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Chapter 13: Social Psychology Multiple Choice Questions 1. Social psychology is best defined as the scientific study of A. deviant behaviour. B. sociology. C. social influence. D. groups. Answer: D 2. Individuals who experienced panic and interpreted the 1963 broadcast of The War of the Worlds as genuine breaking news fell prey to the _______________ and failed to consider alternative hypotheses for these events. A. belief perseverance B. availability heuristic C. confirmation bias D. logical fallacy Answer: C 3. The approximate number of people that each of us knows reasonably well is A. 50. B. 100. C. 150. D. 200. Answer: C 4. According to research, humans have a biological need for interpersonal interactions. This is called the A. need for friends theory. B. need for intimacy theory. C. need for interpersonal interactions theory. D. need to belong theory. Answer: D 5. Social rejection is associated with activation in a region of the _______________ that also becomes active during physical pain. A. substantia nigra B. cingulate cortex C. parietal lobe D. sensorimotor cortex Answer: B 6. Nora participated in a psychology experiment where she completed several psychological tests, and the researchers told her that her personality reflected that of someone who was likely to end up alone later in life. Compared with the students who did not receive such feedback, Nora is more likely to A. join a book club to increase social bonding. B. engage in unhealthy behaviours, such as overeating or drinking. C. start acting in more prosocial ways to those around her. D. discount the feedback and get angry because she believes it isn’t true. Answer: B 7. Amos is the only survivor of a plane crash, and is stranded in the wilderness all alone. As the days pass without rescue, he begins to feel extremely lonely and isolated, and begins talking to himself, the trees, and the nearby animals. Which of the following theories best explains Amos’ behaviour? A. Attributional theory B. Social comparison theory C. Cognitive dissonance theory D. The need to belong theory Answer: D 8. Marika was confronted by the jealous girlfriend of a guy that Marika had dated. She backed down from the confrontation and fled the scene. Later, she asked several others what they would have done in that type of a situation and they agreed that they would have done the same thing. Marika felt better. This is an example of A. fundamental attribution theory. B. social comparison theory. C. collective delusions. D. mass hysteria. Answer: B 9. Joanne generally does well in class, but does not have marks as good as Ashleigh’s. Joanne looks to Ashleigh as a role model and thinks “if she can perform that well, so can I.” Joanne is engaging in A. the fundamental attribution error. B. an upward social comparison. C. a downward social comparison. D. social contagion. Answer: B 10. Sam generally does well in class, but didn’t get the mark he wanted on an exam. When he looks at the other grades posted on the class list, he thinks “at least I didn’t do as poorly as that person.” Sam is engaging in A. the fundamental attribution error. B. an upward social comparison. C. a downward social comparison. D. a collective delusion. Answer: C 11. _______________ social comparison involves comparing yourself with someone who seems inferior to you in some way. A. Downward B. Upward C. Horizontal D. Vertical Answer: A 12. _______________ social comparison involves comparing yourself with someone who seems superior to you in some way. A. Downward B. Upward C. Horizontal D. Vertical Answer: B 13. A community member reports seeing a spaceship the night before crop circles were discovered in a local farmer’s field. Suddenly, multiple members of the community are reporting that they have seen spaceships in other areas of the county. They are convinced that aliens are making the crop circles. This is an example of A. a fundamental attribution error. B. an urban legend. C. a collective delusion. D. an upward social comparison. Answer: C 14. Examples such as UFO sightings, cow mutilations by aliens, and crop circles demonstrate how _______________ can lead to mass hysteria and collective delusions. A. fundamental attributions B. social comparisons C. conformity D. obedience Answer: B 15. An example of the power of _______________ is urban legends, such as the myth that gang members drive around with their lights off and shoot people who flash their lights at them. A. conformity B. social comparison C. fundamental attribution D. social influence Answer: D 16. The tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences is known as A. social facilitation. B. social influence. C. the social comparison theory. D. the fundamental attribution error. Answer: D 17. You observe a person at the grocery store get angry and yell at the cashier. Which of these attributions illustrates the fundamental attribution error? A. The yeller is a mean, angry person. B. The cashier is overworked. C. The yeller has had a bad day. D. The cashier has had a bad day. Answer: A 18. Which statement is the best explanation of the fundamental attribution error? A. We attribute most of what people do to the influence of situations. B. We rely on the first information we receive to make internal attributions. C. We are more likely to attribute another’s behaviour to internal rather than to situational causes. D. We tend to attribute our successes to our own efforts and failures to the shortcomings of others. Answer: C 19. What do social psychologists call the tendency to rely on internal characteristics for explanations of the behaviour of others and to ignore the influence of the situation? A. Social facilitation B. Social influence C. The social comparison theory D. The fundamental attribution error Answer: D 20. While watching Jeopardy, your roommate says, “Alex Trebek knows all the answers. He must be a genius.” You tell your roommate she probably would not have said that if she had attended class the day the instructor discussed the topic of _______________. A. social facilitation B. social influence C. the social comparison theory D. the fundamental attribution error Answer: D 21. Which of the following individuals is least likely to make the fundamental attribution error? A. Maggie, a 24-year old Caucasian woman B. Jethro, a 18-year old Caucasian man C. Anut, a 46-year old Pakistani woman D. Ming, a 35-year old Chinese woman Answer: D 22. Which of the following reflects the main conclusion about social behaviour from an evolutionary perspective? A. Conformity is a negative influence on reproductive capacity as it constrains mate selection processes by making mates less desirable as they are all the “same.” B. Conformity, obedience, and many other forms of social influence become maladaptive only when they’re blind or unquestioning. C. Negative influences on social behaviour have evolved to protect our self-esteem and allow us to engage in self-enhancement by controlling others. D. Evolution is only related to the positive aspects of social behaviour (e.g., altruism, friendships, nurturing) relative to negative social behaviours (e.g., riots, aggression, obedience) that are modern concepts. Answer: B 23. Which of the following scenarios does not demonstrate the fundamental attribution error? A. Dorothy thinks that a co-worker must be in a bad mood because their boss was overworking them. B. Craig thinks that his classmate must have gotten a poor grade on an exam because he is stupid. C. Blanche does not like the sales clerk at the store because she thinks she is a rude person. D. Taylor laughs at a guy who trips in the hallway and assumes he must be a clumsy idiot. Answer: A 24. An individual from which of the following cultures would be least likely to engage in the fundamental attribution error? A. Canada B. England C. Japan D. India Answer: C 25. If you walk into a classroom talking with a friend, and the rest of the members of the class are not talking, you are likely to be quiet and stop your conversation. Your behaviour is an example of _______________. A. obedience B. compliance C. conformity D. persuasion Answer: C 26. The tendency of people to alter their behaviour as a result of group influence is called A. obedience. B. attribution. C. conformity. D. social comparison. Answer: C 27. You get on an elevator. Everyone is facing to the right. You turn and also face to the right. This is an example of A. obedience. B. comparison. C. attribution. D. conformity. Answer: D 28. In Asch’s research studies, conformity decreased to approximately _______________ percent if one of the confederates gave the correct response (the same as the participant) relative to the others that gave an incorrect response. A. 10 B. 25 C. 37 D. 45 Answer: B 29. In which of the following scenarios would you be most likely to conform by giving the same response as the confederate’s? A. Twelve confederates give the same answer and one confederate provides the correct response. B. Eight confederates give the same answer and one provides a different but also incorrect response. C. Four confederates give the same answer and all of the responses are the same. D. Two confederates give the same answer and one provides another answer that is incorrect. Answer: C 30. “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!” If you looked up, would you be conforming? A. Yes. You would be looking up because you were told to do so. B. No. Conformity requires that you base your behaviour on what other people are doing, not being told to do so. C. Yes. Conformity means doing what you are told or else. D. No. Looking up only means you are curious. Answer: B 31. Vince has always believed children deserve the best prenatal care available. During a class discussion, he hears the first of several speakers express very negative attitudes toward spending tax money on prenatal care for the poor. When it is his turn to speak, he voices an opinion more in keeping with the previous speakers. Vince’s behaviour is an example of A. compliance. B. persuasion. C. conformity. D. obedience. Answer: C 32. The main task of the Solomon Asch studies was A. rating new fashions. B. judging line lengths. C. selecting paint colours. D. taste-testing new candies. Answer: B 33. It is 1951, and you are required to participate in a perception experiment. You join seven others seated in a room. You are shown a 25-cm test line and must choose the line that matches it in length from a choice of three lines. The experimenter, Solomon Asch, is studying A. bystander apathy. B. conformity. C. groupthink. D. social loafing. Answer: B 34. Voluntarily yielding to social norms, even at the expense of one’s own preference, is called A. submission. B. conformity. C. compliance. D. obedience. Answer: B 35. Experiments showing the effects of group pressure on conformity were conducted by A. Zimbardo. B. Asch. C. Gibb. D. Milgram. Answer: B 36. In Solomon Asch’s study, which factor increased the rate of conformity? A. The task difficulty was increased. B. The confederates were all adults. C. The number of confederates increased. D. The participants were given two chances at responding. Answer: C 37. Which factor significantly decreased the likelihood of conformity in Solomon Asch’s studies? A. The task difficulty was increased. B. The confederates were all adults. C. One confederate gave a correct response. D. The participants were given two chances at responding. Answer: C 38. Asch’s studies showed that overall conformity to group pressure occurred during approximately _______________ of the trials. A. one half B. one third C. one quarter D. one fifth Answer: B 39. In Solomon Asch’s study on conformity, the number of confederates was found to have a significant impact on the participants’ likelihood of giving an incorrect answer. How many confederates did Asch find maximized the likelihood of conformity occurring? A. 2 B. 4 C. 8 D. 12 Answer: B 40. What is the moral or take-home message of Solomon Asch's series of experiments in which participants were asked to judge the lengths of lines? People will go to great lengths A. to please people on whom they depend. B. to fit in with others. C. to assert their independence. D. to convince others of their points of view. Answer: B 41. According to Asch and others, all of the following are social factors that influence conformity except A. status of the group. B. unanimity of the group. C. difference in the wrong answer. D. size of the majority. Answer: A 42. Based on research on differences in conformity, which of the following individuals would you most expect to conform to a group? A. Patrick, an American male B. Masami, a Japanese female C. Beth, an American female D. Marcel, a