Deck 4: Social Perception: How We Come to Understand Other People

Question 1

Eva and her roommate haven't been getting along lately.Every time Eva enters the room, her roommate looks away and turns her body so that her back is to Eva.This example best illustrates the use of nonverbal behavior to

A) communicate personality traits.
B) express rational cognitions.
C) convey attitudes.
D) facilitate verbal communication.

Answer 1

convey attitudes.

Question 2

The authors of your text report a story of a homeless man who spent his only quarter to find out why a couple (whose love letters he'd read) had broken up.This story demonstrates

A) that homeless people make irrational decisions.
B) that people tend to be very nosey.
C) the idea that people are fascinated with the human condition.
D) the need people have for belonging.

Answer 2

the idea that people are fascinated with the human condition.

Question 3

All we can see is other people's appearance and behavior, but we are most interested in trying to infer from this

A) why people behave the way they do.
B) when people will change their behavior.
C) whether people are happy or unhappy.
D) what people will do when they are alone.

Answer 3

why people behave the way they do.

Question 4

On your birthday, you arrive home and are overjoyed to find a large bouquet of flowers from your best friend.Your eyes grow wide and a broad smile crosses your face.You laugh in delight.This example best illustrates the use of nonverbal behavior to

A) convey attitudes.
B) communicate one's personality traits.
C) facilitate verbal communication.
D) express emotions.

Question 5

All of the following are nonverbal behaviors EXCEPT

A) spoken words.
B) tone of voice.
C) facial expressions.
D) touch.

Question 6

Jessica smiles to convey that she is happy.Jessica's smile is a way of ________ the emotion of happiness.

A) encoding
B) decoding
C) verbalizing
D) perceiving

Question 7

Darwin believed that nonverbal communications were once-useful physiological reactions.Which face could Wghn, an early human, make that looks like vomiting in order to communicate to his group, "Don't eat that!"?

A)a happy face
B)an angry face
C)a surprised face
D)a disgusted face

Question 8

Sheila fancies herself an outgoing extrovert.She smiles a lot and gestures dramatically as she talks.This example best illustrates the use of nonverbal behavior to

A) convey attitudes.
B) facilitate verbal communication.
C) communicate personality traits.
D) express emotions.

Question 9

Darwin believed that emotional expressions began as ________ that came to have evolutionary value because they ________.

A) physiological reactions; convey emotional states to other members of the species
B) physiological reactions; increased the efficiency of bodily reactions
C) communication devices; increased the efficiency of bodily reactions
D) random mutations; convey expectations to other members of the species

Question 10

The basic type of information people use about others to form impressions and understand them is

A) intuition.
B) nonverbal behavior.
C) rational judgment.
D) reading their blogs.

Question 11

Professor Axelrod is interested in the effects of physical attractiveness on how others interpret the appearance and behaviors of attractive versus unattractive people.Professor Axelrod is most likely to be interested in

A) attribution theory.
B) lie detection.
C) social perception.
D) social encoding.

Question 12

When people communicate using nonverbal behavior, they typically use

A) their eyes.
B) their hands.
C) their tone of voice.
D) multiple channels.

Question 13

________ is defined as how we form impressions of and make inferences about other people.

A) Attribution theory
B) Social perception
C) Social inference
D) Social encoding

Question 14

According to the authors of your text, how people communicate-intentionally or unintentionally-without words is the definition of

A) gestures.
B) automatic communication.
C) nonverbal communication.
D) social perception.

Question 15

Larry sees a group of people weeping, with frowns on their faces and their eyes turned down.Larry ________ their expressions to understand that they are feeling sadness.

A) encodes
B) decodes
C) recodes
D) misinterprets

Question 16

According to the authors of your text, people use social perception in order to figure people out as part of social survival, and also because it

A) is a skill in high demand by employers.
B) makes us more likely to win if we are ever on a reality TV show.
C) helps us empathize with people in distant countries.
D) is enjoyable, and a form of entertainment.

