Deck 17: Application Module- Social Psychology and Education

Question 1

In research conducted by Geoffrey Cohen and colleagues (2009), minority students were asked to write about their most important values at the beginning of middle school. What was the result of this intervention?

A) The students began to show an entity theory of intelligence.
B) The students whose values were unrelated to academics saw their grades decline.
C) The students' grades improved over two years.
D) The students reported better social relationships but not improved grades.

Answer 1

The students' grades improved over two years.

Question 2

Which of the following may account for the above-average performance on academic tasks by many people from Asian cultures?

A) Asians are genetically smarter than Europeans and Americans.
B) Asians are less likely to be affected by stereotype threat than Europeans and Americans.
C) Asian culture emphasizes an incremental view of intelligence, leading people to work harder to succeed.
D) Asian culture emphasizes an entity view of intelligence, leading people to be more confident in their strengths.

Answer 2

Asian culture emphasizes an incremental view of intelligence, leading people to work harder to succeed.

Question 3

Mr. McLean, a fourth grade teacher, finds that the students whom he expects to perform well generally do perform well. Which of the following are possible explanations for this correlation?

A) Mr. McLean's expectations lead him to treat certain students differently than others.
B) Mr. McLean's perception of his students' abilities is accurate.
C) Mr. McLean's expectations are biased in favor of white middle-class children.
D) All of the above are true.

Answer 3

All of the above are true.

Question 4

Bob is from a working-class family and is the first in his family to attend college. He receives a welcome letter that emphasizes how he will be able to explore his personal interests and participate in independent research. According to the research discussed in the text, how is Bob likely to respond to this letter?

A) Bob is likely to be excited about attending college and taking advantage of these opportunities.
B) Bob is likely to focus on how he can impress his professors and do well in his classes.
C) Bob is likely to become more stressed about college and worried about making social connections.
D) This particular letter will not influence Bob's thoughts about attending college.

Question 5

Which of the following best summarizes the effects of airing telenovelas?

A) The programs changed people's attitudes but not their behaviors.
B) The programs did not influence people's attitudes or behaviors.
C) The programs changed behaviors only in people who already agreed with the values being portrayed.
D) The programs changed people's attitudes and behaviors.

Question 6

Darrin Lehman and Richard Nisbett (1990) studied the effects of different college majors on students' ability to use statistical and methodological principles in their reasoning. What did they find?

A) Students who majored in the humanities improved their reasoning abilities the most.
B) College major did not influence students' reasoning abilities.
C) Students majoring in psychology and other social sciences improved their reasoning abilities the most.
D) Students majoring in the natural sciences improved their reasoning abilities the most.

Question 7

The belief that intelligence is something one is born with and cannot change is referred to as the

A) entity theory of intelligence.
B) evolutionary theory of intelligence.
C) incremental theory of intelligence.
D) attributional fallacy.

Question 8

Alicia is an African American high school senior who will be attending a prestigious private university in the fall. Imagine that you are Alicia's guidance counselor and she has approached you about her concerns about fitting in socially. Based on the findings from Gregory Walton and Geoffrey Cohen's (2007) study, which of the following statements would be most likely to help Alicia with her adjustment to college?

A) "Worries about social acceptance are common for students of all ethnicities."
B) "Worries about social acceptance are common for African American students in particular."
C) "Don't worry-you'll make friends easily because you are a woman."
D) "Maybe you should consider attending a college where you'll fit in better."

Question 9

Yael holds an incremental theory of intelligence. This means that she is likely to

A) spend more time working toward improving her abilities.
B) avoid challenging experiences.
C) believe that failures are due to lack of intelligence rather than lack of effort.
D) earn lower grades.

Question 10

In a study conducted by Joshua Aronson and colleagues (2003), a group of students were taught by college student mentors that intelligence was changeable and under their control. Compared to students in a control condition, how did these students perform on a subsequent statewide academic achievement test?

A) Students in the experimental condition performed significantly better than those in the control condition, and this was especially true for female students on the reading skills portion of the test.
B) Students in the experimental condition performed significantly better than those in the control condition, and this was especially true for female students on the math portion of the test.
C) Female students in the experimental condition but not the control condition performed significantly better than males on both portions of the test.
D) Male students in the experimental condition but not the control condition performed significantly better than females on both portions of the test.