Japanese male Answer: B 43. Brain studies on conformity find increased activity in what part of the brain while conforming? A. Hippocampus B. Amygdala C. Thalamus D. Hypothalamus Answer: B 44. _______________ is the tendency of people to engage in atypical behaviour when stripped of their usual identities. A. Autokinesis B. Deindividuation C. Groupthink D. Conformity Answer: B 45. George is at a pub watching the Stanley Cup final game. When his local team wins, everyone in the bar starts cheering and running around outside of the bar. People begin to smash windows of cars and business and some people begin to loot stores. George gets “caught up” in this and joins in the rioting behaviour. What concept is depicted in this example? A. Groupthink B. Conformity C. Deindividuation D. Obedience Answer: C 46. All of the following statements about deindividuation are true except A. Deindividuation makes us more likely to conform to whatever norms are present in the situation. B. Deindividuation makes people more likely to engage in helping behaviour when others are helping out. C. Deindividuation typically makes us behave badly. D. Deindividuation makes us perform more like a member of a group. Answer: C 47. One criticism of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment is that participants may have experienced _______________ to behave according to their assigned roles as prisoners or guards. A. deindividuation B. demand characteristics C. confirmation bias D. obedience Answer: B 48. Zimbardo concluded from his Stanford prison study that prisoners and guards adopted their designated roles more easily than anyone might have imagined because of A. conformity. B. obedience. C. influence. D. deindividuation. Answer: D 49. Which of the following provides a “real world” example of the power of social influence and deindividuation? A. The Walkerton water scandal B. The Bay of Pigs invasion C. Abu Ghraib prison abuse D. Heaven’s Gate mass suicide Answer: C 50. A large crowd that stampedes to get into a store for a massive Boxing Day Sale would be an example of A. conformity. B. obedience. C. influence. D. deindividuation. Answer: D 51. The emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking is called A. deindividuation. B. conformity. C. obedience. D. groupthink. Answer: D 52. When members of a group give priority to the cohesiveness of the group over the facts of a situation, they are engaging in what social psychologists call A. mass thought. B. consumerism. C. solidarity think. D. groupthink. Answer: D 53. Close, friendly groups usually work well together, but they may face a problem involving an extreme form of conformity called A. fundamental attribution error. B. generational identity. C. self-serving bias. D. groupthink. Answer: D 54. After a group of gang members learned that their friend had died in a seemingly random accident, several of the friends started blaming a rival gang for the death. Even though there was no evidence whatsoever that the death had been intentional, the more the friends talked the more passionate they became in their belief that an act of revenge was necessary. What concept from social psychology may contribute to an act of violent revenge in this case? A. Deindividuation B. Conformity C. Social influence D. Groupthink Answer: D 55. The prime minister notices that her closest advisors never seem to disagree with her or with each other on a lot of important issues, such as arms control. She worries that she is not getting the pros and cons of different issues because her advisors are engaging in A. latent obedience. B. intrinsic reinforcement. C. latent learning. D. groupthink. Answer: D 56. Which of the following is not an example of “groupthink”? A. The Challenger disaster B. The Walkerton, Ontario, E coli tragedy C. The Bay of Pigs invasion D. The Stanford Prison Experiment Answer: D 57. Carlos and his work associates form a close, friendly group, and they usually work well together. However, they may face a problem involving an extreme form of conformity called A. generational identity. B. self-serving bias. C. fundamental attribution error. D. groupthink. Answer: D 58. The Walkerton, Ontario, E coli fiasco was the result of A. mob action. B. deindividuation. C. blind obedience. D. groupthink. Answer: D 59. All of the following are causes for groupthink except A. the belief that the group can do no wrong. B. the belief that the group is invulnerable. C. the belief that those who oppose the group have no worthwhile opinions. D. openness to differing opinions. Answer: D 60. In order to reduce groupthink, which of the following strategies would not be employed? A. Making sure that group leaders remain impartial B. Finding holes in all arguments that go against the group’s desires C. Seeing opinions of people outside of the group D. Voting for a choice by secret ballot rather than with a show of hands Answer: B 61. The 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion was the result of A. mob action. B. deindividuation. C. blind obedience. D. groupthink. Answer: D 62. _______________ occurs when group discussion strengthens the dominant position held by individual group members, whereas _______________ involves an emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking. A. Obedience; conformity B. Conformity; obedience C. Groupthink; group polarization D. Group polarization; groupthink Answer: D 63. The launch and subsequent explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, despite warnings of danger from NASA engineers that parts might malfunction due to weather conditions, demonstrates the concept of _______________. A. conformity B. groupthink C. obedience D. group polarization Answer: B 64. Pretend you are a juror in a murder trial and your task is to come to a unanimous verdict of either guilty or not guilty. The jury takes an initial poll to determine how all jurors vote, and find out that 10 members would think the suspect is guilty and only 2 jurors think the suspect is not guilty. Following the vote, the jurors engage in a short discussion, which strengthens the dominant view that the suspect is guilty, and all members vote for a guilty verdict. Based on the information provided, it is likely that _______________ influenced jury-decision making. A. conformity B. obedience C. deindividuation D. group polarization Answer: D 65. Which of the following statements is most likely to contribute to groupthink? A. "Let's hear some differing opinions." B. "What do you think?" C. "I'm sure we all agree on this." D. "We need to look at all of the evidence." Answer: C 66. Research suggests that cults promote groupthink in the following ways except A. having a persuasive leader who fosters loyalty. B. connecting group members to the outside world. C. discouraging questioning of the group's or leader's assumptions. D. utilizing training practices that gradually indoctrinate members. Answer: B 67. Cults are to _______________ as Abu Ghraib is to _______________. A. deindividuation; groupthink B. group polarization; conformity C. groupthink; deindividuation D. conformity; group polarization Answer: C 68. Which of the following is not a misconception held about cults? A. Cult leaders likely suffer from serious mental illness. B. Cult members are emotionally disturbed. C. All cult members are brainwashed. D. Cult members have a death wish and unquestioningly follow a leader. Answer: A 69. You can teach people to resist the influences of cults by exposing them to information consistent with cult beliefs, and then debunking that information. This reflects the _______________ and is effective at immunizing people from undesirable beliefs. A. parametric effect B. inoculation effect C. social comparison effect D. autokinetic effect Answer: B 70. _______________ is the treatment in which people are first introduced to the reasons why a belief seems to be correct, and then exposed to the reasons why the belief is incorrect. A. Brainwashing B. Groupthink C. The bystander effect D. Inoculation Answer: D 71. Horizontal influence is to _______________ as vertical influence is to _______________. A. obedience; conformity B. persuasion; groupthink C. conformity; obedience D. groupthink; persuasion Answer: C 72. Which of the following events is the best example of destructive obedience? A. The Vancouver Stanley Cup Riots B. The Challenger Shuttle Explosion C. Abu Ghraib Prisoner Abuse D. My Lai Massacre in Vietnam Answer: D 73. Zimbardo is to _______________ as Milgram is to _______________. A. deindividuation; obedience B. conformity; deindividuation C. conformity; obedience D. deindividuation; persuasion Answer: A 74. What is the difference between conformity and obedience? A. Conformity is influence from peers or colleagues and obedience is influence from authority. B. Conformity occurs to most anything while obedience is unquestioning devotion to a single cause. C. Conformity is the result of inoculation while obedience is the result of fear. D. There is no difference. Answer: A 75. The “banality of evil” refers to the idea that A. the personality of “evil” people is often socially constructed as devious rather than boring. B. perfectly normal citizens who follow orders blindly are responsible for most wickedness in the world. C. evil became so commonplace during certain historical periods (e.g., Holocaust) that it was not unexpected. D. obedience is always associated with evil intent whereas conformity only involves fitting in to belong. Answer: B 76. In Milgram’s original study, what percentage of participants displayed complete compliance and administered shocks to the level of 450 volts? A. 33% B. 54% C. 62% D. 80% Answer: C 77. In which variation on Milgram’s classic study of obedience did they find compliance to 450 volts fell to 0%? A. A second experimenter debates with the first as to whether they should continue B. Less prestigious location C. Experimenter gives orders by phone D. The teacher has to hold the learner’s hand on the shock plate Answer: A 78. Which statement correctly characterizes one aspect of Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience? A. Subjects were shown an ominous-looking shock machine that was marked 0 to 450 volts. B. Participants in the study were randomly assigned to be teachers or learners. C. Participants were shocked when they made errors in reciting word pairs. D. A learner and the teacher sat side by side across from the shock machine. Answer: B 79. What is a difference between obedience and conformity? A. In obedience there is a difference in status between the one who obeys and the one who makes the request. B. Conformity requires strict adherence to the rules whereas obedience does not. C. Obedience is an indirect request whereas conformity is a direct request. D. In conformity there is a perceived difference in status between the one who conforms and the group. Answer: A 80. Naïve subjects in the Stanley Milgram experiment were given the opportunity to administer shocks to helpless victims. What was the maximum voltage that could be administered in one shock? A. 100 B. 450 C. 625 D. 999 Answer: B 81. A social psychologist has been invited to give a community lecture on the importance of Milgram’s research. He asks a social psychology class for suggested titles. Which of the following titles might they suggest as the most appropriate? A. “Obedience and Aggression Are Inborn.” B. “Do Not Underestimate the Power of Perceived Authority.” C. “Training in Ethics Can Overcome the Pull of Obedience.” D. “Make a Small Request First and the World Can Be Yours.” Answer: B 82. Which statement best describes an important finding of Milgram’s classic research? A. Individuals easily conform to group norms. B. The presence of other people makes aggression more likely. C. People will easily obey an authority figure and do harm to others. D. Agreeing to a small request makes it more likely you will agree to a big request. Answer: C 83. Imagine 100 individuals are asked to take part in a replication of Milgram’s famous study on obedience. How are these 100 people likely to respond? A. The majority would administer 450 volts as instructed. B. The majority would immediately realize the use of deception and leave. C. Most of the women would refuse to obey, whereas almost all of the men would obey. D. Most of the participants would work together to force the experimenter to end the experiment. Answer: A 84. Which of the following parametric studies by Milgram is correctly matched with the percentage of participants who complied to the 450 volt level? A. Proximity condition: 40% B. Telephone condition: 48% C. Voice feedback condition: 30% D. Touch proximity condition: 15% Answer: A 85. All of the following conclusions were