Deck 4: Behaviour and Attitudes

Question 1

According to research,

A) people's expressed attitudes hardly predicted their varying behaviours.
B) students' attitudes toward cheating bore little relation to the likelihood of their actual cheating.
C) attitudes toward the church were only modestly linked with church attendance on any given Sunday.
D) all of the above.

Answer 1

all of the above.

Question 2

Susan and her classmates just finished the sex education portion of their health course in junior high school. The information that Susan learned helped her to decide that she doesn't want to engage in casual sexual relations and feels that they are wrong. According to research, her attitude on sexual relationships will lead to which of the following?

A) Her attitude will influence her behaviours and she will refrain from casual sex.
B) Her attitude is unlikely to influence later behaviours concerning casual sex.
C) Her attitude will strengthen over time and cause her to avoid all sexual relationships until she is married.
D) She will engage in casual sexual relations and behaviours opposite to her attitude because of cognitive dissonance.

Answer 2

Her attitude is unlikely to influence later behaviours concerning casual sex.

Question 3

An attitude is defined as ___________ toward someone or something.

A) a behaviour
B) an evaluative reaction
C) a single belief
D) an inclination

Answer 3

an evaluative reaction

Question 4

Research on which of the following has revealed that people sometimes express attitudes that the do not privately hold?

A) The principle of aggregation
B) Foot-in-the-door
C) The totalitarian ego
D) Bogus pipeline

Question 5

Appearing moral without being so, referred to as moral hypocrisy, is an example of the

A) conjunction between attitudes and behaviours.
B) disjuncture between attitudes and behaviours.
C) conjunction between beliefs and behaviours.
D) disjuncture between beliefs and behaviours.

Question 6

A person's attitude will be reflected in that person's

A) beliefs.
B) feelings.
C) intentions to act.
D) all of these choices.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the relationship between expressed attitudes and behaviour?

A) Expressed attitudes lead to behavioural intentions, which perfectly predict behaviours.
B) Past behaviours lead to behavioural intentions, which lead to expressed attitudes.
C) Expressed attitudes perfectly predict behaviours.
D) They are imperfectly related because both are subject to other influences.

Question 8

A prevailing assumption that underlies most teaching, counselling, and child rearing has been that

A) private attitudes determine behaviour.
B) private attitudes are unrelated to behaviour.
C) feelings, behaviours, and beliefs are always consistent.
D) feelings, behaviours, and beliefs are always inconsistent.

Question 9

Research suggests that we often do not do what we know and believe to be the right thing to do. Daniel Batson calls this phenomenon

A) moral dissonance.
B) overjustification.
C) ingratiation.
D) moral hypocrisy.

Question 10

In 1964, Leon Festinger concluded that the evidence to date

A) did not show that attitudes guide behaviour.
B) did show that attitudes guide behaviour.
C) was irrelevant to the attitude-behaviour relation.
D) None of these choices.

Question 11

In 1969 social psychologist Allan Wicker completed a review of dozens of research studies with the conclusion that people's stated attitudes expressed _______ of the variation in their behaviours.

A) very little
B) about half
C) most
D) virtually all

Question 12

In the ABCs of attitudes, "C" stands for

A) care.
B) connotation.
C) cognition.
D) concern.

Question 13

According to the text, tobacco company executives are able to live with themselves despite the link between smoking and ill health by publicly

A) acknowledging that they are simply trying to earn a living.
B) arguing that while smoking has adverse physical effects, it has positive psychological benefits.
C) defending the smoker's right to choose.
D) arguing that a third variable explains the relationship between smoking and ill health.

Question 14

In the ABCs of attitudes, "A" stands for

A) attitude.
B) attribution.
C) attraction.
D) affect.

Question 15

Research by Daniel Batson found that 1 in 20 students felt that assigning themselves a positive task and another participant a dull task was the most moral thing to do. When then given the opportunity to assign tasks,

A) 80% assigned themselves the positive task.
B) 50% assigned themselves the positive task.
C) 20% assigned themselves the positive task.
D) 5% assigned themselves the positive task.

Question 16

Which of the following statements correctly explains the bogus pipeline strategy?

