Question 1

One of the factors that causes people to obey when they would rather not is that:
A) they need time to decide whether this situation is one that meets the criteria they have been taught to justify disobedience toward an authority they respect.
B) good manners protect people's feelings and the desire to be polite ensnares people into further obedience.
C) after careful evaluation of the situation, the inner voice of conscience dictates obedience because civilization without obedience becomes chaos.
D) they focus on the greater good and know that they are morally obligated to follow institutionalized rules.

Accepted Answer

The desire to be polite and maintain good manners can lead people to continue obeying even when they would prefer not to, as it can be difficult to break social norms and risk offending others.

Question 2

The Stanford prison study demonstrates how a person's ________ affect(s) behaviour.
A) past experience
B) values
C) role
D) beliefs

Accepted Answer

The Stanford prison study showed how the role given to the participants (either as prisoners or guards) influenced their behavior, demonstrating the power of situational factors on behavior.

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of entrapment?
A) A friend convinces you that it would be fun to stand backwards in the checkout line of the grocery store, and before you know it, other customers are gawking at you.
B) A friend suggests that in auditioning for the part of James Bond in a local production, you should emphasize his fears as well as his strengths, and before you know it, you are laughed off stage.
C) A friend states that just because you are the bride there is no reason that you, rather than the groom, should write the thank-you cards, and before you know it, you are getting the blame.
D) A friend who is moving asks you to bring over a few empty boxes; when you arrive he asks you to fill the boxes with dishes, and before you know it, you've packed his kitchen.

Accepted Answer

Entrapment is when someone sets up a situation to trick or trap someone into doing something they wouldn't normally do. In this scenario, the friend asked for a few empty boxes and then tricked the person into packing up their entire kitchen without their knowledge or consent, which is an example of entrapment. The other options do not involve deception or trickery.

Question 4

Sebastian is a "learner" in Milgram's study. What can he do to reduce the likelihood of being shocked by the "teacher"?
A) complain of having a heart ailment
B) scream in pain
C) protest noisily
D) Nothing Sebastian does will make a difference.

Accepted Answer

In Milgram's study, the "learner" was actually a confederate and had no real control over the actions of the "teacher," who was instructed to administer shocks. The study was designed to test obedience to authority, not the actions of the learner.

Question 5

Replications of Milgram's study of obedience showed:
A) gender differences in a willingness to obey, because 75% of men but only 30% of women inflicted what they thought were dangerous levels of shocks to the "learner."
B) that when the victim said that he had a heart ailment or screamed in agony, 10% of the "teachers" inflicted what they thought were dangerous levels of shocks to the "learner."
C) that more than 90% of the subjects in Spain and in the Netherlands inflicted what they thought were dangerous levels of shocks to the "learner."
D) occupational differences, because 90% of lower-SES individuals and 55% of upper-SES individuals inflicted what they thought were dangerous levels of shocks to the "learner."

Accepted Answer

Replications of Milgram's study in different countries, including Spain and the Netherlands, showed high levels of obedience, with more than 90% of participants willing to administer what they thought were dangerous shocks.

Question 6

In the prison study, male college students agreed to participate in a two-week experiment to discover what would happen when they took on the roles of prisoners and guards. The researchers found that:
A) within a short time the prisoners became distressed and panicky, developing emotional symptoms and physical ailments.
B) the subjects, prisoners and guards, were relieved when the experimenters decided that the study should be ended early.
C) the guards that tried to be "tough but fair" urged the tyrannical guards to lighten up on the prisoners because it was only an experiment.
D) about 10% of the guards became tyrannical, choosing harsh and abusive methods to maintain order.

Accepted Answer

B  The study, known as the Stanford prison experiment, showed that prisoners quickly became distressed, and the study was ended early due to the extreme emotional and physical reactions of participants.

Question 7

The primary reason why people obey is that they:
A) are deeply convinced of the authority's legitimacy.
B) are worried about the consequences of disobedience.
C) don't give thought to the other perspective.
D) hope to gain a tangible benefit through their obedience.

Accepted Answer

People obey because they are deeply convinced of the authority's legitimacy.

Question 8

________ is defined as a gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to justify their investment of time, money, or effort.
A) Commitment
B) Obedience
C) Entrapment
D) Conformity

Accepted Answer

Entrapment is the gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to justify their investment of time, money, or effort. This can occur even when the course of action is no longer rational or productive. It is often related to the sunk cost fallacy, where individuals feel that they must continue with a decision or behavior because of the resources they have already invested, even if it no longer makes sense to do so.