reached based on the Milgram study except A. morally advanced subjects are more willing to defy the experimenter. B. people with high levels of authoritarianism are more likely to comply with the experimenter's demands. C. there were no differences between males and females. D. Americans were more likely to obey the experimenter's commands than non- Americans. Answer: D 86. In which variation on Milgram’s classic study of obedience did they find compliance to 450 volts reached over 90%? A. The teacher has to direct a different subject to administer shock B. Less prestigious location C. Experimenter gives orders by phone. D. The teacher has to hold the learner’s hand on the shock plate. Answer: A 87. Which of the following themes from Milgram’s studies is incorrect? A. Obedience decreases as the psychological distance between teacher and experimenter increases. B. Obedience increases as the psychological distance between teacher and learner increases. C. Obedience decreases as the psychological distance between the teacher and learner decreases. D. Obedience increases as the psychological distance between teacher and experimenter increases. Answer: D 88. Which of the following personality traits has been associated with increased compliance in Milgram’s paradigm? A. Introversion B. Type A personality C. Authoritarianism D. Agreeableness Answer: C 89. What type of task was used in the Milgram shock study paradigm? A. Paired-associate task B. Staged emergency task C. Autokinetic task D. Line length judgments Answer: A 90. One variation of the Milgram paradigm was the touch proximity condition, where teachers were required to hold the learner’s hand down on the shock plate. What percentage of participants in this condition shocked the learner to a voltage of 450 volts? A. 10% B. 30% C. 40% D. 65% Answer: B 91. Which of the following statements is true? A. Human nature is basically good. B. Human nature is generally bad. C. Human nature is a combination of both socially constructive and destructive tendencies. D. Human nature exhibits either prosocial behaviour or antisocial behaviour but not both. Answer: C 92. According to research by Frans de Waal, _______________ are models for prosocial behaviour and _______________ are models for antisocial behaviour in humans. A. bonobos; chimpanzees B. chimpanzees; gorillas C. gorillas; bonobos D. chimpanzees; bonobos Answer: A 93. _______________ refers to an error of assuming that no one else in a group perceives things as we do. A. Social loafing B. Pluralistic ignorance C. Deindividuation D. Diffusion of responsibility Answer: B 94. Faroud is walking across campus and sees a man who is slumped over on the ground beside one of the buildings. He looks around and notices that no one else is responding, so he assumes that he must be the only one who thinks that the man may need help and that he is wrong. Faroud continues on his way and does not stop to help the man. Faroud’s behaviour can be explained by _______________. A. diffusion of responsibility B. social loafing C. pluralistic ignorance D. deindividuation Answer: C 95. Interpreting a situation as an emergency is to _______________ as offering assistance in an emergency is to _______________. A. deindividuation; social loafing B. social loafing; deindividuation C. diffusion of responsibility; pluralistic ignorance D. pluralistic ignorance; diffusion of responsibility Answer: D 96. As the number of people present during an emergency _______________, the likelihood that any one individual will help _______________. A. increases; increases B. increases; decreases C. decreases; decreases D. decreases; does not change Answer: B 97. Sharlene is walking home from school and witnesses a car accident. She stops to watch what is happening, and although both drivers are unharmed, one driver is extremely anger and starts hitting the driver that hit him. Sharlene noticed that she is not the only one to stop and take note of the situation. There are a number of other people standing on the street watching, and many cars have driven by. She assumes that someone has phoned the police and does not even think of using her cellular phone to call 911. Sharlene’s behaviour can be explained by _______________. A. diffusion of responsibility B. social loafing C. pluralistic ignorance D. deindividuation Answer: A 98. At a crowded park Kayla sees an old man clutching his heart and stumbling. If Kayla assumes that someone else will help the old man, she is experiencing the phenomenon known as A. pluralistic ignorance. B. social loafing. C. diffusion of responsibility. D. evaluation apprehension. Answer: C 99. In which of the following situations is the person more likely to be helped? A. A young woman is being mugged while people are watching from their bedroom windows. B. An old woman with a cane trips and falls while crossing an isolated street. C. An angry mob watches while an old man is attacked by a dog. D. A woman collapses on the sidewalk of a crowded street. Answer: B 100. Your professor has just delivered a lecture that has left everyone in the class thoroughly confused. When the professor asks “Are there any questions?”, students look nervously at each other but no one responds. This is an example of A. the bystander effect. B. pluralistic ignorance. C. diffusion of responsibility. D. groupthink. Answer: B 101. Based on their research on the bystander effect, which catch-phrase would psychologists Darley and Latané agree with? A. Safety in Numbers B. Danger in Numbers C. Emergencies Equal Helping D. Two Helping Heads are Better Than One Answer: B 102. Amanda, Sarah, Jonas, and William have been assigned a group project. Amanda ends up doing most of the work while the others get the same grade as she. This is an example of A. the bystander effect. B. social loafing. C. pluralistic ignorance. D. diffusion of responsibility. Answer: B 103. People who exert less effort on a task when working in a group than they do when working individually are engaging in A. the bystander effect. B. social loafing. C. pluralistic ignorance. D. diffusion of responsibility. Answer: B 104. An individual who exerts less effort when working on a group task if individual contributions will not be evaluated is engaging in what is called A. the bystander effect. B. social loafing. C. pluralistic ignorance. D. diffusion of responsibility. Answer: B 105. A teacher decides against assigning group projects in which all group members get the same grade. What social psychological phenomenon might the teacher be concerned about? A. The bystander effect B. Social loafing C. Pluralistic ignorance D. Diffusion of responsibility Answer: B 106. Tarek is a camp counsellor and has set up a round robin game of “tug-of-war” with all the kids. Some kids play in teams of 6 people on each side, whereas others choose to play the game with only 2 people per side. Based on principles of social loafing, in which group will all the individual members work the hardest to win? A. Teams of 6 people B. Teams of 2 people C. Teams of 6 people if they have lost a round D. Both teams will work equally hard. Answer: B 107. Cultural research on social loafing has found that someone from _______________ would be more prone to social loafing in comparison with other cultures. A. China B. Canada C. India D. Japan Answer: B 108. Which of the following statements is true about brainstorming? A. More heads are better than one. B. Brainstorming groups come up with better ideas than individuals. C. Group brainstorming generally results in ideas that are less creative than does individual brainstorming. D. None of the ideas are true. Answer: C 109. Group brainstorming is less effective than individual brainstorming because A. group members may be anxious about being evaluated by others. B. of social loafing. C. of social facilitation. D. A and B are correct. Answer: D 110. Which of the following people would be most likely to come to the aid of another? A. Someone who read about bystander intervention research B. A member of a crowd C. Someone in a hurry D. Someone concerned about social approval Answer: A 111. Helping others for unselfish reasons is called A. altruism. B. egoism. C. situationalism. D. influentialism. Answer: A 112. Learning about psychological research can change real-world behaviour for the better. This is known as A. the bystander effect. B. the altruism effect. C. the enlightenment effect. D. the helping effect. Answer: C 113. Which of the following situational factors does not increase the likelihood that someone will exhibit helping behaviour? A. If they can easily escape the situation to get help. B. If they are in a good mood relative to a negative mood. C. If they have been exposed to prosocial and altruistic role models. D. If the characteristics of the victim are similar to the helper or suggest the situation was out of their control. Answer: A 114. Which of the following individuals is likely to help in an emergency situation? A. A person who is highly concerned about social approval B. An individual who is very extroverted C. An individual who holds traditional values D. A librarian who is shy and reserved Answer: B 115. Melissa is out at a restaurant having dinner and drinks with friends. At a nearby table, a man falls off his chair and has an epileptic seizure. Which of the following features would increase the likelihood that Melissa would help in this situation? A. If Melissa was an off-duty lifeguard B. If Melissa was with a large group of friends C. If Melissa was someone who holds traditional views D. If Melissa was attractive and the man was unattractive Answer: A 116. Which of the following individuals would be most likely to engaging in helping behaviour in an emergency situation? A. Pearline, shy and concerned about social approval, passes a man who appears to be having a seizure. B. Bailey, an extroverted mechanic, notices a man trip and fall and hit his head on a street corner. C. Matt, a sociable paramedic, notices an attractive female being hassled by other men on a bus. D. Carmen, an introverted secretary who is queasy about blood, watches another woman fall off her bike. Answer: C 117. Which of the following is not a reason why we hurt others? A. Interpersonal provocation B. Media altruism C. High arousal D. Warm temperatures Answer: B 118. Who is least likely to be aggressive? A. Cody, an American Southerner who has just been insulted by a neighbour B. Juan, who just watched a daylong marathon of slasher movies C. Jeff, who has been drinking heavily at a bar because his girlfriend dumped him. D. Shoshone, who lives in the Yukon and likes to curl up with a good book and read Answer: D 119. Both laboratory and naturalistic research has demonstrated that watching media violence _______________ the odds of engaging in violent behaviour. A. decreases B. increases C. has no effect on D. only temporarily decreases Answer: B 120. Research has shown that there are gender differences in aggression. These findings suggest that A. higher levels of testosterone may produce more outward aggression in males. B. males are likely to engage in more relational aggression than females. C. males engage in more nondirect aggression than females. D. females are more likely to be affected by high temperatures than males. Answer: A 121. What is the relationship between temperature and aggression? A. Increases in temperature reduce the rate of violent crime because people are lethargic and stay inside in front of their fans or air conditioners. B. Decreases in temperature increase the rate of violent crime because people are less observant during colder months and there are fewer witnesses on the street to stop a crime in progress. C. Increases in temperature increase the rate of violent crime because warm temperatures make people irritable and more likely to lose their temper when provoked or frustrated. D. There is no clear relationship between temperature and aggressive behaviours. Answer: C 122. Females engage in higher rates of _______________ aggression than males. A. verbal B. physical C. sexual D. relational Answer: D 123. Who is more likely to engage in physical aggression? A. Billy, who was raised in North Dakota B. Mao Lin, who was raised in Beijing C. Beau, who was raised in Savannah D. Tanaka, who was raised in Tokyo Answer: C 124. The highest level of aggression would be found in A. males who are low in testosterone. B. females who are high in estrogen. C. female spotted (or “laughing”) hyenas. D. male spotted (or “laughing”) hyenas. Answer: C 125. A belief A. is a conclusion regarding factual evidence. B. includes an emotional component. C. is an attitude. D. includes a behavioural component. Answer: A 126. An attitude A. is a conclusion regarding factual