Question 1

On the first day of class,Corey is assigned to sit next to a man wearing athletic pants and a baseball cap with a sports logo.Because Corey is overweight,he assumes that his new classmate will treat him poorly,so he goes out of his way to ignore the other student.Corey's negative evaluative reaction is referred to as
A) an attitude.
B) cognitive dissonance.
C) informational social influence.
D) lowballing.

Accepted Answer

Corey's negative evaluation of his classmate is a reflection of his attitude towards overweight people and his assumptions about how they are treated by others.

Question 2

Alvaro and Randall both feel strongly about global warming.Alvaro believes that it is an imminent danger;Randall believes its exaggerated hype.Both have been invited to present their views to an audience of students who are majoring in the biological sciences.Alvaro arrives in jeans and a flannel shirt.He knows he isn't particularly attractive and he is at least twice the age of most of the students,but he hopes they will be able to relate to his dress style.Randall is only a few years older than the students;he arrives in a jacket and tie and has clearly taken care with his appearance.Based on this information alone,who are the students more likely to view as credible?
A) Alvaro,because they can relate to his style of dress.
B) Alvaro,because attractive,professional-looking people tend to be intimidating to average-looking people.
C) Randall,because he is attractive,dressed like a professional,and similar to the students in age.
D) Randall,because his name is more "American" than Alvaro's.

Accepted Answer

The students are majoring in biological sciences and will likely prioritize scientific credibility and professionalism. Randall's appearance suggests that he is taking the presentation seriously and is a credible source of information. Alvaro's dress may unfortunately distract from his message and may not be seen as professional enough for the setting. Attractiveness and name origin are not relevant factors in assessing scientific credibility.

Question 3

Aaron has been training to run his first half marathon and has timed himself repeatedly over the past months.When he actually runs the half,he is surprised that he performs
A) more poorly than he expected,because he is distracted by the other people running with him.
B) more poorly than he expected,because he hasn't prepared himself to deal with the changes created in the air around him by the other runners.
C) better than usual,due to the mere presence of the other runners.
D) without being affected in any way by the other runners.

Accepted Answer

The presence of others can enhance performance on well-learned tasks due to social facilitation.

Question 4

When Nikolaos arrives a few minutes late to his psychology class,he finds that everyone has turned their desks to face the back of the room.Though the teacher is not in the room,he assumes that they know something he doesn't and turns his desk to face the back of the room too.Nikolaos is conforming,due to
A) groupthink.
B) deindividuation.
C) informational social influence.
D) social facilitation.

Accepted Answer

Nikolaos is conforming due to informational social influence, which occurs when an individual conforms to the opinions or behaviors of others in order to be correct or accurate. In this case, Nikolaos assumes that everyone else knows something he doesn't, and so he conforms by turning his desk to face the back of the room. Groupthink (A) and deindividuation (B) are not applicable in this scenario, as there is no evidence that Nikolaos is under pressure to conform or losing his sense of individual identity. Social facilitation (D) refers to the phenomenon in which an individual performs better in the presence of others, but this is not relevant to the scenario described.

Question 5

Tamara is anxious when she arrives for her first day in a new office.She mentally rehearses introducing herself,so when someone asks "Where are you from?" Tamara accidentally replies,"I'm Tamara." Later that afternoon,Tamara overhears someone say,"The new girl doesn't seem that smart." Because she knows she's extremely smart,Tamara isn't upset,but she is embarrassed.Her coworker has
A) used the peripheral route of persuasion.
B) experienced cognitive dissonance.
C) made a fundamental attribution error.
D) used an internal locus of control.

Accepted Answer

The coworker made a fundamental attribution error by judging Tamara's intelligence based on one mistake she made while introducing herself, instead of considering other possible factors such as her nervousness or lack of familiarity with the office culture.

Question 6

The Deodorant & Antiperspirant Company's advertising executives know that they need to create a need so that their target audience,athletic 18-to-40-year-olds,will use their product.They devise an advertising campaign in which young,extremely attractive athletic men and women are rejected by members of the opposite sex because their deodorants and antiperspirants aren't strong enough.When those individuals switch to the D&A Company's products,they are no longer rejected.The company's advertisers,using a common technique in the advertising world,are
A) using attractive models or actors to create positive associations with their product.
B) attempting to evoke fear in viewers so that they can present their product as the solution to reducing the threat.
C) using actors or models who have something in common with the target audience.
D) all of these.

Accepted Answer

The advertising campaign uses attractive models, evokes fear of rejection, and uses actors who have something in common with the target audience.

Question 7

A good way to help yourself quit smoking is to spend time educating other people about the dangers of smoking.Because one action (smoking)is incongruent with the other action (telling others about the dangers related to smoking),you will probably experience
A) the door-in-the-face technique.
B) cognitive dissonance.
C) normative social influence.
D) deindividuation.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance occurs when there are conflicting beliefs or actions. In this case, the belief that smoking is harmful conflicts with the action of smoking. By educating others about the dangers of smoking, the smoker is further reinforcing the belief that smoking is harmful, which can help reduce the cognitive dissonance and support the decision to quit.