A) Participants' expressed attitudes are interpreted to mean the exact opposite of their true attitudes.
B) Participants are deceived into believing that their true attitudes are being measured directly, so they do not distort their expressed attitudes.
C) Researchers ignore the participants' expressed attitudes and infer true attitudes from measures of arousal and tension.
D) Participants' responses are evaluated by a polygraph machine that provides a measure of deception and distortion.

Question 17

An attitude will be only weakly linked to behaviour when

A) the attitude is not very potent.
B) the behaviour is subject to lots of other influences.
C) the attitude and the behaviour are not measured at the same level of specificity.
D) all of these choices.

Question 18

Which of the following is a component of Peter's attitude toward classical music?

A) Peter believes that listening to classical music raises one's IQ.
B) Peter likes the fact that a local radio plays only classical music.
C) Peter buys classical music recordings with any extra money he earns.
D) All of these choices are part of Peter's attitude toward classical music.

Question 19

In 1969 Wicker reviewed studies of the attitude-behaviour relation. Results suggested that

A) attitudes toward cheating were not related to actual cheating.
B) attitudes toward the church were only modestly related to church attendance.
C) racial attitudes were not related to behaviour in actual situations.
D) all of these choices.

Question 20

"Moral hypocrisy" means

A) appearing to be moral without actually being so.
B) appearing to be moral without understanding.
C) having moral believes without showing it.
D) denying morality.

Question 21

Compared to attitudes formed passively, those forged in the fire of experience are more

A) unstable.
B) less thoughtful.
C) more resistant to attack.
D) more difficult to express verbally.

Question 22

You've just been promoted to the role of supervisor at work. You feel awkward and uncomfortable in your new position. Research on role-playing suggests

A) this discomfort will increase over time.
B) others will not treat you fairly in your new position.
C) over time you will get comfortable with your new role.
D) your attitude and feelings toward your new role will not change over time.

Question 23

If you want to increase the potency of your attitude toward helping the homeless, one of the most effective things you could do is

A) read about the problem of homelessness.
B) help out regularly at the local homeless shelter.
C) listen to inspirational tapes on the topic of helping the needy.
D) none of these choices.

Question 24

The term ________ refers to prescribed actions expected of those who occupy a particular social position.

A) constellation
B) intentions
C) role
D) status

Question 25

According to the theory of planned behaviour, one's attitude, perceived social norms, and ______ together determine one's intentions, which guide behaviour.

A) motivations
B) perceptions
C) feelings of control
D) judgment

Question 26

You are hosting a Weight Watchers party for people who have reached their goal weight. You want to provide tasty snacks, but you don't want to encourage over-eating, either. How could you arrange things to help your friends eat sensibly, in accord with their new attitudes toward eating?

A) Put the food in the kitchen, away from the main flow of people.
B) Spread the food out all over the house, on individual trays.
C) Put the food on a table that is placed directly underneath your large wall mirror in the dining room.
D) None of these choices.

Question 27

A lesson of role-playing studies is that

A) participants do not take them seriously.
B) what is unreal can evolve into what is real.
C) the results do not generalize the real world.
D) they are always unethical.

Question 28

Jack is tempted to shoplift an expensive camera even though he has a negative attitude about shoplifting. Jack is least likely to steal the camera if

A) his negative attitude about shoplifting was learned from his teachers.
B) he notices there are few customers in the store.
C) he carefully looks at himself in a mirror.
D) he has recently shoplifted items from other stores.

Question 29

Two possible conditions under which attitudes will predict behaviour are:

A) When we minimize other influences on our attitude statements and our behaviour.
B) When the attitude is specifically relevant to the observed behaviour.
C) Both A and B.
D) None of these choices.

Question 30

One prominent role given to us by our society is our __________.

A) sexuality.
B) gender.
C) personality.
D) temperament.

Question 31

The advantage of the bogus-pipeline technique is that it

A) eliminates the need for deception in attitude research.
B) guarantees anonymity of participants' responses.
C) yields an expressed attitude that is closer to the real one.
D) guarantees that the expressed attitude will lead to action.

Question 32

Our attitudes predict our actions when

A) other influences on our actions are minimized.
B) the attitude involved is specifically about the action.
C) we are conscious of our attitudes as we act.
D) all of these choices.

Question 33

Alice wonders if Justin really likes her. Since his behaviour toward her may be the result of other factors besides his real attitude, the best way for her to measure his true attitude is to

A) observe his average treatment of her over time.
B) see whether he invites her to a party this weekend.
C) notice how close he sits to her in psychology class.
D) observe his reaction to the question, "Don't you like me?"