evidence. B. includes an emotional component. C. predicts behaviour reasonably well. D. All of the above Answer: B 127. Robin is completing an online survey and is asked the following questions: (1) How do you feel about abortion? and (2) Do you think that abortions should be provided to pregnant teenagers without parental consent? The first question is assessing Robin’s _______________ and the second question is assessing her _______________. A. belief; attitude B. attitude; belief C. schema; stereotype D. stereotype; schema Answer: B 128. Which of the following individuals would be most likely to act in accordance with an attitude that they hold against drunk driving? A. An extrovert who has driven while intoxicated before and not been caught B. An introvert who monitors her behaviour very carefully across social situations C. A low self-monitor who lost his best friend because of an accident involving a drunk driver D. A high self-monitor who is somewhat ambivalent about driving under the influence of alcohol Answer: C 129. A trait that assesses the extent to which people's behaviours reflect their true feelings and attitudes is called A. an accessible characteristic. B. self-monitoring. C. a belief. D. predictive. Answer: B 130. The shortcut that helps a person to make typically accurate snap decisions is called A. a belief. B. an attitude. C. a recognition heuristic. D. a self-monitor. Answer: C 131. Attitudes stem from A. our prior experience. B. our ability to relate to messengers who provide information. C. our personalities. D. All of the answers are correct. Answer: D 132. The phenomenon where we are more likely to believe something we've heard many times is known as the A. availability heuristic. B. recognition heuristic. C. rule of thumb. D. bandwagon fallacy. Answer: B 133. Which heuristic makes us more likely to believe something we've heard many times? A. The availability heuristic B. The recognition heuristic C. The memory heuristic D. The monitor heuristic Answer: B 134. When we experience an unpleasant state of tension between two or more conflicting thoughts we are experiencing A. implicit egotism. B. maladaptive gullibility. C. self-monitoring. D. cognitive dissonance. Answer: D 135. Which of the following is the correct definition of cognitive dissonance? A. A state of tension that occurs when a person’s behaviour does not correspond to the his or her attitude B. The tendency for members of a group to avoid taking responsibility for their actions because they assume that others will do so C. The tendency for members of a close-knit group to think alike for the sake of harmony and to suppress disagreement D. A belief that a statement is true just because the person has heard it repeated over and over again Answer: A 136. A state of tension that occurs when a person’s attitudes do not match the person’s actions is called A. implicit egotism. B. maladaptive gullibility. C. self-monitoring. D. cognitive dissonance. Answer: D 137. Which one of the following activities will not reduce cognitive dissonance? A. Changing the behaviour to match the attitude B. Changing the thought to justify the behaviour C. Developing new thoughts to justify the behaviour D. Continuing the behaviour in spite of the conflicting thoughts Answer: D 138. Luis picks up a pack of cigarettes and reads, “Cigarette smoking is harmful to your health.” Which one of the following statements leads one to believe Luis is actually having cognitive dissonance? A. “I’ve been smoking my whole life and I don’t have health problems.” B. “No one I know who smokes is sick.” C. “I know these cigarettes are killing me but I just can’t stop.” D. “That is not true. Cigarettes are not that harmful.” Answer: C 139. The World-Will-End-on-June-7 group got together on June 7 to pray as the world ended. The next day the world did not end. The leader of the group said, “Our prayers saved the world.” What process was responsible for the attitude change? A. Implicit egotism B. Maladaptive gullibility C. Self-monitoring D. cognitive dissonance Answer: D 140. Which of the following is an example of cognitive dissonance? A. You are polite and civil to people you dislike. B. You dislike doing exercise but do it anyway to improve your health. C. You believe that reality TV is for morons but are addicted to American Idol and watch every episode. D. You are a lousy cook but you keep trying different recipes. Answer: C 141. Which of the following would result in cognitive dissonance? A. I believe smoking is bad for my health; I love to smoke. B. I believe exercising is healthy; I love to exercise. C. I believe dresses are feminine; Nicole Kidman sometimes wears pants. D. I believe profanity is childish; my father uses profanity. Answer: A 142. Which of the following would result in cognitive dissonance? A. Wearing glasses is dignified; a respected political leader wears glasses. B. Dresses are feminine; Britney Spears wears dresses. C. Pink shirts are effeminate; Mel Gibson wears pink shirts. D. Orange juice is healthy; I love orange juice. Answer: C 143. Tamika met Samantha, who was new to the school. Tamika began to develop a friendship with Samantha and soon they became good friends. Then Tamika learned that Samantha had been a troublemaker at her old school. Tamika liked Samantha but now saw her as a troublemaker. Tamika finally resolved these conflicting emotions by deciding that Samantha should be admired for turning over a new leaf at her new school. This is can be explained by A. implicit egotism theory. B. maladaptive gullibility. C. cognitive dissonance theory. D. self-monitoring theory. Answer: C 144. The Seekers thought the world was coming to an end on December 21. They prayed for their salvation. When the world did not come to an end, A. this weakened their convictions because of falsification. B. this strengthened their convictions because of cognitive dissonance. C. this could not be explained by the Seekers. D. the Seekers used common sense to explain the disconfirmation of their prophecy. Answer: B 145. The most creative demonstration of cognitive dissonance theory involved a situation where participants were asked to A. perform extremely boring manual tasks. B. taste fried grasshoppers. C. give a learner shocks for incorrect answers. D. pretend they were either a prisoner or a guard. Answer: B 146. Research on cognitive dissonance theory suggests that people are unlikely to experience dissonance and change their cognitions or behaviour when they have _______________. A. an extraverted personality. B. an extreme emotional reaction. C. no justification for their behaviour. D. a good external justification. Answer: D 147. _______________ theory proposes that we acquire our attitudes by observing our behaviours. A. Self-perception B. Cognitive dissonance C. Impression management D. Implicit egotism Answer: A 148. _______________ theory proposes that we don't really change our attitudes but that we report that we have done so to make our behaviours appear consistent with our attitudes. A. Self-perception B. Cognitive dissonance C. Impression management D. Implicit egotism Answer: C 149. Frederick is choosing between two different pairs of jeans at the mall. After he buys one pair, he is happy with his choice and thinks that he didn’t really like the other pair anyways. Frederick has engaged in A. post-decision dissonance. B. lowballing. C. impression management. D. self-monitoring. Answer: A 150. There are two alternative pathways to persuading others. One leads us to evaluate the merits of the persuasive arguments carefully and thoughtfully. This is known as the A. central route. B. peripheral route. C. afferent route. D. efferent route. Answer: A 151. Both Nicole and Sandy need to buy a new cell phone. They get pamphlets on the top-selling phones, including the Blackberry and iPhone. Nicole decides to buy the iPhone simply because it is an Apple product and she has a crush on the salesman at her local store, whereas Sandy decides to purchase the iPhone after making a spreadsheet of the pros and cons of each phone and carefully weighing her options. In this example, Nicole is influenced by the _______________ route to persuasion and Sandy is influenced by the _______________ route to persuasion. A. central; central B. central; peripheral C. peripheral; central D. peripheral; peripheral Answer: C 152. A local car insurance company advertises its products with television commercials. During those spots, there are flashy lights, attractive dancers wearing skin-tight outfits, and local celebrities talking about how they have that company’s insurance. The advertisement does not, however, mention any of the features or costs associated with the product. This company is attempting to earn customers through which path of processing? A. Central route B. Peripheral route C. Afferent route D. Efferent route Answer: B 153. When George W. Bush said, “Everything in Iraq is going as planned. Trust me, I am the president,” he was using what form of the dual process models of persuasion? A. Central route processing B. Peripheral route processing C. Afferent route processing D. Efferent route processing Answer: B 154. The advice to “keep it simple, stupid” suggests that political and other messages should be simple so that the audience will understand the content without distractions. This is an example of which type of processing suggested by the dual process model of persuasion? A. Central route B. Peripheral route C. Afferent route D. Efferent route Answer: A 155. What process describes the use of social influence to cause other people to change their attitudes and behaviour? A. Persuasion B. Affectance C. Conversion D. Enticement Answer: A 156. There are two alternative pathways to persuading others. One leads us to respond to persuasive arguments on the basis of snap judgments. This is known as the A. central route. B. peripheral route. C. afferent route. D. efferent route. Answer: B 157. When Sam went looking for a new car, he met a beautiful saleswoman who described the beauty of the car and the flashiness, and how good Sam would look driving it instead of the poor gas mileage, the exorbitant price, and poor road performance. Sam made a snap decision to buy the car from the persuasive saleswoman. Sam was using which alternative pathway in making a decision? A. The central route B. The peripheral route C. The afferent route D. The efferent route Answer: B 158. Many people hang up on telemarketers, but others will listen politely to their pitches even if they are not interested in the product. Telemarketers know that anyone who agrees to listen to a pitch is more likely to buy the product, thanks to the A. foot-in-the-door technique. B. door-in-the-face technique. C. low-ball technique. D. bait-and-switch technique. Answer: A 159. _______________ suggests that we start with a small request before asking for a bigger one. A. The foot-in-the-door technique B. The door-in-the-face technique C. The low-ball technique D. The bait-and-switch technique Answer: A 160. “Jeremy, can you possibly give me a ride to the airport this Sunday,” your friend Ben asks. Not thinking that this is a big deal, you agree to do this favour for Ben. “Oh, that’s great! Thanks so much. And by the way, I forgot that the plane leaves at 8:30 a.m. so I’ll have to be at the airport by 6:30 a.m. Pick me up at 6:00. See you then,” Ben adds. You are still likely to do the favour for Ben because you have just been a victim of the _______________ technique. A. foot-in-the-door B. door-in-the-face C. low-ball D. bait-and-switch Answer: C 161. What term is used to describe compliance with an initial small request followed by compliance with a larger request? A. The foot-in-the-door technique B. The door-in-the-face technique C. The low-ball technique D. The bait-and-switch technique Answer: A 162. The tendency of people to comply with a second, larger request after complying with a small request is called the _______________ technique. A. foot-in-the-door B. door-in-the-face C. low-ball D. bait-and-switch Answer: A 163. You are in the market for a new car. You go from dealer to dealer and find they all follow the same procedure: every salesperson offers you a soda and asks you to take a test drive. Which psychological technique is behind the offer of the soda and the test drive? A. The foot-in-the-door technique B. The door-in-the-face technique C. The low-ball technique D. The bait-and-switch technique Answer: A 164. The tendency of people to comply with a second, lesser request after refusing a larger one is called the _______________ technique. A. foot-in-the-door B. door-in-the-face C. low-ball D. bait-and-switch Answer: B 165. “Mommy, mommy, mommy,” your young son asks