Question 11

In Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson's (1968) "Pygmalion in the Classroom" study, students whose teachers were told that they were expected to show substantial IQ growth over the course of the year showed ________ during a brief time period.

A) substantial increases in IQ scores
B) substantial decreases in IQ scores
C) no change in IQ scores
D) substantial increases in psychological adjustment, but not IQ scores

Question 12

As the smartest kid in his class, Caleb believes that his intelligence is innate, permanent, and relatively unchangeable. His classmate, Brian, believes that with effort and many hours of studying, he can increase his intelligence. Which of the following statements about Caleb and Brian is accurate?

A) Caleb has an incremental theory of intelligence; Brian has an entity theory of intelligence.
B) Caleb has an entity theory of intelligence; Brian has an incremental theory of intelligence.
C) Caleb is more likely than Brian to work hard at school and to seek out new learning opportunities.
D) Caleb and Brian are not likely to behave differently from one another.

Question 13

According to the textbook, there is ________ evidence that people of Asian heritage are genetically ________ intelligent.

A) strong; more
B) modest; more
C) no good; more
D) modest; less

Question 14

Which of the following statements about the effects of teacher expectations on student performance is accurate?

A) Teacher expectation effects are strongest for older students and weakest for first and second graders.
B) Teacher expectation effects are strongest when manipulated later in the school year.
C) There is no evidence for teacher expectation effects.
D) Teacher expectation effects are large for lower-achieving, lower-SES, and African American students.

Question 15

A radio soap opera in Tanzania is designed to combat the spread of HIV. This is an example of

A) incremental intelligence.
B) entertainment-education.
C) value-based education.
D) teaching principles.

Question 16

Javier and Greg have always abstained from alcohol on moral grounds. One day they read about research showing that people who drink a moderate amount of alcohol have a lower risk of heart disease. If Javier is majoring in psychology, and Greg is majoring in engineering, how might their responses to this research differ?

A) Javier is more likely than Greg to recognize that the research findings are correlational and therefore do not establish causation.
B) Javier is more likely than Greg to be concerned that the research findings suggest they may be at risk for heart disease.
C) Javier is more likely than Greg to discount the results as pseudoscience.
D) Javier is more likely than Greg to start drinking in moderation.

Question 17

Entertainment-education is based on the work of the learning theorist

A) B. F. Skinner.
B) Nathan Aaronson.
C) Albert Bandura.
D) Philip Zimbardo.

Question 18

The textbook describes research conducted by Gregory Walton and Geoffrey Cohen (2007) on improving the academic performance of minority students in college. In their study, they devised an intervention for students that addressed students'

A) worries about failing tests.
B) worries about social acceptance.
C) study habits and note-taking skills.
D) theories of intelligence.

Question 19

Selma, a seventy-two-year-old woman who has had no formal education in the social sciences, would like to improve her ability to apply statistical and scientific reasoning. Which of the following is accurate about the steps Selma could take to improve this ability?

A) Selma can only improve this ability by enrolling in college courses in the social sciences.
B) Selma could improve this ability through brief training sessions.
C) Selma could improve this ability by conducting an "opinion survey."
D) It's too late for Selma to significantly improve this ability.

Question 20

Candice, a minority student, completes a self-affirmation task where she writes about her most important values. How might this intervention help to improve her grades?

A) by increasing her sense of efficacy and belongingness
B) by giving her a more incremental theory of intelligence
C) by reducing her bias against doing well in school
D) by increasing the salience of her minority status

Question 21

Imagine that you are developing an intervention to block stereotype threat among minority students by increasing incremental beliefs. Describe one possible intervention you could use, explain how you might implement it, and summarize findings from one study that provide support for the effectiveness of your approach.

Question 22

Kevin, a European American, believes that his Korean classmate is performing better in school than he is because, as an Asian, his classmate is genetically smarter. According to what you have read in the textbook, what could you say that might convince Kevin that his conclusion is not accurate?

Question 23

How do incremental and entity theories of intelligence differ? How can a person's theory of intelligence impact his or her behavior?

Question 24

Explain the principle of entertainment-education. Give an example of how it could be utilized in current American television or other media to influence people's attitudes and behaviors regarding a certain value.

Question 25

Drawing on research described in the textbook, evaluate the claim that teacher expectations influence student performance. What study designs provide the most rigorous test of this hypothesis? For what groups of students is the influence of teacher expectations likely to be strongest?