Question 17

According to your textbook authors, the popularity of "reality" television is largely due to the fact that we

A) have an obsession with deviant behavior because it seems so "unreal" to us.
B) promote our own self-esteem by viewing ourselves as superior to the "losers" on those programs.
C) now perceive sitcoms as childish in comparison.
D) are fascinated with trying to figure other people out so we can better understand our social world.

Question 18

Nonverbal behavior is used for all of the following EXCEPT

A) communicating one's personality traits.
B) conveying attitudes.
C) writing letters.
D) facilitating verbal communication.

Question 19

According to the authors, it's not easy to understand and explain other people's behaviors because

A) other people intentionally hide their motivations and intentions.
B) social behavior is often random.
C) we have access only to observable behaviors.
D) we are hopelessly biased by our own motivations.

Question 20

Express is to ________ as interpret is to ________.

A) encode; decode
B) decode; encode
C) encode; emit
D) emit; encode

Question 21

According to research conducted by Susskind and his colleagues (2008) presented by the authors of your text, when people make the facial expression of disgust, it involves

A) decreasing input from the senses.
B) increasing sensory input.
C) heightened arousal.
D) sensitized taste and smell.

Question 22

Ekman and his colleagues have identified ________ universal facial expressions in their research.

A) three
B) six
C) nine
D) twelve

Question 23

Harry is an American, and he just missed the lyrics in a karaoke contest at his local bar.Which of the following is he LEAST likely to express?

A) shame
B) pride
C) disgust
D) fear

Question 24

The six major facial expressions discussed in the text are widely considered to be

A) universal.
B) culture specific.
C) developmentally determined.
D) primate specific.

Question 25

Which of the following facial expressions does NOT belong?

A)anger
B)surprise
C)desire
D)happy

Question 26

All of the following are among the six universally recognized facial expressions reported by Ekman EXCEPT

A) sadness.
B) fear.
C) anger.
D) guilt.

Question 27

Recent research suggests that the expression for the emotion of contempt may be

A) only found in Western cultures.
B) easily confused with anger.
C) only decoded by adults.
D) another universal emotion.

Question 28

Milo, a Canadian, just won his race.He is likely to show pride, but it is a more complicated emotion to express than the universal expressions and includes body movement in addition to facial expression.What is Milo going to need to include in order to express pride?

A)head tilted back, arms up
B)head down, shoulders slumped
C)shoulders raised, hands behind his back
D)hand in his pockets, eyes down

Question 29

Peter's expression when Jan saw him at lunch was difficult to decode.One part of his face registered one emotion and another part of his face registered a different emotion.Therefore, Peter was demonstrating

A) an ambivalence display.
B) dissembling.
C) a deceptive display.
D) an affect blend.

Question 30

Nora has been blind since birth, and has never seen a smile, frown, or furrowed brow.At age three, how capable would she be of expressing emotions using the facial expressions of sighted people?

A) Incapable of properly using facial expressions, she would require special training.
B) She would be capable of expressing only negative emotions such as anger or sadness.
C) She would be able to express all six basic emotions just as well as sighted people.
D) It depends on what culture she is being reared in.

Question 31

Ekman and Friesen (1971) collected convincing evidence that facial expressions are universal.In their research, they studied

A) blind people who smile, even though they have never seen a smile.
B) a preliterate tribe in an isolated part of New Guinea.
C) infants before they learned to talk.
D) facial expressions on five different continents.

Question 32

Your sister comes in and announces that she has just gotten engaged to the man she has been dating for the past two months.You feel a mix of surprise, happiness, and concern, and this shows on your face.The expression your face displays is known as a(n)

A) affect blend.
B) emotional mix.
C) confusing facial display.
D) contradictory facial expression.

Question 33

Contemporary researchers have collected evidence that naturalist Charles Darwin (1872) was correct when he asserted that facial expressions are ________ specific.

A) culture
B) location
C) species
D) feeling

Question 34

Lars has been blind since birth.Which negative emotion is he unlikely to be able to express on his face?

