Question 1

A strategy to gain compliance by making a very attractive initial offer to get a person to agree to an action and then making the terms less favourable is the

Accepted Answer

This is the description of the "low-ball technique". It involves making a very attractive initial offer to get a person to agree to an action, and then changing the terms to make them less favorable once the person is committed. This can be effective because the person has already committed to the action and may be more willing to accept the less favorable terms.

Question 2

Any effect on performance, whether positive or negative, that can be attributed to the presence of others is defined as

Accepted Answer

Social facilitation refers to the effect that the presence of others has on an individual's performance, and can result in either a positive or negative impact. This is different from social loafing, which refers to a decrease in individual effort when working in a group, compliance, which refers to conformity to authority or pressure, and group polarization, which refers to the tendency for group decision-making to amplify pre-existing attitudes or beliefs.

Question 3

Based on Milgram's studies of obedience, it can be concluded that

Accepted Answer

Milgram's studies of obedience demonstrated that the tendency to obey the commands of authority figures is strong, even if it goes against one's own moral code. Participants in Milgram's experiments were willing to administer what they believed were painful and potentially lethal electric shocks to another person simply because an authority figure instructed them to do so. This suggests that obedience to authority is a powerful force that can override personal conscience and lead to harmful actions.

Question 4

Social facilitation occurs when

Accepted Answer

Social facilitation refers to the phenomenon where the mere presence of others improves an individual's performance on a task or activity they are already good at. The presence of others can also sometimes lead to a decline in performance on tasks that one is less familiar with or less confident in, which is known as social inhibition. However, social facilitation is generally the more common occurrence.

Question 5

When the foot-in-the-door approach is used to induce compliance, the subject is first presented with a ________ request, which is followed by ________ request.

Accepted Answer

The foot-in-the-door approach involves starting with a small request to gain compliance and then following up with a larger request. Therefore, the correct answer is A) small; a larger.

Question 6

Which strategy would involve trying to gain compliance by making a large request that you know will be refused before coming back with a more reasonable request?

Accepted Answer

This strategy is called the door-in-the-face technique, where a large request is made first, knowing that it will be refused, and then a smaller, more reasonable request is made afterward. It works because the initial request makes the smaller request seem more reasonable and harder to refuse.

Question 7

After Sasha agreed to baby-sit for her next-door neighbours, she was informed that their three nephews would be there, too. This is an example of the:

Accepted Answer

The low-ball technique involves initially securing agreement with a request but then revealing hidden costs or downsides. Sasha agreed to babysit, not knowing initially about the additional responsibility of the three nephews, which is a classic example of this technique.

Question 8

A student wanted to be granted an extension for her term paper. She asked the professor to read over a rough draft of her introduction. After he had done so, she asked him for the extension. She is attempting to use the

Accepted Answer

The student is using the foot-in-the-door technique by first getting the professor to agree to read over her rough draft, which is a small request, and then asking for the extension, which is the larger request. This method is based on the idea that people are more likely to agree to a larger request after first agreeing to a smaller, more reasonable request.

Question 9

The door-in-the-face technique for getting compliance suggests that you should start by

Accepted Answer

The door-in-the-face technique involves starting with a large request that is likely to be refused, then following up with a smaller request that is more in line with what you actually want. By making the smaller request seem more reasonable in comparison to the first request, you increase the likelihood of getting compliance. Therefore, the correct choice is A – asking for more than you expect to get.

Question 10

Maria agreed to sign a letter supporting an increase in taxes for road construction and later agreed to make 100 phone calls urging people to vote for the measure; this is an example of the

Accepted Answer

Maria first agreed to a small request (signing a letter) and then agreed to a larger request (making 100 phone calls), which is a classic example of the foot-in-the-door technique. This technique involves getting a person to agree to a small request first, and then asking for a larger request afterwards, with the goal of increasing compliance. The other options do not apply in this scenario.

Question 11

Which of the following refers to the technique for compliance that tells us that getting a person to sign a petition is the first step in getting the person to commit time or money for the passage of some legislation?

Accepted Answer

The foot-in-the-door technique is a strategy that involves getting a person to agree to a smaller request before making a larger one. In this case, getting a person to sign a petition would be the smaller request, with the larger one being committing time or money towards the passage of legislation.

Question 12

Dan refused an initial phone request for a $24.00 donation to send four needy children to the circus, but he did agree to a second request to give $6.00. This is an example of the

Accepted Answer

This scenario exemplifies the door-in-the-face technique, where an initial large request is made knowing it will likely be refused, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request. The smaller request is the actual goal, and it seems more acceptable in comparison to the first, larger request.

Question 13

Which of the following statements regarding the effects of social facilitation is most supported by the research evidence?

Accepted Answer

The research evidence supports that social facilitation causes an improvement in performance on simple or well-learned tasks (easy tasks) and a decrease in performance on complex or new tasks (difficult tasks). This is known as the Yerkes-Dodson law, which states that arousal can improve performance up to a certain level, but beyond that point, performance begins to decline. The level of arousal created by the presence of others is typically higher on difficult tasks, leading to a decrease in performance.

Question 14

Contracts that offer deals appearing "too good to be true" often are just that. However, many people sign them, only to read the fine print after the fact. In so doing, they discover additional charges or limitations to their service or product that were not made clear at the time of the sale. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

The low-ball technique involves offering a deal that seems very attractive initially, but then revealing hidden costs or terms after the agreement has been made.

Question 15

When you must write a letter requesting a charitable donation, it is more likely that the request will be granted if you end the letter with

Accepted Answer

The answer of When you must write a letter requesting...

Question 16

Lucy wants to stay out until midnight on Saturday night. The door-in-the-face technique suggests that she should

Accepted Answer

The door-in-the-face technique involves making a large request that is likely to be refused, followed by a smaller request (the one actually desired). By initially asking to stay out until 2:00 a.m., Lucy increases the chances that her parents will agree to the smaller request of staying out until midnight.

Question 17

The influence of passive spectators on our performance is called

Accepted Answer

The correct term for the influence of passive spectators on our performance is the audience effect. It refers to how the presence of an audience can affect how someone performs a task or activity, often resulting in improved performance. Options A, C, and D are not accurate terms for this phenomenon.

Question 18

You are a subject in an experiment identical to the original Milgram studies of obedience. If you behaved like most of Milgram's subjects, which of the following would decrease your level of obedience to the experimenter's commands?

Accepted Answer

Seeing others refuse to obey the experimenter provides social support and reduces the pressure to conform, leading to decreased obedience.

Question 19

The foot-in-the-door technique involves

Accepted Answer

The foot-in-the-door technique involves starting with a small request that the target person is likely to agree to. Once they have agreed to this small request, a larger request is then made, which is more likely to be accepted due to the target person already having agreed to the smaller request. This technique works by gradually increasing the level of compliance required, rather than starting with a large demand that may be overwhelming and result in rejection. Therefore, the best choice is A.

Question 20

Which best describes the effects of the presence of others on performance?

Accepted Answer

The presence of others can lead to social facilitation, which is the tendency to perform better on simple or well-learned tasks when in the presence of others. However, for unfamiliar or difficult tasks, the presence of others can lead to social inhibition or decreased performance. Therefore, option D, which states that performance is usually impaired on tasks at which we are unskilled or on difficult tasks, is the best choice.

Quiz 10: Social Psychology