Deck 9: Section 1 : Cognitive Structures of Attitudes

Question 1

If you want to encourage someone to avoid selective learning processes, which of the following is most likely to be effective?
a. Frame the issue in question as a knowledge gain, rather than a loss
b. Inform the person that there will be a test on the material being presented
c. Present the information repeatedly, so it is particularly familiar
d. Encourage counter-attitudinal beliefs so the person will be motivated to evaluate both sides of the argument

Answer 1

Inform the person that there will be a test on the material being presented

Question 2

If expectations about a new co-worker influence judgments of that person's performance, which of the following has likely occurred?
a. Selective interpretation
b. Selective attention
c. De facto selective exposure
d. None of the above

Answer 2

Selective interpretation

Question 3

One example of a consistency theory is the idea that individuals resolve mental discrepancies to avoid the psychological discomfort of holding conflicting beliefs. This theory would best be described as which of the following?
a. Balance theory
b. Cognitive approach
c. Metatheoretical approach
d. None of the above

Answer 3

None of the above

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the relationship between a persuasive message, the message's source, and the message's validity, under typical circumstances?
a. Each aspect is weighed independently and compared to the others, to determine the attitudinal balance of the overall triad
b. Perceivers tend to create a fit among the aspects, generally judging them all either favorably or unfavorably
c. The message itself is seen as most persuasive, followed by the source, and the algebraic combination of the two determine the message's perceived validity
d. All of the above

Question 5

Based on the research presented in this chapter, which of the following is NOT a function of attitudes?
a. Mentally ordering and organizing the world
b. Shaping relevant memories
c. Increasing self-esteem
d. Providing heuristics for appraising new information

Question 6

Which of the following best describes the role of balanced/imbalanced relationships in memory?
a. Balanced relationships are easier to recall because they increase positive affect, which is more deeply encoded in memory
b. Balanced relationships are easier to recall because they are efficiently stored in memory as a single cognitive unit
c. Imbalanced relationships are easier to recall because they are stored as multiple pieces, increasing the number of connective links between the ideas
d. Imbalanced relationships are easier to recall because they provoke a stronger affective response

Question 7

According to Hovland, Janis, and Kelley, which of the following is LEAST important when perceivers evaluate a persuasive message?
a. The speaker's credibility
b. The speaker's social power
c. The speaker's gender
d. The speaker's attractiveness

Question 8

Which of the following best describes what is meant by temporal self-appraisal theory?
a. People need a long period of time to fully develop evaluative appraisals of their self-concepts
b. People tend to disparage their past selves in order to make more favorable social comparisons with their more recent selves
c. People tend to have unreasonably optimistic aspirations for their future selves
d. All of the above

Question 9

Consistency theories posit a strong ________ basis toward consistency, while cognitive approaches are based on _________ understandings.
a. motivational, cognitive
b. behavioral, motivational
c. motivational, neurological
d. behavioral, cognitive

Question 10

Which of the following best describes some of the early influences on modern attitude research?
a. Psychosocial processes observed during and after World War II
b. Sociocultural racism and political prejudice
c. Both A and B
d. None of the above

Question 11

Which of the following best describes the enduring framework for persuasion research?
a. Social action, just like physical action, is steered by perception
b. Who says what to whom in what channel with what effect
c. The whole is the sum of all parts
d. None of the above

Question 12

Which of the following best describes what is meant by a "social-adjustive" function of attitudes?
a. People often adjust their attitudes in a way that differentiates them from others, out of a desire for positive distinctiveness
b. Strong attitudes can determine the types of social situations a person is likely to seek
c. Adjustment in attitudes can signal interpersonal priorities, sensitivity to others, and general agreeableness
d. Attitudes can be used to demonstrate a person's core moral beliefs

Question 13

According to dissonance theory, if you believe that speeding is wrong, but you speed anyway after waking up late for work, which of the following might you do to reduce dissonance?
a. Emphasize your strong work ethic to justify speeding just this once in order to get to work on time
b. Decide that the speed limit is too low in your neighborhood
c. Notice a driver that is driving faster than you and decide that you are not speeding that much
d. All of the above

Question 14

According to Kelley, which of the following is most likely to be true when there appear to be multiple plausible causes for a behavior?
a. The weaker ones are causally discounted
b. The perceiver mentally merges all causes into a single representation
c. Attention is drawn to the most unusual cause, which is seen as disproportionately important
d. None of the above

Question 15

Which of the following is a true statement?
a. Counter-attitudinal arguments encourage those who hold strong attitudes to counterargue the conflicting positions, making the contrary arguments particularly memorable
b. The role of memory in cognitive consistency processes is typically explicit and conscious
c. Early dissonance research differentiated between the familiarity and agreeability of arguments, though later researchers did not
d. All of the above

Question 16

Which of the following best describes what is meant by "risky shift"?
a. Groups tend to arrive at riskier decisions after group discussion than any individual member would have chosen alone
b. After assuming some amount of risk in decision-making, it becomes easier to accept increasing levels of risk in future decisions
c. Perceivers will tend to shift their attitudes in line with a persuasive argument when the alternative appears to carry personal risk
d. None of the above

Question 17

If all of your friends, mentors, and news sources reinforce your political viewpoints, which of the following has likely occurred?
a. Selective interpretation
b. Selective attention
c. De facto selective exposure
d. All of the above

Question 18

Which of the following is most true about the idea of selective exposure?
a. Driven by honesty and fairness motives
b. To reduce cognitive dissonance, people change the ratio of consonant to dissonant cognitions
c. Exposure to differing views can drive attitude change
d. People typically inhabit environments biased in favor of attitude-consistent cues

Question 19

Which of the following theories have provided the most influential approaches to attitudes?
a. Cognitive consistency theories
b. Cognitive dissonance theories
c. Balance theory
d. All of the above

Question 20

Which of the following is most likely to be true when an attractive person advocates an unattractive position?
a. The person will seem less attractive due to affective contamination
b. The position will seem more valid and persuasive
c. The perceiver will increase mental processing of the message and rely less on heuristic judgments
d. None of the above

Question 21

If you decide to train for a marathon, and after completing the marathon, underestimate your level of fitness before you began training, which of the following theories best describes this misperception?
a. Cognitive dissonance theories
b. Implicit theory
c. Self-categorization theories
d. All of the above

Question 22

Selective learning and memory for attitude-consistent information was one of the first questions in attitude research. Which concept yielded "unambiguously inconclusive evidence"?
a. Selective learning for attitude consistency
b. Attitude-relevant memory
c. All of the above
d. None of the above

Question 23

Which of the following best describes the situation in which the group decision ends up being riskier than the average of the individual decisions?
a. Risky shift
b. Group polarization
c. All of the above
d. None of the above

Question 24

A great deal of research has examined group polarization; which of the following has been shown to best explain this phenomenon?
a. Diffusion of responsibility
b. Risk as a value
c. Normative influences
d. None of the above

Question 25

Which of the following is described in the text as the ultimate in value-expressive function, possibly explaining why compromise can seem unthinkable between socio-cultural populations?
a. Strength
b. Ideology
c. Conviction
d. Importance
.

Question 26

According to the text, dual attitudes comprise an older, automatic attitude and a newer attitude that is explicitly accessible in memory. Which attitude predominates depends on which of the following?
a. The number of cognitive unites that comprise each attitude
b. The number of recall cues available at the time of retrieval
c. The method of expression
d. All of the above

Question 27

Which of the following populations has been shown to engage in phenomenon known as spreading the alternatives?
a. East Asians
b. European Americans
c. Europeans
d. Both B and C

Question 28

Which of the following best describes people who are especially likely to appeal selectively to their long-term values to justify their attitudes, to rely more heavily on appeals to important values, and to pay more attention to expert sources because they presumably provide reliable, value-relevant information?
a. Low self-monitors
b. High self-monitors
c. Internalists
d. Self-identifiers