Deck 1: The Revealing Science of Social Psychology

Question 1

The belief that social behavior is shaped by experiences is reflective of:

A)psychoanalytic theory.
B)evolutionary theory.
C)the social cognitive perspective.
D)behaviorism.

Answer 1

behaviorism.

Question 2

Carlos is a deeply introverted person.However,at a party with several of his friends he ends up talking more than he normally would.Nevertheless,he still talks less than most of his friends.What is the best explanation of Carlos's behavior in this case?

A)his genetic make-up
B)the situation that he is in
C)his disposition
D)the interaction of the situation and his disposition

Answer 2

the interaction of the situation and his disposition

Question 3

What phenomena were behaviorists primarily interested in measuring?

A)mental states
B)observable behaviors
C)neurological reflexes
D)unconscious drives

Answer 3

observable behaviors

Question 4

The earliest treatments of social psychology (such as the theories of Spencer and McDougall)tended to emphasize:

A)a view of humans as driven by unconscious motivation.
B)an instinct-based view of human behavior.
C)a view of humans as machinelike information processors.
D)a reinforcement-centered view of humans as learning from experience.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT one of the major perspectives that provides an integrated view of human social behavior in contemporary social psychology?

A)the existential perspective
B)the evolutionary perspective
C)the instinct-based perspective
D)the cognitive perspective

Question 6

From the social cognitive perspective,what is the primary metaphor for understanding human beings?

A)a tumultuous storm of conflicting drives
B)a blank slate
C)an information processor
D)a social animal

Question 7

What is the term for the way an individual understands his or her social world?

A)social cognition
B)the existential perspective
C)embodied cognition
D)a priori causal theory

Question 8

Which of the following techniques of measurement is NOT considered a tool of the neuroscience perspective in social psychology?

A)brain imaging
B)assessing cardiovascular functioning
C)assessing people's behaviors
D)measuring brain waves

Question 9

Behaviorists emphasize that human behavior is driven primarily by:

A)unconscious motivation.
B)instinct.
C)cognitive processes.
D)learning from past experiences.

Question 10

Which of the following is true of the very first social psychology textbook?

A)It was inspired by Herbert Spencer's extensions of Darwin's ideas about evolution.
B)It was inspired by the events of World War II.
C)It ignored the role of experience in behavior.
D)It ignored the role of instinct in behavior.

Question 11

Consistent preferences,ways of thinking,and behavioral tendencies that manifest across different situations and over time are referred to as:

A)dispositions.
B)situational influences.
C)selves.
D)core attitudes.

Question 12

While social psychology in the first half of the 20th century tended to stress _____,social psychology from the second half of the 20th century to the present stresses _____.

A)an instinct-based approach;a behaviorist approach
B)a behaviorist approach;an instinct-based approach
C)specific,topic-based theories;broad views of human sociality
D)broad views of human social behavior;specific,topic-based theories

Question 13

Which of the following assumptions is NOT one of the four core assumptions of social psychology?

A)Behavior is determined exclusively by situations.
B)Virtually all human thought is social in nature.
C)Social cognition has a strong influence on social behavior.
D)The scientific method is essential for understanding the roots of social behavior.

Question 14

Which of the following is the best example of the "power of the situation"?

A)U)S.citizens vary in the extent to which they conform to the norms of their culture.
B)Everyone in a library tends to be quiet.
C)Extraverted people are more likely than introverted people to talk at a party.
D)A person tends to have a stable identity that is constant through different environments.

Question 15

The concept of adaptation is most central for which influential perspective in contemporary social psychology?

A)the existential perspective
B)the evolutionary perspective
C)the neuroscience perspective
D)the cultural perspective

Question 16

Which of the following events had a major influence on the history of social psychology?

A)the economic crisis of the 1970s
B)World War II
C)the Cold War
D)the development of institutional care for people with severe personality disorders

Question 17

What is social psychology?