Question 34

If your goal was to increase recycling of aluminium cans through persuasion, it would be best to argue

A) for the need to protect and preserve global resources.
B) for the benefits of recycling all recyclable products.
C) for the benefits of recycling aluminium cans.
D) for the long-term dangers to the environment if we don't recycle all recyclable products.

Question 35

The effects of an attitude on behaviour become more apparent when we look at a person's average behaviour over time. This fact describes

A) the principle of aggregation.
B) regression toward the average.
C) the principle of information integration.
D) the principle of reciprocal averages.

Question 36

Studies of the relationship between self-consciousness and attitudes suggest that if you are making a decision and suddenly are induced to feel self-conscious, you will be more likely to

A) take action that is consistent with your attitudes.
B) take action that is inconsistent with your attitudes.
C) momentarily forget and fail to act on your attitudes.
D) be more vulnerable to external influences on your attitudes.

Question 37

James is a Caucasian male who is involved in a study that is testing racial attitudes. He has been overtly asked what his attitudes about Aboriginal populations are, and then given a reaction time test where he has to select positive words that correspond to Aboriginal or Caucasian faces. This latter test is an example of what method of assessing racial attitudes?

A) bona fide pipeline
B) bogus pipeline
C) implicit association test
D) reactive attitude test

Question 38

When the measured attitude is general and the behaviour is very specific, we _________ expect a close correspondence between words and actions. Attitudes _______ predict behaviour in 26 studies in which the measured attitude was directly pertinent to the situation.

A) should; did not
B) should not; did
C) should not; did not
D) should; did

Question 39

Attitudes are more potent when

A) they are acquired from our parents.
B) they are acquired as a result of direct experience with the attitude object.
C) we are not self-conscious about them.
D) the attitude is general and the behaviour is specific.

Question 40

Snyder and Swann asked male students to act as jurors in a sex discrimination case. The men's previously recorded attitudes ended up predicting their verdicts only if they

A) recorded their verdicts in writing.
B) were first instructed to recall their attitudes.
C) were asked to decide quickly and impulsively.
D) first discussed their opinions with the rest of the group.

Question 41

In a study by Freedman and Fraser, Californians were found to be more willing to agree to post an ugly "Drive Carefully" sign prominently in their front yards if they

A) were offered a small compensation for their effort.
B) had previously scored high on a survey of attitudes favouring more stringent traffic laws.
C) had earlier complied with a smaller request to display a safe-driving window sign.
D) had first refused to comply with a smaller request to sign a safe-driving petition.

Question 42

According to the foot-in-the-door principle, if you get someone to agree to a small request, he or she will

A) later comply with a larger request.
B) expect you to return the favour later.
C) experience reactance and refuse requests for all later favours.
D) see himself or herself as altruistic and do similar favours for other people.

Question 43

Children seem more likely to internalize their decisions to obey rules when the deterrent they are threatened with is ________ and they are given ________.

A) strong; no choice about how to behave
B) mild; no choice about how to behave
C) mild; a choice about how to behave
D) strong; a reward for obeying the rules

Question 44

Experiments suggest that if you want people to do a big favour for you, one technique is to get them to do a small favour first; this is known as the _________________ technique.

A) insufficient justification
B) overjustification
C) foot-in-the-door
D) door-in-the-face

Question 45

Marty wants Lee to like him. According to the attitudes-follow-behaviour principle, what should Marty do?

A) Do Lee a favour.
B) Get Lee to do him a favour.
C) Become good friends before asking for any favours.
D) Do Lee's friend a favour.

Question 46

Zanna and Pack found that gender roles ___________ our actions.

A) shape
B) don't affect
C) and sexuality do not
D) and social status do not

Question 47

A sales representative comes to your home and asks you to try a water filter system for a week, absolutely free, so you agree. The rep returns the next week and offers you an expensive contract to continue to rent the system and you agree. You are most clearly a victim of

A) self-monitoring.
B) the overjustification effect.
C) the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
D) impression management.

Question 48

According to the text, which of the following is the practical lesson from research on the foot-in-the-door phenomenon?

A) Before agreeing to a small request, think about what may follow.
B) Never agree to small requests.
C) Never trust door-to-door salespeople.
D) Don't make commitments.