A)anger
B)fear
C)sadness
D)frustration

Question 35

Based on information from the authors of your text, who would be more likely to express a feeling of shame publicly?

A) Ken, a man from an individualist culture
B) Tran, a man from a collectivist culture
C) Lisa, a woman from an individualist culture
D) Nanami, a woman who grew up in both individualist and collectivist cultures

Question 36

Imagine traveling to a country where you don't speak the native language.You just had a great meal.You don't want to be misunderstood, so how can you communicate to your host that the meal was great, and that you're happy?

A)smile
B)give a "thumbs up" sign
C)give the "ok" sign
D)frown

Question 37

According to research conducted by Susskind and his colleagues (2008) presented by the authors of your text, the expression of fear involves facial movements which

A) decrease visual input.
B) increase sensory input.
C) lower arousal.
D) enhance hearing.

Question 38

Recall that Ekman and Friesen (1971) have demonstrated that Fore tribespeople from a preliterate culture in New Guinea were able to decode the facial expressions of Westerners and encode emotion easily interpretable by Westerners.Their findings suggest that Darwin was

A) right-facial expressions are species specific.
B) wrong-facial expressions are culture specific.
C) right-facial expressions are culture specific.
D) wrong-facial expressions are universal among humans.

Question 39

Based on evidence presented by the authors of your text, the facial expression for disgust is adaptive because it

A) allows people to taste more sensitively.
B) decreases the intensity of disgusting sensations.
C) increases the chances people will detect poisons or pathogens in food.
D) actually decreases the likelihood someone will become ill from eating spoiled food.

Question 40

According to research conducted by Susskind and his colleagues (2008) presented by the authors of your text, the emotions of ________ and ________ involve opposite facial muscle movements.

A) fear; disgust
B) happiness; sadness
C) anger; surprise
D) pride; shame

Question 41

Chantelle's family is hosting a Japanese exchange student, Yukiko, at their home for a year.Chantelle notices that Yukiko hides her smile behind her hands.After reading Chapter 4 (Social Perception), Chantelle learns that Yukiko hides her smile because

A) Japanese norms discourage men and women from smiling.
B) she wants to conform to American display rules.
C) Japanese norms discourage Japanese women from showing broad smiles.
D) in Japan, smiles signal feelings of superiority.

Question 42

Although certain facial expressions are easily encoded and decoded across members of the human species, display rules

A) signal that culture is important, too.
B) dictate whether to encode or decode a given expression.
C) dictate that we should hide our embarrassment.
D) signal whether we should pay attention to verbal or nonverbal behaviors.

Question 43

Galina is described to you as a "computer nerd." Based on this, you assume she is socially awkward, introverted, unpopular, and obsessed with anything related to technology.This information makes up your

A) personality.
B) schema.
C) thin-slice.
D) display rule.

Question 44

Paula's cubicle at work is filled with pictures of her family, comfy stuffed animals, her favorite foods, and posters of her favorite music groups.Based on the research of Gosling, Paula is most likely a(n)

A)narcissist.
B)extravert.
C)depressed person.
D)foreigner.

Question 45

On a visit to Australia, then-president George H.W.Bush offended the Australians when he flashed the two-fingered "peace sign" to a crowd.This is an example of how the use of ________, which vary from culture to culture, may lead to confusion or conflict if used outside of the user's culture.

A) emblems
B) display rules
C) political gaffe
D) paralanguage

Question 46

Zeinab won't make eye contact with you.In American culture, this lack of eye contact is interpreted as a sign of

A) deception.
B) unhappiness.
C) sadness.
D) happiness.

Question 47

Jordanka has big eyes, a small chin and nose, and a high forehead.Her new employer is most likely to believe she is

A)extraverted and outgoing.
B)confident bordering on rude.
C)calculating and scheming.
D)naive and submissive.

Question 48

Judy forms a circle with her thumb and forefinger to communicate to her sister that everything is okay.Although in America this is a common gesture, it may be interpreted differently elsewhere in the world.What kind of gesture is this?