frantically. “Can we please buy a new PlayStation®3 console with all of the games and the wireless controllers so that we don’t have to sit near the television?” “No,” you reply, “we can’t afford to buy all of that!” Seemingly unperturbed by your reject, your son comes back with “Then can we just buy one new game for our PlayStation®2?” “Okay, I guess so,” you answer, not realizing that your son has taken a social psychology class and has just used the _______________ technique to get what he wanted. A. foot-in-the-door B. door-in-the-face C. low-ball D. bait-and-switch Answer: B 166. A person asks you if you would volunteer to counsel delinquent youths at a detention centre for two years. When you refuse, she asks you if you could supervise the youths during a trip to the zoo. She is using the _______________ technique. A. foot-in-the-door B. door-in-the-face C. low-ball D. bait-and-switch Answer: B 167. A dealer persuades a customer to buy a new car by reducing the price to well below that of his competitors. Once the customer has agreed to buy the car, the terms of the sale are shifted by lowering the value of the trade-in and requiring the purchase of expensive extra equipment. Now the car costs well above the current market rate. This is an example of the _______________ technique. A. foot-in-the-door B. door-in-the-face C. low-ball D. bait-and-switch Answer: C 168. Raoul wanted a new cell phone. One of the companies was offering free cell phones with a purchase of a two-year contract. Along with the offer came free text messaging for a month. Raoul purchased the contract. After the month he liked the text package so much he kept it at a rather hefty price. This is an example of A. the foot-in-the-door technique. B. the door-in-the-face technique. C. the low-ball technique. D. the bait-and-switch technique. Answer: A 169. _______________ involves asking for an unreasonably large request before asking for the small request you are hoping to have granted. A. The foot-in-the-door technique B. The door-in-the-face technique C. The low-ball technique D. The bait-and-switch technique Answer: B 170. Miranda received a phone call from a telemarketer for a local charity. The telemarketer asked for a $1000 donation. When Miranda refused, the telemarketer then asked for $25 to which Miranda agreed. This is an example of A. the foot-in-the-door technique. B. the door-in-the-face technique. C. the low-ball technique. D. the bait-and-switch technique. Answer: B 171. _______________ involves having someone agree to a request and then revealing that there are additional hidden obligations. A. The foot-in-the-door technique B. The door-in-the-face technique C. The low-ball technique D. The bait-and-switch technique Answer: C 172. Emilio saw a wonderful all-in-one kitchen appliance for sale on TV. The appliance would allow him to get rid of six small appliances and leave more room in his kitchen. Emilio called the number and agreed to purchase the product. He then found out that the price only covered the product base and he would have to purchase each appliance add-on individually. When he did this the product cost significantly more than he originally thought. This is known as the A. foot-in-the-door technique. B. door-in-the-face technique. C. low-ball technique. D. bait-and-switch technique. Answer: C 173. The finding that we're more positively predisposed toward people, places, or things that resemble us is called A. adaptive gullibility. B. the recognition heuristic. C. the implicit egotism effect. D. self-justification. Answer: C 174. Which of the following examples best reflects the name-letter effect? A. Louise and her husband Dennis live in London. B. Bonnie is married to Ben and they live in Burnaby. C. Albert and his partner Peter live in Montreal, Quebec. D. Walter and his wife Brenda live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Answer: B 175. With respect to pseudoscience marketing techniques to falsely enhance persuasion, _______________ capitalize(s) on accomplishing an unreasonable task. A. a phantom goal B. testimonials C. the consensus heuristic D. the natural commonplace Answer: A 176. With respect to pseudoscience marketing techniques to falsely enhance persuasion, _______________ relies on sources we judge to be trustworthy. A. source credibility manufacturing B. the scarcity hypothesis C. the consensus hypothesis D. the goddess-within Answer: A 177. With respect to pseudoscience marketing techniques to falsely enhance persuasion, _______________ capitalizes on the rareness of an item as to why we should purchase it. A. the scarcity hypothesis B. the consensus hypothesis C. credibility manufacturing D. the goddess-within Answer: A 178. With respect to pseudoscience marketing techniques to falsely enhance persuasion, _______________ capitalizes on the notion that what is natural is good. A. the natural commonplace B. the consensus hypothesis C. the scarcity hypothesis D. credibility manufacturing Answer: A 179. With respect to pseudoscience marketing techniques to falsely enhance persuasion, _______________ capitalizes on the idea that if many people believe it, it must be true. A. the consensus hypothesis B. the scarcity hypothesis C. testimonial thinking D. the goddess-within Answer: A 180. With respect to pseudoscience marketing techniques to falsely enhance persuasion, _______________ capitalizes on the idea that Western scientists cannot fully capture the mystical side of us all. A. the goddess-within B. the Consensus hypothesis C. the Scarcity hypothesis D. the natural commonplace Answer: A 181. The following are all examples of pseudoscience tactics except A. the creation of a "phantom" goal. B. vivid testimonials. C. manufacturing credibility. D. the availability heuristic. Answer: C 182. The following are all examples of pseudoscience tactics except A. mastering the Italian language while sleeping. B. calling before midnight while supplies last. C. buying a product because it is "natural." D. losing 5 kilograms over a three-month period using the product along with proper nutrition and exercise. Answer: D 183. Drawing conclusions about a person, group of people, or situation prior to evaluating the evidence is known as A. prejudice. B. adaptive conservatism. C. discrimination. D. in-group bias. Answer: A 184. Ralph, a white student who grew up in Alberta, is about to enter the University on an athletic scholarship. He is aware that many of his teammates will be black and assumes that they will dislike him and ostracize him. Ralph’s attitude is best described as an example of. A. prejudice B. adaptive conservatism C. discrimination D. in-group bias Answer: A 185. Prejudice is a(n) _______________, whereas discrimination is a(n) _______________. A. dislike; hatred B. hatred; dislike C. behaviour; attitude D. attitude; behaviour Answer: D 186. Luther operates a small nightclub that specializes in soul music and features up-and- coming black singing groups. He actively discourages white couples from coming in and always gives them the worst seats if they insist on being admitted. Luther’s behaviour is best described as an example of A. prejudice. B. adaptive conservatism. C. discrimination. D. in-group bias. Answer: C 187. A bank loan officer thinks people who speak with an accent are lazy; consequently, he refuses to grant them loans. The loan officer’s belief is an example of. His refusal to grant them loans is an example of. A. discrimination; prejudice B. stereotyping; attribution C. attribution; stereotyping D. prejudice; discrimination Answer: D 188. A social group of people viewed as competitors, enemies, or different and unworthy of respect is a(n) A. threat-group. B. pariah. C. out-group. D. in-group. Answer: C 189. The social group viewed as the one a person identifies with is called a(n) A. threat-group. B. pariah. C. out-group. D. in-group. Answer: D 190. _______________ creates a predisposition toward distrusting anything or anyone unfamiliar or different. A. Prejudice B. Adaptive conservatism C. In-group bias D. Discrimination Answer: B 191. From an evolutionary perspective, the principle of _______________ helps to explain why we tend to form alliances with insiders and mistrust outsiders. A. kin selection B. adaptive conservatism C. instinctual drift D. affective forecasting Answer: B 192. Dave is a Red Sox fan. He intensely dislikes the Yankees. He celebrates with glee every time the Red Sox win and when the Yankees lose. This is an example of A. prejudice. B. adaptive conservatism. C. in-group bias. D. discrimination. Answer: C 193. Joey is a season ticket holder for the Saskatchewan Roughriders football team. He is such a fan that he sometimes travels to different cities to watch them play. He was recently in Edmonton to watch the Roughriders versus Eskimos game, and was wearing his Roughriders jersey to show his support. Although he attended the game by himself, he ended up talking to several other Saskatchewan fans in the audience near his seat, and they joked about how deluded the Eskimos fans were that they were going to win. In this example, Joey is engaging in _______________. A. the in-group bias B. adaptive conservatism C. discrimination D. the out-group bias Answer: A 194. The tendency to view all people outside of our group as highly similar refers to the A. adaptive conservatism. B. out-group homogeneity bias. C. minimal intergroup paradigm. D. ultimate attribution error. Answer: B 195. Sumatra, who is a high school senior, a cheerleader, and the class vice president, would be more likely to be positively disposed to which of the following students? A. Andy, a sophomore computer geek B. Marika, a cellist in the school orchestra and a freshman C. Jamal, a senior captain of the football team and class treasurer D. Sandy, a junior cheerleader who wants to be a hair stylist Answer: C 196. _______________ is the act of treating members from out-groups differently from members of one's own group. A. Prejudice B. Adaptive conservatism C. In-group bias D. Discrimination Answer: D 197. What was the grade level of the students with whom Jane Elliott performed her famous blue eye–brown eye demonstration? A. Kindergarten B. 1st grade C. 2nd grade D. 3rd grade Answer: C 198. What historical event prompted Jane Elliott to begin the blue eye–brown eye project with her students? A. The Vietnam War B. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. C. The assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy D. The assassination of John Lennon Answer: B 199. Which social psychology theory best explains the fact that the majority of the riots that took place following the trial of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King did not take place in white neighbourhoods, but rather in the neighbourhoods of Asian Americans and Asians who had recently immigrated to the United States? A. Scapegoating B. Social diffusion C. The bystander effect D. Prejudice Answer: A 200. A belief about the characteristics of members of a group that are applied generally to most members of the group is known as a(n) A. cognitive miser. B. prejudice. C. stereotype. D. illusionary correlation. Answer: C 201. Stereotype is to _______________ as prejudice is to _______________ as discrimination is to _______________. A. attitude; belief; behaviour B. belief; behaviour; attitude C. attitude; behaviour; belief D. belief; attitude; behaviour Answer: D 202. _______________ is the assumption that behaviours among individual members of a group are due to internal dispositions of individuals within the group. A. The ultimate attribution error B. Implied association C. The scapegoat hypothesis D. The just-world hypothesis Answer: A 203. What term do social psychologists use for the process of making people in an out- group responsible for the problems of people in the in-group? A. Groupthink B. Pariah formation C. Deindividuation D. Scapegoating Answer: D 204. Scapegoats are usually the group of people with A. the most annoying customs. B. the most unusual appearance. C. the most money. D. the least power. Answer: D 205. Prejudice arises from a need to blame other groups for our present misfortunes according to the A. just-world hypothesis. B. bandwagon hypothesis. C. maladaptive gullibility hypothesis. D. scapegoat hypothesis. Answer: D 206. _______________ is the claim that our attributions and behaviours are shaped by a belief that the world is fair and people always get what they deserve. A. The just-world hypothesis B. The scapegoat hypothesis C. The bandwagon hypothesis D. The maladaptive gullibility hypothesis Answer: A 207. Sonya, who believes in a just world, believes that Sander is responsible for his getting AIDS because of his lifestyle. This phenomenon is known