Deck 4: Self-Serving Bias

Question 1

Barbara was shocked when her candidate was not elected.She had assumed that everyone felt as she did and everyone supported her candidate's ideas.This scenario exemplifies

A)false consensus effect.
B)self-serving bias.
C)unrealistic optimism.
D)defensive pessimism.

Answer 1

false consensus effect.

Question 2

Wilson and Ross (2001)found that when describing their old precollege selves,university students offered _____ negative _____ positive statements.

A)more; than
B)less; than
C)as many; as
D)double as many; as

Answer 2

as many; as

Question 3

Compared with people in general,most people see themselves as _____ in their self-assessments.

A)less healthy
B)less ethical
C)more biased
D)more friendly

Answer 3

more friendly

Question 4

The tendency to perceive oneself favorably is referred to as

A)self-esteem.
B)self-efficacy.
C)self-deprecating bias.
D)self-serving bias.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is true about false uniqueness effect?

A)It is the anticipation of problems and motivation of effective action.
B)It is unrealistic optimism about future life events.
C)It is the tendency to see our talents and moral behaviors as relatively unusual.
D)It is the tendency to see oneself as superior to others.

Question 6

Rebecca,a teenager,has recently started smoking cigarettes.On being reprimanded by her parents,she replied saying "So what? I smoke,but doesn't everyone?" In this scenario,Rebecca's overestimation of the number of people who smoke exemplifies

A)false consensus effect.
B)pluralistic ignorance.
C)defensive pessimism.
D)unrealistic optimism.

Question 7

Most people perceive themselves as

A)less intelligent than others.
B)less attractive than others.
C)much less prejudiced than others.
D)knowing others better than we know ourselves.

Question 8

Assuming that other people are as prejudiced against a certain group as we are can easily be explained by

A)unrealistic optimism.
B)self-serving bias.
C)false uniqueness effect.
D)false consensus effect.

Question 9

Sally has done well in her statistics class so far this term.Despite her good grades,Sally is worried that she will not do well on her upcoming test.So she studies extra hard.Which of the following best accounts for Sally's study pattern?

A)defensive pessimism
B)unrealistic optimism
C)false uniqueness
D)false consensus

Question 10

Blaming a tree for getting in your way after you crash your car is an example of

A)poor self-control.
B)poor self-efficacy.
C)poor self-esteem.
D)self-serving bias.

Question 11

Danny's parents gifted him a new sport bike.Although his father advised him to take safety precautions while riding the bike,he went out for a ride without any safety gear.While riding,Danny fell down from the bike and sustained injuries.In this scenario,Danny's belief that he was immune to misfortune exemplifies

A)self-serving bias.
B)unrealistic optimism.
C)false consensus effect.
D)false uniqueness effect.

Question 12

Which of the following statements is true in the context of self-serving bias?

A)People readily acknowledge that they themselves are biased and tend to see others around them as more objective.
B)People attribute success to their ability and effort,but they attribute failure to external factors,such as bad luck.
C)People would rather see themselves as undeserving than blame failure or rejection on something external,even another's prejudice.
D)People tend to see themselves as less insightful and less competent at their jobs than others based on their self-assessments.

Question 13

Which of the following statements is representative of self-serving bias?

A)"I won the election because my opponent didn't try very hard."
B)"I won the election because of my hard work on the campaign trail."
C)"I lost the election because of the political climate,which I couldn't do anything about."
D)"I won the election because of my knowledge and expertise."

Question 14

Saying "I earned an A on my psychology test" but "My instructor gave me a C on my psychology test" exemplifies how we associate ourselves with

A)failure and distance ourselves from success.
B)success and distance ourselves from failure.
C)rewards and distance ourselves from punishment.
D)punishment and distance ourselves from rewards.