A) display rule
B) emblem
C) hand-purse
D) universal

Question 49

Using _____, individuals can draw meaningful conclusions about another person's personality or skills based on an extremely brief sample of behavior.

A)thin-slicing
B)self-serving
C)priming
D)the availability heuristic

Question 50

The "hand purse" gesture means "good" or "slow down" in some cultures.In American culture, it doesn't have a clear meaning; therefore, it is a(n)

A) display rule.
B) decoded display.
C) encoded display.
D) emblem.

Question 51

Students in the United States seldom applaud after a lecture, whereas students in Europe often applaud or rap their knuckles on their desks.This cultural difference reflects the power of ________ to influence nonverbal communication.

A) display rules
B) emblems
C) encoding
D) politeness norms

Question 52

According to the authors of your text, individuals from a(n) ________ culture would be less likely to express feelings of shame in public.

A) collectivist
B) third-world
C) individualist
D) Eastern

Question 53

Who displays fewer emotions in general?

A)Logan, from Canada
B)Oliver, from Great Britain
C)Michael, from the United States
D)Itsuki, from Japan

Question 54

________ are culture-specific norms that dictate what kinds of emotional expression is allowed.

A) Nonverbal rules
B) Expressive norms
C) Display rules
D) Encoding rules

Question 55

Ingrid has had a few interactions with Chinese students at her college and thinks that they are "hard to read" because they do not use facial expressions "clearly" as compared to Americans she interacts with.Such experiences illustrate

A) women's inability to decode emotions.
B) women's inability to encode emotions.
C) differences in display rules.
D) the use of emblems.

Question 56

Emre has a baby face.Noam just met him.What is Noam likely to think about Emre?

A)"He's a very warm and naïve person."
B)"He's a very outgoing and stubborn person."
C)"He's a very mature and responsible person."
D)"He's a very independent and talkative person."

Question 57

Research indicates that humans can form an initial impression of others based solely on their facial appearance in less than ______ milliseconds.

A)10
B)25
C)50
D)100

Question 58

Research by Ambady and colleagues has demonstrated that impressions of professors formed after observing only 10 seconds of behavior

A)were similar to the perceptions of students who had observed the professor all semester.
B)determined that the professors were naïve and submissive.
C)were less accurate than those who had longer observations of the professors.
D)were more accurate than those who only observed for 6 seconds.

Question 59

Sarah, a student at an American university, has just arrived in Bolivia for a study year abroad.When meeting her host parents, she notices that they stand very close to her as they speak.She feels uncomfortable until she realizes that

A) they have different cultural norms concerning the use of space.
B) she is just nervous about her trip.
C) their emblem use differs from her own.
D) social roles are different in Latin America.

Question 60

If you use the Internet, you are probably familiar with emoticons: facial expressions displayed using a combination of typographic figures,e.g., :-) for a smile. Asian countries have their own set of emoticons; in these (which are viewed without having to turn one's head), there are different smiling facial figures for a man smiling (^_^) and a woman smiling (^ . ^), since in Japan, women are not supposed to exhibit a wide, uninhibited smile. This difference between the men's and women's emoticons in Japan is due to a(n)

A) emblem.
B) display rule.
C) affect blend.
D) decoding difference.

Question 61

Belief perseverance is likely a result of ________ thinking.

A)controlled social thinking
B)automatic social thinking
C)counterfactual reasoning
D)self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 62

Ed and Violet just saw their professor slip and fall.Ed thinks, "What a klutz!" but Violet thinks, "I bet there was water on the floor, and she slipped on it." In this case, Ed made an ________ attribution and Violet made a(n) ________ attribution.

A) internal; personal
B) external; internal
C) external; situational
D) internal; external

Question 63

From the point of view of Heider's (1958) "naïve" or "commonsense" psychology, people are much like ________ in trying to understand others' behaviors.

