Question 1

One of the reasons that we are not very successful at detecting deception is because

Accepted Answer

A)  we focus too much attention on nonverbal cues and not enough on verbal cues. 
B)  we fail to attend to the nonverbal cues that actually signal deception. 
C)  we are motivated to believe that others are telling the truth. 
D)  detecting deception is an evolutionary adaptive strategy.

Question 2

The "anger superiority effect" in social perception refers to the finding that

Accepted Answer

A)  people are quicker to look away from an angry face in a crowd than a neutral face. 
B)  people are quicker to look away from an angry face in a crowd than a happy face. 
C)  people are quicker to spot an angry face in a crowd than a neutral or happy face. 
D)  cross-cultural differences in the perception of angry faces are greater than they are for faces with other emotions.

Question 3

Kelley's theory of attribution suggests that, in trying to discern personal characteristics from behavioral evidence, people

Accepted Answer

A)  behave like scientists and engage in informal experiments. 
B)  use cognitive heuristics improperly. 
C)  usually attribute behavior to both personal and situational factors. 
D)  fail to adequately consider consensus information.

Question 4

Sophia voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S.Presidential election.She believes that approximately 90 percent of college students also voted for Obama, when in reality that number is much lower.Sophia's overestimation is consistent with

Accepted Answer

A)  the false-consensus effect. 
B)  the confirmation bias. 
C)  the self-fulfilling prophecy. 
D)  the representativeness heuristic.

Question 5

Vito finished first in the school spelling bee, Fabrizio finished second, and Luigi finished third.The first-place winner gets a cash prize and the opportunity to compete at the regional spelling bee, but the others get nothing.Which of the following is most likely to occur?

Accepted Answer

A)  Fabrizio will engage in more counterfactual thinking than Luigi. 
B)  Luigi will engage in more counterfactual thinking than Fabrizio. 
C)  Fabrizio and Luigi will engage in counterfactual thinking to about the same extent, but more so than Vito. 
D)  Fabrizio and Luigi will engage in counterfactual thinking to about the same extent, but less so than Vito.

Question 6

Carol is asked to rate her husband in terms of how helpful he is with the household chores.Because she cannot think of a single instance of helpful behavior, she gives him a very low rating.Carol relied on _____ to make her judgment.

Accepted Answer

A)  counterfactual thinking 
B)  the base-rate fallacy 
C)  the availability heuristic 
D)  a confirmation bias

Question 7

You are asked what percentage of psychology majors at your school are female.If you answer this question by thinking of how many female psychology majors come to mind quickly, you are relying on the

Accepted Answer

A)  hindsight bias. 
B)  fundamental attribution error. 
C)  availability heuristic. 
D)  false-consensus bias.

Question 8

Research on the impact of ideological motives on attribution indicates that a liberal is most likely to explain poverty as due to

Accepted Answer

A)  laziness. 
B)  existing power structures. 
C)  personal characteristics. 
D)  self-indulgence.

Question 9

A group of theories that describe how people explain the causes of behavior is known as

Accepted Answer

A)  attribution theory. 
B)  correspondent inference theory. 
C)  information integration theory. 
D)  the just-world model.

Question 10

The "Quiz Show" study by Ross and colleagues found that in judging the general knowledge of the contestant and questioner,

Accepted Answer

A)  observers fell victim to the fundamental attribution error, but the questioner and contestant did not. 
B)  participants did not fall victim to the fundamental attribution error because they knew that the quiz show roles were assigned at random. 
C)  observers and even contestants fell victim to the fundamental attribution error. 
D)  men were more likely to commit the fundamental attribution error than women.

Question 11

A confirmation bias refers to people's tendency to

Accepted Answer

A)  agree with others whose attitudes differ from theirs. 
B)  behave according to others' expectations. 
C)  seek, interpret, and create information in ways that support existing beliefs. 
D)  reinterpret earlier information to make it more consistent with subsequent information.

