Question 1

According to the augmentation principle, which action is most likely to be attributed to the personality of the actor?
A) clapping after a musical performance
B) asking a server to return improperly cooked food to the kitchen
C) wearing a tropical shirt and shorts to a wedding
D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

The augmentation principle suggests that actions that go against social norms or expectations are more likely to be attributed to the actor's personality. Wearing a tropical shirt and shorts to a wedding is unconventional and thus more likely to be seen as a reflection of the person's personality.

Question 2

Recall that in one experiment, participants were assigned to one of two roles: questioner or responder.The questioner read a series of questions to the responder.The responder was told how to answer each question.In fact, the questioner him- or herself used a preprinted list to tell responders how to answer each question! The results of this research showed that the
A) questioners made judgments that support the false consensus effect.
B) respondents relied on the discounting principle.
C) questioners still drew inferences about the responders.
D) respondents formed negative impressions of the questioners.

Accepted Answer

Despite being told how to answer each question, the questioners still drew inferences about the responders based on their answers. This suggests that even in a controlled experiment where responses are predetermined, people still try to make judgments and form impressions. The other answer choices are not supported by the information given.

Question 3

An American soldier is captured and tortured by enemy forces.The enemy then releases a videotape of the soldier proclaiming a deep hatred for America.According to the discounting principle, Americans who later view this videotape are likely to explain the soldier's proclamations in terms of ______________ causes.
A) internal
B) external
C) dispositional
D) global

Accepted Answer

According to the discounting principle, people tend to explain others' behavior in terms of external causes when there are situational factors that could have influenced their conduct. In this case, the fact that the soldier was captured and tortured by enemy forces provides a clear external explanation for his behavior of proclaiming a deep hatred for America. Therefore, Americans who view the videotape are likely to attribute his behavior to external causes, rather than dispositional or internal factors.

Question 4

The Westlake Hills Little League team just lost a game.According to research on attribution biases, right after the game, the Westlake Hills coach is likely to say,
A) "We just don't seem to have what it takes to be a winning team."
B) "Some of the team just didn't seem motivated to win."
C) "Our opponents played better than ever today."
D) "This better not be the start of a losing streak."

Accepted Answer

The coach is exhibiting a self-serving bias by attributing the loss to the opponents playing better rather than the team's own mistakes or shortcomings. Option A is an example of a self-effacing bias, option B is an example of an attribution to internal factors, and option D is an example of a negative outcome that is not necessarily related to attribution biases.

Question 5

Several mountain climbers were trapped on Mount Everest during a blinding snowstorm.Many climbers died on the mountain.However, one climber made it all the way back to base camp.Unfortunately, though, he collapsed and died mere yards away from the safety of his tent.Because this climber came so close to saving himself, ____________ is particularly likely to occur in response to this climber's death.
A) the fundamental attribution error
B) the correspondence bias
C) emotional amplification
D) counterfactual reasoning

Accepted Answer

The answer of Several mountain climbers were trapped on Mount...

Question 6

The actor-observer difference is the tendency for actors to make ____________ attributions, whereas observers make ____________ attributions.
A) deductive; inductive
B) distinctive; common
C) global; specific
D) situational; dispositional

Accepted Answer

The actor-observer difference refers to the tendency for individuals to make different attributions depending on whether they are the actor (the one performing the behavior) or the observer (someone witnessing the behavior). Actors tend to make situational attributions, attributing their behavior to external factors, such as the situation or context. Observers, on the other hand, tend to make dispositional attributions, attributing the behavior to the actor's internal characteristics or personality traits. Therefore, the best choice is D, situational for actors and dispositional for observers. The other options are not related to the actor-observer difference.

Question 7

According to Dan Gilbert and his research on the attributional process, the first stage entails making ____________ that are ____________.The adjustment stage entails making ____________ that are ____________.
A) defensive attributions; self-enhancing; realistic attributions; deliberate.
B) dispositional inferences; automatic; situational inferences; deliberate.
C) temporary inferences; subconscious; stable inferences; conscious.
D) situational attributions; deliberate; dispositional inferences; automatic.

Accepted Answer

Dan Gilbert's research suggests that the initial stage involves making dispositional inferences automatically, while the adjustment stage involves making situational inferences deliberately.

Question 8

Recall that Dan Gilbert studied why people tend to attribute others' behaviors to dispositional factors.According to his theoretical framework, this pattern of attribution occurs because people tend to
A) consider a person's behavior and his or her situation simultaneously.
B) be emotionally invested in explaining others' behaviors in terms of stable personal characteristics.
C) make initial dispositional inferences without later adjusting them on the basis of situational information.
D) have difficulty identifying what other people's behaviors signify.

