Deck 1: What Is Social Psychology

Question 1

John is interested in how different parental disciplinary tactics affect children's behaviour and how this varies by culture. John is approaching his research from which social psychological perspective?

A) Sociocultural perspective
B) Evolutionary perspective
C) Social learning perspective
D) Social cognitive perspective

Answer 1

Sociocultural perspective

Question 2

________________ is a process by which individuals with certain characteristics are more frequently represented in subsequent generations as a result of being better adapted to their environments.

A) Sociocultural selection
B) Natural selection
C) Social-family selection
D) Kin selection

Answer 2

Natural selection

Question 3

Which of the following statements is most true concerning social psychology's relationship to other disciplines?

A) Social psychology can help answer research questions relevant to economists but not business leaders.
B) Social psychology has little utility for other disciplines and social psychologists primarily work alone.
C) Social psychology can help researchers in many other disciplines and the possibilities for interacting with other areas are abundant.
D) Social psychology is not relevant to other disciples because it focuses too much on the role of social factors.

Answer 3

Social psychology can help researchers in many other disciplines and the possibilities for interacting with other areas are abundant.

Question 4

______________ is a perspective that focuses on the physical and biological predispositions that result in human survival.

A) Sociocultural perspective
B) Evolutionary perspective
C) Social learning perspective
D) Social cognitive perspective

Question 5

_____________ is the process through which other people affect an individual's thoughts or actions.

A) Social interaction
B) Social perception
C) Social influence
D) Social awareness

Question 6

A social psychologist would be most likely to study which of the following?

A) Societal based problems such as deviance and crime
B) How personality characteristics like introversion predict behaviour
C) The social factors that influence how high school students choose their university major
D) They would be equally likely to study all of the above.

Question 7

A researcher is interested in understanding what makes an individual aggressive towards another person. This type of research is best described as _______________.

A) action research
B) applied research
C) basic research
D) either action research or applied research

Question 8

Hakim is interested in determining which areas of the brain are active when individuals form stereotypes. This type of research is an example of:

A) social learning research.
B) social cognitive research.
C) social neuroscience research.
D) evolutionary research.

Question 9

Erin is conducting research on how to improve recycling behaviour in suburban towns. This type of research is best described as _______________.

A) theoretical research
B) applied research
C) pure research
D) basic research

Question 10

If you study how students' academic performance is affected by teachers' praise and punishment, you will most likely be approaching your research from which of the following perspectives?

A) Sociocultural perspective
B) Evolutionary perspective
C) Social learning perspective
D) Social cognitive perspective

Question 11

What is argued to be a key theory to many of social psychology's core concepts?

A) Social loafing theory
B) The theory of natural selection
C) Social facilitation theory
D) Social learning theory

Question 12

_____________ is the process through which individuals form impressions of others and interpret information about them.

A) Social interaction
B) Social perception
C) Social influence
D) Social awareness

Question 13

The availability heuristic refers to:

A) decisions based on proximity to others.
B) judgments based on how easily information comes to mind.
C) perceptions guided by how busy our lives are.
D) how individuals strive to conserve physical effort.

Question 14

John is studying the research question "How do our parents' occupations influence our career choices?" This would fall under which main facet of social psychology?

A) Social perception
B) Social cognition
C) Social interaction
D) Social influence

Question 15

Rachel is interested in conducting research on the fundamental ideas behind behaviour and cognition, such as how individuals form stereotypes. Her research is best described as:

A) action research.
B) applied research.
C) basic research.
D) Rachel's research can be described as both action research and applied research.

Question 16

The social cognitive perspective differs from the social learning perspective in what primary way?

A) The social cognitive perspective emphasizes the role of individual thoughts.
B) The social cognitive perspective emphasizes the role of biology.
C) The social cognitive perspective emphasizes the role of the environment.
D) The social cognitive perspective emphasizes the role of culture.

Question 17

Which of the following is described by your textbook as one of the main facets of social psychology?

A) Social perception
B) Social influence
C) Social interaction
D) Social perception, social influence, and social interaction are all main facets of social psychology.

Question 18

In regards to social psychology research on married couples, which phrase is most true?

A) Absense make the heart grow fonder.
B) Opposites attract.
C) Out of sight, out of mind.
D) Birds of a feather flock together.