Question 49

You agree to buy a new computer at a terrific price. Then the sales associate charges you for software you thought was included in the original package. You've been

A) victimized by the overjustification effect.
B) low-balled.
C) victimized by post-decision dissonance.
D) All of these choices.

Question 50

Sally has recently started to tease and hurt her sister. If this behaviour continues it is likely that Sally will

A) develop an increasing dislike for her sister.
B) experience a loss of personal control.
C) show a significant loss of self-esteem.
D) fall victim to the overjustification effect.

Question 51

A group of Queen's University "frosh" (first-year students) are taught songs and chants about the superiority of Queen's University. One month later, they have negative attitudes toward all other universities. This is likely due to

A) the effects of potent attitudes on behaviour.
B) the saying-becomes-believing effect.
C) the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
D) none of these choices.

Question 52

People who stopped to buy a cookie at a bake sale were told "Thank you for supporting your local women's centre." They were more likely to respond to a later appeal for donations for the women's centre than people who had not been to the bake sale. This illustrates

A) the foot-in-the-door phenomenon
B) the recency effect
C) classical conditioning
D) the power of selective exposure to information.

Question 53

For the foot-in-the-door principle to work, the initial compliance-signing a petition, wearing a lapel pin, stating one's intention-must be

A) granted without much thought.
B) voluntary.
C) socially approved.
D) granted to a powerful authority figure.

Question 54

Freedman asked young children not to play with an enticing robot toy by threatening some with severe punishment and others with only a mild penalty. Much later the same children had an opportunity to play with the robot again, this time with no threat of punishment. Results showed that the children

A) given the mild deterrent were first to play with the robot.
B) given the mild deterrent mostly resisted playing with it.
C) who played with the robot later feared being punished.
D) previously given the severe threat showed a great deal of anxiety when they neared the robot.

Question 55

The fact that we are prone to adjust our messages to our listeners and then believe the altered message defines the

A) bogus pipeline.
B) saying-becomes-believing effect.
C) hindsight bias.
D) foot-in-the-door phenomenon.

Question 56

The text cites evil resulting from gradually escalating commitments as an example of

A) the attitudes-follow-behaviour principle.
B) the effects of the low-ball technique.
C) how saying becomes believing.
D) the overjustification effect.

Question 57

The low-ball technique is a strategy for

A) improving one's self-concept.
B) measuring a person's attitude.
C) reducing physical aggression.
D) getting people to agree to something.

Question 58

Which of the following statements about the effects of moral and immoral action is correct?

A) Just as immoral actions corrode the conscience of those who perform them, moral actions affect the actor in positive ways.
B) People induced to act in evil ways quickly renounce this pattern, while those coaxed to do good continue the pattern.
C) Moral acts are internalized only if they are prompted by significant rewards or threats.
D) None of these choices.

Question 59

After Gertrude reluctantly agreed to type her boyfriend's psychology term paper, he told her it might actually be 75 pages long. Gertrude appears to be a potential victim of

A) self-monitoring.
B) the low-ball technique.
C) the overjustification effect.
D) the lure technique.

Question 60

Disparaging an innocent victim leads an aggressor to justify further hurtful behaviour. Research studies show that this pattern occurs especially when the aggressor

A) identifies with the victim as similar to himself or herself.
B) engages in verbal but not physical aggression.
C) is coerced into the attack by threats from superiors.
D) is coaxed but not threatened or coerced into aggression.

Question 61

Impression management is to _______________ as cognitive dissonance is to _____________.

A) overjustification; insufficient justification
B) Bem; Festinger
C) self-monitoring; self-presentation
D) self-presentation; self-justification

Question 62

Which of the following is cited in the text as an example of how changing behaviour can alter attitudes?

A) integrated schools
B) prohibition
C) laws against vagrancy
D) capital punishment legislation

Question 63

Yolanda works for the Department of Motor Vehicles in the Canadian government and has developed a new legislation that requires yearly vehicle inspections and mandatory glass replacements for any damage to a vehicle's windshield or windows. According to the principles in your text, which outcome is most likely?

A) The public will resist the new law, and will continue to oppose it in years to come.
B) The public will resist the new law, but will come to offer more support for it in the future.
C) The public will accept the new law, but will come to oppose it in years to come.
D) The public will accept the new law, and come to strongly support it in the future.

