Deck 1: Introduction to Social Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of social influence?

A)You didn't do well on the test because you stayed up all night cramming.
B)You feel guilty because you persuaded your professor to raise your grade on an exam.
C)You almost fell asleep at the wheel,so you pull off the road to take a short nap.
D)You decide to postpone work because you like to sleep in.
E)When you are hungry,you have trouble concentrating.

Answer 1

You feel guilty because you persuaded your professor to raise your grade on an exam.

Question 2

One application of Ross's idea of naïve realism is to assist the negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis.How would understanding naïve realism potentially help these parties negotiate more successfully?

A)They would understand their religious differences and be able to communicate effectively.
B)Both sides would understand that their perceptions are biased,and try to be more objective.
C)The Palestinians would come to understand the historical occupation of Israel,and leave the West Bank.
D)Both sides would understand the role of culture in forming construals,and use conflict resolution skills appropriately.
E)Israelis would come to understand the historical perspective of Palestinians,and leave the West Bank.

Answer 2

Both sides would understand that their perceptions are biased,and try to be more objective.

Question 3

Research by Lee Ross suggests that even when people recognize that others perceive information differently,they persist in thinking that others are biased while they themselves are objective.This illustrates the idea of

A)social psychology.
B)naïve realism.
C)individual differences.
D)implicit values.
E)conflicting construals.

Answer 3

naïve realism.

Question 4

The word "construal" refers to

A)the way in which people perceive,comprehend,and interpret the social world.
B)information provided by other people.
C)imagined events.
D)social norms.
E)objective reality.

Question 5

Karen returns home from her first year of university,and is very proud of her GPA.She earned a 3.0 ("B")average.She's unhappily surprised to discover that her parents are disappointed that she didn't perform better.This situation best represents the power of ________ in explaining social behaviour.

A)socialization
B)interpersonal conflict
C)family dynamics
D)achievement motivation
E)construals

Question 6

Lee Ross describes the idea of "naïve realism" as

A)our conviction that we perceive things "as they really are."
B)the scientific study of the way in which people's thoughts,feelings,and behaviours are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people.
C)the way in which people perceive,comprehend,and interpret the social world.
D)the aspect of people's personalities that make them different from other people.
E)the naïve conviction that other people are usually correct in their perceptions.

Question 7

Jeremy is in love with Carol and views her temper as an endearing example of her "feistiness." Her coworkers,however,interpret Carol's temper as rude and insensitive.This example illustrates the power of love to influence our

A)construals.
B)behaviours.
C)relationships.
D)personality.
E)influence attempts.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of a direct persuasion attempt?

A)Ramona works hard in school to make her mother proud.
B)Jason moves from Calgary to P.E.I.and picks up a Maritimes accent.
C)Garin watches a romantic comedy to make his girlfriend happy.
D)Marianne thinks of her ex-boyfriend and becomes sad.
E)A bully threatens Billy and steals his lunch money.

Question 9

Ted likes Diane and smiles at her every chance he gets.Diane wonders why Ted is always smirking at her sarcastically and studiously avoids him.Ted thinks he's being friendly and cannot understand Diane's standoffishness; Diane thinks Ted is a jerk and cannot figure out why he won't give up.This situation best represents the power of ________ in explaining social behaviour.

A)construals
B)biases
C)beliefs
D)social influence
E)attitudes

Question 10

The task of the psychologist is to

A)explore the unconscious.
B)understand and predict behaviour.
C)explain physiological functioning.
D)understand the impact of economic factors.
E)predict future events.

Question 11

What is the general topic of most interest to social psychologists?

A)interpersonal relationships
B)social influence
C)anti-social behaviours
D)personality
E)attitudes and beliefs

Question 12

Which of the following professionals are most likely to rely on common sense?

A)social psychologists
B)sociologists
C)philosophers
D)personality psychologists
E)journalists

Question 13

Social psychologists differ from anthropologists and sociologists in that social psychologists

A)are concerned with people's construals of their social environments.
B)always use experiments.
C)advocate the use of common sense.
D)are reliant on the insights of philosophers.
E)are interested in how people are influenced by their social environments.

