Deck 3: Social Beliefs and Judgments

Question 1

According to the text, many men assume women are flattered by repeated requests for dates which women more often see as harassing. This is an example of

A) arrogance.
B) a lack of intuition.
C) misattribution.
D) miscommunication.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Your immediate recognition of your friends' face or her voice on the phone is an example of

A) controlled processing.
B) illusory correlation.
C) automatic processing.
D) attributional error.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Those who make situational attributions regarding poverty and unemployment tend to adopt political positions that

A) offer more direct support to the poor.
B) are unsympathetic to the poor.
C) tend to blame the poor for their problems.
D) are more neutral regarding poverty and unemployment.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

To retrieve a memory of where your date told you she wanted to go for dinner tomorrow, you need to activate one of the strands that leads to this memory, such as thinking about what types of food she does and does not like. This process is known as

A) belief perseverance.
B) reconstruction.
C) priming.
D) induction.

Question 5

The process of judging something by comparing it to our mental representation of a category uses the _____ heuristic.

A) availability
B) representativeness
C) vividness
D) matching

Question 6

Although you once earned a 100 on your physics exam, you have subsequently been unable to earn a perfect score again. Your experience may be understood in terms of

A) the illusory correlation.
B) regression toward the average.
C) the representativeness heuristic.
D) counterfactual thinking.

Question 7

Provide an example of the fundamental attribution error, and be sure to explain why the error is considered "fundamental."

Question 8

According to your text, people everywhere perceive mediators and media as

A) biased in favor of their position.
B) objective in their decisions and coverage.
C) biased against their position.
D) biased against the President.

Question 9

Marcia thought that she would have enough time to write her paper after she bought groceries and cleaned the house, but she ran out of time. This is an example of

A) belief perseverance.
B) the planning fallacy.
C) confirmation bias.
D) heuristic problems.

Question 10

Those who make dispositional attributions regarding poverty and unemployment tend to adopt political positions that

A) offer more direct support to the poor.
B) are unsympathetic to the poor.
C) tend to blame the poor for their problems.
D) are more neutral regarding poverty and unemployment.

Question 11

"Explicit" thinking that is deliberate, reflective, and conscious is called

A) controlled processing.
B) automatic processing.
C) external processing.
D) intentional processing.

Question 12

The tendency to presume, sometimes despite contrary odds, that someone or something belongs to a particular group because it resembles a typical member is referred to as the _______ heuristic.

A) availability
B) representativeness
C) vividness
D) matching

Question 13

Research on "mood infusion" found that participants' judgments of their own videotaped behaviors were more positive if, while they watched the videotape, they were

A) in a good mood.
B) with a stranger.
C) distracted.
D) depressed or anxious.

Question 14

Describe an example of how the actor-observer difference could play a role in racist beliefs.

Question 15

The theory that explains people's behavior by attributing it to internal dispositions or external situations is called

A) dispositional theory.
B) motivational theory.
C) situational theory.
D) attribution theory.

Question 16

Inferring that Cinderella is truly meek as she cowers in her oppressive home is an example of how we often

A) focus on internal traits.
B) ignore temporary moods.
C) forget about situational influences.
D) notice public and private behavior.

Question 17

Fletcher and his colleagues (1986) found that psychology students explained behavior _______ than similarly intelligent natural science students.

A) more simplistically
B) less simplistically
C) less self-consciously
D) more positively

Question 18

"Implicit" thinking that is effortless, habitual and without awareness is called

A) controlled processing.
B) automatic processing.
C) internal processing.
D) intentional processing.

Question 19

On the first day of class, we see a middle-aged man at the front of the room, talking to a younger man. If we assume the older man is the professor and the younger man is the student, we are relying on what heuristic?

A) availability
B) representativeness
C) vividness
D) matching

Question 20

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment is called

A) a self-fulfilling prophecy.
B) a belief confirmation.
C) self-confirming validity.
D) behavioral perseverance.

Question 21

Describe the strengths and the weaknesses of both controlled and automatic processing.

Question 22

A fellow student is consistently late for class. You assume this is because he is lazy and unorganized. What type of attribution are you making for his behavior?

A) motivational
B) dispositional
C) situational
D) illusory

Question 23

Researchers randomly assigned participants to play the part of either a quiz game contestant or the host, while other participants merely observed the game. Results indicated that

A) both contestants and observers thought the hosts were more knowledgeable than the contestants.
B) both contestants and observers thought the contestants were more knowledgeable than the hosts.
C) observers thought the hosts were more knowledgeable, but contestants attributed the outcomes to the situation.
D) hosts thought themselves more knowledgeable, but contestants attributed the outcomes to the situation.