Accepted Answer

According to Gilbert's theoretical framework, people tend to make initial dispositional inferences without later adjusting them on the basis of situational information. This means that once people form an impression of someone's personality, they tend to stick with it even if they later learn about situational factors that could explain the person's behavior.

Question 9

According to social psychological research on covariation information, which condition should prompt the highest expectations about the TechnoCool dance club? When
A) hardly anyone raves about TechnoCool, your friend raves about all clubs, and your friend has raved about TechnoCool on many different occasions.
B) everyone raves about TechnoCool, your friend rarely raves about any clubs, and your friend has raved about TechnoCool on many different occasions.
C) your friend raves about all dance clubs, TechnoCool exceeds your friend's expectations, and positive experiences tend to occur at TechnoCool.
D) your friend dislikes all dance clubs, TechnoCool exceeds your friend's expectations, and negative experiences tend to occur at that dance club.

Accepted Answer

This scenario shows high consensus (everyone raves about TechnoCool), high distinctiveness (your friend rarely raves about any clubs), and high consistency (your friend has raved about TechnoCool on many occasions), which according to covariation theory, leads to strong expectations about TechnoCool.

Question 10

According to the textbook, which of the following statements about attribution is/are accurate?
A) The more someone's reaction is confined to a particular situation, the less this reaction says about that individual and the more it says about the specific situation.
B) All other things being equal, the more an individual's reaction is shared by others, the less it says about the individual and the more it says about the situation.
C) The more an individual's reaction is specific to one occasion, the harder it is to make a definite attribution to either the person or the situation.
D) All of the above are correct.

Accepted Answer

All of the statements presented in the answer choices are accurate according to the textbook, as they highlight different factors that can influence how much an individual's behavior can be attributed to their disposition versus the situation they are in. The first statement emphasizes that when an individual's behavior is highly constrained by the situation, it becomes harder to draw conclusions about their personality or traits. The second statement suggests that when many people exhibit a similar behavior in a situation, it may be more likely that the situation is the main cause of the behavior. The third statement highlights the challenge of making accurate attributions when someone's behavior is highly specific to a particular context or event.

Question 11

According to the textbook, the self-serving bias can reflect
A) the motivation to feel good about oneself.
B) rational thought processes.
C) sound attributional reasoning.
D) All of the above are correct.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the textbook, the self-serving bias...

Question 12

The ____________ holds that people have a tendency to believe that another person's behavior is due to his or her disposition rather than the situation in which that person finds him- or herself.
A) fundamental attribution error
B) self-serving bias
C) covariation principle
D) observer fallacy

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute another person's behavior to his or her disposition rather than the situation in which that person finds him- or herself. It is often referred to as the "correspondence bias."

Question 13

According to the textbook, an experimental paradigm that reliably demonstrates the self-serving attributional bias involves having all participants
A) succeed at a single task and then measuring their attributions.
B) fail at a single task and then measuring their attributions.
C) fail at a task, manipulating whether they succeed or fail when given another opportunity to perform the task, and then measuring their attributions.
D) succeed at a first task, fail when given another opportunity to perform the task, and then measuring their attributions.

Accepted Answer

The experimental paradigm that reliably demonstrates the self-serving attributional bias involves having participants fail at a task, manipulating whether they succeed or fail when given another opportunity to perform the task, and then measuring their attributions. This allows researchers to observe if participants attribute their success to internal factors (such as their ability or effort) but attribute their failure to external factors (such as the difficulty of the task or bad luck).

Question 14

Sarah and William got into an argument.The next day, Sarah reflects on why they behaved the way they did.According to the actor-observer difference, Sarah should think,
A) "I wonder what I did to make William so angry."
B) "I happened to have a bad day, but William is just plain nasty."
C) "William must have had a bad day, but I'm just plain nasty."
D) "I wonder what William did to make me so angry?"

Accepted Answer

The actor-observer difference suggests that people attribute their own actions to situational factors (Sarah had a bad day) but attribute others' actions to dispositional factors (William is nasty).

Question 15

Brian thinks that Roscoe is a terrible person.So when Brian finds out that Roscoe's business failed and that Roscoe's wife left him, Brian's reaction is consistent with the just world hypothesis.He therefore thinks to himself,
A) "Roscoe got what he deserved!"
B) "Even Roscoe didn't deserve that!"
C) "Roscoe sure had bad luck!"
D) "If it happened to Roscoe, it could happen to anyone!"

Accepted Answer

The just world hypothesis suggests that people get what they deserve, and in this case, Brian's negative perception of Roscoe leads him to believe that Roscoe's misfortunes are a result of his own actions or character flaws. Therefore, Brian's reaction of "Roscoe got what he deserved!" is consistent with the just world hypothesis.

