Deck 4: Self-Serving Bias

Question 1

Our explanations of our own admirable actions are ________ likely to involve situational attributions than our explanations of our own shameful actions. Our explanations of our own actions performed long ago are ________ likely to involve dispositional attributions than our explanations of our own very recent actions.
•less; less
•more; more
•less; more
•more; less

Answer 1

•less; more

Question 2

The fundamental attribution error is illustrated in our tendency to underestimate the extent to which others' behavior is influenced by
•genetics.
•assigned roles.
•their level of motivation.
•personality traits.

Answer 2

•assigned roles

Question 3

Freire did very poorly on his last arithmetic test. The tendency to make the fundamental attribution error might lead his sixth-grade teacher to conclude that Freire did poorly because
•he is not motivated to do well in school.
•the test covered material that had not been adequately covered in class.
•his parents had an argument the evening before the test.
•he was not given enough time to complete the test.

Answer 3

•he is motivated to do well in school

Question 4

Vanna is tempted to shoplift a gold necklace even though she has negative feelings about shoplifting. Vanna is LEAST likely to steal the merchandise if
•her negative feelings about shoplifting result from normative social influence.
•she is suffering the effects of crowding.
•she easily recalls her negative feelings about shoplifting.
•she has recently shoplifted jewelry from several different stores.

Question 5

The fundamental attribution error is likely to be restrained by observing someone
•in a variety of situations.
•who is unemployed.
•who is wealthy.
•we dislike.

Question 6

Instead of providing arguments in favor of a political candidate,ads may build political support by associating pictures of the candidate with emotion-evoking music and images. This strategy best illustrates
•role-playing.
•cognitive dissonance.
•peripheral route persuasion.
•group influence.

Question 7

Attitudes are ________ that guide behavior.
•norms and roles
•cooperative goals
•belief-based feelings
•dispositional attributions

Question 8

Attribution theory suggests that we tend to attribute others' behavior either to their
•heredity or their environment.
•biological motives or their psychological motives.
•thoughts or their emotions.
•dispositions or their situations.

Question 9

We have a tendency to explain the behavior of strangers we have observed in only one type of situation in terms of ________ and to explain our own behavior in terms of ________.
•logical analysis; incidental cues
•situational constraints; personality traits
•incidental cues; logical analysis
•personality traits; situational constraints

Question 10

A person's behavior is most likely to be consistent with his or her attitudes when
•the attitudes are implicit rather than explicit.
•external influences on behavior are minimal.
•the person has not publicly communicated those attitudes.
•the attitudes are discrepant with most other people's opinions.

Question 11

Whether a person exercises regularly is best predicted by his or her attitude about
•sports training.
•physical health.
•exercise.
•other people's opinions.

Question 12

Compared with people from East Asian cultures,those from individualistic Western countries are more likely to demonstrate
•cognitive dissonance.
•ingroup bias.
•situational attributions.
•the fundamental attribution error.

Question 13

Opinion change resulting from a thoughtful focus on the content of arguments illustrates
•central route persuasion.
•group influence.
•personal dispositions.
•cognitive dissonance.

Question 14

Carol is restless during class because her professor's distressed facial expressions lead her to believe that he dislikes teaching. The professor,on the other hand,is distressed because he sees Carol's restlessness as an indication that she lacks any motivation to learn. At this point,both student and professor should be informed of the dangers of
•role-playing.
•foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
•cognitive dissonance.
•the fundamental attribution error.

Question 15

Poverty and unemployment are likely to be explained in terms of personal dispositions by ________ and in terms of situational influences by ________.
•the poor; the rich
•attribution theory; social exchange theory
•social psychologists; evolutionary psychologists
•political conservatives; political liberals

Question 16

Observing yourself on a videotape is most likely to increase your tendency to attribute your behavior to
•social norms.
•role-playing.
•personality traits.
•ingroup bias.

Question 17

Which branch of psychology is most directly concerned with the study of how people think about,influence,and relate to one another?
•developmental psychology
•social psychology
•personality psychology
•clinical psychology

Question 18

The fundamental attribution error refers to our tendency to underestimate the impact of ________ and to overestimate the impact of ________ in explaining the behavior of others.
•central persuasion; peripheral persuasion
•peripheral persuasion; central persuasion
•personal dispositions; situational influences
•situational influences; personal dispositions

Question 19

The fundamental attribution error is likely to lead observers to attribute a stranger's
•lack of employment to a weak economy.
•act of kindness to a compassionate personality.
•criminal behavior to a poor education.
•friendliness to social role requirements.

