Question 1

Raúl and Ramona are bowling.Ramona watches as she waits for her turn,and when Raúl is up,he rolls the ball right into the gutter.Raúl is likely to think,_______.Whereas Ramona is likely to think,_______.

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates the fundamental attribution error, where Raúl is likely to attribute his failure to external factors (A: "they need to wax these alleys."), while Ramona attributes Raúl's failure to his personal characteristics (A: "he always was a little clumsy.").

Question 2

After managing to make it to the final five players on Survivor,a low profile (and somewhat underrated contestant)named Sam expresses loyalty to one player but then votes against him at Tribal Council.If you assume that Sam is a manipulative liar this means that you have probably

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overemphasize dispositional (personality) factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining someone else's behavior. In this case, assuming that Sam is a manipulative liar without considering the possibility that there may have been situational factors (such as strategic gameplay) that influenced his behavior is an example of the fundamental attribution error.

Question 3

At the party,Jenny overheard her friend say to Richard,"Be nice to Jenny! She's had a row with her boyfriend and is feeling a bit low." Later Richard remarked to Jenny that she looked "so lovely tonight." Based on research by Gagné and colleagues,would Jenny believe that Richard was expressing his true opinion?

Accepted Answer

Jenny might not believe Richard's compliment due to her low self-esteem at the moment and the fact that she is dating someone else, which could make her doubt the sincerity of his remark.

Question 4

The actor/observer difference is the tendency to see other people's behaviour as _______,while making _______ attributions about our own behaviour.

Accepted Answer

The actor/observer difference refers to the tendency to attribute other people's behavior to their character or personality (dispositional factors) while attributing our own behavior to the situation (situational factors).

Question 5

In research by Lassiter and colleagues (2007),when were judges and police officers who had been shown a videotaped confession by a suspect more likely to evaluate the confession as 'voluntary'?

Accepted Answer

The judges and police officers were more likely to evaluate the confession as voluntary when the videotape focused on the suspect only. This suggests that when the suspect is the primary focus, evaluators are less likely to perceive coercion or pressure from the interrogator.

Question 6

Thomas is constantly searching for employment,but has yet to be hired.While Thomas is outside in the unemployment line,a woman yells at him as she drives by,"Get a job,you lazy bum!" Her assumption about Thomas is an example of the

Accepted Answer

The woman's assumption that Thomas is unemployed because he is lazy is an example of the fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to overemphasize dispositional (internal) explanations for others' behavior and underemphasize situational (external) factors. The woman is making a dispositional attribution about Thomas (that he is lazy) without considering any situational factors that may be contributing to his unemployment.

Question 7

In a study by Lassiter and his colleagues (2007),judges and police officers viewed tapes of interrogations and were asked to evaluate the extent of 'voluntariness' of a confession.The focus of these tapes was varied.In which condition were judges and police officers most likely to show the correspondence bias in their evaluations?

Accepted Answer

When the tape showed only the suspect, judges and police officers were most likely to show the correspondence bias in their evaluations because they focused solely on the suspect's behavior without considering the influence of the interrogation context, leading them to attribute the confession more to the suspect's dispositional characteristics.

Question 8

Shelley Taylor and Susan Fiske (1975)conducted a clever experiment in which a group of participants observed a scripted conversation between two male confederates.Some could see both of the men; others could see the face of only one man or the other.When asked questions about the two confederates (e.g.,who had taken the lead in the conversation),participants who had a clear view of both men thought they were equally influential,whereas those who faced one or the other thought that the man whose face they saw was more influential.These results demonstrated that

Accepted Answer

The experiment conducted by Taylor and Fiske shows that the salience of perceptual stimuli can explain how the fundamental attribution error occurs. Participants who only saw one confederate's face were more likely to overemphasize the role of that individual in the conversation, demonstrating the impact of perceptual cues on attributions.

Question 9

René exhibits the actor/observer difference when she says,

Accepted Answer

The answer of René exhibits the actor/observer difference when she...

Question 10

Gagné and colleagues (2008)asked subjects to rate the extent to which a positive evaluation about themselves from an attractive opposite-sex person reflected that person's true opinion.The researchers also varied whether the positive evaluation was constrained (compelled by the researchers)or unconstrained (not influenced by the researchers).Which kind of attribution did most subjects make for the attractive person's evaluation in the constrained condition?

Accepted Answer

In the constrained condition, where the positive evaluation was compelled by the researchers, most subjects made dispositional attributions for the attractive person's evaluation. This means they believed that the attractive person genuinely held the positive opinion about them, rather than attributing the evaluation to external or situational factors.

Question 11

Both the fundamental attribution error and the actor/observer difference are due in large part to

Accepted Answer

Both the fundamental attribution error and the actor/observer difference can be attributed to perceptual salience. In the case of fundamental attribution error, the observer tends to overemphasize dispositional factors in explaining someone's behavior, while underemphasizing situational factors. This is often because the person's behavior is the most salient aspect of the situation. In the case of the actor/observer difference, the actor tends to focus on situational factors when explaining their own behavior, while the observer focuses on dispositional factors. This is because the actor is more aware of the situational factors that are influencing their behavior, while the observer is more focused on the salient behavior itself.