A)the scientific study of society as a psychological entity (i.e. ,society as a motivated agent)
B)the scientific study of how individual differences in social-emotional functioning drive a person's behavior across a variety of situations
C)the scientific study of the causes and consequences of people's thoughts,feelings,and actions,regarding themselves and other people
D)the scientific study of the relationships between,and development of,different societies

Question 18

What does it mean to say that humans are cultural animals?

A)Humans create their own symbolic conception of reality.
B)Humans tend to live socially in groups.
C)Humans in different groups around the world are hostile toward members of other groups.
D)Humans are actually driven by instincts.

Question 19

Jeremiah has become deeply depressed because he feels as if his life has no meaning.Which of the perspectives in contemporary social psychology is BEST suited to help us understand Jeremiah's experience?

A)the existential perspective
B)the evolutionary perspective
C)the social cognition perspective
D)the neuroscience perspective

Question 20

The notion that much of human social behavior is driven by forces outside of conscious awareness is critical to which perspective?

A)the psychoanalytic perspective
B)the behaviorist perspective
C)the social cognition perspective
D)the evolutionary perspective

Question 21

Leleti believes that her friend spilled soda all over her backpack in order to get revenge for a remark Leleti made a few days ago,even though her friend claims that the incident was an accident.Leleti is making a:

A)correlational observation.
B)causal attribution.
C)third variable assumption.
D)social comparison.

Question 22

Within the scientific method,a theory is:

A)a narrative about the origin of some psychological trait.
B)an explanation (potentially false)that people give for their own behavior.
C)an explanation for how and why variables are related to each other.
D)a prediction about what will occur given certain specified conditions.

Question 23

In a famous study,participants were told they were "teachers" in an experiment who were going to give instructions to a "learner." When the learner failed to do well,the participants were ordered to give the learner electric shocks.The learner was actually an actor working for the study organizers,and not a real participant.The learner in this study was what is called:

A)a confederate.
B)a research assistant.
C)an experimenter.
D)an ersatz-participant.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a reason why researchers are often skeptical about people's self-reported accounts and explanations of their own behavior?

A)People often don't tell the truth.
B)People sometimes repress unpleasant information.
C)People often rely on a priori causal theories to explain their behavior.
D)People have internal access to the processes that lead to their thoughts,judgments,and preferences.

Question 25

Emiliano believes that dogs are better than cats.One day,he decides to search the internet to see if his opinion is rooted in fact.He reads several articles that consider all sides of the matter,presenting a rather blurry picture of whether humans should prefer the company of dogs or cats.What does research suggest Emiliano is most likely to conclude based on reading all this new information?

A)Dogs are better than cats.
B)Cats are better than dogs.
C)Both animals should be loved equally.
D)There is no way to answer the question definitively.

Question 26

What is the definition of cultural knowledge?

A)a store of information accumulated in a culture,about how the world works
B)our understanding of a given culture using the scientific method
C)the way in which people understand themselves through comparison with others
D)people's consistent preferences and ways of thinking that are consistent across situations and time

Question 27

Lord and colleagues had psychology students read about two studies on the social impact of capital punishment.One study seemed to confirm that the death penalty is effective as a crime deterrent,while the other study suggested that it is not effective.Students on both sides of the debate came away holding their initial positions even more strongly than before.This finding is evidence of:

A)social comparison.
B)confirmation bias.
C)causal attribution.
D)hypocrisy.

Question 28

Researchers Nisbett and Wilson found that when shoppers were asked to choose among different silk stockings,the primary factor influencing their decision was the positioning of the stockings on the table.However,when asked why they chose the stockings they chose,the shoppers generated a variety of different reasons but never mentioned the positioning of the stockings.This finding is evidence that:

A)a behaviorist perspective provides the most insight into psychology.
B)people rely on a priori causal theories to explain their behavior.
C)people are the best sources of information about their own behavior.
D)cultural knowledge is generally accurate.

Question 29

In the scientific method,_____ are derived from _____,in order to test the accuracy of the latter.

