Exam 1: Introducing Social Psychology

One common goal of sociology and social psychology is to understand __________.

In commenting on the development of social psychology in the U.S., Dorwin Cartwright (1979) wrote, "If I were required to name the one person who has had the greatest impact on the field, it would have to be Adolf Hitler." By this he meant that __________.

You might have heard the old Groucho Marx quip, "I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me for a member." From a self-esteem perspective in social psychology, what would be a more accurate-if less humorous-statement?

George just finished a poem and is very proud of his work. He knows he should ask his instructor for some constructive feedback to improve it, but chooses not to because he is afraid of losing his sense of accomplishment. In this case, which basic motive did George give in to?

Ross and colleagues (2004) found that people playing the Wall Street Game were __________ competitive than people playing the Community Game, __________ of individual differences in competitiveness and cooperativeness.

Of the following, which question is LEAST likely to be asked by a social psychologist?

Liberman, Samuels, and Ross (2004) randomly assigned participants previously identified as cooperative or competitive to play a game that was labeled either the Wall Street Game or the Community Game. If their results had indicated that, no matter what the game, participants who were identified as competitive behaved more competitively in both groups than did participants who were identified as cooperative, these findings would have suggested that __________.

Which of the following is the best synonym for "construal"?

According to the authors of your text, when faced with a puzzling social question, it may be tempting to ask people why they behaved as they did. Why is this not always the best way to understand social behavior?

The scientific study of the way in which people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people is the definition of __________.

Social psychologists and personality psychologists share what common goal?

Shanika is an executive, and asked her assistant repeatedly to make some copies for her. The assistant repeatedly failed to successfully complete the assignment. If Shanika is thinking like a social psychologist about this situation, what is she most likely to think about her assistant?

When Monique plays checkers with her younger sister, she lets her sister win. When she plays with her older brother, she does everything she can to beat him. A social psychologist would suggest that __________.

Jacob was pouring gravy when he dropped the ladle and splattered it all over the tablecloth. In order to maintain his self-esteem, Jacob decided that __________.

One potential problem of justifying past behavior in order to protect our self-esteem is that __________.

Garry is a physician and is convinced that his patient Mr. Mraz has cancer. However, after several diagnostic tests and a biopsy that came back negative, Garry rethinks his original diagnosis. He admits that he was wrong and does more research to find the correct diagnosis. In this case, which basic motive did Garry give in to?

Lee Ross describes the idea of "naïve realism" as the __________.

After the mass suicide related to the cult at Jonestown, people tended to blame the victims and accuse them of being psychologically unstable or deranged. Social psychologists are more likely to explain these mass suicides as being due to __________.

Aidan is trying to decide who would be the better roommate, Yushi or Lamar. Yushi has lots of money and a flat-screen TV to add to the apartment, but Lamar is really fun to hang out with. Aidan doesn't know other things, such as how tidy they are or how loud they are at night, but has to make his decision soon. This best illustrates which challenge of accurate social cognition?

When we commit the fundamental attribution error, we __________ the power of __________.