Question 1

Researchers offered people free popcorn at the movies. Some people were offered fresh popcorn, while others were offered stale popcorn. People ate more ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  fresh popcorn than stale popcorn 
B)  stale popcorn than fresh popcorn 
C)  fresh popcorn than stale if they were not in the habit of eating popcorn at the movies 
D)  fresh popcorn than stale if they were in the habit of eating popcorn at the movies

Question 2

Suppose that Sergej has just asked Georgia whether she would like to study with him for an upcoming English exam. Georgia is struggling in the class, and she knows that Sergej is an excellent English student, so she enthusiastically agrees and says that she is excited to study with him. According to error management theory, it is likely that Sergej will view Georgia's enthusiasm as a sign that ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  she has a crush on him 
B)  she values his intelligence 
C)  she is using him 
D)  she is probably being insincere

Question 3

Among humans, greater freedom is associated with ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  simple decision-making 
B)  greater behavioral flexibility 
C)  automatic processing 
D)  lower self-regulation

Question 4

Maureen thinks that her abilities are fluid and capable of changing and developing over time. She decides to try to learn to garden. Her first year of planting is a complete failure--nearly every plant dies. She only harvests a few tomatoes. Given what you know about Maureen, what can you predict about her interest in gardening?

Accepted Answer

A)  She will try again the next year and plan to learn from her mistakes. 
B)  She will probably experience learned helplessness and lose interest in gardening. 
C)  She will probably be risk averse and not want to garden next year. 
D)  She will probably plant only the tomatoes because those are what she had success with this year.

Question 5

Of the following people, who is at greatest risk for suicide?

Accepted Answer

A)  Brock, who plans to go to medical school after graduating next year 
B)  Brenda, who is looking forward to a date this weekend 
C)  Scott, who doesn't enjoy law school but wants to own his own practice 
D)  Carolyn, a sophomore in college who hates college and can't see its usefulness

Question 6

Even though she knows that most people take much longer than they anticipate in finishing their dissertations (sometimes even years longer), Tyra is certain that she will be able to conduct her dissertation research, write up her dissertation, and defend it to her dissertation committee, all within nine months. She is sure that if she works hard she will be able to successfully finish on schedule. Tyra appears to be ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  subject to the planning fallacy 
B)  showing evidence of the Zeigarnik effect 
C)  subject to the omission bias 
D)  an entity theorist

Question 7

Research indicates that people who believe that they are acting autonomously, based on intrinsic motivations, are ____ compared people who believe that their behavior 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 8

Even though Mildred 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 9

Carefully controlled research testing the idea that many people have a "fear of success," and therefore sabotage their careers, has shown that ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  this is somewhat common among women, but uncommon among men 
B)  this is somewhat common among men, but uncommon among women 
C)  many people do this, though they typically do it unconsciously 
D)  in reality, almost no one seems to do this

Question 10

People tend to say that they would prefer to have $1000 today rather than $1200 two weeks from now-even though, logically, they would be better off with the $1200 in two weeks. The phenomena underlying this tendency is known as ____.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 11

Because attending college involves the ability to make immediate sacrifices for later rewards, it is sometimes thought of as a very long exercise in ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  goal shielding 
B)  incremental awareness 
C)  the capacity to delay gratification 
D)  learned helplessness

Question 12

As discussed in the text, suicide typically starts with some discrepancy between ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  expectations (or other standards) and reality 
B)  one's past experiences and one's current circumstances 
C)  one's current circumstances and the circumstances of close others 
D)  one's emotional intelligence and the quality of one's relationships

Question 13

Gisele has applied to a very competitive graduate program. She knows that a faculty committee meets for several days to make decisions about who to admit. Based on research, the faculty committee will be making their best decisions ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  after a relaxing lunch break on the first day 
B)  towards the end of the first day, when they have gotten used to the criteria 
C)  towards the end of the second day, when they only have a few decisions left 
D)  throughout both days, since they are professionals

Question 14

The so-called "status quo bias" in decision-making refers to the tendency for people to ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  want to keep things the way they are instead of changing 
B)  want to do whatever it is that other people are doing 
C)  place more emphasis on present (immediate) outcomes than on future outcomes 
D)  place more emphasis on definite outcomes than on probable outcomes

Question 15

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 16

Error management theory suggests that, when it comes to dating and mating members of the opposite sex, men will be more prone to ____ than women.

Accepted Answer

A)  the omission bias 
B)  the status quo bias 
C)  temporal discounting 
D)  risk aversion

Question 17

People who practice willpower "exercises" find that they ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  temporarily deplete their willpower resources and show no improvement in willpower levels in the long term 
B)  temporarily deplete their willpower resources but develop stronger levels of willpower in the long term 
C)  show improvement in their willpower levels immediately (while they are "exercising"), but show no improvement in willpower levels in the long term 
D)  show improvement in their willpower levels both immediately (while they are "exercising") and in the long term

Question 18

The acronym TOTE-which stands for "Test, Operate, Test, Exit"-is shorthand for the processes involved in ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  setting goals 
B)  pursuing, or striving for, goals 
C)  making plans about how to execute goals 
D)  monitoring oneself

Question 19

When people are setting goals, the core question is, ____. When people are pursuing goals, the core question is, ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  "Why should I do it?"; "Is it culturally desirable?" 
B)  "Why should I do it?"; "How do I do it?" 
C)  "Is it culturally desirable?"; "Why should I do it?" 
D)  "Is it culturally desirable?"; "How do I do it?"

Question 20

Suppose that an annoying co-worker is always trying to get you involved in office athletic activities - bowling teams, softball teams, corporate Olympics, even fantasy football leagues and March Madness betting pools. Research on the panic button effect suggests that you would be less troubled by this person if ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  you thought about how much worse the situation could be 
B)  you thought about the fact that the coworker is just trying to be nice 
C)  you felt that you could simply tell the person to stop if you wanted to 
D)  you felt that, if you wanted to get involved in recreational athletics, this person would probably be a good way to start

Exam 4: Choices and Actions