilities to have predicted an event once the outcome is known.

Accepted Answer

The familiarity effect refers to the tendency of people to feel more positive towards a person, item, product, or other stimulus that they have seen often. This effect can occur even if the person has never consciously decided to like the stimulus, and it can influence behavior in a variety of settings, such as advertising and social interactions.

Question 18

Define groupthink and list four common symptoms.

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Question 19

The Stanford prison study demonstrates how a person's ________ affect(s) behaviour.
A) beliefs
B) values
C) role
D) past experience

Accepted Answer

The Stanford prison study specifically focused on how the assigned roles of guard or prisoner affected the behavior of the participants. This demonstrates the power of social roles in shaping behavior. While beliefs, values, and past experiences may also influence behavior, they were not the primary focus of the Stanford prison study.

Question 20

The philosopher Hannah Arendt, when covering the trial of Adolf Eichmann, used the phrase "the banality of evil" to explain how so many people in Nazi Germany supervised the deportation and death of millions of Jews. What does this phrase mean?

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Quiz 8: Behaviour in Social and Cultural Context