as A. scapegoat hypothesis. B. ultimate attribution error. C. implicit association. D. blaming the victim. Answer: D 208. Which individual difference would be associated with the lowest level of prejudice? A. Authoritarian personality B. Intrinsic religiosity C. Pigeonholing D. High conformity Answer: B 209. The following types of people may exhibit high levels of prejudice against a wide variety of out-groups except A. people with authoritarian personality traits. B. people with high levels of extrinsic religiosity. C. people with high levels of intrinsic religiosity. D. people with a high need for conformity. Answer: C 210. Which of the following methods can be used to test for implicit stereotypes? A. A survey about your beliefs. B. The scapegoat hypothesis. C. Affective priming. D. The just-world hypothesis. Answer: C 211. _______________ are beliefs about the characteristics of an out-group about which we are unaware. A. Discriminations B. Implicit stereotypes C. Explicit stereotypes D. In-group biases Answer: B 212. Joy is participating in an experiment where she is shown words (such as “knife” or “smile”) and images (such as black or white faces). She is told to press the right or left keys on a computer when certain words or images appear, and her response time is recorded. What test is Joy taking? A. The Implicit Association Test B. The Scapegoat Test C. The Minimal Intergroup Paradigm D. The Illusory Correlation Test Answer: A 213. Sherif's "Robbers" experiment demonstrated that prejudice can be reduced by A. engaging all members in competitive play. B. engaging each team against each other in a tournament. C. getting boys within each group to form strong bonds within the group. D. engaging the groups in activities that required them to cooperate to achieve a goal. Answer: D 214. The Robber’s Cave experiment showed that A. playing athletic games, such as football and baseball, reduces us–them hostility. B. watching movies together, and similar quiet interactions, reduces us–them hostility. C. engaging in mutually exciting activities, such as tug-of-war, reduces us–them hostility. D. interdependence in solving crises together reduces us–them hostility. Answer: D 215. The Robbers study and the jigsaw classroom underscore a lesson confirmed by many other social psychology studies; that is, A. increased contact between racial groups is sufficient to reduce prejudice. B. increased contact between racial groups is rarely sufficient to reduce prejudice. C. cooperative contact between groups is sufficient to reduce prejudice. D. increased enjoyable contact between racial groups is sufficient to reduce prejudice. Answer: B 216. Two important lessons from research on prejudice and discrimination is that _______________ increases prejudice and _______________ helps to decrease prejudice. A. separation; competition B. competition; increased contact C. increased contact; separation D. competition; cooperation Answer: D Critical Thinking Questions 1. Can the Milgram obedience study and the Zimbardo prison study be considered ethical? Could they be conducted today? Answer: Both the Milgram obedience study and the Zimbardo prison study were unethical by today's APA standards. Both studies did not protect the subjects from physical or psychological harm. In both studies psychological harm could have easily occurred. Subjects needed to be debriefed after the studies and told the nature of the study. Every attempt should have been made to reduce any harmful psychological effects from participating in the study. Also, subjects were forced to continue in the study whether they wished to or not. When subjects tried to stop, they were strongly told to continue. Today's ethics allow for subjects to stop at anytime. They do not have to complete the study. This was not allowed in either of the studies. The studies could be conducted today if safeguards were put in place. Subjects should be allowed to stop at any time during the study. At the end of their participation, subjects should be thoroughly debriefed to minimize any psychological harm. 2. You have been given a group assignment to complete. Your instructor has partnered you with three totally unmotivated students whom you suspect will do very little work. How could you minimize the chance of social loafing occurring? Answer: There are two things you might do to insure that each student does his or her part in completing the group assignment. First, each student should work on an integral part of the project. It should be clear as to which student has responsibility for a particular aspect of the project. Each part should involve approximately the same amount of work and effort. The second step that should be followed is that the project should be evaluated by each part. In this way each student will get an individual grade for his or her participation in the project. When the project is presented, each student should present his or her part. In this way, the instructor can reward the individuals who participated. Social loafers would get their just due. 3. Suppose you identify some prejudice in your classroom. Outline some techniques to combat the effects of prejudice. Answer: Answers may vary but should include mention of the Robber’s Cave experiment in Oklahoma, and the jigsaw problem. Education and Awareness: Educate students about diversity, stereotypes, and the harmful effects of prejudice through discussions, readings, and activities that promote empathy and understanding. Promote Positive Interactions: Encourage opportunities for students to interact positively with diverse peers through group projects, cooperative learning activities, and inclusive classroom norms. Challenge Biases: Address prejudicial remarks or behaviors promptly and constructively, fostering open dialogue to challenge misconceptions and promote respect for all individuals. Role Modeling: Model inclusive behavior as an educator by demonstrating fairness, respect, and empathy towards all students, creating a supportive and accepting classroom environment. Essay Questions 1. What is the fundamental attribution error? Discuss the cultural influences on the fundamental attribution error. Answer: Fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences on others' behaviour. By dispositional influences, we mean enduring characteristics, such as personality traits, attitudes, and intelligence. Because of this error, we attribute too much of people's behaviour to who they are. Because of the fundamental attribution error, we also tend to underestimate the impact of situational influences on others' behaviour, so we also attribute too little of people's behaviour to what's going on around them. We may assume incorrectly that a boss in a failing company who fired several of his loyal employees to save money must be callous, when in fact he was under enormous pressure to rescue his company and spare the jobs of hundreds of other loyal employees. The fundamental attribution error is associated with cultural factors. Although almost everyone is prone to this error, Japanese and Chinese people seem to be less so. That may be because they're more likely than those in Western cultures to perceive behaviours in context. As a result, they may be more prone to seeing others' behaviour as a complex stew of both dispositional and situational influences. For example, after reading newspaper descriptions of mass murderers, Chinese subjects are considerably less likely to invoke dispositional explanations for their behaviour ("He must be an evil person") and more likely to invoke situational explanations for their behaviour ("He must have been under terrible stress in his life"). In contrast, American subjects tend to show the opposite pattern. 2. Explain conformity and discuss the social factors that influence the level of conformity. Answer: Conformity is the tendency of people to change their behaviour as a consequence of group behaviour. Sometimes, when you belong to an organisation or group like a club, school committee, fraternity, or sorority, you may just go along with one of the group's ideas even though you know that it is bad, perhaps even unethical. Almost everyone conforms to social pressure from time to time. There are several social factors that influence the level of conformity. The first is unanimity. If all confederates give the wrong answer, the subject is more likely to conform. However, if one confederate gives the correct response, the level of conformity drops by three-fourths. Another factor is difference in the wrong answer. Knowing that someone else in the group differs from the majority, even if that person holds a different view from us, can make us less likely to conform. A third factor is size. The size of the majority makes a difference, but only up to about five or six subjects. People are no more likely to conform in a group of fifteen subjects than in a group of five subjects. 3. Discuss groupthink. Give several examples and explain the treatments for groupthink. Answer: Groupthink is an emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking and sound decision making. Groups sometimes become so intent on ensuring that everyone agrees with everyone else that they lose their capacity to evaluate issues objectively. Some of the more memorable examples of groupthink are the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Challenger shuttle disaster. Following lengthy discussions with cabinet members, U.S. President John F. Kennedy recruited 1400 Cuban immigrants to invade Cuba and overthrow its dictator, Fidel Castro. But Castro found out about the invasion in advance. As a result, the invaders were massively outnumbered and outgunned, and they lacked adequate air backup from American forces. Almost immediately after landing at the Bay of Pigs, nearly all the invaders were captured, and some were killed. It was an enormous humiliation for the United States. The members of Kennedy's cabinet were an uncommonly brilliant group of politicians and diplomats. Yet, their actions were astonishingly foolish. They became convinced that their plan was a good one because they all agreed to it and they failed to ask themselves the tough questions that could have averted the disaster. In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing the seven astronauts aboard a mere 73 seconds after takeoff. Project managers of the Challenger agreed to launch it after a series of bitterly cold days in January, despite warnings from NASA engineers that the shuttle might explode because rubber rings on the rocket booster could fail in freezing temperatures. As a psychological condition, groupthink is often treated within an organisation. It is recommended that all groups appoint a "devil's advocate"—a person whose role is to voice doubts about the wisdom of the group's decisions. Another suggestion is having independent experts on hand to evaluate whether the group's decisions make sense. Finally, it can be useful to hold a follow-up meeting to evaluate whether the decision reached in the first meeting still seems reasonable. 