Question 19

A parent hits a child for misbehaving and then later on that child hits his sibling for breaking a toy. Assuming the child hit his sibling because he was imitating his parent's behaviour, this would be an example of ______________.

A) evolutionary learning
B) natural selection
C) observational learning
D) cognitive learning

Question 20

A social psychologist argues that people today tend to live in groups and organized societies because it aided in our ancestors' survival and, as such, has become commonplace. This illustrates what type of perspective?

A) A sociocultural perspective
B) A social learning perspective
C) A social cognitive perspective
D) An evolutionary perspective

Question 21

Which of the following is used by members of the scientific community to minimize bias and reduce errors?

A) The scientific method
B) Differential construal
C) The confirmation bias
D) None of the above

Question 22

Chris works at a local coffee shop. After the manager leaves for the night, he and his fellow employees are required to clean the tables and floors before closing. Often Chris does not put forth a strong effort to make sure he does his part. Chris's behaviour is an example of:

A) social loafing.
B) social facilitation.
C) confirmation bias.
D) hindsight bias.

Question 23

Joseph sees money fall out of a stranger's pocket and returns it to the rightful owner. He believes it would be dishonourable to keep money that is not his own and assumes that most others share this view. Which of the following may explain why Joseph could be incorrect in his assumption?

A) Joseph is failing to notice information that confirms his belief.
B) Joseph is not spending enough time thinking about his own views.
C) Joseph is not considering that others may have a different idea of what it means to be dishonourable.
D) Joseph is not incorrect in his assumption.

Question 24

You are a very fast swimmer but you always perform better during competitions than during practice. This phenomenon is called:

A) social facilitation.
B) confirmation bias.
C) social perception.
D) social loafing.

Question 25

Max Ringelmann conducted a study in which he asked a group of individuals to tug on a rope both individually and as a team. Which of the following statements best summarizes his findings?

A) Participants pulled harder when working in same-sex teams than in mixed-sex teams
B) Participants pulled harder when working as a team than working individually
C) Participants pulled harder when working as individuals than as a team
D) Participants pulled harder when working in larger teams than in smaller teams

Question 26

Which of the following is most true regarding common sense?

A) Common sense is an objective idea.
B) Common sense is a good predictor of others' behaviour.
C) Common sense is a subjective concept.
D) Common sense is usually based upon solid evidence.

Question 27

The tendency to think you knew something would occur all along is known as ____________.

A) optimistic bias
B) false consensus effect
C) hindsight bias
D) false uniqueness effect

Question 28

Matthew interviews for an important job but the company ultimately decides to select someone else for the position. Matthew thinks to himself, "I knew the interview went poorly and I wasn't going to get the job." Matthew's belief that he knew the outcome all along is an example of what phenomenon?

A) Hindsight bias
B) False consensus effect
C) Optimistic bias
D) False uniqueness effect

Question 29

_____________ is defined as the enhancement of a performance when another person is present.

A) Confirmation bias
B) Social facilitation
C) Social perception
D) Social loafing

Question 30

Based on research presented in your textbook, which of the following statements is most true concerning the study of attraction?

A) Married couples who have different personality traits are more likely to report that they are satisfied in their relationship compared with couples who have similar personality traits.
B) Married couples are likely to have different religious beliefs compared with randomly paired couples.
C) Opposites attract.
D) Married couples are more likely to be similar in terms of their values compared with randomly paired couples.

Question 31

____________is an emerging field that integrates the study of physiological mechanisms with social psychological perspectives.

A) Physiological psychology
B) Social neuroscience
C) Social interaction
D) Social perception

Question 32

A professor has decided to assign group projects to his class. In order to avoid the phenomenon of social loafing, the professor might do which of the following?

A) Assign every student the same grade no matter what.
B) Do not assign any grades at all.
C) Grade each person separately based on the specific part of the project they completed.
D) Make the group as big as possible.

Question 33

________________ is defined as an approach to thinking that involves using systematic observations, measurements, and experiments to assess information.

A) Hindsight bias
B) Differential construal
C) The scientific method
D) The confirmation bias

Question 34

Ruth is taking a social psychology class with a professor who has a reputation of being mean and unhelpful. Ruth notices that the professor will not provide any extensions for late work or provide any extra credit opportunities for struggling students. Which of the following concepts does this example best demonstrate?

