Deck 8: Conformity and Obedience: Influencing Behavior

Question 1

It's Libby's first day at college. When she approaches the professor to have an "add" form signed, she listens to other students to see if they address the professor as "Professor," "Dr.," "Mrs.," or by her first name, and then she does the same. This is an example of __________.

A) situational uncertainty
B) informational social influence
C) normative social influence
D) situational interdependence

Answer 1

informational social influence

Question 2

The authors of your text suggest that there are two major motivations for people to conform: __________.

A) not knowing what to do in a confusing situation and wishing to avoid ridicule and rejection
B) not knowing what to do in a confusing situation and seeking clear direction from an authority figure
C) wishing to avoid ridicule and rejection and hoping to attain power
D) not knowing what to do in a confusing situation and hoping to attain power

Answer 2

not knowing what to do in a confusing situation and wishing to avoid ridicule and rejection

Question 3

According to your text, which of the following is NOT a contributor to the acceptance of the rugged-individualist ideal as part of America's cultural self-image?

A) The wide acceptance of the "Marlboro Man" as an iconic figure
B) Our support for Apple's advertising slogan "Think different"
C) The taming of the Wild West in our history
D) The mass suicide of Heaven's Gate cult members

Answer 3

The mass suicide of Heaven's Gate cult members

Question 4

According to the authors of your text, what is the most plausible explanation for why U.S. soldiers followed their lieutenant's orders to massacre the citizens of the peaceful village of My Lai during the Vietnam War?

A) They were conforming in a confusing situation.
B) They were bloodthirsty assassins.
C) Soldiers tend to be more aggressive than the average person.
D) They were expressing implicit prejudice.

Question 5

You are a little confused about how to address your new boss. Even though you are told that your new supervisor's name is Charlie Rose, you have noticed that everyone at work calls him "Boss." You, too, decide to start calling your supervisor "Boss." This decision is a product of __________.

A) compliance with authority.
B) normative social influence
C) informational social influence
D) private acceptance

Question 6

The United States has celebrated independence and rugged individualism from the time of its inception. This suggests that American attitudes toward conformity are __________.

A) generally positive
B) situation-specific
C) generally negative
D) interdependent

Question 7

An important feature of informational social influence is that it often leads to __________.

A) obedience
B) private acceptance
C) normative pressures
D) public compliance

Question 8

Informational social influence occurs because __________.

A) individuals have a need to belong and be liked
B) social norms encourage cooperation
C) others' behaviors serve as cues in ambiguous situations
D) others can reward or punish us for nonconformity

Question 9

Your niece Caitlin is deathly afraid of glass elevators. You have just read Chapter 8, and have decided to use informational social influence to convince Caitlin that there is no need to be afraid to ride in glass elevators. How would you apply the concept of informational social influence in this situation?

A) Give Caitlin a big hug every time she is willing to approach a glass elevator
B) Tell Caitlin that her friends will call her a "scaredy-cat" if she doesn't get in the elevator
C) Get Caitlin's friends to ride a glass elevator, and ask them to smile and wave to you both as they ascend
D) Shove Caitlin into a glass elevator, push the "Penthouse" button, and tell her not to cry

Question 10

The atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison are an example of people being influenced to do things even though they know it is wrong. What is responsible for this powerful influence?

A) A desire to have control over our environment
B) Fear of authority
C) An ambiguous situation and the need to belong
D) Seeing the situation as a crisis

Question 11

Reynald is participating in a research study where he is watching a dot of light in a dark room. In time it appears to move. Later, he finds out that it was really stationary. This phenomenon is __________.

A) proof that people can start seeing things if left alone for too long
B) known as the autokinetic effect
C) also a test for schizophrenia
D) widely used to make people conform

Question 12

According to your text, our construals of the concept of "conformity" are shaped by __________.

