Question 1

Gloria looks back on her marriage and thinks,"If only I had put more effort into the relationship,Lew and I would still be together." This self-reflection exemplifies
A) counterfactual thinking.
B) the actor-observer effect.
C) emotional intensification.
D) the self-serving bias.

Accepted Answer

Gloria's thought process involves imagining a different reality or outcome, which is characteristic of counterfactual thinking. She is contemplating what could have been if she had acted differently in the past.

Question 2

Jamal watches how his new boyfriend reacts to a performer at a comedy club.Is he easily amused or is the comedian really that funny? If he compares his boyfriend's response to the comedian to other people in the audience,he is focusing on ________ information.
A) consistency
B) distinctiveness
C) consensus
D) shared

Accepted Answer

Consensus information refers to how other people in the same situation typically respond, which is exactly what Jamal is comparing his boyfriend's response to.

Question 3

Jim meets Eun Joo for coffee and asks,"Would you be my date for the Sigma Chi formal dance?" She smiles and says,"That is so nice of you,but I already have plans." Jim then thinks to himself,"I will never find a date for this dance." Given this information,you can conclude that Jim's response reflects a(n)________ attribution.
A) stable
B) global
C) external
D) transient

Accepted Answer

Jim's response reflects a stable attribution because he believes that his inability to find a date is a permanent situation.

Question 4

Rhonda tells you that she hates her new apartment.According to the covariation principle,which question would you ask to assess the consistency covariation dimension?
A) Do her roommates also hate the apartment?
B) Did Rhonda like her previous apartment?
C) Would Rhonda prefer to own her own home rather than rent?
D) Does Rhonda always report hating her apartment, or is she just saying so today?

Accepted Answer

The consistency covariation dimension involves assessing whether Rhonda's negative feelings towards her apartment are consistent over time. Asking if she always reports hating her apartment addresses this directly.

Question 5

Kyle,a male student,and Megha,a female student,both failed their geography exams.According to research by Dweck and colleagues (1975,1985,2007),Kyle is likely to attribute his failure to his ________,whereas Megha is likely to attribute her failure to her ________.
A) parents; teachers
B) teachers; parents
C) lack of ability; lack of effort
D) lack of effort; lack of ability

Accepted Answer

Research by Dweck and colleagues has shown that males are more likely to attribute their academic failures to a lack of effort, whereas females are more likely to attribute their failures to a lack of ability. This reflects broader patterns of how gender stereotypes and societal expectations can influence self-perception and attribution in academic contexts.

Question 6

Bo has repeatedly tried to find a job.After each unsuccessful attempt,he concludes that there is just something about him that will always get in the way of success in his life.Bo is displaying a ________ explanatory style.
A) self-defensive
B) maladaptive
C) pessimistic
D) self-protecting

Accepted Answer

Bo is displaying a pessimistic explanatory style, as he consistently attributes his failures to personal, internal factors (i.e. something about himself), rather than considering external, situational factors that could have contributed to his lack of success. This type of thinking can be detrimental to one's self-esteem and motivation.

Question 7

Psychologists who want to measure a person's explanatory style assess each of the following attribution dimensions EXCEPT
A) rational/affective.
B) internal/external.
C) stability/instability.
D) global/specific.

Accepted Answer

The attribution dimensions that psychologists measure when assessing a person's explanatory style include internal/external, stability/instability, and global/specific, but not rational/affective.

Question 8

________ refers to a person's habitual way of explaining many different types of events.
A) Causative thinking
B) Dispositional attribution
C) The correspondence bias
D) Explanatory style

Accepted Answer

Explanatory style refers to a person's habitual way of explaining many different types of events. It includes three dimensions: internal vs. external (dispositional attribution), stable vs. unstable (the stability dimension), and global vs. specific (the globality dimension).

Question 9

Darby consistently attributes her failures to stable,global,and internal causes.Maria accounts for her failures by citing unstable,specific,and external causes.According to research on explanatory style,Darby is likely to ________ than Maria.
A) earn higher grades
B) earn lower grades
C) be more creative
D) be less creative

Accepted Answer

Darby's tendency to attribute her failures to stable, global, and internal causes suggests a pessimistic explanatory style, which has been linked to poorer academic and work performance, as well as increased risk of depression and other mental health problems. On the other hand, Maria's tendency to attribute her failures to unstable, specific, and external causes suggests an optimistic explanatory style, which has been linked to better outcomes in various domains.

