Question 1

When asked whether they have any current goals or personal projects, only about 50% of people indicate that they do; other people are unable to identify any current goals that they have.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Research on entity and incremental theorists has shown that, compared to Japanese athletes, American athletes are more likely to be ____ theorists, and thus more likely to view their athletic skills as ____.

Accepted Answer

A) incremental; inborn and fixed 
B) incremental; flexible and changeable 
C) entity; inborn and fixed 
D) entity; flexible and changeable

Question 3

Your friend wants to break the habit of overeating.What suggestions might you give her?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Your friend wants to break the habit...

Question 4

Researchers gave people free popcorn at the movies.Some people got fresh popcorn and others got stale popcorn.People rated the fresh popcorn as more pleasant than the stale popcorn ____.

Accepted Answer

A) only if they were in the habit of eating popcorn at the movies 
B) only if they were not in the habit of eating popcorn at the movies 
C) whether or not they were in the habit of eating popcorn at the movies 
D) only if they were not offered popcorn

Question 5

The so-called Zeigarnik effect helps us to ____.

Accepted Answer

A) remember unfinished tasks, and thus to return to complete them 
B) learn when we have set unrealistic goals for ourselves, and to set more realistic goals in the future 
C) recognise when tasks are too easy or too hard (and therefore a bad match for our ability levels), and to seek out tasks that are more appropriate 
D) assess the pros and cons of a given situation, and to make decisions based on this assessment

Question 6

Andile and his wife are making some important financial decisions and cannot seem to agree on what they should or should not do.The preference for avoiding certain types of risks is consistent with ____ theory.

Accepted Answer

A) error management 
B) Freudian 'death wish' 
C) learned helplessness 
D) reactance

Question 7

In social psychology, the 'belief that one's own project will proceed as planned, even while knowing that the vast majority of similar projects have run late' is known as the ____.

Accepted Answer

A) planning fallacy 
B) hourglass bias 
C) Zeigarnik effect 
D) capacity to delay gratification

Question 8

What is the capacity to delay gratification? How is it typically tested? Are there ways that this capacity can be improved?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the capacity to delay gratification?...

Question 9

The term self-regulation essentially refers to ____.

Accepted Answer

A) self-monitoring 
B) self-control 
C) behaving consistently across time 
D) behaving similarly to other people

Question 10

When making decisions, people often focus too much on the ________________ aspects of the decision and too little on the ________________ aspects of the decision.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When making decisions, people often focus too...

Question 11

Research indicates that people who believe that they are acting autonomously, based on intrinsic motivations, are ____ compared people who believe that their behaviour is guided by external forces and extrinsic motivations.

Accepted Answer

A) happier and often perform better 
B) happier but often perform worse 
C) no happier but often perform better 
D) no happier and no more (or less) likely to perform well

Question 12

Nnyiko has the opportunity to start his own business doing what he loves.However, to do this, he would have to liquidate all of his resources, including selling his car and emptying out his savings.In the end, however, he decides that he has too much to lose and sticks with his day job, which is less fulfilling but offers a sure thing.Nnyiko is making his decision based on ____.

Accepted Answer

A) temporal discounting 
B) fear of success 
C) learned helplessness 
D) risk aversion

Question 13

When entity theorists encounter failure, they are more likely to experience learned helplessness than incremental theorists are when they experience failure.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Research suggests that dieters are most successful in losing weight ____.

Accepted Answer

A) when they are under high levels of stress and keep careful track of their eating behaviour 
B) when they are under high levels of stress and eat 'naturally' (i.e., do not keep careful track of their eating behaviour) 
C) when they are under low levels of stress and keep careful track of their eating behaviour 
D) when they are under normal levels of stress and eat 'naturally' (i.e., do not keep careful track of their eating behaviour)

Question 15

Even though Neli knows that her relationship with her boyfriend is in trouble, she decides not to do anything about it (i.e., she will simply let the relationship fall to pieces).Social psychologists would say that her decision to do nothing most reflects ____.

Accepted Answer

A) the certainty effect 
B) the omission bias 
C) risk aversion 
D) temporal discounting

Question 16

Self-regulation involves monitoring your behaviour, ____, and adjusting your behaviour accordingly.

Accepted Answer

A) reading the current social environment and its norms 
B) comparing the behaviour against standards 
C) comparing the behaviour against past behaviour 
D) monitoring other people's behaviour

Question 17

Compared to incremental theorists, entity theorists show a ____.

Accepted Answer

A) stronger preference for doing things at which they are good 
B) greater interest in receiving feedback from others (regardless of whether it is positive or negative) 
C) greater interest in practising things that they are not so good at 
D) tendency to prefer hard, challenging tasks to easy tasks

Question 18

Research suggests that goals are MOST helpful in facilitating achievement when they are ____.

Accepted Answer

A) specific and somewhat difficult to achieve 
B) specific and very easy to achieve 
C) broad and somewhat difficult to achieve 
D) broad and very easy to achieve

Question 19

The so-called 'planning fallacy' is probably a result of the fact that people adopt a(n) ____.

Accepted Answer

A) optimistic mindset when setting goals, but a realistic mindset when striving toward goals 
B) pessimistic mindset when setting goals 
C) optimistic mindset when setting goals 
D) optimistic mindset when striving toward goals

Question 20

Recent research has demonstrated that men and women perceive certain behaviours differently: men are more likely than women to assume that an innocent smile is a sign of flirtation, while women are more likely than men to assume that blatant flirtation is merely a sign of friendliness.These research findings are most consistent with ____.

Accepted Answer

A) error management theory 
B) self-determination theory 
C) reactance theory 
D) action identification theory

Exam 4: Choices and Actions: the Self in Control