Question 9

Despite the criticism over the famous Prison Study, the researchers involved, Haney and Zimbardo, continued to increase public awareness about the:
A) traumatic effects prison life can have on prisoners.
B) need for prison guards to learn harsher methods for maintaining control over prisoners.
C) power of the situation and how it can outweigh personality in influencing behaviour.
D) primary importance of personality traits in determining behaviour.

Accepted Answer

Despite the criticisms, Haney and Zimbardo continued to increase public awareness about the power of the situation and how it can outweigh personality in influencing behavior. The study highlighted the importance of situational factors in determining behavior, especially in institutional settings like prisons. The study showed how easily individuals can assume roles and conform to the norms of their roles, even if those norms are controversial or negative.

Question 10

When Milgram and his team set up several variations of his original study, they found that people were more likely to disobey under all of the following circumstances EXCEPT when:
A) the subject worked with peers who refused to go further in the procedure.
B) the victim was in an adjoining room so the "teacher" heard every sound the victim made.
C) the person ordering them to continue was an ordinary man, apparently another volunteer.
D) two experimenters had conflicting demands about the continuation of the experiment.

Accepted Answer

When the victim was in an adjoining room and the "teacher" could hear every sound, it increased the likelihood of obedience, as the physical separation made it easier for participants to comply with authority.

Question 11

Critics of the prison study argue that:
A) a make-shift prison in the basement of a university building is not an effective setting to investigate the factors involved.
B) the participants had watched television shows and movies that provided script information about how guards and prisoners are supposed to behave.
C) by stopping the study after six days instead of letting it continue for the two-week experimental period, the researchers had not allowed enough time for dramatic change to occur.
D) the methodology was flawed because participants were not randomly assigned to either the prisoner condition or the guard condition.

Accepted Answer

The fact that participants had exposure to media depictions of prison life introduces an alternative explanation for the behavior observed, as it suggests that participants may have been influenced by expectations or stereotypes about guards and prisoners rather than being purely responsive to situational factors. The other options are less compelling critiques of the study: while the setting was certainly unusual, it was designed to mimic the conditions of a real prison as closely as possible; the decision to cut the study short may have limited the scope of the findings, but it does not necessarily invalidate the conclusions drawn from the data; and while random assignment would have been ideal, it was not necessarily feasible given the constraints of the study design.

Question 12

Participants in Milgram's obedience study thought they were participating in a study about the effects of punishment on learning. Of the factors associated with people's willingness to obey, this aspect of Milgram's study could be related to:
A) wanting to be polite.
B) routinizing the task.
C) becoming entrapped.
D) the allocation of responsibility to an authority.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Participants in Milgram's obedience study thought they...

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT an example of entrapment?
A) A friend who is moving asks you to bring over a few empty boxes; when you arrive he asks you to fill the boxes with dishes, and before you know it, you've packed his kitchen.
B) You get involved part-time with a charity and within months you are chair of the fundraising committee.
C) A friend invites you over for a visit and when you get there asks if you wouldn't mind watching the kids while she pops out to the grocery store, and before you know it, you are babysitting all afternoon.
D) Your mom asks you to come over and take a look at a few things she is throwing away. and before you know it. you are helping her clean out her attic.

Accepted Answer

Entrapment involves coercion or deceit to manipulate someone into committing a crime or doing something they wouldn't normally do. None of the scenarios presented involve criminal activity or manipulation except for option B, where it suggests that the person was manipulated into a higher position within a charity organization. However, this is not a clear example of entrapment.

Question 14

Which of the following actions by the "learner" reduced the likelihood of being shocked by the "teacher" in Milgram's study?
A) complaining of having a heart ailment
B) screaming in pain
C) Nothing the learner did made a difference.
D) protesting noisily

Accepted Answer

In Milgram's study, the actions of the "learner" did not influence the "teacher's" decision to administer shocks, as the authority figure's presence and instructions were the primary factors affecting the "teacher's" behavior.

Question 15

A gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to justify their investment of time, money, or effort is called:
A) diffusion of responsibility.
B) fundamental attribution error.
C) acculturation.
D) entrapment.

Accepted Answer

The gradual process described in the question is known as entrapment, which refers to the phenomenon of individuals escalating their commitment to a particular course of action to justify their previous investments of time, money, effort, etc. This process may result in individuals continuing to invest resources into a failing endeavor or making decisions that are not in their best interest, simply because they have already invested so much into it.