Question 8

A good way to help yourself quit smoking is to spend time educating other people about the dangers of smoking.Because one action (smoking)is incongruent with the other action (telling others about the dangers related to smoking),and because there is little question that smoking is in fact dangerous to one's health,you would probably feel an urge to
A) adjust your behaviour (stop smoking)to fit your self-image of someone who openly speaks out against smoking,so you wouldn't look like a hypocrite.
B) seek out additional information on how smoking affects people's health over time.
C) tell even more people that smoking is bad for them.
D) deindividuate.

Accepted Answer

Spending time educating others about the dangers of smoking will create cognitive dissonance because smoking goes against this belief, making the person feel like a hypocrite. This can motivate them to adjust their behavior (stop smoking) to fit their self-image of someone who openly speaks out against smoking.

Question 9

Medea and her friends go out for dinner at a sit-down restaurant.Their waiter is slow to greet them,confuses their drink orders,forgets to bring their appetizers,and is angry when they complain.Medea's friends begin to say that the waiter is a jerk and that they don't intend to tip him.They are making a ______________ attribution.
A) personal
B) situational
C) distinctive
D) cognitive

Accepted Answer

Medea's friends are making a personal attribution by attributing the waiter's poor service to his character or personality, labeling him as a "jerk," rather than considering external factors that might have affected his behavior.

Question 10

While Allyson is considering her options in a computer store,a sales representative finishes helping a male client and asks if he can help her.When she says her router is not working,he asks her very basic questions that he never bothered to ask the male customer.Before the conversation is over,it is clear that Allyson knows far more about routers than the sales representative.The representative's behaviour suggests that he has a generalized belief
A) or norm of reciprocity.
B) that by using informational social influence he will impress Allyson.
C) fostered by the effects of realistic conflict theory in the computer industry.
D) or stereotype that women are less likely than men to understand computer technology.

Accepted Answer

The sales representative's behavior suggests that he has a stereotype that women are less likely than men to understand computer technology. He asked Allyson very basic questions and did not bother to ask the male customer any such questions. This indicates that he assumed Allyson would not have much knowledge about routers simply because she is a woman.

Question 11

On the first day of class,Dr.Moskowitz is serious and tough as he reviews his rules for the course.After the first day,he is friendly and warm,but his students often continue to see him as unsympathetic and firm.This is due to
A) the self-serving bias.
B) cognitive dissonance.
C) the primacy effect.
D) lowballing.

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to the tendency for people to remember and be influenced more by information that is presented first. In this case, Dr. Moskowitz's initial serious and tough presentation on the first day of class may have made a stronger impression on his students, causing them to continue seeing him in that light despite his later friendly demeanor.

Question 12

The upscale Ethan Grant Company has created a new cologne called Ethan for men and a complementary perfume called Ethan Femme.The company's advertising executives know that their new fragrances will be competing with hundreds of others and that the human nose can discriminate only among so many smells.They know there's no way they can logically convince someone to pay an exorbitant price for Ethan and Ethan Femme;instead,they will need to rely on
A) the central route to persuasion.
B) the peripheral route to persuasion.
C) the foot-in-the-door technique.
D) deindividuation.

Accepted Answer

The peripheral route to persuasion relies on cues that are not directly related to the content of the message, such as attractiveness of the product or the spokesperson endorsing the product. In this case, the advertising executives are aware that logical persuasion may not be effective, so they will need to rely on peripheral cues to persuade consumers to purchase their fragrances.

Question 13

In classic Christian mythology,when God accuses Adam and Eve of eating from the forbidden tree,Adam blames Eve for giving him the apple and Eve blames the serpent.Neither Adam nor Even wants to take credit for disobeying God,though if God had wanted to reward them for something they probably would have been happy to say they were responsible.Adam and Eve have displayed
A) cognitive dissonance.
B) group polarization.
C) the self-serving bias.
D) the fundamental attribution error.

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to external factors. In this case, Adam and Eve are trying to avoid taking responsibility for disobeying God, so they attribute the blame to external factors (Eve blames the serpent and Adam blames Eve). However, if they were to receive a reward for obeying God, they would likely be happy to take credit for it. This behavior is consistent with the self-serving bias.

Question 14

Glynnis has been involved in her college's theatre department for several years.When she first is provided a script she practices alone,repeating her lines until they sound and feel realistic to her.She always notices that her performance improves significantly when she participates in dress rehearsals with other actors,due to
A) social norms.
B) social roles.
C) deindividuation.
D) social facilitation.

Accepted Answer

Social facilitation refers to the phenomenon where the presence of others enhances an individual's performance on simple or well-learned tasks. In Glynnis' case, her performance improves significantly when she participates in dress rehearsals with other actors, suggesting that the presence of others is facilitating her performance.