A)hypotheses;theories
B)theories;hypotheses
C)experiments;correlations
D)hypotheses;experiments

Question 30

Which of the following instances is an example of the way we use social comparisons to self-evaluate?

A)An instructor provides personal feedback on a test.
B)A person shooting rolled-up paper balls into a wastebasket is able to make three baskets.
C)A child thinks about how tall she is by looking around at the other children in her classroom.
D)A mother decides that her son is her favorite person in the world.

Question 31

Akira got in a car accident recently.After assessing the situation,he believes that the accident was the other driver's fault.Akira now pays close attention to the behavior of other drivers,trying to anticipate how their mistakes might cause an accident.What does this example BEST demonstrate?

A)the importance of an evolutionary perspective
B)our reliance on social comparison
C)the power of the situation
D)the powerful influence of social cognition

Question 32

Lucas has never seen a "germ," and he also hasn't read any of the medical research supporting germ theory.However,Lucas believes that if he catches a cold,it is because of a germ.Lucas is relying on _____ to understand how colds happen.

A)an existential perspective
B)confirmation bias
C)cultural knowledge
D)the scientific method

Question 33

What is one of the ultimate conclusions to be drawn from Nisbett and Wilson's research demonstrating people's limitations in explaining their own behavior?

A)While people have access to the products of their thought processes,they have little access to those processes themselves.
B)Dispositional factors are more important than situational factors in determining how people behave.
C)Situational factors are more important than dispositional factors in determining the explanations people give for their own behavior.
D)Most people have surprisingly strong powers of introspection.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a reason why people are often limited in their ability to explain the causes of others' behavior?

A)The act of observing behavior might change it.
B)People are biased toward trying to confirm what they already believe and expect.
C)People's observations come from a limited,idiosyncratic perspective.
D)People spend as much cognitive energy as possible trying to uncover why a given situation happened.

Question 35

Confirmation bias is:

A)the tendency to be more positive than negative when processing social input.
B)the tendency to process information in a manner that conforms to what we desire and expect.
C)a form of prejudice based on familiarity with outgroup members.
D)an automatically higher level of agreement with everything that is being said to one at the moment.

Question 36

Which aspect of social psychology MOST distinguishes it from many other ways of understanding the causes and consequences of people's social behavior,such as philosophy or general cultural knowledge?

A)the idea that humans are inherently social
B)an emphasis on the scientific method
C)a sense that people's dispositions play a major role in determining their behavior
D)the use of observations from the real world to form assumptions

Question 37

The fact that people tend to latch onto quick and easy answers to questions,rather than expending much mental effort,has led researchers to conclude that people are:

A)social cognizers.
B)introspective.
C)cognitive misers.
D)intuitive scientists.

Question 38

A study demonstrated that if a participant is being interviewed by a person who taps her feet,the participant is also more likely to tap his feet;and if he is being interviewed by a person who scratches her head,the participant is also more likely to scratch his head.Which principle does this finding BEST demonstrate?

A)People are biased toward trying to confirm what they already know.
B)The act of observing behavior can change that behavior.
C)People develop a priori causal theories to explain their behavior.
D)People are cognitive misers.

Question 39

Which theory suggests that people are like "intuitive scientists," using reasoning and observation to understand the nature of the social world?

A)social cognition theory
B)social comparison theory
C)behaviorism
D)attribution theory

Question 40

The process whereby scientists observe events,look for patterns,and evaluate theories proposed to explain those patterns is referred to as:

A)research.
B)a priori causal theory.
C)intuitive knowledge.
D)causal attribution.

Question 41

The third variable problem refers to the fact that:

A)experiments allow researchers to assess relationships between independent variables,dependent variables,and third variables.
B)almost all phenomena in social psychology are driven by the interaction between three identifiable variables.
C)a correlation between two variables may be driven by their mutual association with another variable.
D)researchers in social psychology tend to statistically investigate the relationships between only three variables at a time.