Question 20

Attribution theory was designed to account for
•the process of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others.
•the impact of both heredity and environment on social behavior.
•the loss of self-awareness that occurs in group situations.
•how people explain others' behavior.

Question 21

Having observed participants in his simulated prison study,Philip Zimbardo offered an explanation for the destructive behavior of U.S. military guards at Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison. Zimbardo's explanation best exemplified
•a dispositional attribution.
•the two-factor theory.
•a situational attribution.
•cognitive dissonance.

Question 22

Bart complied with his friends' request to join them in smashing decorative pumpkins early one Halloween evening. Later that night he was surprised by his own failure to resist their pressures to throw eggs at passing police cars. Bart's experience best illustrates
•cognitive dissonance.
•the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
•the fundamental attribution error.
•role-playing.

Question 23

Aleksis has recently begun to bully and hurt his younger brother. If this behavior continues,it is likely that Aleksis will
•experience a substantial loss of self-esteem.
•develop an increasing dislike for his brother.
•lose his inhibitions.
•develop a great sense of admiration and respect for his brother.

Question 24

After they had first agreed to display a 3-inch "Be a Safe Driver" sign,California home owners were highly likely to permit the installation of a very large and unattractive "Drive Carefully" sign in their front yards. This best illustrates
•situational attributions.
•the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
•the fundamental attribution error.
•prosocial relations.

Question 25

Politicians who publicly oppose a tax increase that they privately favor best illustrate that
•a pooling of efforts toward a common goal contributes to cognitive dissonance.
•the presence of others interferes with individual performance on difficult tasks.
•actions may sometimes be inconsistent with attitudes.
•group discussion enhances a group's prevailing attitudes.

Question 26

After she was promoted to a high-level executive position in the large company for which she worked,Jorana developed more pro-business political attitudes. This best illustrates the impact of ________ on attitudes.
•situational constraints
•the foot-in-the-door phenomenon
•role-playing
•peripheral explanations

Question 27

We are most likely to experience cognitive dissonance if we feel
•little sense of responsibility for engaging in behaviors of which we personally disapprove.
•little sense of responsibility for engaging in behaviors of which we personally approve.
•a great sense of responsibility for engaging in behaviors of which we personally disapprove.
•a great sense of responsibility for engaging in behaviors of which we personally approve.

Question 28

When a salesperson visits your home and asks you to try a free sample of a cleaning fluid,you agree. When he returns the following week and asks you to purchase an assortment of expensive cleaning products,you make the purchase. The salesperson appears to have made effective use of
•the fundamental attribution error.
•role-playing.
•the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
•cognitive dissonance.

Question 29

Philip Zimbardo devised a simulated prison and randomly assigned college students to serve as prisoners or guards. This experiment best illustrated the impact of
•team membership on social behavior.
•self-disclosure on cooperation.
•frustration on aggressive behavior.
•role-playing on attitudes.

Question 30

Fernando's favorable attitude toward capital punishment began to change when he was asked to offer arguments opposing it in a university debate class. His attitude change is best explained by ________ theory.
•cognitive dissonance
•social exchange
•attribution
•the two-factor

Question 31

Caitlin concluded that her husband was late for dinner because he was caught in heavy traffic. Her conclusion best illustrates
•cognitive dissonance.
•role-playing.
•a situational attribution.
•central route persuasion.

Question 32

Cognitive dissonance theory is most helpful for understanding the impact of
•group beliefs on social conflict.
•dispositions on the fundamental attribution error.
•team membership on social behavior.
•role-playing on attitude change.

Question 33

Ksana insists that her boyfriend's car accident resulted from his carelessness. Her explanation for the accident provides an example of
•cognitive dissonance.
•central route persuasion.
•the foot-in-the-door persuasion.
•a dispositional attribution.

Question 34

Marilyn judges her professor's strict class attendance policy to be an indication of his overcontrolling personality rather than a necessity dictated by the limited number of class sessions in a course that meets only once a week. Her judgment best illustrates
•cognitive dissonance.
•peripheral route persuasion.
•role-playing.
•the fundamental attribution error.

Question 35

The impact of our actions on our attitudes is best illustrated by
•the fundamental attribution error.
•the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
•situational attributions.
•central route persuasion.

Question 36

The discomfort we feel when two thoughts are inconsistent is called
•cognitive dissonance.
•prejudice.
•central persuasion.
•the fundamental attribution error.

