Question 1

Two social psychologists, Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald, suspected there was a disconnect between people's conscious and unconscious views of prejudice and developed a way of measuring what they called ________.

Accepted Answer

Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald developed a way of measuring what they called "implicit bias," which refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.

Question 2

Jules was a good swimmer. When he practiced with his father, he swam at a moderate pace, even though his father goaded him to swim faster. However, when he participated in the swimming competition at school, the attention of the gathered crowd and the presence of other swimmers made him swim faster than he did during practice. The difference in Jules's performance can be explained by the phenomenon of ________.

Accepted Answer

Social facilitation is the phenomenon where an individual performs better on tasks in the presence of others than when alone. Jules swimming faster during the competition due to the crowd and other swimmers illustrates this concept.

Question 3

Samantha has a mental model of how a date with her boyfriend ought to transpire. Thus, Samantha has a(n) ________ for a date.

Accepted Answer

A schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information. Samantha's mental model of how a date should go is an example of a schema, as it represents her expectations and knowledge about what a date entails.

Question 4

The Implicit Associations Test (IAT) was designed to measure ________.

Accepted Answer

The Implicit Associations Test (IAT) was specifically designed to measure implicit biases, which are the unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions.

Question 5

Andreas is a huge Los Angeles Lakers fan. His love for the team demonstrates the ________ component of his attitude.

Accepted Answer

The affective component of attitude refers to the emotional reaction one has towards an attitude object. Andreas' "love" for the Los Angeles Lakers indicates an emotional attachment, which aligns with the affective component.

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of social facilitation?

Accepted Answer

Social facilitation refers to the tendency of individuals to perform better on tasks when in the presence of others than when alone. Natalia's improved performance when working with others on a project is a classic example of this phenomenon.

Question 7

Which of the following is true about social norms?

Accepted Answer

Social norms are indeed rules about acceptable behavior that are imposed by the cultural context in which one lives. They vary significantly across different cultures and are not necessarily habits that people cannot overcome. They also do not specifically relate to environmental factors that enable better performance in tasks in the presence of others; that description is more closely related to social facilitation.

Question 8

Social rejection activates the same neural circuitry that is involved in ________.

Accepted Answer

Social rejection activates the same neural circuitry as feeling physical pain, indicating how deeply interpersonal connections affect us.

Question 9

________ is the feeling of discomfort caused by information that is at odds with one's conception of oneself as a reasonable and sensible person.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort experienced when confronted with information or situations that conflict with one's existing beliefs, values, or self-image, leading to an attempt to resolve the contradiction to reduce the discomfort.

Question 10

Ashley and Donald are hiking in the mountains. When Donald trips over a rock, Ashley attributes it to his clumsiness. However, when she trips over the same rock, she blames it on the placement of the rock. This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates the fundamental attribution error, where Ashley attributes Donald's tripping to his personal characteristics (clumsiness) but attributes her own tripping to external circumstances (placement of the rock), rather than considering situational factors for both.

Question 11

Rahul knows every detail about each player of his favorite cricket team. This demonstrates the ________ component of his attitude.

Accepted Answer

Rahul's knowledge about each player of his favorite cricket team demonstrates the cognitive component of his attitude, which involves beliefs, thoughts, and attributes about an aspect of the environment.

Question 12

Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler (2009), pioneers in research on real-life (non-electronic) social networks, report that attitudes, behaviors, and habits move through social networks via the ________.

Accepted Answer

Christakis and Fowler's research found that attitudes, behaviors, and habits can spread through social networks up to three degrees of separation, meaning that our actions can influence not just our friends, but our friends' friends, and our friends' friends' friends. This is known as the "three degrees rule."

Question 13

________ is the act of helping others in the hope that they will help you in the future.

Accepted Answer

Reciprocal altruism is the concept where an individual provides a benefit to another with the expectation of future reciprocation, essentially helping others with the anticipation that the favor will be returned in the future.

Question 14

________ refers to violent behavior that is intended to cause psychological or physical harm, or both, to another being.

Accepted Answer

Aggression is defined as violent behavior aimed at causing psychological or physical harm to others.

Question 15

Oscar, a magician, performs better on the stage when there are more people watching him perform. This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

Social facilitation refers to the tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others than when alone. Specifically, it often refers to improved performance on tasks in front of an audience. Oscar performing better with more people watching is a classic example of social facilitation.

Question 16

Evolutionary pressures to preserve group membership favor ________.

Accepted Answer

In-group bias is the tendency to favor one's own group over other groups. This bias is thought to be driven by evolutionary pressures to preserve group membership.

Question 17

A boss is talking with a newly-appointed executive in his office. While pleading with the boss to postpone an upcoming deadline, the executive begins to cry. Reacting to the executive's distress, the boss becomes upset as well. The boss decides to help the executive in order to relieve his own distress. According to Batson's empathy-altruism hypothesis, the boss's decision to help the executive is due to ________ motivation.

Accepted Answer

The boss decides to help the executive to relieve his own distress, which aligns with egoistic motivation. According to Batson's empathy-altruism hypothesis, if the motivation to help is to reduce one's own distress rather than the distress of the person in need, it is considered egoistic.

Question 18

________ occurs when people conform to the behavior of others because they view them as a source of knowledge about what they are supposed to do.

Accepted Answer

Informational social influence occurs when individuals conform to the behavior or attitudes of a group because they view the group as a source of accurate information and believe that the group's behavior is an appropriate guide to what they should do. This often happens in situations where the correct action or belief is not clear, and people look to others for cues on how to behave.

Question 19

Which of the following is true about normative social influence?

Accepted Answer

Normative social influence occurs when individuals conform to the expectations of a group in order to be liked or accepted, affecting both opinions and behavior.

Question 20

Lorenzo, who was busy working in his room, could hear a baby crying nearby but did not bother to go out and check thinking that his neighbors would probably do so. This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

Lorenzo's assumption that others (his neighbors) would check on the crying baby instead of him taking action is an example of diffusion of responsibility. This psychological phenomenon occurs when individuals in a group assume that someone else will take action, leading to inaction on their part.

Quiz 13: Social Behavior