Question 24

The "Kulechov effect" (named after a Russian film director) is another illustration of

A) the principle of belief perseverance.
B) confirmation bias.
C) false memories.
D) how our preconceptions determine our subsequent perceptions of emotion.

Question 25

Jumping out of your seat as a result of an unexpected scene in a movie is what type of thinking?

A) controlled processing
B) automatic processing
C) internal processing
D) intentional processing

Question 26

Once during a hospital stay, you observed a man and a woman (both in health professional attire) talking. You assumed that the man was a physician, and that the woman was a nurse. Later, you found out the opposite was true. What type of heuristic did you use during your initial reaction to the two individuals?

A) availability heuristic
B) representativeness heuristic
C) vividness heuristic
D) matching heuristic

Question 27

Research indicates that happy people

A) think more rationally.
B) are more likely to exhibit negative expectations.
C) are more trusting, loving, and responsive.
D) are more susceptive to illusory correlations.

Question 28

Provide an example of the overconfidence phenomenon in the workplace.

Question 29

You are consistently late to your psychology class, because the biology class you have immediately before it is in a building on the other side of campus. You are concerned that your professor does not think you are a serious student because of your chronic tardiness. If this were true, what type of attribution would your professor be making about your behavior?

A) motivational
B) dispositional
C) situational
D) external

Question 30

We tend to underestimate the situational determinants of others' behavior but not our own because we observe others from a different perspective than we observe ourselves. This is known as the

A) actor-observer difference.
B) camera perspective bias.
C) changing perspectives trend.
D) self-awareness phenomenon.

Question 31

Sometimes the basis for one's belief is discredited but an explanation of why the belief might be true survives. Social psychologists refer to this as

A) rationalization.
B) belief persistence.
C) attitude consistency.
D) belief perseverance.

Question 32

When trying to recall the definition of the fundamental attribution error during an exam, you think back to what the professor was wearing when he was talking about the fundamental attribution error in class. What type of thinking is this?

A) controlled processing
B) automatic processing
C) internal processing
D) intentional processing

Question 33

The cognitive rule that judges the likelihood of things in terms of their availability in memory is called the _____ heuristic.

A) availability
B) representativeness
C) vividness
D) matching

Question 34

In a now-famous study, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) found that randomly selected elementary school students experienced a spurt in IQ score largely as a result of

A) increased parental involvement and support.
B) their teachers' elevated expectations.
C) intensified academic training.
D) educational strategies that raised their self-esteem.

Question 35

Explain how journalists can fall prey to cognitive bias in news-making.

Question 36

You are consistently late to your psychology class, because the biology class you have immediately before it is in a building on the other side of campus. You are concerned that your professor does not think you are a serious student because of your chronic tardiness, so you inform her of why you are always late. You can now safely conclude that your professor will make what type of attribution about your behavior?

A) motivational
B) dispositional
C) situational
D) internal

Question 37

What commands our attention as we shop for groceries each week is the environment around us, such as the number of people in front of us at the checkout counter. Yet when we watch another person's behavior at the grocery store, he or she, rather than the environment, occupies the center of our attention. As a result, we tend to engage in the attribution error. That is we are irritable because the lines are long, but the other person is cantankerous because he or she is an unhappy person. What explanation below best explains this use of the fundamental attribution error?

A) actor-observer difference
B) camera perspective bias
C) changing perspectives trend
D) self-awareness phenomenon

Question 38

Researchers provided study participants with evidence that either risk-prone or cautious people make better firefighters. When participants wrote an explanation for the findings, they were particularly susceptible to

A) the fundamental attribution error.
B) the hindsight bias.
C) behavioral confirmation.
D) belief perseverance.

Question 39

Your best friend is a master chess player, and has won numerous awards. When you play chess with her, you notice that she seems to be aware of strategies almost immediately after your move. Her awareness of these strategies reflects what type of thinking?

A) controlled processing
B) automatic processing
C) internal processing
D) intentional processing

Question 40

Although travelers in the United States are more likely to die in an automobile crash than on a commercial flight covering the same distance, people often assume that flying is more dangerous than driving. What type of heuristic are people using when they make this assumption?

A) availability heuristic
B) representativeness heuristic
C) vividness heuristic
D) matching heuristic

Question 41

Murray and his colleagues (2003) found that among married couples, the self-fulfilling prophecy occurred when one person interpreted slight hurts as rejections. The person who felt rejected was then motivated to

A) value their partner for his or her honesty.
B) value their partner yet become distant from him or her.
C) devalue their partner but make an effort to become close to him or her.
D) devalue their partner and become distant from him or her.