Question 16

C. P. Snow said that "more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of ________ than in the name of rebellion."
A) religion
B) the law
C) obedience
D) conformity

Accepted Answer

C. P. Snow's quote suggests that more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than in the name of rebellion, highlighting the dangers of following orders without questioning them.

Question 17

In the Stanford prison study, male college students agreed to participate in a two-week experiment to discover what would happen when they took on the roles of prisoners and guards. The researchers found that:
A) since the study was conducted in an unused wing of a real prison, the realistic atmosphere enhanced the role behaviour of prisoners and guards.
B) within a short time the prisoners became distressed and panicky, developing emotional symptoms and physical ailments.
C) about 5% of the guards became tyrannical, giving the prisoners electric shocks when they were slow in obeying.
D) 90% of the guards tried to be "tough but fair" and demanded that the tyrannical guards lighten up on the prisoners because it was only an experiment.

Accepted Answer

The study found that within a short time, the prisoners became distressed and panicky, developing emotional symptoms and physical ailments, indicating the negative impact of the role-playing experiment on their mental and physical health.

Question 18

Which of the following was NOT a criticism of Milgram's study?
A) It was not a realistic situation and could not be compared to real-world obedience.
B) It was unethical because subjects were deceived.
C) It was unethical because the personality traits of the subject were not taken into account.
D) It was unethical because subjects experienced emotional pain.

Accepted Answer

Milgram's study was criticized for various reasons including the lack of realistic situation, the deception used in the study and ethical concerns about the emotional distress experienced by participants. However, there is no specific criticism about not taking into account the personality traits of the subjects.

Question 19

In the Stanford prison study, it was found that
A) since the study was conducted in an unused wing of a real prison, the realistic atmosphere enhanced the role behaviour of prisoners and guards.
B) about 5% of the guards became tyrannical, giving the prisoners electric shocks when they were slow in obeying.
C) about one-third of the guards became tyrannical and almost always chose to be harsh and abusive.
D) 90% of the guards tried to be "tough but fair" and demanded that the tyrannical guards lighten up on the prisoners because it was only an experiment.

Accepted Answer

In the Stanford prison study, approximately one-third of the guards became tyrannical and were consistently harsh and abusive towards the prisoners. This behaviour was not limited to just a few guards and was widespread amongst the group. The study also found that the realistic atmosphere of the prison environment played a significant role in shaping the behaviour of the participants. The correct answer is, therefore, option C.

Question 20

The primary reason why people obey is that they:
A) are deeply convinced of the authority's legitimacy.
B) are impulsive and don't think through their actions.
C) were taught that disobedience is sinful.
D) don't realize that someone might suffer through their actions.

Accepted Answer

The Milgram experiment, which tested obedience to authority, found that participants were more likely to obey the authority figure when they believed that the authority figure was legitimate and had the right to give commands. Therefore, being deeply convinced of the authority's legitimacy is the primary reason for obedience.

Quiz 8: Behaviour in Social and Cultural Context

One of the factors that causes people to obey when they would rather not is that:

The Stanford prison study demonstrates how a person's ________ affect(s) behaviour.

Which of the following is an example of entrapment?

Sebastian is a "learner" in Milgram's study. What can he do to reduce the likelihood of being shocked by the "teacher"?

Replications of Milgram's study of obedience showed:

In the prison study, male college students agreed to participate in a two-week experiment to discover what would happen when they took on the roles of prisoners and guards. The researchers found that:

The primary reason why people obey is that they:

________ is defined as a gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to justify their investment of time, money, or effort.

Despite the criticism over the famous Prison Study, the researchers involved, Haney and Zimbardo, continued to increase public awareness about the:

When Milgram and his team set up several variations of his original study, they found that people were more likely to disobey under all of the following circumstances EXCEPT when:

Critics of the prison study argue that:

Participants in Milgram's obedience study thought they were participating in a study about the effects of punishment on learning. Of the factors associated with people's willingness to obey, this aspect of Milgram's study could be related to:

Which of the following is NOT an example of entrapment?

Which of the following actions by the "learner" reduced the likelihood of being shocked by the "teacher" in Milgram's study?

A gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to justify their investment of time, money, or effort is called:

C. P. Snow said that "more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of ________ than in the name of rebellion."

In the Stanford prison study, male college students agreed to participate in a two-week experiment to discover what would happen when they took on the roles of prisoners and guards. The researchers found that:

Which of the following was NOT a criticism of Milgram's study?

In the Stanford prison study, it was found that

The primary reason why people obey is that they: