Deck 5: Section 1 : Self in Social Cognition

Question 1

Which of the following best describes what is meant by a "depth of processing account"?
a. Social stimuli is processed at greater mental depth because it activates a number of different concepts
b. Information that is potentially self-threatening is processed more superficially in a form of psychological self-defense
c. Memory of self-relevant or self-referential information is facilitated because it leaves a more interconnected, enduring memory trace
d. The older the memory, the deeper it is buried within neural networks, making it harder/slower to retrieve

Answer 1

Memory of self-relevant or self-referential information is facilitated because it leaves a more interconnected, enduring memory trace

Question 2

If you happen to bump into an old classmate and find yourself acting exactly the way you did when you were in high school, which of the following would best describe this occurrence?
a. Upward social comparison
b. Self-regulation
c. Transference
d. None of the above

Answer 2

Transference

Question 3

Which of the following brain regions appears to be most important in distinguishing between "self" and "other"?
a. Amygdala
b. Left hemisphere of prefrontal cortex
c. Right hemisphere of hippocampus
d. Central temporal sulcus

Answer 3

Left hemisphere of prefrontal cortex

Question 4

Which of the following brain regions is not likely to be activated when processing self-schematic information?
a. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex
b. Nucleus accumbens
c. Amygdala
d. Central temporal sulcus

Question 5

Research shows that people reciprocate warm or cold behavior and contrast dominant or docile behavior when interacting with others. This process is described as ____________ self-construal.
a. Relational
b. Reciprocal
c. Complementary
d. Interdependent

Question 6

Which of the following best describes self-worth based on a comparison of one's self with others?
a. Self-esteem as a sociometer
b. Self-esteem as domain-specific
c. Implicit self-esteem
d. Explicit self-esteem

Question 7

A mediocre high school student feels very confident about being admitted to a top-tier university. This is an example of which of the following?
a. Self-enhancement
b. Regulatory fit
c. Self-verification
d. Affective forecasting

Question 8

Although Sarah doesn't particularly like children, she is getting her teaching credentials because her parents expect her to have a career in early education. This behavior is most in line with which of the following?
a. Socially contingent self-esteem
b. Relational interdependence
c. Regulatory fit
d. Prevention focus

Question 9

Julie's self-esteem is severely threatened by receiving a low grade on an English exam, but when she performs poorly in a sports competition, it doesn't bother her at all. Which of the following would best describe this phenomenon?
a. Contingencies of self-worth
b. Multiple possible selves
c. Relational selves
d. Self-esteem independence

Question 10

Which of the following best describes the theory of self-verification?
a. People tend to seek confirmation of their pre-existing self-concepts
b. People exclusively favor information that confirms positive self-views
c. People use introspection to find evidence supporting their pre-existing self views
d. None of the above

Question 11

Which of the following best describes what is meant by "implicit egotism"?
a. People may not consciously realize the extent to which they unrealistically inflate their views of self-worth
b. Our desire to promote ourselves is implicit in almost everything we do
c. People prefer other people and things that resemble the self
d. All of the above

Question 12

Which of the following best characterizes self-evaluation maintenance theory?
a. People are motivated to maintain a consistent self-concept, even if the concept is not always favorable
b. The success of a close other can either threaten or enhance a person's self-views, depending on the self-relevance of the domain of the success
c. Positive illusions about the self and one's abilities can function as a psychological "buffer" to mitigate the effects of self-threats
d. Motivation to have an accurate view of one's self leads people to assess their strengths as well as their weaknesses

Question 13

Which of the following best describes what is meant by "sociometer" theory?
a. Self-esteem is a measure of how others are evaluating you
b. Specialized neural mechanisms monitor interpersonal processes
c. Measuring self-schemas can only be done in social situations
d. Fragile self-views require frequent reinforcement from others

Question 14

Which of the following is responsible for integrating diverse self-relevant processing in different parts of the brain?
a. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex
b. Left-hemisphere interpreter
c. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
d. None of the above

Question 15

Using a highly successful person as a role model and aspiring to that person's success could be considered an example of which of the following?
a. Upward social comparison
b. Possible self
c. Promotion focus
d. All of the above

Question 16

The so-called "Golden Rule," do onto others as you would have them do onto you, assumes that others' preferences are similar to your own. This could be a potentially-problematic case of which of the following?
a. Social projection
b. Stimulation theory
c. Self-regulatory assumption
d. Introspection heuristics

Question 17

John is extremely motivated to win a large research grant; he thinks about it constantly and works very hard on his proposal. When thinking about this goal, which of the following brain regions is likely to be activated?
a. Right frontal cortex
b. Medial prefrontal cortex
c. Left frontal cortex
d. All of the above

Question 18

Possible and feared selves influence which of the following?
a. How we think about ourselves
b. How we select social roles
c. What situations we seek access to
d. All of the above

Question 19

Which of the following would NOT be a good example of self variability?
a. Relational selves
b. Behaving more childishly towards your mother than towards your spouse
c. Spontaneously deciding to change jobs
d. Seeming serious in the office but jovial at a bar

Question 20

Which of the following best describes what is meant by self-encoding in "person-situation-interaction" terms?
a. We have many different concepts of ourselves, and context determines which aspect will be activated
b. We encode representations of ourselves primarily based on our interactions with other people
c. There is a hierarchy of importance in encoding self-concepts. Most influential is the underlying person, followed by the situation the person is in, and finally the interaction between the two
d. Self-concepts are typically encoded as three separate nodes. The first encodes characteristics of the person, the second encodes aspects of experienced situations, and the third encodes likely ways in which they may interact

Question 21

Research on _________ have led many researchers to question the fundamental nature of self-esteem.
a. Neurological bases of self-esteem
b. Cultural differences in self-esteem
c. All of the above
d. None of the above

Question 22

Which of the following can motivate the need for self-improvement?
a. Criticism
b. Upward social comparison
c. Lack of sleep
d. Both A and B

Question 23

If your brother earns 1^st place in a tournament that you had been training for all year, how does Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance theory suggest that you will respond?
a. See your brother's success as a source of pride reflection effect)
b. See your brother's success as a threat, leading to negative emotions comparison effect)
c. See your brother's success as unimportant no effect)
d. None of the above

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a method of satisfying self-enhancement needs through falsely positive and somewhat exaggerated self-perceptions?
a. Seeing the self more positively than is true
b. Believing that one has more control over events than is true
c. Having unrealistic optimism about the future
d. None of the above

Question 25

Which of the following kinds of emotions fit a long-term perspective and may help in resolving self-control dilemmas?
a. Hedonic
b. Self-conscious
c. All of the above
d. None of the above

Question 26

The tendency to avoid other people and activities is likely due to activation of which of the following?
a. Behavioral activation system
b. Behavioral inhibition system
c. Right frontal region of the cortex
d. Both B and C

Question 27

If someone who is chronically late overestimates the extent to which others share this problem, which of the following best describes this process?
a. Social projection
b. Self-enhancement
c. Self-reflection
d. Self-assessment

Question 28

Interdependence assumes different forms depending on culture and gender. A mother sacrificing her own time and resources so that her children will have many opportunities to be successful is an example of _________ interdependence.
a. Social
b. Emotional
c. Relational
d. None of the above

Question 29

Which of the following researchers proposed a theory suggesting that some self-discrepancies reflect a shortfall between one's current self and ideal self activating), and some between one's current self and ought self inhibiting).
a. Higgins
b. Bandura
c. Trope
d. None of the above

Question 30

If you notice someone at the library sitting with perfect posture and then correct your own posture, which of the following best describes your current state?
a. Self-control
b. Self-consciousness
c. Self-awareness
d. Self-verification