A) personality differences
B) social psychologists
C) our cultural self-image
D) situational pressures

Question 13

When "Freedom Riders" conformed with their group of fellow civil rights activists, they conformed by behaving __________, but when U.S. soldiers in the Vietnamese village of My Lai conformed, they behaved __________, illustrating that conformity itself it not always simply good or bad.

A) violently; nonviolently
B) emotionally; logically
C) peacefully; violently
D) as individuals; as a group

Question 14

There have been great examples of social influence and terrible examples of social influence. For instance, what do the Heaven's Gate followers and the "Freedom Riders" in the American civil rights movement have in common?

A) They fell under the spell of strong, punitive, charismatic leaders.
B) They were frustrated, and this frustration caused them to behave aggressively.
C) They confronted extreme and confusing situations, and looked to others to decide how to behave.
D) They lacked independence, and thus surrendered control to powerful others.

Question 15

Khadija has conformed to others' behaviors or attitudes because she believes that their interpretations of an ambiguous situation are more accurate than hers. __________ has occurred.

A) Educated conformity
B) Normative social influence
C) Unintended social influence
D) Informational social influence

Question 16

Mariahna has been called to court to testify about a car accident she witnessed. She has never testified before, so she plans to attend a few hearings before the court date to see what really happens in a courtroom. She hopes to see how to address the judge and how people dress when called to testify. Mariahna is using __________ to guide her behavior.

A) normative social influence
B) voluntary obedience
C) unintentional social influence
D) informational social influence

Question 17

Victor goes to a fancy French restaurant. There are utensils on the table that he's never even seen before, and more spoons and forks than he's ever seen on one table. Eager to dine in an appropriate and sophisticated way, Victor secretly watches other diners to see what they do. This is an example of __________.

A) normative social influence
B) situational interdependence
C) informational social influence
D) normative conformity

Question 18

The ice bucket challenge is used in the beginning of the chapter to introduce the idea of __________.

A) obedience
B) independence
C) conformity
D) group decision-making

Question 19

Alejandro has changed his behavior because of the real or imagined presence of others. This is known as __________.

A) conformity
B) obedience
C) interdependence
D) cooperation

Question 20

Changing one's behavior due to the real or imagined influence of others is called __________.

A) social change
B) conformity
C) private acceptance
D) personal influence

Question 21

Based on the studies conducted by Nolan and colleagues (2008) and Goldstein and colleagues (2008), which approach seems to be most effective at motivating people to behave in ways that are more environmentally friendly?

A) Operant conditioning
B) Informational social influence
C) Cognitive dissonance
D) Guilt and fear appeals

Question 22

Believing that others are right is to __________ as conforming without believing is to __________.

A) public compliance; private acceptance
B) private acceptance; autokinetic effect
C) private acceptance: public compliance
D) public compliance; autokinetic effect

Question 23

In the past ten years, the popular American holiday Halloween was "imported" to France by retailers hoping to increase revenues. Essentially, the French learned the traditions such as trick-or-treating and wearing costumes from Americans. This is an example of __________ on an international scale.

A) normative social influence
B) the autokinetic effect
C) informational social influence
D) injunctive norms

Question 24

Even though Gerald isn't religious, when he attends church on Christmas with his family, he donates money when ushers pass around a collection basket because everyone else puts something in. It is likely that Gerald is __________.

A) experiencing a high level of cognitive dissonance
B) privately accepting religion
C) being persuaded via the peripheral route
D) publicly complying

Question 25

Based on research by Goldstein and colleagues (2008), which of the following techniques would be most effective in getting hotel guests to reuse their bath towels?

A) Putting a sign in every room stating "Help Save the Environment," with a cute endangered animal on it
B) Having hotel clerks ask guests face-to-face to reuse towels
C) Offering a free breakfast to guests who reused their towels two nights in a row
D) Putting a sign in the room stating that the majority of guests in this room reuse the towel

Question 26

It could be argued that participants in Muzafer Sherif's (1936) study converged in their estimates of the amount of movement of a point of light because they were avoiding public embarrassment or social censure from other participants. Sherif demonstrated that this was unlikely when he found similar results __________.

