Question 1

In the study by Shariff and Norenzayan (2007) presented in your text, when participants were primed with words related to God or fairness to others, they behaved __________.

Accepted Answer

In the study by Shariff and Norenzayan (2007), participants who were primed with words related to God or fairness to others behaved more selflessly, as measured by their willingness to donate money to charity or help a stranger. This effect was observed regardless of the participants' religious beliefs or background.

Question 2

Ms. Honeywell is an elementary school teacher who maintains that in her thirty-five years of experience, boys just tend to do better at math than girls. Recently, she has read a number of studies that show that girls and boys actually have about the same level of math ability. Based on information about how teachers create and sustain self-fulfilling prophecies, what is Ms. Honeywell most likely to think about the study results?

Accepted Answer

Ms. Honeywell is likely to cling to her belief that boys are better at math due to her years of experience creating and sustaining a self-fulfilling prophecy. She may discount the study results because they contradict her beliefs, and she may continue to reinforce the idea that boys are better at math, leading to differential treatment and potentially lower math achievement for girls. This aligns with the concept of stereotype threat and its effects on academic achievement.

Question 3

Based on the study by Shariff and Norenzayan (2007) presented in your text, if you are religious and pass by several churches, then a block or so later a homeless person asks you for change, how are you likely to behave?

Accepted Answer

Based on the study by Shariff and Norenzayan (2007), individuals who were primed with religious concepts were more likely to exhibit prosocial behavior, which includes giving money to a homeless person. Therefore, if a religious person passed by churches and then encountered a homeless person, they would be more likely to give them money.

Question 4

In a controlled experiment, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) informed grade school teachers that some of their students (called "bloomers") would show great academic improvement in the upcoming year. In reality, the "bloomers" were chosen randomly by the researchers, and were no smarter than any of the other students. Which of the following best describes the results of this study? At the end of the year, __________.

Accepted Answer

The study ultimately found that the bloomers did, in fact, show greater academic improvement than the non-bloomers at the end of the year. Specifically, they improved more on an IQ test than did the non-bloomers, despite there being no actual differences in intelligence or ability between the two groups.

Question 5

When people have an expectation about what another person is like, it may influence how they act toward that person; this further results in that person's behaving consistently with the other's original expectations. This is known as __________.

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is known as the self-fulfilling prophecy, where a person's expectations can influence the behavior of another person, leading them to act in a way that confirms the original expectation.

Question 6

In the self-fulfilling prophecy, a perceiver has a(n) __________ that affects the __________ of the target of perception.

Accepted Answer

In the self-fulfilling prophecy, the perceiver has an expectation or belief about the target of perception that affects how they behave towards the target. This, in turn, can influence the behavior of the target in a way that fulfills the perceiver's expectations.

Question 7

The studies by Rosenthal and Jacobson on self-fulfilling prophecies have concluded that the teachers treated the "bloomers" in class differently than the other children. In which of the following ways did the teachers treat these students differently?

Accepted Answer

According to the studies by Rosenthal and Jacobson, the teachers treated "bloomers" differently by giving them more personal attention, which could have contributed to their increased academic success.

Question 8

How are self-fulfilling prophecies and schemas related?

Accepted Answer

Self-fulfilling prophecies are when expectations or beliefs about a person or situation lead to behaviors that ultimately confirm those expectations or beliefs. Schemas are cognitive frameworks that organize and interpret information about the world, including people and situations. Schemas can influence self-fulfilling prophecies by shaping a person's expectations and interpretations of others' behavior, which can then lead to behaviors that confirm those expectations. This process can be unconscious and unintentional. Therefore, self-fulfilling prophecies are inadvertent and unconscious influences on behavior by an individual's schemas.

Question 9

Recently, a state department of education decided to lower the grade needed to pass the writing portion of a standardized test. Assuming that Rosenthal and Jacobson's research remains true in today's classrooms, what is most likely to happen to students' writing ability as a result?

Accepted Answer

According to Rosenthal and Jacobson's research, the Pygmalion Effect, lowering standards can lead to lower expectations and ultimately lower performance. Therefore, it is most likely that lowering the grade needed to pass the writing portion of the standardized test will result in a decrease in students' writing ability.