Question 14

Jamal was confused by his sister's relationship with her boyfriend.They just didn't seem to have anything in common."Oh well," Jamal decided,"I guess opposites really do attract." Jamal's explanation is an example of

A)philosophy.
B)folk wisdom.
C)social psychology.
D)rationalization.
E)sociology.

Question 15

Social psychologists use the term ________ to describe the way in which people perceive,comprehend,and interpret their social worlds.

A)perspective
B)construal
C)belief
D)assumption
E)social psychology

Question 16

Social psychology is defined as the scientific study of the way people's ________ are influenced by the ________ presence of other people.

A)thoughts and feelings; real or imagined
B)thoughts,feelings,and behaviour; real or imagined
C)behaviours; real
D)behaviours; imagined
E)thoughts and behaviour; imagined

Question 17

From across the room,J.T.sees his mother sigh and he approaches to give her a hug in the hopes of cheering her up.In this case,J.T.'s behaviour is an example of ________ social influence attempt.

A)an unintended
B)a direct
C)an ineffective
D)a covert
E)an indirect

Question 18

Social psychologists believe that the best way to predict how a person will behave is to know something about

A)the norms of the culture in which the person lives.
B)the person's childhood.
C)the person's socioeconomic status.
D)how the person perceives and interprets the social environment.
E)the person's enduring traits and dispositions.

Question 19

Which of the following is the best example of a construal?

A)whether or not a woman decides to marry
B)results of a political poll
C)the average age of people who vote for liberal candidates.
D)the number of people in the audience of The Jerry Springer Show
E)the aggressiveness of girls versus boys

Question 20

Not all social influence is direct or deliberate.Which of the following is the best example of more indirect or subtle social influence?

A)A political candidate delivers a speech to convince voters that she is not really liberal.
B)A parent disciplines his child by taking away her favorite toy.
C)Your friends try to persuade you to do something you don't really want to do.
D)An advertising campaign is launched to promote a new soft drink.
E)A student is exposed to new ideas in his courses,and rethinks his original attitudes.

Question 21

According to the authors of your text,one hazard of relying too heavily on folk wisdom is that

A)"common sense" is frequently wrong or oversimplified.
B)journalists and other communicators of "common sense" information are hopelessly biased.
C)"common sense" is useless to most social psychologists.
D)"common sense" is often indistinguishable from folk wisdom.
E)it is impossible to agree on what is "common sense."

Question 22

Why is it unwise to rely on folk wisdom in explaining human social behaviour?

A)The ideas of folk wisdom are not relevant to contemporary society.
B)Social psychologists rely too much on folk wisdom.
C)Folk wisdom is often wrong or oversimplified.
D)People who rely on folk wisdom fail to consider the social environment.
E)Folk wisdom requires careful empirical analysis.

Question 23

Social psychologists are most like ________ when they test their hunches about social behaviour.

A)physicists
B)journalists
C)pollsters
D)the general public
E)philosophers

Question 24

What does philosophy have in common with folk wisdom? Both

A)often contain contradictions,and it's difficult to know which explanation is right.
B)are often incorrect in their assumptions about social behaviour.
C)are often based on social norms.
D)often become outdated with rapid societal changes.
E)rely often on subjective construals.

Question 25

Consider the following pieces of folk wisdom: "Out of sight,out of mind" versus "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." These statements represent which of the following shortcomings of relying on common sense? The common sense of folk wisdom is often

A)irrational.
B)context-dependent.
C)based on personal experience.
D)full of contradictory assumptions.
E)concerned with assigning blame.

Question 26

Why is a scientific approach preferable to reliance on folk wisdom and common sense?

A)Common sense approaches focus on the situation and not on personality.
B)Common sense puts too much emphasis on personality.
C)Nothing useful can be learned from journalists,philosophers,or social critics.
D)Folk wisdom and common sense are filled with contradictions.
E)Science has tested and debunked most folk wisdom.

Question 27

Which of the following social phenomena would be of interest to both social psychologists and sociologists?

A)The relation between murder and social class.
B)The relationship between gender and homicide rates.
C)The variation of homicide rates across countries.
D)Teaching frustrated people alternatives to aggression.
E)The role of competition between groups in increasing aggression.