Question 42

Provide examples of both the availability and the representative heuristic.

Question 43

Your boss is always cranky. You assume this is because she is an unhappy person. What type of attribution are you making to explain her behavior?

A) motivational
B) dispositional
C) situational
D) illusory

Question 44

In a study conducted by Lassiter and his colleagues (2002), participants observed a suspect confessing during a police interview. The results indicated that participants were more likely to perceive the confession as genuine when they viewed the confession

A) live.
B) through a two-way mirror.
C) through a camera focused on the suspect.
D) through a camera focused on the detective.

Question 45

You have a tendency to assume someone is still a good friend even after a person acts otherwise. This tendency is known as the

A) belief perseverance phenomenon.
B) belief continuity phenomenon.
C) correspondence bias.
D) belief disconfirmation bias.

Question 46

The tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs is called the

A) perseverance bias.
B) fundamental attribution error.
C) correspondence bias.
D) overconfidence phenomenon.

Question 47

Assuming most crimes involve violence because the news generally reports on rapes, robberies and beatings is an example of the _______ heuristic.

A) availability
B) representativeness
C) vividness
D) matching

Question 48

You attend a party where you do not know anyone, but expect that people will be friendly. You behave in a warm and sociable manner. Your behavior, in turn, leads to other people being friendly to you. This situation can best be described as

A) the illusory correlation.
B) the representativeness heuristic.
C) the availability heuristic.
D) behavioral confirmation.

Question 49

Describe how behavioral confirmation can take place in a classroom.

Question 50

Your boss is always cranky. You assume this is because he has not had a raise in ten years. What type of attribution are you making to explain his behavior?

A) motivational
B) dispositional
C) situational
D) common sense

Question 51

In a study conducted by Lassiter and his colleagues (2002), participants observed a suspect confessing during a police interview. The results indicated that participants were more likely to perceive the confession as coerced when they viewed the confession

A) live.
B) through a two-way mirror.
C) through a camera focused on the suspect.
D) through a camera focused on the detective.

Question 52

Despite reading numerous research studies that report the association of fast food consumption with heart disease and diabetes, Rachel continues to eat fast food and thinks that it is harmless. Rachel's thinking is an example of

A) belief assimilation.
B) belief consolidation.
C) belief perseverance.
D) operation of the availability heuristic.

Question 53

You used to envy your brother because he was always so confident when talking to others. Yet the older you become, the more you realize that your brother is more often convinced of things rather than accurate about things. Your brother's behavior can be explained by the

A) perseverance bias.
B) fundamental attribution error.
C) correspondence bias.
D) overconfidence phenomenon.

Question 54

The tendency to imagine alternative scenarios and outcomes that might have happened but did not is called

A) the base-rate fallacy.
B) automatic thinking.
C) reflective bias.
D) counterfactual thinking.

Question 55

Ridge and Reber (2002) conducted a study in which men were told that job candidates were attracted to them. The findings revealed that the

A) men were more likely to hire the women.
B) men were more likely to perceive the women as being attractive.
C) women perceived the men as being attracted to them.
D) women exhibited more flirtatiousness.

Question 56

Both you and your friend are late for a meeting. How would the attribution theory predict both your behavior and your friend's behavior?

Question 57

Attributing behavior to a person's traits is an example of what type of attribution?

A) motivational
B) dispositional
C) situational
D) epigenetic

Question 58

According to the text, observers tend to attribute a person's behavior to _______ the more that time passes.

A) the situation
B) his or her personal characteristics
C) both the situation and his or her personal characteristics
D) neither the situation nor his or her personal characteristics

Question 59

Research has shown that explaining why an opposite theory may be true (e.g., why a cautious person might be a better fire-fighter than a risk-taking person) _______ belief perseverance.

A) slightly increases
B) maintains
C) reduces
D) significantly increases

Question 60

Kruger and Dunning (1999) found that those students who scored lowest on tests of grammar and logic were _______ to overestimating their grammar and logic skills.

A) least prone
B) most prone
C) sometimes prone
D) never prone

Question 61

You did not study for your psychology exam. However, you imagine yourself earning a better grade than the one you actually earned. This is an example of

A) implicit thinking.
B) explicit thinking.
C) counterfactual thinking.
D) the fundamental attribution error.

Question 62

According to research done by Miller and his colleagues (1975), if you want young children to put trash in wastebaskets, you should repeatedly

A) tell them that they should be neat and tidy.
B) congratulate them for being neat and tidy.
C) tell them that littering is a crime.
D) tell them that people who litter are bad.