Question 12

One way of defending our belief in a just world when we observe a victim suffering is to

Accepted Answer

A)  identify strongly with the victim. 
B)  disparage the victim. 
C)  disparage the oppressor. 
D)  become very concerned with our own situation out of fear of suffering in the future.

Question 13

The importance of nonverbal behavior when it comes to social perception can be seen by the fact that e-mail messages

Accepted Answer

A)  are often misinterpreted, especially when the writer is trying to be funny or sarcastic. 
B)  have a stronger emotional impact on those who read them than do voicemail messages. 
C)  are typically longer than text messages. 
D)  are the preferred means of communication among younger but not older Americans.

Question 14

According to Gilbert's two-step model of social perception, distraction should make the fundamental attribution error more likely to happen because it

Accepted Answer

A)  discourages personal attributions, but has little effect on situational attributions. 
B)  inhibits perceivers from using distinctiveness information, but allows them to take consistency information into account. 
C)  does not interfere with the automatic process of making personal attributions, but does interfere with the more difficult process of making adjustments for situational factors. 
D)  changes the interrelationship between the figure and the background in social perception.

Question 15

Miller (1984)examined the attributions of American and Indian participants and found that

Accepted Answer

A)  no cultural differences emerged with young children, but among adults, Americans were more likely to make personal attributions, and Indians were more likely to make situational attributions. 
B)  no cultural differences emerged with young children, but among adults, Americans were more likely to make situational attributions, and Indians were more likely to make personal attributions. 
C)  among young children, Americans were more likely to make personal attributions, and Indians were more likely to make situational attributions; no cultural differences emerged with adult participants. 
D)  among young children, Americans were more likely to make situational attributions, and Indians were more likely to make personal attributions; no cultural differences emerged with adult participants.

Question 16

A network of assumptions that people make about the relationships among traits and behaviors is called

Accepted Answer

A)  implicit personality theory. 
B)  information integration theory. 
C)  a self-fulfilling prophecy. 
D)  the confirmation bias.

Question 17

Which of the following is not one of the ways in which your text describes social perceivers as differing?

Accepted Answer

A)  Individuals vary in the degree to which they believe behavior is caused by fixed versus malleable characteristics. 
B)  Some individuals are more likely than others to process new information in ways that are colored by self-serving motives. 
C)  Some individuals make attributions and others do not. 
D)  All of these are ways in which social perceivers differ.

Question 18

Todd, considered to have a baby face, and Martin, viewed as having more mature features, are both being interviewed for the same position in a bank.Which of the following is the most probable outcome?

Accepted Answer

A)  Because of his more mature features, Martin will be recommended for the position. 
B)  Todd will be recommended for the position because baby-faced individuals are perceived as more honest. 
C)  Todd will be recommended for the position because baby-faced individuals are judged as more qualified for employment than mature-faced individuals. 
D)  Their facial features will not impact the hiring decision, and the more qualified candidate will get the job.

Question 19

Research has shown that the strength of first impressions is even greater for individuals who

Accepted Answer

A)  are high in need for closure. 
B)  have been primed. 
C)  are in a bad mood. 
D)  believe in a just world.

Question 20

Darley and Gross (1983)conducted a study in which they asked participants to evaluate the intellectual ability of a nine-year-old named "Hannah." Some participants were led to believe that she came from a high socioeconomic (SES)background; others were led to believe she came from a low SES background.Which of the following statements about this study is accurate?

Accepted Answer

A)  Only for perceivers who actually met the target (i.e., Hannah) in person did expectation influence perceptions. 
B)  Perceivers' expectations determined the way they behaved toward the target, which in turn influenced the target's behavior. 
C)  Perceivers' expectations led them to fail to notice clear limitations of the target's actual performance. 
D)  Perceivers' expectations affected their perceptions of the target's performance, even when that performance was identical across conditions.

Exam 4: Perceiving Persons