Question 28

A social psychologist is perplexed.Is it true that birds of a feather flock together,or do opposites attract? Confronted with these two contradictory pieces of folk wisdom,what is this social psychologist most likely to do?

A)Investigate the different situations in which each bit of common sense holds true.
B)Choose the explanation that makes more sense.
C)Ask his colleagues for their opinions.
D)Administer a questionnaire to see if some types of people fit into one category,while other types fit into the other category.
E)Choose a new topic for study.

Question 29

One of the tasks of the social psychologist is to

A)ignore the notion of human consciousness.
B)make educated guesses about specific situations.
C)seek agreement with one another.
D)use folk wisdom to understand the social world.
E)integrate folk wisdom into modern psychology.

Question 30

Your roommate left her homework on the couch,where you plan to watch TV.When you move her work,you notice that she is reading an article about how to decide whether someone really likes her.You conclude that your roommate is taking a class in

A)social psychology.
B)philosophy.
C)anthropology.
D)sociology.
E)political science.

Question 31

Consider the following research question: "Have no-fault divorce laws increased the rate of divorce in the United States?" This question would most likely be asked by

A)a sociologist.
B)a social psychologist.
C)a personality psychologist.
D)a lawyer.
E)a philosopher.

Question 32

When social psychologists want to test their hunches about why people help others,they are most likely to

A)ask their grandmothers.
B)conduct an experiment.
C)read philosophy.
D)look at social factors.
E)interview helpers and the recipients of help.

Question 33

Journalists,politicians,and our grandmothers are most likely to rely on ________ to explain social influence.

A)public opinion polls
B)empirical data
C)religious beliefs
D)idle speculation
E)common sense

Question 34

Professor Hume has spent the last 10 years studying the factors that cause individuals to aggress.She is most likely to be

A)a sociologist.
B)a philosopher.
C)an anthropologist.
D)an economist.
E)a social psychologist.

Question 35

When Prya and Mohammed returned home after a night on the town,they found their baby crying because her diaper needed to be changed.The babysitter was sitting in front of the television,ignoring the baby's crying.Mohammed and Prya decided that the babysitter was callous and uncaring,and they swore that they would never hire her again.Mohammed and Prya's interpretation of the babysitter's actions was based on

A)philosophy.
B)bias.
C)a deduction.
D)scientific methodology.
E)common sense.

Question 36

Social psychologists differ from journalists in that social psychologists

A)assume the worst about human nature.
B)analyze quotes from famous people.
C)are not concerned with social phenomena.
D)are not bound by a code of ethics.
E)rely on empirical arguments.

Question 37

The social science that focuses on "macro" variables like social class is

A)social psychology.
B)sociology.
C)anthropology.
D)philosophy.
E)economics.

Question 38

Which question about romantic relationships is a sociologist most likely to ask?

A)Do extraverts make better lovers?
B)Is the capacity to love one of humanity's greatest achievements?
C)Why does absence make the heart grow fonder?
D)Does attractiveness influence marriage satisfaction?
E)Why are marriage rates decreasing in the lower classes?

Question 39

Consider the following research question: "How has new computer technology changed the Canadian educational system?" This question is most likely to be asked by

A)a sociologist.
B)an anthropologist.
C)a personality psychologist.
D)a philosopher.
E)a social psychologist.

Question 40

Both social psychologists and sociologists are interested in aggression.Compared to sociologists,which of the following questions is a social psychologist most likely to ask?

A)What is the effect of hand gun laws on homicide rates in different regions?
B)Do prisons deter homicide?
C)Does increased policing lead to lower homicide rates?
D)Are homicide rates higher among members of the lower class?
E)When does frustration lead to aggression?

Question 41

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

A)overestimate; personality traits
B)overestimate; the situation
C)ignore; luck
D)underestimate; social influence
E)underestimate; personality traits

Question 42

In explaining social behaviour,why are the tendencies to overestimate personal forces and underestimate the power of situational forces referred to as the FUNDAMENTAL attribution error? Because this attributional bias

A)is the key to social influence.
B)is unavoidable.
C)the first step to identifying causes.
D)develops very early in childhood.
E)is common and widespread.