Question 42

A researcher believes that the more neurotic a person is,the more that person will tend to experience negative emotions.This is an example of a:

A)third variable problem.
B)experimental/causal hypothesis.
C)correlational hypothesis.
D)theory.

Question 43

Which of the following statements is most accurate?

A)A given theory should generate multiple hypotheses.
B)A given hypothesis should only generate one theory.
C)If a hypothesis derived from a theory is disproven,then the theory itself should be discarded.
D)Theories cannot be revised once they have been used.

Question 44

Which of the following statements is true regarding the finding that there is a negative correlation among stigmatized group members between stigma consciousness and GPA?

A)It allows us to conclude that stigma consciousness and GPA are completely unrelated variables.
B)It is consistent with a hypothesis that can be derived from the theory of stereotype threat.
C)It strongly suggests that a person's level of stigma consciousness causally determines their GPA.
D)It suggests that if we know a person's level of stigma consciousness,we can predict with near-perfect accuracy what their GPA will be.

Question 45

Which one of the following statements is FALSE?

A)Some hypotheses can be effectively tested using a correlational approach.
B)A correlation between two variables may be primarily driven by a third variable that is associated with both.
C)Correlation does not imply causation.
D)Two variables do not need to be correlated with each other for one to have a causal influence on the other.

Question 46

What is the most general term for the type of research in which two or more variables are measured and compared,to determine the extent to which they are associated?

A)the experimental method
B)the correlational method
C)quasi-experimental design
D)random assignment

Question 47

What is a reason posited by stereotype threat theory for shortfalls in performance by members of stigmatized groups?

A)Members of stigmatized groups are threatening to members of majority groups,who then stereotype the stigmatized group members.
B)Because of constant exposure to stereotypes,members of stigmatized groups have stopped caring about their performance.
C)Members of stigmatized groups experience more threats on a day-to-day basis.
D)Situations that remind stigmatized group members of negative stereotypes about their group cause them to worry about their performance.

Question 48

In their research on stereotype threat,Pinel and colleagues found a negative correlation among stigmatized group members between stigma consciousness and GPA.This study was designed as a test of which of the following hypotheses?

A)The more a person is conscious of the negative stereotype of his or her group,the worse that person will perform in areas related to the stereotype.
B)Situations that make a negative stereotype of a person's group prominent in the person's mind will lead to worse performance than situations that do not.
C)People who belong to a stereotyped group will be more likely than those who don't to have a low GPA.
D)Being aware of stigmatization of one's group generally leads to an inflated sense of GPA.

Question 49

The content of research observations that have been repeatedly found by many researchers is called a:

A)fact.
B)theory.
C)hypothesis.
D)explanation.

Question 50

According to stereotype threat theory,why will a member of a group that is negatively stereotyped for performance on a task feel threatened when he or she is performing that task?

A)The group member will worry that their performance might reflect on the whole group.
B)The group member will desire to confirm the stereotype.
C)The group member will encounter direct stereotypes from members of other groups while performing the task.
D)It is objectively more difficult for members of that group to perform well on such a task.

Question 51

A researcher finds a substantial negative correlation between a measure of anxiety and a measure of life satisfaction.How should we interpret the relationship between these variables?

A)There is no relationship between anxiety and life satisfaction.
B)The higher a person scores on anxiety,the higher they score on life satisfaction.
C)The higher a person scores on anxiety,the lower they score on life satisfaction.
D)Anxiety reduces life satisfaction.

Question 52

In science,_____ are the content of the observations that have been made and replicated by scientists,while _____ are the explanations given by scientists for that content.

A)studies;hypotheses
B)hypotheses;studies
C)facts;theories
D)theories;facts

Question 53

The reverse causality problem refers to what phenomenon?

A)The fact that when a correlation is found between two variables,it may be impossible to determine which variable causes the other
B)The fact that people's thoughts about the future can influence their present behaviors
C)The fact that people will explain their own behavior by relying on culturally common theories or factors that happen to be salient at the moment
D)The fact that there are many situations in which variables influence each other in a reciprocal fashion

Question 54

A positive or negative value that shows the strength and direction of the association between two variables is referred to as a:

A)point estimate.
B)dependent variable.
C)conceptual replication.
D)correlation coefficient.

