Deck 32: A: Reading

Question 1

Social identity theory suggests that people make comparisons between others like themselves (ingroup) and others who are dissimilar to themselves (out-group). What did Fein and Spencer determine about these sorts of comparisons in their studies?

A) People only made such comparisons when they were subjected to threats to their self-esteem.
B) No in-group versus out-group comparisons or evaluations were seen.
C) Subjects from minority racial or ethnic groups are far less likely to make such comparisons than are white subjects.
D) Men made high use of in-group/out-group comparisons, while women rarely did.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In their third study, Fein and Spencer were not interested in whether individuals would increase their stereotyping behaviors as a result of self-image threat. Which of the following questions was the focus of their research?

A) If a person appears to be obese, does this increase the likelihood that he or she will be the target of prejudice?
B) Do physically handicapped people appear to\ be easier and more common targets of stereotyping of a person who experiences rejection?
C) Does stereotyping another person enhance the self-esteem of someone whose self-image has been threatened?
D) Is stereotyping more commonly directed toward a person of a different sexual orientation or toward a person of minority ethnicity?

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which group did Fein and Spencer exclude from their first study?

A) Handicapped students were excluded.
B) African-American students were excluded.
C) Asian-American students were excluded.
D) Jewish students were excluded.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Fein and Spencer suggested that the reason stereotypes are usually negative in nature and resistant to change is because:

A) the negative nature allows for immediate (and later) bolstering a person's self-image through comparison.
B) a negative stereotype requires less cognitive energy than a positive one.
C) a negative stereotype permits external justification for prejudice beliefs a person might hold.
D) psychologically, negative is stronger than positive (i.e.. bad is stronger than good).

Question 5

In the first study cited in the article, which hypothesis about reducing a person's need to use stereotypes and prejudice did Fein and Spencer investigate?

A) People will use stereotypes and prejudice less often when their self-image has been bolstered because increased self-esteem reduces the need to derogate others.
B) People will use stereotypes and prejudice less often when their self-image has been attacked because decreased self-esteem predicts a decreased willingness to derogate others.
C) When people perceive that their self-image has been attacked, they demonstrate an increase in stereotypical ideas and prejudice about that particular person's ethnic group.
D) Stereotypical thinking and prejudice are directed more by men toward women than by women toward men because men derogate women in order to bolster their self-image.