Question 43

How might a personality psychologist explain the mass murder-suicide of the members of the Order of The Solar Temple?

A)The group members came from poor socio-economic backgrounds.
B)An increasingly complex and mobile society creates confusion and a need to belong to a group at any cost.
C)The leaders' control over their followers increased slowly over time.
D)She wouldn't try to explain it; personality psychologists are not interested in murder-suicide.
E)People who are characteristically unstable join cults.

Question 44

Suzanna and April were playing in the den when April's mother entered the room and scolded them for making a mess.Suzanna decided then and there that April's mother was a grouch.Suzanna's inference is an example of

A)social cognition.
B)self-justification.
C)blame assignment bias.
D)a self-fulfilling prophecy.
E)the fundamental attribution error.

Question 45

Compared to social psychologists,personality psychologists are more likely to focus their attention on

A)subjective construals.
B)positive behaviours.
C)social norms.
D)ideas from philosophy.
E)individual differences.

Question 46

The tendency we all have to discount situational explanations of behaviour in favour of personality characteristics or traits is called

A)the character bias.
B)the discounting effect.
C)prejudice.
D)the blame assignment bias.
E)the fundamental attribution error.

Question 47

According to the text,which of the following statements is true regarding the difference between the way social psychologists approach the study of human behaviour and the approach others take?

A)Unlike philosophers,social psychologists study only the observable behaviours of people-not their inner thoughts and feelings.
B)Unlike sociologists,social psychologists adopt a scientific approach to the study of people.
C)Unlike philosophers,sociologists,and personality psychologists,social psychologists seek to predict human behaviour.
D)Unlike personality psychologists,social psychologists are less concerned with individual differences than with the influence of the social situation on behaviour.
E)Unlike clinical psychologists,social psychologists focus on the pathological.

Question 48

Sometimes when we encounter behaviour that is unpleasant or unexpected,we assume that something about the person-and not the situation-caused the behaviour.In this sense,we are most like

A)philosophers.
B)social psychologists.
C)anthropologists.
D)sociologists.
E)personality psychologists.

Question 49

Which of the following people have fallen prey to the fundamental attribution error?

A)Tim,who points to a person who fell down and says,"What a clumsy oaf!"
B)Sophie,who explains her poor exam performance by pointing out how hard the questions were.
C)Don,who attributes his loss in a chess game to bad luck.
D)Alex,who explains his girlfriend's tears by saying,"She didn't get enough sleep last night."
E)Beatriz,who points to an erratic driver and says,"Look at that! The roads are slick tonight."

Question 50

Which of the following questions is most likely to be asked by a social psychologist?

A)Are some characteristics genetically determined?
B)Do some types of people make better leaders than others?
C)What situations cause people to behave rudely?
D)Are some people more vulnerable to mental disorders?
E)Are some kinds of people more susceptible to recruitment into cults?

Question 51

Like social psychologists,personality psychologists focus on

A)the power of construals to shape human behaviour.
B)the cultural context.
C)social influence.
D)individual differences.
E)individuals rather than collectives or institutions.

Question 52

Concepts like "institutions," "sociometric status," and "social class" are most closely associated with

A)psychology.
B)sociology.
C)social work.
D)economics.
E)political science.

Question 53

Consider the following question about human nature: "Are authoritarian personalities more prejudiced than other people?" This question is most likely to be asked by

A)a philosopher.
B)a social psychologist.
C)an anthropologist.
D)a personality psychologist.
E)a sociologist.

Question 54

Professor Forster is a personality psychologist interested in divorce.Which question is she most likely to investigate?

A)Why are divorce rates higher among the better educated?
B)Are some types of people more likely to divorce than others?
C)Do children reduce the odds of divorce?
D)Does a national economic crisis influence divorce rates?
E)Have the changing roles of women contributed to divorce?

Question 55

Matt's server in the restaurant just can't seem to get his order right.If Matt had just read Chapter 1 on social influence and evaluates the situation like a social psychologist might,what is he most likely to think?