A) The false consensus effect
B) The false uniqueness effect
C) The hindsight bias
D) The confirmation bias

Question 35

Norman Triplett conducted a study measuring the performance of children playing a simple game either alone or in the presence of another child. Triplett's results indicated that:

A) children playing the game in pairs performed equally to children playing alone.
B) children playing the game in pairs performed better than children playing alone.
C) children playing the game alone performed better than children playing in pairs.
D) older children playing the game performed better irrespective of whether they were alone or with another child.

Question 36

The ________ is a phenomenon that causes individuals to assume that everyone shares the same opinion they do.

A) false consensus
B) hindsight bias
C) confirmation bias
D) differential construal

Question 37

According to your textbook, the false consensus effect is likely to increase under which of the following situations?

A) When the situation is very clear
B) When the situation permits differential construal
C) When everyone shares the same opinion
D) When the situation is very simple and straightforward

Question 38

Some of the conclusions drawn by research studies in social psychology may seem obvious. However, as your textbook author points out, many of our common beliefs have been disproven by social psychologists. What is one reason why we may assume that social psychology is common sense?

A) Because research proves that most of our common sense beliefs are true.
B) Because the subject matter of social psychology often seems familiar and personal and we believe we are naturally knowledgeable about human behaviour.
C) Because most of social psychology is indeed common sense.
D) Because common sense is easy to prove without doing research.

Question 39

In 1898, _____________ conducted what is considered one of the earliest formal studies in social psychology.

A) Max Ringelmann
B) Norman Triplett
C) Gordan Allport
D) Richard LaPiere

Question 40

________ is the act of judging circumstances differently.

A) False consensus
B) Differential construal
C) Hindsight bias
D) Confirmation bias

Question 41

The interactionist perspective involves the combination of ____________________.

A) biological factors and cognitive factors
B) internal factors (from personality psychology) and external factors (from social psychology)
C) basic and applied research
D) pure and applied research

Question 42

According to your textbook, which of the following was argued to be a major milestone in the development of social psychology curriculum?

A) World War I
B) The formation of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)
C) The publishing of textbooks on social psychology
D) The creation of social-psychological journals such as Basic and Applied Social Psychology

Question 43

According to your textbook, what took place during the 1970s and 1980s that had a strong impact on the discipline of psychology, including social psychology?

A) A cognitive revolution
B) A behaviourist revolution
C) A personality revolution
D) Both a behaviourist and personality revolution

Question 44

What is considered the quintessential reference guide for the field of social psychology?

A) Handbook of Social Psychology
B) Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)
C) The Journal of Social Issues
D) Journal of Applied Social Psychology

Question 45

Social comparison theory and cognitive dissonance theory were developed by which of the following social psychologists?

A) Stanley Milgram
B) Solomon Asch
C) Leon Festinger
D) Kurt Lewin

Question 46

Which of the following represents a major factor in determining whether social loafing occurs instead of social facilitation?

A) Intelligence
B) Accountability
C) Personality
D) Conformity

Question 47

A social psychologist's main focus is on group behaviour at the societal level.

Question 48

Who is considered the father of modern social psychology?

A) Norman Triplett
B) Fritz Heider
C) Solomon Asch
D) Kurt Lewin

Question 49

Which of the following statements about social psychology is most true?

A) Social psychology is only concerned with private internal functioning.
B) Social psychology is not concerned with an individual's thoughts and behaviours.
C) Social psychology is an extremely old discipline.
D) Social psychology is primarily considered to be a Western-dominated discipline.

Question 50

The phenomenon of social loafing is diminished under which of the following conditions?

A) When the task is a physical chore
B) When the task is important
C) When the task is unimportant
D) When there are a lot of people performing the task

Question 51

You are conducting research on helping behaviour. You theorize that helping a person in an emergency is impacted by how noticeable the situation is as well as by individual differences in compassion for others. Which of the following best captures the perspective you are taking on this research topic?

A) Cognitive
B) Cultural
C) Interactionist
D) Social

Question 52

In a 1979 article for Social Psychology Quarterly, who did Cartwright name as the one person who has had the greatest impact on the field of social psychology?