Question 15

Medea and her friends go out for dinner at a sit-down restaurant.Their waiter is slow to greet them,confuses their drink orders,forgets to bring their appetizers,and is angry when they complain.Medea's friends begin to say that the waiter is a jerk and that they don't intend to tip him.Medea has waited tables in the past,and she tells them that the waiter is probably just having a rough night.She is making a ___________ attribution.
A) personal
B) situational
C) distinctive
D) cognitive

Accepted Answer

Medea is attributing the waiter's behavior to a situational factor (having a rough night), rather than a personal one (being a jerk).

Question 16

Galatea attends a high school that encourages and emphasizes creativity and the arts.In her junior year,her mother's employer transfers her to another state,so Galatea and her father must also move.Because there isn't a special arts school in the new town,Galatea is enrolled in the public high school.On her first day,she dresses as she always has,in an eclectic,funky style that is uniquely hers.The other students,who appear to Galatea to be dressed in boringly similar styles,stare and laugh at her appearance,and by the end of the day Galatea is uncomfortable.If she conforms to be accepted by her new schoolmates,Galatea will have succumbed to
A) deindividuation.
B) normative social influence.
C) the fundamental attribution error.
D) a self-serving bias.

Accepted Answer

Normative social influence refers to the influence of other people's opinions and behaviors on our own, in order to be accepted or liked by them. Galatea is considering conforming to the dress style of her new schoolmates in order to be accepted, which is an example of normative social influence.

Question 17

The Deodorant & Antiperspirant Company's advertising executives know that they need to create a need so that people will use their product.They devise an advertising campaign in which extremely attractive athletic men and women are rejected by members of the opposite sex because their deodorants and antiperspirants aren't strong enough.The company is relying on
A) the central route to persuasion.
B) the peripheral route to persuasion.
C) the foot-in-the-door technique.
D) deindividuation.

Accepted Answer

The advertising campaign is using peripheral cues (attractive models) to persuade people to use their product. It is not relying on logical or factual arguments (central route to persuasion), nor is it using any techniques like foot-in-the-door or deindividuation.

Question 18

As a news anchor,Craig is used to people approaching him to argue about things he reported.Though he loves his job,he is constantly explaining that just because he reports on an issue doesn't mean he personally subscribes to it.In situations like this,people are
A) relying on the peripheral route of persuasion.
B) making a fundamental attribution error.
C) using the door-in-the-face technique.
D) relying on the norm of reciprocity.

Accepted Answer

People approaching Craig and assuming he personally subscribes to the issues he reports on is an example of making a fundamental attribution error. This error occurs when we make assumptions about someone's personality based on their behavior or actions, without considering situational factors that may be influencing their behavior. In this case, Craig is simply doing his job as a news anchor, but people are assuming that his reporting reflects his personal beliefs or values.

Question 19

The brainiacs at the Optimum Computing Corporation have developed a superior notebook computer.The advertising department knows that the purchase of a notebook is a significant investment for the average computer buyer.Since their product is more expensive than their competitors',they will have to convince their target audience that the technology is extraordinary enough to warrant the additional cost.Which of the following approaches would be most likely to achieve their goal?
A) the central route to persuasion
B) the peripheral route to persuasion
C) the door-in-the-face technique
D) lowballing

Accepted Answer

The central route to persuasion involves providing detailed information and strong arguments to persuade the audience based on the content of the message. This approach would be the most effective in convincing potential customers to invest in a more expensive product like the Optimum Computing Corporation's superior notebook computer by highlighting its advanced technology and superior performance.

Question 20

Phaedra's friend has asked her to join him for a fundraiser dinner.When they reach their table,Phaedra notices more forks and spoons than she has ever seen at a single place setting.Rather than admit that she has no idea when to move from one piece of silverware to the next,she surreptitiously watches the other diners and sets aside each utensil when they do.Phaedra is relying on
A) groupthink.
B) deindividuation.
C) informational social influence.
D) social facilitation.

Accepted Answer

Phaedra is demonstrating informational social influence by observing the behavior of others in order to conform to the norms of the situation. She is not necessarily going along with the group or losing her sense of individuality (as in groupthink or deindividuation), but rather relying on the information provided by observing the other diners. Social facilitation does not apply here, as it pertains to the effect of the presence of others on an individual's performance of a task.

Quiz 13: Behaviour in a Social Context

Aaron has been training to run his first half marathon and has timed himself repeatedly over the past months.When he actually runs the half,he is surprised that he performs

A good way to help yourself quit smoking is to spend time educating other people about the dangers of smoking.Because one action (smoking) is incongruent with the other action (telling others about the dangers related to smoking) ,you will probably experience

On the first day of class,Dr.Moskowitz is serious and tough as he reviews his rules for the course.After the first day,he is friendly and warm,but his students often continue to see him as unsympathetic and firm.This is due to

As a news anchor,Craig is used to people approaching him to argue about things he reported.Though he loves his job,he is constantly explaining that just because he reports on an issue doesn't mean he personally subscribes to it.In situations like this,people are