Question 1

Panic is likely to occur when:

Accepted Answer

A)  escape is possible but not for long 
B)  escape is impossible 
C)  one finds oneself in a threatening situation where other people seem frozen in inaction and do nothing to try to escape 
D)  disasters strike 
E)  both b and d

Question 2

Research which equates sheer population density with high rates of crime and mental illness is sometimes referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A)  the density/intensity hypothesis 
B)  the 'Behavioural Sink' 
C)  Calhoun's syndrome 
D)  the crowding-aggression theory 
E)  the social-pathology hypothesis

Question 3

What are the limitations of the contagion approach to collective behaviour?

Accepted Answer

A)  the theory is difficult to submit to an empirical test 
B)  some events cited by contagion theorists are not typical of collective behaviour in general 
C)  it tells nothing about the development of leadership and other roles within the collectivity 
D)  all of the above 
E)  none of the above

Question 4

A worker in a eterminal of the Melbourne airport complained of feeling ill. Within a few hours, 47 people there reported dizziness, nausea, vomiting. Some were taken to hospital, 60 flights were cancelled and 14 000 people were left stranded. No medical explanation was ever found. What was the most likely explanation?

Accepted Answer

A)  contagion of enthusiasm 
B)  urban myth 
C)  mass psychogenic illness 
D)  unrestrained enthusiasm 
E)  fear of flying

Question 5

In a study by Walker and Beckerle (1987), experimental participants were asked to redo an examination, and half were placed in a 'high anxiety' condition and the rest in a 'low anxiety' condition. It was found that:

Accepted Answer

A)  low anxiety experimental participants showed more credulity towards rumours 
B)  high anxiety experimental participants made extensive efforts to gain more information about why they were asked to redo the exam 
C)  experimental participants in neither condition demonstrated any motivation to repeat rumours 
D)  experimental participants in the high anxiety condition showed more motivation to repeat rumours 
E)  experimental participants in the low anxiety condition showed more motivation to repeat rumours

Question 6

The Arab Spring demonstrations in Egypt and elsewhere was collective behaviour amplified by:

Accepted Answer

A)  repressive governments 
B)  religious rituals 
C)  communication among people at the events 
D)  communication through social media 
E)  the season of springtime

Question 7

Panic involves all but which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A)  flight 
B)  fear 
C)  avenue of escape 
D)  a real or implied crowd 
E)  no avenue of escape

Question 8

A riot refers to:

Accepted Answer

A)  hostility directed at one or few low-power individuals 
B)  irrational destruction of life and property 
C)  aggression directed by a group at groups of similar or greater power 
D)  mob action 
E)  short-lived instances of contagions of hostility

Question 9

What is the second stage of a social movement?

Accepted Answer

A)  the formalization stage 
B)  the popular excitement stage 
C)  the institutionalization stage 
D)  the social unrest stage 
E)  the information propagation stage

Question 10

When, in contagions of hostility, aggression is directed against a relatively powerless individual or a small group of individuals, this is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A)  a mob 
B)  a fear contagion 
C)  riot 
D)  mass hysteria 
E)  scapegoating

Question 11

What kind of society is most likely to produce a social movement?

Accepted Answer

A)  a society that is undergoing rapid social change 
B)  stable societies 
C)  socialist societies 
D)  conservative societies 
E)  both c and d

Question 12

In a test of the deindividuation hypothesis carried out by Festinger, in which experimental participants were asked to talk about their parents in a group discussion:

Accepted Answer

A)  more positive comments were forthcoming when they were dressed in gray lab coats and seated in a dimly lit room, because they would otherwise have been embarrassed about praising mom and dad 
B)  more negative comments were forthcoming when everyone sat in their street clothes in a brightly lit room 
C)  although students initially said positive things about their parents, their comments became more and more hostile as a result of the interstimulation 
D)  anonymity or lack of anonymity had no effect on the negativity of their comments 
E)  more negative comments were forthcoming when they were dressed in gray lab coats and seated in a dimly lit room

Question 13

The subjective feeling of discomfort caused by a perception that there are 'too many people' around is known as:

Accepted Answer

A)  density 
B)  sensory overload 
C)  crowding 
D)  population explosion 
E)  social exposure

Question 14

According to the text, the difference between fashions and fads is that fashions:

Accepted Answer

A)  are more serious 
B)  are more likely to be cyclical 
C)  involve a great deal of anonymous interpersonal interaction 
D)  both a and b 
E)  there are no differences between fads and fashions

Question 15

The throngs of gasping teenagers that flock around rock stars whenever they make an appearance is an example of:

Accepted Answer

A)  a contagion of enthusiasm 
B)  a contagion of expression 
C)  a contagion of anxiety 
D)  a contagion of interpersonal excitement 
E)  none of the above

Question 16

There are some common myths about behaviour in disasters. Which of the following is not one of them?

Accepted Answer

A)  people in disasters react immediately and logically to their situation 
B)  people caught up in disasters act in a highly disorganized way 
C)  when disaster strikes, people sit around dazed and unable to cope 
D)  looting is very common in disaster situations 
E)  hysterical contagion is common in disasters

Question 17

Interest in the study of collective behaviour was stimulated by:

Accepted Answer

A)  Milgram 
B)  Brown 
C)  Le Bon 
D)  McGuire 
E)  Latané

Question 18

According to the __________ hypothesis, crowding is one situation which involves too much actual or potential interaction, excessive physical proximity, and too many people doing too much to pay attention to it all.

Accepted Answer

A)  density-intensity 
B)  loss of control 
C)  social-pathology 
D)  sensory overload 
E)  Behavioural Sink

Question 19

_____ is an example of status marking

Accepted Answer

A)  Laboratory coat 
B)  Savile Row suit 
C)  piercings 
D)  all of above 
E)  none of above

Question 20

Who are more likely to repeat a rumour?

Accepted Answer

A)  depressed people 
B)  anxious people 
C)  people low in anxiety 
D)  people suffering from cognitive dissonance 
E)  acute but not chronic anxiety

Exam 14: Crowds and Collective Behaviour