Question 64

The magnitude of the felt dissonance is greater when

A) there is insufficient justification for the behaviour.
B) there is overjustification for the behaviour.
C) there is no choice over the behaviour.
D) there are others engaged in the same behaviour.

Question 65

Findings indicate that since seatbelt use has been made mandatory, the percentage of people favouring mandatory seatbelt laws has

A) declined slightly.
B) increased.
C) increased only in Ontario.
D) remained essentially unchanged.

Question 66

Sophie, a highly competent company accountant, tells her boss, Scott, that the business plan Scott has just started is irrational, given the latest sales figures. Scott decides that Sophie doesn't know her job and continues to implement his plan. Scott may have been affected by

A) self-monitoring.
B) the principle of aggregation.
C) cognitive dissonance.
D) intrinsic motivation.

Question 67

Dissonance is

A) an uncomfortable state of tension.
B) a stimulating state of arousal.
C) an enjoyable state of uncertainty.
D) a frightening state of consistency.

Question 68

Historians suggest that in Nazi Germany, citizens who were reluctant to support the Nazi regime experienced a profound inconsistency between their private beliefs and

A) running a private business in Germany.
B) enrolling their children in German schools.
C) reciting the public greeting "Heil Hitler" as a conformist greeting.
D) saluting the German flag but not the swastika.

Question 69

Which theory assumes that we observe our actions for clues about our own attitudes and beliefs?

A) self-presentation
B) cognitive dissonance
C) self-justification
D) self-perception

Question 70

No one wants to look foolishly inconsistent according to _______________ theory.

A) self-perception
B) self-justification
C) self-presentation
D) social orientation

Question 71

Which of the following is not an effective component of a brainwashing program?

A) Escalating very gradually the demands made of the prisoner
B) Offering large bribes for compliance with requests
C) Eliciting regular participation from the prisoner rather than allowing him or her to be a passive recipient of propaganda
D) Having prisoners write self-criticism or utter public confessions

Question 72

An analysis of social movements suggests that

A) totalitarian attitudes determine genocidal behaviour.
B) attitudes often follow behaviour.
C) attitudes are rarely influenced by behaviour at the level of social movements.
D) brainwashing has no psychological basis.

Question 73

Creating a Canadian identity in children by teaching them to sing O Canada is an example of

A) social reinforcement.
B) using public conformity to build a private belief.
C) low-balling.
D) the "birds of a feather flock together" phenomenon.

Question 74

Findings on attitudes and behaviour suggest that a social psychology professor could improve her students' attitudes toward her by

A) lecturing them about their poor behaviour.
B) buying doughnuts for them.
C) ending classes early.
D) asking them to do a small favour for her.

Question 75

We experience dissonance when we have

A) made a decision between two equally attractive alternatives.
B) acted in ways that are not consistent with previously stated attitudes.
C) insufficient justification for performing a costly act.
D) all of these choices.

Question 76

Festinger and Carlsmith had experimental participants perform a dull task but paid them to lie by telling a prospective participant that the task had been enjoyable. Results showed that the participants who were paid _____ came to believe the task had been ________________.

A) $1; tedious and boring
B) $1; interesting and enjoyable
C) $20; interesting and enjoyable
D) $1; frightening

Question 77

Though she is opposed to capital punishment, Lisa is asked to give a speech in favour of it to round out a class debate. Dissonance theory predicts that her true attitude will undergo the most change if she

A) makes a speech implying capital punishment is really wrong.
B) agrees to give the speech but only if she tells both sides.
C) agrees to give the speech without special incentives.
D) agrees to give the speech for a large reward.

Question 78

People sometimes internalize their behaviour as genuine attitude changes. Which of these theories do social psychologists use to explain this phenomenon?

A) impression management
B) cognitive dissonance
C) self-perception
D) all of these choices

Question 79

Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that we experience _____________ when our beliefs are _______________.

A) fear; uncertain
B) pleasure; inconsistent
C) tension; inconsistent
D) arousal; consistent

Question 80

Research on dissonance theory suggests that the attitudes-follow-behaviour effect is strongest when

A) people have some choice in their behaviour.
B) the behaviour has undesirable consequences.
C) the person feels they should have foreseen the consequences of their behaviour.
D) all of these choices.