A) computers
B) lawyers
C) amateur scientists
D) social psychologists

Question 64

Seeing pictures of physically attractive celebrities and models, many people in the U.S.assume that these people are also intelligent, kind, or wealthy.Such assumptions illustrate the schema held widely as a culture that

A) what is beautiful is good.
B) beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
C) beauty is only skin deep.
D) one should beware of that which is too beautiful.

Question 65

In trying to make sense of the social world, people are much like amateur scientists.This observation is most compatible with Heider's (1958) classic scholarly work on

A) causal attributions.
B) implicit personality theories.
C) commonsense psychology.
D) correspondent inferences.

Question 66

Amber and Jack are very physically attractive.In the U.S.most people would think they are also

A) kind and intelligent.
B) unhelpful and ambitious.
C) sophisticated and worldly.
D) selfish and conceited.

Question 67

When we decide that there is something about the situation that is causing a behavior, we are making a(n) ________ attribution.

A) external
B) internal
C) global
D) personal

Question 68

Which of the following are you most likely to evaluate positively?

A)Alex, who is described as intelligent and industrious, but sometimes envious
B)Baxter, who is described as stubborn and envious but also intelligent
C)Cody, who is described as critical and impulsive, but also industrious
D)Dixon, who is describe as envious and critical, but also impulsive

Question 69

When we make note of an actor's personality, attitudes, values, or character, we are forming a(n)

A) speculative attribution.
B) implicit personality theory.
C) internal attribution.
D) external attribution.

Question 70

The social psychologist Fritz Heider is historically important in the field for his contribution of

A) cross-cultural research.
B) the six universal facial expressions.
C) the covariation model.
D) attribution theory.

Question 71

The processes of decoding nonverbal communications and using schemas during impression formation are both examples of ________ processes.

A) controlled
B) automatic
C) heuristic
D) motivated

Question 72

The tendency to stick with an initial judgment even in the face of new information that should prompt us to reconsider is _______.

A)primacy effect
B)belief perseverance
C)thin-slicing
D)affect blends

Question 73

________ theory provides a description of how people explain the causes of their own and others' behaviors.

A) Implicit personality
B) Attribution
C) Dispositional
D) Causal identification

Question 74

Lucas wants to appear confident and powerful during his presentation of the quarterly report.According to research by Carney, Cuddy, and Yap (2010) what should he do when preparing for the talk?

A)stand with his arms crossed over his chest
B)stand with his hands firmly planted on the desk
C)sit with his legs crossed at the ankle
D)stand with his hands behind his back

Question 75

Don is running late for work, and arrives ten minutes late.Which of the following represents an internal attribution that his supervisor would make?

A) "I'm sure you just couldn't find a parking spot; it's okay."
B) "You probably overslept again because you're so lazy."
C) "You probably got delayed by a train."
D) "You probably just had trouble getting your kids up and out the door."

Question 76

In talking to an acquaintance of yours, you note that she never looks you directly in the eye.To figure out whether this is because she is shy, because she dislikes you, or because she comes from a culture that discourages direct eye contact, you would probably

A) apply an implicit personality theory.
B) make an attribution.
C) use a judgmental heuristic.
D) develop a schema.

Question 77

Heider described people as amateur scientists, trying to understand other people's behavior by working to arrive at a reasonable cause.The effort this requires contradicts the idea of people as ________ thinkers.

A) automatic
B) controlled
C) operative
D) regulatory

Question 78

The primacy effect involves using the _____ traits we perceive in others to understand additional information we learn about them.

A)first
B)middle
C)last
D)none of these

Question 79

Emma arrived late for her job interview, wore too much cologne, and forgot the interviewer's name.Because of the ______, the interviewer formed a negative _______ of her.

A)primacy effect; impression
B)impression formation; primacy effect
C)belief perseverance; impression
D)impression; belief perseverance

Question 80

When Marnie met Phillip, he was drunk and loud.Now, months later, she still doesn't like him very much, even though she recently found out the reason he was so drunk was because his cold medicine interacted with the alcohol.The lingering opinion of Phillip is a result of

A)primacy effect.
B)self-fulfilling prophecy.
C)affect blending.
D)belief perseverance.