Question 16

People often mistakenly believe that actors are similar to the characters they play on television programs or in films.This tendency is best explained by
A) the discounting principle.
B) the augmentation principle.
C) the fundamental attribution error.
D) the self-serving bias.

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overemphasize dispositional (internal) explanations for other people's behavior and underestimate the situational (external) factors that may have contributed to their behavior. In this case, people assume that actors are similar to the characters they play, which is a dispositional explanation, rather than considering the situational factors such as the script, direction, and acting choices that may have contributed to the portrayal of the character.

Question 17

Laura and Janet both responded to a newspaper ad for "friendly and outgoing" sales associates.While interviewing with the store manager, Laura comes across as extraverted.Janet comes across as shy.After the interviews, the manager thinks about the two applicants.According to the _____________, the manager should feel more confident that _____________ behavior is a clear reflection of her true self.
A) augmentation principle; Janet's
B) augmentation principle; Laura's
C) covariation principle; Laura's
D) covariation principle; Janet's

Accepted Answer

The augmentation principle suggests that if a behavior occurs despite constraints or obstacles, it is more likely to reflect the person's true disposition. Janet's shy behavior, despite the expectation to be outgoing, is more indicative of her true self.

Question 18

Maria, Susan, and Bobby ran for class president.When the votes were tallied, Maria received 38 votes, Susan received 37 votes, and Bobby garnered 35 votes.According to Medvec and colleagues' study of Olympic athletes' emotional reactions, one would expect ____________ to be the LEAST happy with the election outcome.
A) Maria
B) Susan
C) Bobby
D) none of the above (all three would be equally happy)

Accepted Answer

According to Medvec and colleagues' study, individuals who finish in second place often feel less happy than those in third due to the "silver medal syndrome," where they focus on how close they were to winning, unlike third place who are often just happy to have placed.

Question 19

The just world hypothesis refers to
A) the belief that positive events are more likely than negative events.
B) the belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
C) a tendency to blame our own failures on external events.
D) a tendency to expect the best of people we care about.

Accepted Answer

The just world hypothesis is the belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get. This belief can lead to victim blaming in cases where someone experiences something negative because it doesn't fit into the idea of a "just world". The other answer choices do not accurately describe the just world hypothesis.

Question 20

In class, Linda had to give a "pro-life" speech on abortion.Before her speech, the teacher told everyone that Linda had been assigned to take this position, regardless of her true beliefs about abortion.Research on the fundamental attribution error suggests that, after class, the other students will
A) not form a judgment without asking Linda about her true attitude.
B) be evenly divided on whether Linda is pro-life or pro-choice.
C) be biased to think that Linda is truly pro-choice.
D) be biased to think that Linda is truly pro-life.

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error suggests that people tend to overemphasize dispositional (internal) explanations for behavior rather than situational (external) factors. In this case, the other students are likely to assume that Linda's assignment to the pro-life position reflects her true beliefs, rather than recognizing that it was a situational factor outside of her control. Therefore, they are most likely to be biased to think that Linda is truly pro-life (option D).

Quiz 5: Social Attribution: Explaining Behavior

According to the augmentation principle, which action is most likely to be attributed to the personality of the actor?

The Westlake Hills Little League team just lost a game.According to research on attribution biases, right after the game, the Westlake Hills coach is likely to say,

The actor-observer difference is the tendency for actors to make attributions, whereas observers make attributions.

According to Dan Gilbert and his research on the attributional process, the first stage entails making that are .The adjustment stage entails making that are .

Recall that Dan Gilbert studied why people tend to attribute others' behaviors to dispositional factors.According to his theoretical framework, this pattern of attribution occurs because people tend to

According to social psychological research on covariation information, which condition should prompt the highest expectations about the TechnoCool dance club? When

According to the textbook, which of the following statements about attribution is/are accurate?

According to the textbook, the self-serving bias can reflect

The ____________ holds that people have a tendency to believe that another person's behavior is due to his or her disposition rather than the situation in which that person finds him- or herself.

According to the textbook, an experimental paradigm that reliably demonstrates the self-serving attributional bias involves having all participants

Sarah and William got into an argument.The next day, Sarah reflects on why they behaved the way they did.According to the actor-observer difference, Sarah should think,

Brian thinks that Roscoe is a terrible person.So when Brian finds out that Roscoe's business failed and that Roscoe's wife left him, Brian's reaction is consistent with the just world hypothesis.He therefore thinks to himself,

People often mistakenly believe that actors are similar to the characters they play on television programs or in films.This tendency is best explained by

The just world hypothesis refers to

In class, Linda had to give a "pro-life" speech on abortion.Before her speech, the teacher told everyone that Linda had been assigned to take this position, regardless of her true beliefs about abortion.Research on the fundamental attribution error suggests that, after class, the other students will