4. Describe the social influences on cult behaviour, including what the common misconceptions about cults are and how people can resist cult influences. Answer: Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit. Cults and Brainwashing. In extreme forms, groupthink can lead to cults: groups of individuals who exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause. In many cases, they’re devoted to one charismatic individual. Cults can occasionally have disastrous consequences. Consider Heaven’s Gate, a southern California–based group founded by Marshall Applewhite, a former psychiatric patient, in 1975. Heaven’s Gate members believed that Applewhite was a reincarnated version of Jesus Christ. Applewhite, they were convinced, would take them to a starship in their afterlives. In 1997, a major comet approached Earth, and several false reports circulated in the media that a spaceship was tailing it. The Heaven’s Gate members apparently believed this was their calling. Virtually all of the cult members—39 of them—committed suicide by drinking a poisoned cocktail. Evidence suggests that cults promote groupthink in four major ways: having a persuasive leader who fosters loyalty; disconnecting group members from the outside world; discouraging questioning of the group’s or leader’s assumptions; and establishing training practices that gradually indoctrinate members. Cults: Common Misconceptions. Misconceptions about cults abound. One is that cult members are usually emotionally disturbed. Studies show that most cult members are psychologically normal, although many cult leaders probably suffer from serious mental illness. This erroneous belief probably stems from the fundamental attribution error: In trying to explain why people join cults, we overestimate the role of personality traits and underestimate the role of social influences. Many people hold the same beliefs about suicide bombers, like the September 11 terrorists or those who detonated bus and subway bombs in London on July 7, 2005. Preliminary research on suicide bombers suggests that most are not mentally disordered, although some appear to possess a distinctive profile of traits, such as rigidity of thinking, reluctance to question authority, and a tendency to attribute blame to others. A second misconception is that all cult members are brainwashed, or transformed by group leaders into unthinking zombies. Journalists introduced the concept of brainwashing during the Korean War in the early 1950s to describe the influence tactics used by Chinese Communists to persuade American soldiers that communism was superior to democracy. Although some psychologists have argued that many cults use brainwashing techniques, there’s considerable scientific controversy about the existence of brainwashing. For one thing, there’s not much evidence that brainwashing permanently alters victims’ beliefs. Most American soldiers supposedly brainwashed by Communists didn’t change their minds; they merely spoke and acted as though they’d been converted to communism to avoid punishment. Moreover, there’s not much evidence that brainwashing is a unique means of changing people’s behaviour. Instead, the persuasive techniques of brainwashing probably aren’t all that different from those used by effective political leaders and sales people. We’ll have more to say about these techniques later in the chapter. Resisting Cult Influence: Inoculation. How can we best resist the indoctrination that leads to cults? Here, the social psychological research is clear, although counterintuitive: First expose people to information consistent with cult beliefs, and then debunk it. In his work on the inoculation effect, McGuire (1964) demonstrated that the best way of immunizing people against an undesirable belief is to gently introduce them to reasons why this belief seems to be correct, and then refute those reasons. This approach works much like a vaccine, which inoculates people against a virus by presenting them with a small dose of it, thereby activating the body’s defences. Social influences on cult behavior include charismatic leadership, group cohesion through social bonding, and the manipulation of beliefs and emotions. Common misconceptions about cults include the belief that all cults are inherently harmful or that only vulnerable individuals are susceptible. Resisting cult influences involves critical thinking, maintaining autonomy, seeking diverse perspectives, and building strong social support networks outside the cult environment. 5. What is obedience? Describe how Milgram tested obedience to an authority figure and the results of his original study. Answer: Answers will vary but should contain a general description of the following information for full credit. Obedience, we take our marching orders from people who are above us in the hierarchy of authority, such as a teacher, parent, or boss. The Milgram Paradigm. In the early 1960s, Milgram began to tinker with a laboratory paradigm (a model experiment) that could provide a window into the causes of obedience. Milgram was interested in obedience because he believed that unquestioning acceptance of authority figures is the crucial ingredient in explaining unjustified violence against innocent individuals. The Setup: You spot an advertisement in a local New Haven, Connecticut, newspaper, asking for volunteers for a study of memory. The ad notes that participants will be paid $4.50, which in the 1960s was a hefty chunk of change. You arrive at the laboratory at Yale University, where a tall and imposing man in a white lab coat, Mr. Williams, greets you. You also meet another friendly, middle-aged subject, Mr. Wallace, who unbeknownst to you is actually a confederate. The cover story is that you and Mr. Wallace will be participating in a study of the effects of “punishment on learning,” with one of you being the teacher and the other the learner. You draw lots to see who’ll play which role, and get the piece of paper that says “teacher” (the lots are rigged). From here on in, Mr. Williams refers to you as the “teacher” and to Mr. Wallace as the “learner.” As the teacher, Mr. Williams explains, you’ll present Mr. Wallace with what psychologists call a paired-associate task. In this task, you’ll read a long list of word pairs, like strong–arm and black–curtain. Then you’ll present the learner with the first word in each pair (such as strong) and ask him to select the second word (arm) from a list of four alternative words. Now here’s the surprise: To evaluate the effects of punishment on learning, you’ll be delivering a series of painful electric shocks to the learner. With each wrong answer, you’ll move up one step on a shock generator. The shocks range from 15 volts up to 450 volts and are accompanied by labels ranging from “Slight Shock” and “Moderate Shock,” to “Danger: Severe Shock” and finally, and most ominously, “XXX.” The Study: You watch as Mr. Williams brings the learner into a room and straps his arm to a shock plate. The learner, Mr. Williams explains, will push a button corresponding to his answer to the first word in each pair. His answer will light up in an adjoining room where you sit. For a correct answer, you do nothing. But for an incorrect answer, you’ll give the learner an electric shock, with the intensity increasing with each mistake. At this point, the learner mentions to Mr. Williams that he has “a slight heart condition” and asks anxiously how powerful the shocks will be. Mr. Williams responds curtly that although the shocks will be painful, they “will cause no permanent tissue damage.” You’re led into the adjoining room and seated in front of the shock generator. Following Milgram’s plan, the learner makes a few correct responses, but soon begins to make errors. If, at any time, you turn to Mr. Williams to ask if you should continue, he responds with a set of prearranged sentences that urge you to go on (“Please go on” “The experiment requires that you continue,” “You have no other choice; you must go on”). Milgram standardised the verbal statements of the learner, which also unbeknownst to you, have been pre-recorded on audiotape (Milgram, 1974). At 75 volts, the learner grunts “Ugh!” and by 330 volts, he frantically yells “Let me out of here!” repeatedly and complains of chest pain. From 345 volts onward, there’s nothing—only silence. The learner stops responding to your items, and Mr. Williams instructs you to treat these non-responses as incorrect answers and to keep administering increasingly intense shocks. The Results: When Milgram first designed this study, he asked 40 psychiatrists at Yale University to forecast the outcome. Their predictions? According to them, most subjects would break off at 150 volts and only.1 percent (that’s 1 in 1000), representing a “pathological fringe” (Milgram, 1974), would go all the way to 450 volts. Before reading on, you may want to ask yourself what you would have done had you been a subject in Milgram’s study. Would you have delivered any shocks? If so, how far would you have gone? Would you have gone all the way to 450 volts? In fact, in the original Milgram study, all subjects administered at least some shocks. Most went up to at least 150 volts, and a remarkable 62 percent of subjects displayed complete compliance, going all the way up 450 volts. This means that the Yale psychiatrists were off by a factor of several hundred. these results were, well, shocking. Milgram himself was startled by them. Before Milgram’s study, most psychologists assumed that the overwhelming majority of normal subjects would disobey what were obviously cruel and outrageous orders. But like the Yale psychiatrists, they committed the fundamental attribution error: They underestimated the impact of the situation on subjects’ behaviours. There were other surprises. Many subjects showed uncontrollable tics and fits of nervous laughter. Yet few appeared to be sadistic. Even those who complied to the bitter end seemed reluctant to deliver shocks, asking or even begging the experimenter to allow them to stop. Yet most subjects still followed Mr. Williams’s orders despite these pleas, often assuming no responsibility for their actions. One subject’s responses were illustrative: After the study was over he claimed, “I stopped, but he [the experimenter] made me go on” (Milgram, 1974). Obedience refers to a form of social influence where individuals comply with direct orders or commands from an authority figure. Milgram tested obedience in his famous experiment where participants were instructed to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to a learner (an actor) whenever they answered questions incorrectly. Despite the learner's apparent distress, many participants continued to obey the experimenter's commands to administer shocks. The study revealed alarming levels of obedience, with a majority of participants willing to administer potentially lethal shocks, highlighting the power of authority in influencing behavior. 6. Discuss bystander non-intervention and what factors influence intervention. Answer: Bystander non-intervention occurs when bystanders do not intervene in an emergency situation. It has been suggested that the presence of others makes people less, not more, likely to help in emergencies. Researchers maintain that two major factors explain bystander non-intervention. The first is pluralistic ignorance: the error of assuming that no one in the group perceives things as you do. To intervene in an emergency, we first need to recognize that the situation is in fact an emergency. So pluralistic ignorance is relevant when we're trying to figure out whether an ambiguous situation is really an emergency. A second step is required for us to intervene in an emergency. We need to feel a burden of responsibility for the consequences of not intervening. Here's the rub: the more people present at an emergency, the less each person feels responsible for the negative consequences of not helping. Researchers have called this phenomenon diffusion of responsibility: the presence of others makes each person feel less responsible for the outcome. 7. What is altruism? Discuss the situational, individual, and gender differences on helping behaviour. Answer: Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit. Altruism, that is, helping others for unselfish reasons. Situational Influences. A) People are more likely to help others when they can’t easily escape the situation by running away, driving away, or as in the case of the Kitty Genovese murder, turning off their lights and drifting back to sleep. For example, individuals are more likely to help someone who collapses on a crowded subway than on the sidewalk. B) Characteristics of the victim also affect the likelihood of helping. In one study, bystanders helped a person with a cane 95 percent of the time, but helped an obviously drunk person only 50 percent of the time. C) Being in a good mood also makes us more likely to help. D) Exposure to role models who help others increases helping E) When we are pressed for time, we are less likely to help (e.g., study of seminary students). F) Exposure to research on bystander effects increases the chances of intervening in emergencies (enlightenment effect: Learning about psychological research can change real-world behaviour for the better). Individual and Gender Differences. A) Participants who are less concerned about social approval and less traditional are more likely to go against the grain and intervene in emergencies even when others are present. B) Extraverted people are also more prone to help others than introverted people. C) People with lifesaving skills, such as trained medical workers, are more likely to offer assistance to others in emergencies than other people are, even when they’re off duty. Some people may not help on certain occasions simply because they don’t know what to do. D) Most researchers have reported a slight tendency for men to help more than women. This difference isn’t especially consistent across studies, and it seems to be accounted for by the tendency of men to help more than women in situations involving physical or social risk. Men are especially likely to help women rather than other men, especially if the women are physically attractive. Altruism refers to selfless behavior aimed at benefiting others, often at a personal cost. Situational factors influencing helping behavior include the presence of bystanders (diffusion of responsibility), perceived severity of the situation, and empathy for the person in need. Individual differences such as personality traits (e.g., empathy, agreeableness) and moral values also impact altruistic acts. Gender differences suggest women may demonstrate more frequent and emotionally expressive forms of helping, while men may engage in more instrumental or heroic acts of assistance. 