A) Adolf Hitler
B) Solomon Asch
C) Gordon Allport
D) Kurt Lewin

Question 53

Edwin Ross and William McDougall are important figures in the history of social psychology. What important contribution did they make to the development of social psychology?

A) Together they developed the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI).
B) They each established modern journals in the field of social psychology.
C) Together they created the Journal of Social Issues.
D) They each published one of the first textbooks in social psychology.

Question 54

During the 1990s, which of the following became a research topic of greater interest to social psychologists?

A) The role of biology
B) The role of personality traits
C) The role of culture
D) The role of cognition

Question 55

Which of the following events had a major impact on the development and direction of social psychology?

A) World War I
B) The Great Depression
C) World War II and the Nazis' occupation of Europe
D) The Civil Rights movement

Question 56

Which of the following statements about the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) is most true?

A) SPSSI was created by Edward Ross and William McDougall.
B) SPSSI was created to bring together socially minded psychologists interested in applying social psychology to social issues and public policy.
C) SPSSI was created to bring together social psychologists who studied basic research.
D) SPSSI was created to promote the overlap between personality and social psychology.

Question 57

Which of the following statements best represents a conclusion you could draw from LaPiere's landmark study on the relationship between people's attitudes and their behaviours?

A) Attitudes do not always predict behaviours.
B) Behaviours always predict attitudes.
C) Attitudes always predict behaviours.
D) There is nothing we can conclude about the relationship between attitudes and behaviours.

Question 58

Kurt Lewin attempted to convince people to switch from eating white bread to eating wheat bread. When participants were asked to make a public commitment, he found that:

A) participants refused to eat wheat bread when the commitment was public rather than private.
B) participants continued to eat white bread when the commitment was in writing rather than verbal.
C) participants continued to eat the bread they preferred prior to the study.
D) participants displayed a stronger commitment to the change to wheat bread.

Question 59

Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Social Psychology Quarterly, and Social Cognition are examples of _____________.

A) handbooks in the field of social psychology
B) books in the field of social psychology
C) journals in the field of social psychology
D) magazines dedicated to social psychology

Question 60

Who pioneered a perspective that involved combining internal factors from personality psychology and external factors from social psychology?

A) Leon Festinger
B) Kurt Lewin
C) Solomon Asch
D) Floyd Allport

Question 61

World War II is an event identified as having changed the structure and direction of social psychology.

Question 62

Utilizing the scientific method is one way social psychologists can minimize bias in their research.

Question 63

Social psychologists use common sense to determine answers to their research questions.

Question 64

Name the three main facets of social psychology. Briefly define one of these three facets.

Question 65

Compare and contrast two different perspectives of social psychology.

Question 66

Social psychology is generally considered a Western-dominated discipline.

Question 67

Marc's ability to throw a football farther when his friends are watching than when he is alone describes the phenomenon of social loafing.

Question 68

A manager who wants to avoid social loafing in her office should make each employee's performance individually identifiable.

Question 69

Social loafing is reduced when a task is perceived as important to an individual.

Question 70

Name two research topics that would fall under the rubric of 'social influence.' Why would they be considered examples of research topics in the area of social influence?

Question 71

The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) was created primarily to focus research efforts on basic cognitive and social processes.

Question 72

The sociocultural perspective focuses on the relationship between social behaviour and culture.

Question 73

Define social psychology and describe how it differs from the discipline of sociology.

Question 74

Your belief that most other people feel as negatively about abortion protestors as you do reflects the phenomenon of the false consensus effect.

Question 75

Consider the behaviour of cheating on a test. Describe how a researcher taking an evolutionary perspective would explain this behaviour compared with a researcher taking a social learning perspective.

Question 76

A perspective that considers both internal and external factors is best considered a personality perspective.

Question 77

Action research is research that is conducted with the goal of solving social problems.

Question 78

Social perception is the process through which other people affect an individual's thoughts or actions.

Question 79

Christy's assumption that she knew all along that the United States was going to be attacked by terrorists on September 11ᵗʰ is an example of hindsight bias.

Question 80

The belief that humans help one another because helping behaviour evolved to aid in our ancestors' survival is a sociocultural perspective.