Question 10

Recall that Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson (1968) informed grade-school teachers that some of their students (called "bloomers") would show great academic improvement in the upcoming year. Also recall that students labeled "bloomers" actually showed greater increases on IQ tests compared to students who were not labeled "bloomers." These differences occurred because teachers __________.

Accepted Answer

The teachers challenged "bloomers" more and gave them more and better feedback, which resulted in greater academic improvement and higher scores on IQ tests.

Question 11

Warren believes that Tom is an outgoing, gregarious person. "Whom did you hang out with this weekend?" Warren asks Tom. "Tell me about all of the fun things that you have planned for the summer," Warren continues. Although Tom is usually rather quiet and reserved, he responds to Warren in an outgoing, friendly manner. This is an example of __________.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, where Warren's initial belief that Tom is outgoing and gregarious leads him to ask questions and engage in conversation in a way that elicits an outgoing response from Tom, confirming Warren's belief.

Question 12

Based on information from the authors of your text, what is one possible explanation as to why girls and boys perform about the same in math in elementary school while a gender gap appears around puberty?

Accepted Answer

The authors suggest that self-fulfilling prophecies may contribute to the gender gap in math performance, as girls may internalize stereotypes about their abilities and lose confidence in their math skills as they get older.

Question 13

The self-fulfilling prophecy occurs because we often __________.

Accepted Answer

The self-fulfilling prophecy occurs because we often act based on our schemas, which are our pre-existing beliefs and expectations about a situation or person. This can influence our behavior and interactions with others, potentially leading to outcomes that reinforce our initial beliefs and expectations.

Question 14

If you were hoping that other research participants would leave you money, according to research by Shariff and Norenzayan (2007), you would hope they were primed with __________.

Accepted Answer

The research by Shariff and Norenzayan (2007) suggests that priming participants with words related to God or fairness to others increases their generosity, so if a research participant were hoping for others to leave them money, they would want those participants to be primed with these types of words.

Question 15

Self-fulfilling prophecies most often are a result of __________.

Accepted Answer

Self-fulfilling prophecies often result from the inadvertent and unconscious influences of individuals' schemas. This occurs when individuals have pre-existing beliefs or expectations about a person or situation that influence their behaviors and interactions with that person or situation, ultimately leading to the outcome they expected or predicted.

Question 16

What is the take-home message from the research on the self-fulfilling prophecy?

Accepted Answer

The research on the self-fulfilling prophecy suggests that it is the result of unconscious, unintentional processes. People's beliefs and expectations about others can influence their behavior towards those individuals, ultimately leading to those beliefs and expectations being fulfilled. It is not necessarily a conscious or deliberate process.

Question 17

The news often points out girls' relatively poor academic performance on standardized tests compared to boys' performance on those tests. Based on the research presented in this chapter, these gender differences may be due in part to __________.

Accepted Answer

The power of teachers' self-fulfilling prophecies may contribute to gender differences in academic performance. Research has shown that teachers may unintentionally treat boys and girls differently in the classroom, including giving them different levels of attention and feedback. This can lead to boys being perceived as better academic performers, which in turn can affect their actual performance. Girls may also internalize these stereotypes and experience lower self-efficacy, which can further impact their academic performance.

Question 18

Allison is a very sweet, intelligent, amicable person. However, Joe hears from her ex-boyfriend that she is hard to get along with and very snobby. According to research on the self-fulfilling prophecy, Joe acts in a(n) __________.

Accepted Answer

According to research on self-fulfilling prophecies, Joe's negative beliefs about Allison could lead him to behave in a way that is unfriendly toward her. This, in turn, could cause Allison to act in an unfriendly way toward Joe, reinforcing his belief that her ex-boyfriend was right about her.

Question 19

The authors of your text suggest that with respect to traditional gender differences in scholastic performance, one causal factor may be __________.

Accepted Answer

Self-fulfilling prophecies of schoolteachers may be a causal factor in traditional gender differences in scholastic performance, as studies have shown that teachers tend to have lower expectations for girls and may unknowingly treat them differently, leading to lower achievement.

Question 20

In order for priming to work successfully, thoughts need to be both __________.

Accepted Answer

For priming to be effective, thoughts must be applicable to the situation and accessible in the mind.

Quiz 3: Social Cognition: How We Think About the Social World