Question 55

An if-then statement that specifies what the relationships between variables should be like if a theory is correct is called a:

A)correlation coefficient.
B)hypothesis.
C)research question.
D)causal attribution.

Question 56

Jacob is a male blue-collar worker attending a group therapy session.He knows that people from his background are thought of as not being in touch with their feelings and having quick tempers.During the session,he worries about how he will appear,and he ends up getting angry and losing his temper as a result of this anxiety.Jacob's case is an example of:

A)a cognitive miser.
B)stereotype threat.
C)demand characteristics.
D)confirmation bias.

Question 57

If two psychological variables are correlated at r = +1.0,this probably means that:

A)the two variables are measuring the same underlying construct.
B)the two variables are completely independent of one another.
C)the two variables are moderately related.
D)the higher you score on one variable,the lower you score on the other.

Question 58

Which of the following sequences BEST demonstrates the cycle of theory and research in science?

A)Hypothesis → Theory→ Revised Theory → Research Outcome
B)Theory → Hypothesis → Revised Theory → Research Outcome
C)Hypothesis → Theory → Research Outcome → Revised Theory
D)Theory → Hypothesis → Research Outcome → Revised Theory

Question 59

A researcher finds that self-esteem is positively correlated with academic performance.What can the researcher conclude,from this fact,about the causal relationship between these variables?

A)High self-esteem causes people to perform better academically.
B)People who perform better academically have higher self-esteem as a result.
C)High self-esteem and academic performance both have causal influence on each other.
D)It is impossible to conclude anything about the causal relationship between these variables based on the given data.

Question 60

Scientists propose that the evolution of species occurs through the process of natural selection.If this is correct,then it should follow that if two groups of fruit flies from the same species are kept in radically different environments,genetic differences will emerge between the two groups over successive generations.In this example,the statement about how members of the same fruit fly species will begin to differ can be referred to as:

A)a theory.
B)an a priori causal theory.
C)a hypothesis.
D)research.

Question 61

_____ methods are preferable for determining causal relationships between variables,but_____ methods are preferable for determining the influence of personality or dispositional variables.

A)Correlational;longitudinal
B)Longitudinal;correlational
C)Correlational;experimental
D)Experimental;correlational

Question 62

When we randomly assign participants to different conditions of a variable,we are creating a(n):

A)independent variable.
B)dependent variable.
C)independent and a dependent variable.
D)correlation coefficient.

Question 63

A pattern of results in which the effect of one independent variable on a dependent variable depends on the level of another independent variable is referred to as:

A)a main effect.
B)a correlation.
C)a correlation coefficient.
D)an interaction.

Question 64

Which of the following problems is not primarily solved by random assignment to a condition?

A)the third variable problem
B)the causal sequence problem
C)the fact that participants might differ in their level of the dependent variable prior to the study
D)the fact that random factors experienced by different participants the day of the study might contribute to their scores on the dependent variable

Question 65

Research demonstrates that when black and white students are reminded of their race (or not)before taking a test,black students,but not white students,show lowered performance in the condition where they are reminded of their race.This result shows:

A)a general effect of race on test performance.
B)a general effect of the extent to which people are thinking about their race on test performance.
C)an interaction between race of participant and the extent to which people are thinking about their race before a test.
D)a correlation between racial identity and the extent to which one is thinking about their race prior to a test.

Question 66

A quasi-experiment is a:

A)study in which naturally occurring groups of participants are compared on a dependent variable without random assignment.
B)study in which only half of the participants can be randomly assigned to a condition.
C)set of studies that include both experimental and correlational components.
D)study in which two independent variables interact to produce changes in the dependent variable.

Question 67

_____ refers to the judgment that for a particular experiment,it is possible to conclude that the independent variable caused the change in the dependent variable.