Question 10

Trina notices her brother Mark eating a second piece of chocolate from a box of candy.Because he rarely eats candy of any kind,Trina concludes that Mark must really like the chocolate.In this instance,Trina is relying on ________ information to explain her brother's behavior.
A) distinctiveness
B) consistency
C) consensus
D) individuating

Accepted Answer

Trina is using distinctiveness information, as she is basing her conclusion on the fact that Mark rarely eats candy of any kind, but is eating a second piece of the specific chocolate from the box. This suggests that his behavior is unique or distinct from his typical behavior.

Question 11

Which of the following questions best reflects what attribution theory seeks to explain?
A) How often does Tina engage in binge drinking?
B) Why did Larissa break up with Tom?
C) What did Bob say in response to Jim's insult?
D) Where is Juan most likely to find a date for the dance?

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory seeks to explain why people make certain attributions for the behavior of others. Option B is the only question that addresses an attributional question, i.e., the reason why someone engaged in a certain behavior.

Question 12

Recall that Wells and Gavanski (1989)asked study participants to read a story about a woman who went to lunch with her boss to celebrate a promotion.According to the story,the boss ordered a dish for the woman that contained wine.Unfortunately,the woman was so allergic to wine that she died.The researchers were interested in how participants would respond to additional information about the boss's behavior.Results of this study showed that participants who thought the
A) boss's behavior was situationally caused were more likely to blame him for the woman's death.
B) boss's behavior was dispositionally caused were more upset by the woman's death.
C) boss almost ordered a different dish that contained wine viewed him more negatively.
D) boss almost ordered a different dish that did not contain wine viewed his choice of meals as more causally significant.

Accepted Answer

Participants viewed the boss's choice as more causally significant when they learned he almost chose a different dish that did not contain wine, highlighting the importance of counterfactual thinking in attributions of causality.

Question 13

________ theory deals with how people assign causes to the events around them and the effects that these explanations have.
A) Explanatory
B) Attribution
C) Representative
D) Situational

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory deals with how people assign causes to the events around them and the effects that these explanations have.

Question 14

Recall that Dweck and her colleagues aimed to understand why boys and girls tend to explain their failures differently.To this end,they conducted an experiment that manipulated ________.The results showed that ________.
A) the type of feedback that students received in class; comments teachers typically give to girls lead to internal attributions for failure
B) the type of feedback that students received in class; comments teachers typically give to boys lead to internal attributions for failure
C) success and failure on various assignments; after a success, girls felt happier than boys
D) success and failure on various assignments; after a failure, girls felt sadder than boys

Accepted Answer

Dweck's research focused on how different types of feedback affect students' attributions for their successes and failures. Specifically, it was found that the kind of comments teachers typically give to girls can lead to internal attributions for failure, meaning girls are more likely to blame themselves for failing.

Question 15

Someone with an optimistic explanatory style is likely to make which types of attributions for success?
A) internal, stable, specific
B) internal, stable, global
C) internal, unstable, global
D) external, unstable, specific

Accepted Answer

An optimistic explanatory style involves attributing successes to internal, stable, and global causes, meaning the person believes their successes are due to their own qualities or actions (internal), these qualities or actions will consistently lead to success (stable), and these successes can be applied across different situations (global).

Question 16

According to ________,our confidence that a particular cause is responsible for a given outcome is reduced if there are other plausible causes that might have produced it.
A) plausibility theory
B) the principle of refutation
C) the discounting principle
D) the augmentation principle

Accepted Answer

The discounting principle states that our confidence in a particular cause is reduced if there are other plausible causes that might have produced the same outcome. Therefore, option C, the discounting principle, is the best answer.

Question 17

In a study conducted by Peterson and his colleagues (1998,2000),participants' explanatory style when they were young adults
A) predicted health at age 30.
B) predicted health in older age.
C) predicted relationship status at age 30.
D) did not predict health or relationship status any age.