Question 12

The two factors below often explain the divergence of actors' and observers' attributions:

Accepted Answer

Perceptual salience effects refer to the tendency for our attention to be drawn toward notable or unusual features in the environment. This can lead observers to overweight the influence of those features in making attributions about behavior. Differentially available information refers to the fact that observers often have access to more information about the situation than actors do. This can lead actors to attribute behavior to situational factors that observers might overlook. Together, these two factors can create divergence between actors' and observers' attributions.

Question 13

Gagné and colleagues (2008)asked subjects to rate the extent to which a positive evaluation about themselves from an attractive opposite-sex person reflected that person's true opinion.The researchers also varied whether the positive evaluation was constrained (compelled by the researchers)or unconstrained (not influenced by the researchers).Which subjects took account of constraint in making their ratings?

Accepted Answer

Subjects who had low self-esteem and were currently dating took account of constraint in making their ratings. This is because they were more likely to believe that the positive evaluation was not genuine if it was constrained, and therefore less likely to rate it as reflecting the person's true opinion.

Question 14

When people commit the fundamental attribution error,they tend to

Accepted Answer

The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to underestimate the situational constraints on people's behavior and overestimate the role of internal and dispositional factors. Therefore, the best choice would be C, as it accurately describes this error. Option A, overestimating situational constraints, is not a characteristic of the fundamental attribution error. Option B is opposite of the error, as it suggests underestimating internal factors. Option D relies on situational information only, which is not necessarily related to the error. Option E suggests overestimating proximal causes, which is not necessarily related to the error.

Question 15

Based on research in Chapter 4,you would expect that the effect of increasing perceptual salience of an individual on attribution is to

Accepted Answer

Increasing the perceptual salience of an individual tends to focus attention on the person rather than the situation, leading to a greater likelihood of making internal attributions about their behavior. This, in turn, increases the likelihood of the correspondence bias, where observers infer that a person's actions correspond to their disposition or personality, even when situational factors may be influential.

Question 16

Why do the authors of your text refer to the actor/observer difference as an interesting twist on the fundamental attribution error?

Accepted Answer

The authors of the text refer to the actor/observer difference as an interesting twist on the fundamental attribution error because our perspectives as actors versus observers influence the extent to which we commit the fundamental attribution error. In other words, when we take the perspective of an actor, we may be more likely to attribute our behavior to situational factors rather than dispositional factors, whereas when we take the perspective of an observer, we may be more likely to attribute actors' behavior to dispositional factors rather than situational factors. This difference in perspective adds a layer of complexity to the fundamental attribution error, making it an interesting twist.

Question 17

Daniel Gilbert and Patrick Malone (1995)have pointed out that we often fall prey to the fundamental attribution error because

Accepted Answer

The answer of Daniel Gilbert and Patrick Malone (1995)have pointed...

Question 18

Even when participants in an experiment,conducted by E.E.Jones and Victor Harris (1967),were told that people were assigned to write an essay sympathetic to Cuba's Fidel Castro,they still were willing to assume that the essay reflected the writer's true "pro-Castro" attitudes.These findings illustrate

Accepted Answer

The findings of this experiment illustrate the fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to overemphasize dispositional (internal) explanations for others' behavior and underemphasize situational (external) explanations. Despite being informed of the situational factor of being assigned to write a pro-Castro essay, participants still attributed the writer's behavior to their true pro-Castro attitude.

Question 19

In a study by Lassiter and his colleagues (2007),they found that when judges and police officers viewed tapes of interrogations,they were more likely to find the confession of a suspect voluntary when the camera focused only on the suspect.Why?

Accepted Answer

The perceptual salience of the suspect triggered a defensive bias, where the judges and police officers were more likely to attribute the suspect's behavior solely to their own free will rather than external factors such as the interrogation tactics used by the police. By focusing solely on the suspect, these individuals were more likely to see them as the cause of the confession rather than the situational pressures in the interrogation room.

Question 20

Based on a study by Lassiter and his colleagues (2007)examining how judges and police officers viewed tapes of interrogations,if you were going to be interrogated by a detective,you would NOT want the camera pointed

Accepted Answer

The answer of Based on a study by Lassiter and...

Quiz 4: Social Perception

Raúl and Ramona are bowling.Ramona watches as she waits for her turn,and when Raúl is up,he rolls the ball right into the gutter.Raúl is likely to think,_.Whereas Ramona is likely to think,_.

After managing to make it to the final five players on Survivor,a low profile (and somewhat underrated contestant) named Sam expresses loyalty to one player but then votes against him at Tribal Council.If you assume that Sam is a manipulative liar this means that you have probably

The actor/observer difference is the tendency to see other people's behaviour as _,while making _ attributions about our own behaviour.

In research by Lassiter and colleagues (2007) ,when were judges and police officers who had been shown a videotaped confession by a suspect more likely to evaluate the confession as 'voluntary'?