A)This person is a chronic idiot.
B)This person must have had a bad morning.
C)The server has a problem hearing.
D)Our educational system is failing us.
E)Human beings are inherently lazy.

Question 56

Which of the following is a shortcoming of a personality approach?

A)Research has not validated personality concepts like "extraversion" or "defense mechanisms."
B)There is no consistency in human behaviour.
C)Personality psychologists rely too much on philosophy.
D)Personality psychologists don't use the scientific method.
E)Personality psychologists underestimate the power of social influence.

Question 57

Given the nature of their training,________ would be least likely to commit the fundamental attribution error?

A)social psychologists
B)counseling psychologists
C)personality psychologists
D)sociologists
E)clinical psychologists

Question 58

Professor Gomez studies the relationship between introversion and depression.Professor Gomez is most likely to be

A)a sociologist.
B)an anthropologist.
C)a philosopher.
D)a social psychologist.
E)a personality psychologist.

Question 59

Whereas social psychologists focus on ________,personality psychologists focus on ________.

A)groups; individuals
B)how people are alike; how people are unique
C)societal forces; the individual
D)the individual; mental disorders
E)how people are unique; how people are alike

Question 60

Unlike social psychologists,personality psychologists are most concerned with

A)mental illness.
B)how people are like one another.
C)the individual as a unit of analysis.
D)how people differ from one another.
E)subjective experiences.

Question 61

The "father" of social psychology,Kurt Lewin,pointed out the importance of understanding how people ________ their social environments.

A)manipulate
B)structure
C)construe
D)dismiss
E)control

Question 62

Which of the following is a consequence of underestimating the power of social influence?

A)The social world is more predictable.
B)We tend to overcomplicate simple situations.
C)We become too confident.
D)We overestimate our vulnerability to social situations.
E)We develop a false sense of security.

Question 63

Your text describes an experiment in which students could choose to play competitively or cooperatively in a game either called the "Wall Street Game" or the "Community Game." Which of the following is a valid conclusion to reach based on the results of that experiment?

A)It takes major changes in the social environment to overcome the powerful influence of personality traits such as competitiveness.
B)Personality characteristics change from situation to situation.
C)Friends and acquaintances were better able to predict the behaviour of these students than were the psychologists.
D)Personality differences are not important when it comes to predicting behaviour.
E)Even seemingly trivial aspects of the social situation can greatly influence behaviour.

Question 64

Marta left a party feeling very upset.Rather than trying to recall each conversation she had during the party,Marta tried to explain her feelings by reflecting on the party as a whole.The process Marta used resembles the approach used by ________ psychologists.

A)behavioural
B)health
C)social
D)personality
E)Gestalt

Question 65

Social psychologists' emphasis on construals of social situations has its roots in ________ psychology.

A)Gestalt
B)personality
C)developmental
D)behavioural
E)cognitive

Question 66

If Professor Sharma defined social situations in terms of their objective physical properties,rather than their subjective properties,he would probably focus on _______ as determining behaviour.

A)interpretation
B)reinforcement and punishment
C)personality characteristics
D)emotion
E)Gestalt principles

Question 67

What do social psychologists mean by the expression "subjective situations"?

A)The random way in which people impose meaning on stimuli.
B)The combination of elements that compose a situation.
C)People's tendency to distort their interpretations of social situations.
D)The way that situations control people's behaviour.
E)The way a situation is interpreted by people.

Question 68

When Mark goes to give Jean a congratulatory pat on the back after a job well done,she jumps and turns away.Mark has just read Chapter 1,and fancies himself something of a Gestalt psychologist.What is he likely to think about Jean's behaviour?

A)Jean must really dislike me.
B)Jean must have been abused as a child.
C)What's her problem? A pat on the back is a reinforcer.
D)Jean must have low self-esteem.
E)Jean must have interpreted my gesture differently than I intended.

Question 69

Assume that Liberman,Samuels,and Ross (2004)randomly assigned participants previously identified as cooperative and participants identified as competitive to play a game that was labeled either the "Wall Street Game," or the "Community Game." Further assume 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.What would these findings suggest?