8. Identify and describe any four of the seven situational influences on human aggression. Provide one example of each. Answer: Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit. • Interpersonal Provocation: Not surprisingly, we’re especially likely to strike out aggressively against those who have provoked us, say, by insulting, threatening, or hitting us. • Frustration: We’re especially likely to behave aggressively when we’re frustrated, that is, thwarted from reaching a goal. In one study, a research assistant asked participants to perform a difficult paper-folding (origami) task at an unreasonably rapid pace, and either apologised for moving participants along too quickly or told them to pick up the pace (“I would like to hurry and get this over with”). Frustrated participants—those in the first condition—were later more likely to give the research assistant a low job-related evaluation. • Media Influences: As we learned in Chapter 6, an impressive body of laboratory and naturalistic evidence points to the conclusion that watching media violence increases the odds of violence through observational learning. Laboratory experiments show that playing violent video games also boosts the odds of real-world violence. • Aggressive Cues: External cues associated with violence, such as guns and knives, can serve as discriminant stimuli (see Chapter 6) for aggression, making us more likely to act violently in response to provocation. Berkowitz and LePage (1967) found that the mere presence of a gun—as opposed to a badminton racquet—on a table triggered more aggression in subjects who’d been provoked by mild electric shocks for supposed poor performance on a task. • Arousal: When our autonomic nervous systems (see Chapter 3) are hyped up, we may mistakenly attribute this arousal to anger, leading us to act aggressively. Zillman and his colleagues found that participants who pedalled an exercise bicycle delivered more intense electric shocks to someone who’d annoyed them than did participants who sat still. • Alcohol and Other Drugs: Certain substances can disinhibit our brain’s prefrontal cortex (see Chapter 3), lowering our inhibitions toward behaving violently. After being provoked with electric shocks by an “opponent” (who was actually fictitious) during a competitive game, participants tended to choose more intense electric shocks after consuming alcohol or benzodiazepines, such as Valium (see Chapter 16), than after consuming a placebo. But alcohol is likely to trigger aggression only when the target of our aggression occupies the focus of our attention, as when someone is threatening us directly. • Temperature: Rates of violent crime in different regions of the United States mirror the average temperatures in these regions. Because warm temperatures increase irritability, they may make people more likely to lose their tempers when provoked or frustrated. Nevertheless, because extremely warm temperatures are more common in the southern United States, in which violent crime rates are especially high (see the Cultural Differences section on page 570), investigators have had to rule out the rival hypothesis that this “heat effect” is due to geographical region. They’ve succeeded in doing so by demonstrating that even within the same geographical region, warmer temperatures are associated with higher rates of violence. 9. Discuss attitude change and the types of persuasive techniques that can be used on people. Answer: What makes us change our attitudes? According to cognitive dissonance theory, we alter our attitudes because we experience an unpleasant state of tension— cognitive dissonance—between two or more conflicting thoughts (cognitions). Because we dislike this state of tension, we're motivated to reduce or eliminate it. If we hold an attitude or belief (cognition A) that's inconsistent with another attitude or belief (cognition B), we can reduce the anxiety resulting from this inconsistency in three major ways: change cognition A, change cognition B, or introduce a new cognition, C, that resolves the inconsistency between A and B. Some scholars contend that it's not dissonance itself that's responsible for shifting our attitudes, but rather threats to our self-concept. There are at least two other alternative explanations for cognitive dissonance effects. The first, self-perception theory, proposes that we acquire our attitudes by observing our behaviours. The second, impression management theory, proposes that we don't really change our attitudes in cognitive dissonance studies; we only tell the experimenters we have. We do so because we don't want to appear inconsistent. Drawing on the research literature concerning attitudes and attitude change, psychologists have identified a host of effective techniques for persuading others. The foot-in-the-door technique suggests that we start with a small request before asking for a bigger one. Alternatively, we can start with a large request, like asking for a $100 donation to our charity, before asking for a small one, such as a $10 donation. This is the door-in-the-face technique. With the low-ball technique, the seller of a product starts by quoting a price well below the actual sales price. Once the buyer agrees to purchase the product, the seller mentions all of the desirable or necessary "add-ons" that come along with the product. By the time we're done, we may end up paying twice as much as we initially agreed to pay. 10. Discuss the difference between stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, and describe the three main theoretical causes of people’s prejudice. Answer: Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit. Stereotypes are beliefs about a group’s characteristics that we apply to most members of that group. They can be either positive or negative. Prejudice is coming to a conclusion before we’ve evaluated all the evidence. Prejudice is accompanied by several other biases, including in-group bias and out-group homogeneity. Discrimination is the act of treating out-group members differently from in-group members. Causes of Prejudice: 1) Scapegoat Hypothesis. According to the scapegoat hypothesis, prejudice arises from a need to blame other groups for our misfortunes. 2) Just-World Hypothesis. Melvin Lerner’s (1980) just-world hypothesis implies that many of us have a deep-seated need to perceive the world as fair—to believe that all things happen for a reason. Ironically, this need for a sense of fair play, especially if powerful, may lead to prejudice. That’s because it can lead us to place blame on groups who are already in a one-down position. 3) Conformity. Some prejudiced attitudes and behaviours probably stem from conformity to social norms. Such conformity may originate from a need for social approval. NOTE: There also are some individual differences in prejudice (such as increased rates in people with authoritarian personality traits and extrinsic religiosity) but these aren’t really a “theoretical” basis for prejudice. Stereotypes are oversimplified beliefs about groups of people, prejudice is a negative attitude or emotional response towards individuals based on their group membership, and discrimination involves actions that disadvantage or harm individuals based on their group membership. Theoretical causes of prejudice include social learning (acquiring prejudices from family, peers, and media), realistic conflict theory (competition for limited resources leading to hostility towards outgroups), and social identity theory (ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation to enhance self-esteem and group identity). Fill in the Blank Questions 1. _______________ is the study of how people influence others' behaviour. Answer: Social psychology 2. The _______________ suggests that we, humans, have a biologically based need for interpersonal connections. Answer: need to belong theory 3. The process of assigning causes to behaviour is called _______________. Answer: attributions 4. The _______________ error refers to the tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences on others' behaviour. Answer: fundamental attribution 5. According to _______________, we evaluate our beliefs, abilities, and reactions by comparing them to those of others. Answer: social comparison theory 6. People, over the years, have claimed to see flying saucers. This is an example of _______________. Answer: mass hysteria 7. When Clorinda was young she repeatedly heard the story that Walt Disney had been frozen, and that when scientists find a cure for the disease he died from, they will bring him back to life. This is an example of a(n) _______________. Answer: urban legend 8. _______________ is the tendency of people to change their behaviour as a consequence of group behaviour. Answer: Conformity 9. _______________ is the tendency to engage in uncharacteristic behaviour when people are stripped of their usual identities. Answer: Deindividuation 10. _______________ is an emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking. Answer: Groupthink 11. Despite warnings from NASA engineers that the shuttle might explode because rubber rings on the rocket booster could fail in freezing temperatures, project managers of the Challenger agreed to launch it after a series of bitterly cold days in January. This is an example of intelligent people making a catastrophic decision due to the phenomenon of ________________ Answer: group think. 12. The _______________ is an approach to convincing someone to change his or her mind about something by first introducing reasons why the perspective might be correct. Answer: inoculation effect 13. _______________ is a phenomenon that occurs when the more people there are at the scene of an emergency, the less each person feels responsible for the negative consequences of not helping. Answer: Diffusion of responsibility 14. Nokia, Billy, Jamal, and Samara are assigned a group project. Jamal ends up doing almost the entire project because the others did not contribute much to the project. This phenomenon is known as ______________ Answer: social loafing. 15. _______________ is helping others for unselfish reasons. Answer: Altruism 16. People from southern regions of the United States are more likely than people from other regions of the country to adhere to a _______________, a social norm of defending one's reputation in the face of a perceived insult. Answer: culture of honour 17. _______________ is a trait that assesses the extent to which people's behaviours reflect their true feelings and attitudes. Answer: Self-monitoring 18. The _______________ effect suggests that we're more positively disposed toward people, places, or things that resemble us. Answer: implicit egotism 19. According to _______________ theory, we alter our attitudes because we experience an unpleasant state of tension between two or more conflicting thoughts. Answer: cognitive dissonance 20. _______________ theory suggests that we don't really change our attitudes, but that we report that we have done so, so as to appear consistent. Answer: Impression management 21. _______________ theory suggests that we acquire our attitudes by observing our behaviours. Answer: Self-perception 22. A persuasive technique involving asking for a small request before asking for a bigger one is called the _______________. Answer: foot-in-the-door technique. 23. The _______________ is a persuasive technique that involves making an unreasonably large request before making the small request you are hoping to have granted. Answer: door-in-the-face technique 24. The _______________ is a persuasive technique involving having someone agree to a request and then revealing that there are additional hidden obligations. Answer: low-ball technique 25. _______________ is an evolutionary principle that creates a predisposition toward distrusting anything or anyone unfamiliar or different. Answer: Adaptive conservatism Test Bank for Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven J. Lynn, Laura L. Namy, Nancy J. Woolf, Kenneth M. Cramer, Rodney Schmaltz 9780205896110, 9780133793048, 9780133870282

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CH-13 Social Psychology – Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding : Exam Guide

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