A)Internal validity
B)Operationalization
C)Construct validity
D)External validity

Question 68

In an experiment,participants are randomly assigned to different levels of the:

A)independent variable.
B)dependent variable.
C)independent and dependent variables.
D)third variable.

Question 69

What is the best research method for determining whether one variable has a causal influence on another?

A)a longitudinal study
B)an experiment
C)a correlational study
D)a quasi-experiment

Question 70

A study was conducted showing that the amount of violent television watched in childhood positively predicted the number of aggressive acts committed in adulthood.This study is BEST considered an example of a(n):

A)longitudinal design.
B)case study.
C)experimental design.
D)quasi-experiment.

Question 71

A researcher randomly assigns a group of male and female college students to either gossip about their friends or to play a game of basketball.Afterward,the researcher administers the students a measure of happiness.The finding is that students who played basketball are happier than those who gossiped.What is the MOST likely cause of this outcome?

A)Men were happier overall than women.
B)Students who like to play sports were happier than students who don't like to play sports.
C)Playing basketball made students happier than gossiping did.
D)The people in the basketball-playing condition were already happier to begin with.

Question 72

Researchers find that attendance at horror movies is associated with neuroticism.They conclude that attending horror movies causes people to be more neurotic.Which of the following statements does NOT describe a problem with their claim?

A)It's possible that instead neurotic people like horror movies more than other people do.
B)It's possible that watching horror films reminds people of their real-life problems,and this in turn makes them more neurotic.
C)People who are lonely may be both more neurotic and more likely to attend horror movies.
D)Horror movies may be marketed in ways designed to be more appealing for neurotic individuals,causing them to attend such movies at a higher rate.

Question 73

A researcher finds that the number of murders committed during a summer is correlated with the number of ice cream cones consumed.However,the researcher realizes that there is a third variable problem related to this finding.What might this problem be?

A)It's possible that people eat more ice cream to console themselves about news that murder is being committed,rather than murder being committed as a result of ice cream sales.
B)High temperatures might be causing both greater ice cream sales and more aggressive acts of violence.
C)Victims of murder cannot be randomly assigned to a condition.
D)The number of murders committed in an area might not only be causing more ice cream sales but also more toy sales.

Question 74

A researcher counts the number of people wearing football team T-shirts on a college campus in years when the team is having a good versus a bad season.He finds that more people wear the shirts in years when the team is doing well.This is best conceptualized as an example of:

A)experimental research.
B)field research.
C)a case study.
D)pilot research.

Question 75

Random assignment refers to a procedure through which:

A)participants are assigned to experimental conditions in such a way that they have an equal chance of being in any condition.
B)participants are recruited from a broader population such that any member of the population has an equal chance of being in the study.
C)participants are kept unaware of the purpose of the study until they are suddenly made aware of it after the independent variable has been administered.
D)quasi-experiments can be made to approximate true experiments.

Question 76

In experimental research,the _____ is what we believe is being affected by the _____,which we believe to be the "cause."

A)interaction;correlation coefficient
B)correlation coefficient;interaction
C)independent variable;dependent variable
D)dependent variable;independent variable

Question 77

In an experiment,the "measured" variable is also known as the _____ variable.

A)independent
B)dependent
C)extraneous
D)confounding

Question 78

A study in which a researcher takes active control of an independent variable,manipulates it,and observes its effect on a dependent variable is called a(n):

A)correlational study.
B)longitudinal study.
C)experiment.
D)quasi-experiment.

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT a reason why experiments help researchers determine causality?

A)In an experiment,the researcher can control the temporal sequence of two variables.
B)Because they take place in a controlled laboratory setting,experiments have greater external validity.
C)Participants can be randomly assigned to different conditions of the independent variable.
D)The experimenter can hold everything constant except for the variable being manipulated.

Question 80

The _____ method can be used to make researchers more confident about likely causal order.

A)correlational
B)experimental
C)field study
D)quasi-experiment