Accepted Answer

Peterson and his colleagues found that participants' explanatory style during young adulthood predicted their health status in older age, indicating that one's explanatory style can have long-term implications for their physical health.

Question 18

________ theory focuses on the ways in which we answer such questions as,"Why does my roommate always play his music so loud?"
A) Explanatory
B) Representative
C) Attribution
D) Situational

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory focuses on explaining the reasons or causes for the behavior of others, such as when we try to understand our roommate's loud music habits.

Question 19

The ________ dimension of explanatory style considers whether the causes of a particular behavior will be present again in the future.
A) stable/unstable
B) global/specific
C) internal/external
D) positive/negative

Accepted Answer

The stable/unstable dimension of explanatory style considers whether the causes of a behavior are viewed as enduring or temporary. The global/specific dimension considers whether the causes are seen as affecting many situations or only one specific situation. The internal/external dimension considers whether the causes are attributed to personal factors or situational factors. The positive/negative dimension considers whether the causes are seen as positive or negative. Therefore, the best choice for the given question is the stable/unstable dimension, as it relates to the presence of causes in the future.

Question 20

At the last minute,Christine decided to try a new route to work.On her drive in,she hit a deep pothole,causing one of her car tires to go flat.Her decision to try a new route ________ the likelihood that she engaged in counterfactual thinking.
A) increased
B) decreased
C) had no effect on
D) eliminated

Accepted Answer

The situation presented in the scenario involves an unexpected outcome (a flat tire) that occurred as a result of a decision (taking a new route). This is typical of counterfactual thinking, which involves imagining alternative outcomes or paths that could have led to a different result. Therefore, the decision to try a new route increased the likelihood that Christine engaged in counterfactual thinking.

Quiz 5: Social Attribution: Explaining Behavior

Gloria looks back on her marriage and thinks,"If only I had put more effort into the relationship,Lew and I would still be together." This self-reflection exemplifies

Jamal watches how his new boyfriend reacts to a performer at a comedy club.Is he easily amused or is the comedian really that funny? If he compares his boyfriend's response to the comedian to other people in the audience,he is focusing on ________ information.

Rhonda tells you that she hates her new apartment.According to the covariation principle,which question would you ask to assess the consistency covariation dimension?

Kyle,a male student,and Megha,a female student,both failed their geography exams.According to research by Dweck and colleagues (1975,1985,2007) ,Kyle is likely to attribute his failure to his ,whereas Megha is likely to attribute her failure to her .

Bo has repeatedly tried to find a job.After each unsuccessful attempt,he concludes that there is just something about him that will always get in the way of success in his life.Bo is displaying a ________ explanatory style.

Psychologists who want to measure a person's explanatory style assess each of the following attribution dimensions EXCEPT

________ refers to a person's habitual way of explaining many different types of events.

Darby consistently attributes her failures to stable,global,and internal causes.Maria accounts for her failures by citing unstable,specific,and external causes.According to research on explanatory style,Darby is likely to ________ than Maria.

Trina notices her brother Mark eating a second piece of chocolate from a box of candy.Because he rarely eats candy of any kind,Trina concludes that Mark must really like the chocolate.In this instance,Trina is relying on ________ information to explain her brother's behavior.

Which of the following questions best reflects what attribution theory seeks to explain?

________ theory deals with how people assign causes to the events around them and the effects that these explanations have.

Recall that Dweck and her colleagues aimed to understand why boys and girls tend to explain their failures differently.To this end,they conducted an experiment that manipulated .The results showed that .

Someone with an optimistic explanatory style is likely to make which types of attributions for success?

According to ________,our confidence that a particular cause is responsible for a given outcome is reduced if there are other plausible causes that might have produced it.

In a study conducted by Peterson and his colleagues (1998,2000) ,participants' explanatory style when they were young adults

________ theory focuses on the ways in which we answer such questions as,"Why does my roommate always play his music so loud?"

The ________ dimension of explanatory style considers whether the causes of a particular behavior will be present again in the future.

At the last minute,Christine decided to try a new route to work.On her drive in,she hit a deep pothole,causing one of her car tires to go flat.Her decision to try a new route ________ the likelihood that she engaged in counterfactual thinking.