A)Cooperation and competition are based on personality characteristics that sometimes transcend social situations.
B)Cooperative participants in the Community Game caused their partners to respond in kind.
C)Competitive participants in the Wall Street Game caused their partners to respond in kind.
D)Social situations and personality characteristics are equally important.
E)Even minor aspects of a social situation can override personality differences.

Question 70

How would a social psychologist explain why some parents might fail to protect their children from the harm caused by cult leaders?

A)Parents vulnerable to stress or mental illnesses (such as depression)succumb to the influence of cults more than parents without these risk factors.
B)The leaders utilize mind control techniques to influence cult members' behaviour.
C)Situational factors and social influence techniques overwhelm the parents' resistance and judgment.
D)The parents are unfit to care for their children.
E)The parents lack the intelligence or education to evaluate the effects of the cult on themselves and their families.

Question 71

In trying to make sense of the mass murder-suicide of the members of the Order of the Solar Temple,a Gestaltist would probably

A)examine the external rewards and punishments used by the leaders.
B)ask about the childhood of the Temple followers.
C)ponder the subjective meaning of the act to Temple followers.
D)ask about the traumatic events in the lives of Temple followers.
E)consult a social psychologist.

Question 72

One of Kurt Lewin's boldest intellectual contributions to social psychology was

A)promoting the use of observational methods.
B)applying behavioural principles to the topic of social influence.
C)applying Gestalt principles to social perception.
D)investigating the impact of culture on behaviour.
E)reminding social psychologists that objective physical attributes of a social stimulus are important.

Question 73

According to the text,to conclude that cult members who commit mass suicide are "weak-minded" people who are particularly susceptible to influence is to

A)overestimate the strength of social forces which influence the behaviour of individuals.
B)commit the fundamental attribution error.
C)accurately identify the most important cause of their behaviour.
D)take a primarily sociological approach to understanding these events.
E)engage in counterfactual thinking.

Question 74

Because their intellectual roots lie in Gestalt psychology,social psychologists tend to focus on ________.

A)rewards and punishments
B)unconscious processing
C)personality differences
D)people's subjective interpretations
E)the effects of social behaviour

Question 75

According to the text,the problem with committing the fundamental attribution error is that

A)it ignores the fact that people may behave very differently in different situations (e.g.,be shy in some situations and outgoing in others).
B)it oversimplifies complex situations and thus decreases our understanding of the causes of behaviour.
C)we are often unaware of it.
D)it may lead you to underestimate your own vulnerability to social influence.
E)All of the above.

Question 76

Liberman,Samuels,and Ross (2004)found that people playing the "Wall Street Game" were ________ competitive than people playing the "Community Game," ________ individual differences in competitiveness and cooperativeness.

A)less; independent of
B)more; because of
C)less; despite
D)less; because of
E)more; independent of

Question 77

When Tiffany plays volleyball with her friends,she is a team player.When she goes bowling with them,she does her best to beat them.These observations suggest that

A)Tiffany is ambivalent about how she feels about her friends.
B)Tiffany's personality is unstable.
C)Tiffany thinks her friends are bad bowlers.
D)Tiffany is blindly obedient to the rules of the game.
E)Tiffany is responding to norms as a source of social influence.

Question 78

In their approach to understanding social behaviour,social psychologists are most similar to

A)personality psychologists.
B)sociologists.
C)Gestalt psychologists.
D)philosophers.
E)psychoanalysts.

Question 79

Recall that Liberman,Samuels,and Ross (2004)randomly assigned participants previously identified as either competitive or cooperative to one of two games: the "Wall Street Game," or the "Community Game." Also recall that fully twice as many players in the Wall Street Game behaved competitively compared to people who played the Community Game.What do these findings suggest?

A)True personality differences do not exist.
B)Even minor aspects of a social situation can override personality differences.
C)All the competitive people ended up in the Wall Street Game group by chance.
D)It is not important to study individual differences in personality.
E)All the competitive people ended up playing the Wall Street Game.

Question 80

The whole is different from the sum of its parts.This statement reflects a tenet of ________ psychology.

A)behavioural
B)functional
C)physiological
D)Gestalt
E)cognitive