Question 37

Compared with central route persuasion,peripheral route persuasion tends to
•be more durable.
•occur more rapidly.
•be more likely to influence behavior.
•involve a greater number of logical arguments.

Question 38

Which theory best explains why our actions can lead us to modify our attitudes?
•attribution theory
•cognitive dissonance theory
•social exchange theory
•the two-factor theory

Question 39

The foot-in-the-door phenomenon refers to the tendency to
•neglect critical thinking because of a strong desire for social harmony within a group.
•perform simple tasks more effectively in the presence of others.
•comply with a large request if one has previously complied with a small request.
•experience an increasing attraction to novel stimuli as they become more familiar.

Question 40

The set of prescribed behaviors associated with a particular social position is best described as a(n)
•dissonance.
•attribution.
•attitude.
•role.

Question 41

When male students in an experiment were told that a woman to whom they would be speaking had been instructed to act in a friendly or unfriendly way,most of them subsequently attributed her behavior to
•the situation.
•the situation and her personal disposition.
•her personal disposition.
•their own skill or lack of skill in a social situation.

Question 42

Which of the following phenomena is best explained by cognitive dissonance theory?
•situational attributions
•the foot-in-the-door phenomenon
•the fundamental attribution error
•central route persuasion

Question 43

Which of the following is an example of the foot-in-the-door phenomenon?
•To persuade a customer to buy a product a store owner offers a small gift.
•After agreeing to wear a small "Enforce Recycling" lapel pin,a woman agrees to collect signatures on a petition to make recycling required by law.
•After offering to sell a car at a ridiculously low price,a car salesperson is forced to tell the customer the car will cost $1000 more.
•All of these are examples.

Question 44

According to cognitive dissonance theory,dissonance is most likely to occur when
•a person's behavior is not based on strongly held attitudes.
•two people have conflicting attitudes and find themselves in disagreement.
•an individual does something that is personally disagreeable.
•an individual is coerced into doing something that he or she does not want to do.

Question 45

Two neighboring nations are each stockpiling weapons. Each sees its neighbor's actions as an act of aggression and its own actions as self-defense. Evidently,these nations are victims of
•role-playing.
•cognitive dissonance.
•the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
•the fundamental attribution error.

Question 46

Professor Washington's students did very poorly on the last exam. The tendency to make the fundamental attribution error might lead her to conclude that the class did poorly because
•the test was unfair.
•not enough time was given for students to complete the test.
•students were distracted by some social function on campus.
•students were unmotivated.

Question 47

Professor Stewart wrote a very positive letter of recommendation for a student despite having doubts about her competence. Which theory best explains why he subsequently began to develop more favorable attitudes about the student's abilities?
•cognitive dissonance theory
•attribution theory
•two-factor theory
•equity theory

Question 48

The participants in Philip Zimbardo's simulated prison study
•were assigned the roles of prisoner or guard on the basis of their personality test scores.
•found it very difficult to play the role of prison guard.
•were so endangered by their role-playing experience that the study was discontinued.
•became a cohesive unit when they pursued superordinate goals.

Question 49

The fundamental attribution error involves
•becoming more extreme in one's individual opinions following group discussion.
•performing a complex task more poorly when in the presence of others.
•underestimating situational constraints on another's behavior.
•losing self-restraint in group situations that foster anonymity.

Question 50

Which of the following situations should produce the GREATEST cognitive dissonance?
•A soldier is forced to carry out orders he finds disagreeable.
•A student who loves animals has to dissect a cat in order to pass biology.
•As part of an experiment,a subject is directed to deliver electric shocks to another person.
•A student volunteers to debate an issue,taking the side he personally disagrees with.

Question 51

Which theory describes how we explain others' behavior as being due to internal dispositions or external situations?
•cognitive dissonance theory
•reward theory
•two-factor theory
•attribution theory

Question 52

Central route persuasion is most likely when people
•are naturally analytical.
•are uninvolved in an issue.
•make snap judgments.
•have difficulty paying attention.

Question 53

Before she gave a class presentation favoring gun control legislation,Wanda opposed it. Her present attitude favoring such legislation can best be explained by
•attribution theory.
•cognitive dissonance theory.
•reward theory.
•evolutionary psychology.

Question 54

Which of the following is true?
•Attitudes and actions rarely correspond.
•Attitudes predict behavior about half the time.
•Attitudes are excellent predictors of behavior.
•Attitudes predict behavior under certain conditions.