Question 63

What is illusory thinking and what are its effects?

Question 64

Attributing behavior to a person's environment is an example of what type of attribution?

A) motivational
B) dispositional
C) situational
D) genetic

Question 65

According to a study by Burger and Pavelich (1994), voters were more likely to attribute the outcome of an election to the _______ the day after a presidential election, and to the _______ a year after the election.

A) poor weather on election day; candidate's oral presentation skills
B) candidate's oral presentation skills; poor weather on election day
C) candidate's personal traits and positions; nation's economy
D) nation's economy; candidate's personal traits and positions

Question 66

Researchers had students write essays opposing student control over university curricul
A. When asked to recall how they had felt about the same issue a week earlier, most of the students
A. remembered having held a very different attitude.
B. could not remember how they had felt.
C. mistakenly "remembered" having felt the same as they do now.
D. admitted they had always supported student control of university curricula but pretended to oppose it in their essays.

Question 67

Each semester you repeatedly underestimate how long it will take you to complete a research paper that is due at the end of the term. Your behavior is an example of the

A) perseverance bias.
B) fundamental attribution error.
C) correspondence bias.
D) overconfidence phenomenon.

Question 68

After breaking up with your boyfriend, you imagine that you would still be with this person if you had treated him more considerately. This is an example of

A) implicit thinking.
B) explicit thinking.
C) counterfactual thinking.
D) the fundamental attribution error.

Question 69

Researchers had male students speak by telephone with women they thought were either attractive or unattractive. When judges later analyzed the women's comments, they found that the

A) women thought to be attractive spoke more warmly than the other women.
B) women thought to be unattractive tried harder to be likable and stimulated better conversation.
C) women thought to be attractive spoke in a more aloof and superior manner.
D) women thought to be unattractive spoke more slowly and deliberately.

Question 70

According to the attribution theorist Kelley (1973), what three types of information do we use when we make attributions for other people's behavior?

A) consistency, distinctiveness, and character
B) consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus
C) conformity, distinctiveness, and character
D) conformity, distinctiveness, and consensus

Question 71

Burger and Pavelich (1994) found that voters were more likely to attribute the outcome of an election to the candidate's personal traits and positions the day after a presidential election, and to the nation's economy a year after the election. This represents which of the following explanations for the fundamental attribution error?

A) actor-observer difference
B) camera perspective bias
C) changing perspectives trend
D) self-awareness phenomenon

Question 72

A researcher asks adult research participants to vividly imagine tripping at a dance recital as a child. This incident never really occurred. Given past research, ______ of the participants will later recall the event as something that actually happened.

A) none
B) all
C) one-fourth
D) one percent

Question 73

Which of the following strategies might be helpful in reducing the overconfidence bias?

A) Get people to think about why their judgments might be wrong.
B) Delay feedback regarding the accuracy of their judgments.
C) Inform people about the overconfidence bias.
D) Tell people that there is no remedy for the overconfidence bias.

Question 74

The perception of a relationship where none actually exists, or the perception of a stronger relationship than actually exists, is called

A) a representative heuristic.
B) an availability heuristic.
C) an illusory correlation.
D) the overconfidence phenomenon.

Question 75

If you are told that someone you have never met is attracted to you, you will likely

A) behave toward that person in a way that draws out their flirtatious behavior.
B) behave toward that person in a way that causes them to become shy and withdrawn.
C) feel little attraction to that person.
D) avoid that person if you can.

Question 76

Misha is struggling with her computer. She is asked if she has difficulty using other computers on campus. The answer to this question provides information about

A) consistency.
B) distinctiveness.
C) character.
D) consensus.

Question 77

Overconfidence remains after mistaken judgments due to the belief that

A) "I'll do better next time."
B) "I was almost right."
C) "It wasn't my fault that I was wrong."
D) "Others were also wrong."

Question 78

Your summer vacation was perhaps not an overwhelmingly positive event, but during the finals week of August, you remember it as being a fantastic time. This is an example of

A) the perseverance bias.
B) the fundamental attribution error.
C) the correspondence bias.
D) rosy retrospection.

Question 79

One reason people are overconfident is that they are not inclined to seek out information

A) from experts.
B) that is objective and factual.
C) that involves judging estimates and comparisons.
D) that might disprove what they believe.

Question 80

Counterfactual thinking is more likely when

A) we are not expecting a favorable outcome.
B) we are surprised by favorable results.
C) we can easily picture an alternative outcome.
D) the event is insignificant.