A) when participants completed the task with their friends
B) two years later
C) when participants later completed the task alone
D) when participants completed an auditory task in groups

Question 27

In the nineteenth century, audience members who knew the opera intimately served as "claques," or experts who signaled others in the audience when to applaud, or as "bisseurs," who signaled when to call for encores. These experts served as a source of __________ for less sophisticated audience members.

A) informational social influence
B) contagion
C) normative social influence
D) public compliance

Question 28

When participants were first placed in a dark room alone and asked to estimate the apparent movement of a point of light, individuals were consistent in their own estimates, and these estimates differed greatly from participant to participant. When participants made the same estimates in a group setting, their estimates converged. According to Muzafer Sherif (1936), this happened because conformity occurs when people __________.

A) feel anonymous in a group
B) feel uncomfortable and insecure
C) can use others' behaviors as cues for what's right.
D) can use anonymity to control others

Question 29

Taking into account research on factors that increase informational social influence, which game contestant is most likely to yield to the informational social influence provided by teammates or the audience?

A) Joaquin, playing a television game show, who answers a question whose answer he is uncertain of
B) Tatsuo, playing a television game show, who answers a question whose answer seems obvious to him
C) Marcus, playing a game with his younger cousins, when he is unsure of the answer
D) Yuriko, playing a game with her family, who answers a question whose answer she knows

Question 30

Rachel is attending Catholic mass for the first time with her best friend Maria. Rachel is unfamiliar with when to sit, when to kneel, or when to stand, and doesn't know when to respond to what the priest says and when to remain silent. When it is time for parishioners to receive Communion, Rachel looks quizzically to Maria, who silently shakes her head. Rachel remains seated while the rest of the congregation files toward the altar. This situation best exemplifies __________.

A) a crisis of conversion.
B) normative social influence
C) informational social influence
D) the power of cultural norms

Question 31

Why would Muzafer Sherif, a social psychologist, choose the autokinetic effect (a perceptual illusion) to study social conformity?

A) He wanted to construct a situation that was ambiguous.
B) He wanted participants to feel pressure to obey his instructions.
C) He wanted to use a dark room to foster a sense of cohesion in the group.
D) He wanted to study the influence of perceptions on social behavior.

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT an example of informational social influence?

A) You walk up to an old-fashioned juke box and observe how someone else makes music come out of the box.
B) You pull up to an intersection where the traffic lights are not working. Not remembering the rules, you observe the pattern of people pulling through the intersection before proceeding yourself.
C) You ask your advisor what classes you should take next semester.
D) You get your hair cut just like Katy Perry because you like how she looks.

Question 33

You have been hired to help design a campaign to get people to conserve energy. Based on the research by Nolan and colleagues (2008), what is the most effective way to convince people to conserve?

A) Emphasize the money they would save
B) Explain the benefits to society
C) Explain that they are protecting the environment
D) Tell them that their neighbors are doing it

Question 34

In which of the following cases is conformity due to information social influence LEAST likely to occur?

A) A new camper arrives at camp and needs to figure out procedures in the cafeteria.
B) A person on the street is stumbling and it is not clear if he is hurt or drunk.
C) A repairman falls off a ladder and breaks his leg while working in the hospital.
D) An airplane hits major turbulence and it is a few minutes until the captain gets on the speaker to reassure the passengers.

Question 35

In a recent study about how to promote energy conservation, Nolan and colleagues (2008) found that simply telling people that their neighbors conserve energy was a more effective means of reducing energy consumption than telling them other reasons why they should conserve. Why did this message work the best?

A) Participants experienced cognitive dissonance.
B) Participants engaged in counterfactual thinking.
C) Participants were affected by informational social influence.
D) Participants were persuaded by fear appeals.

Question 36

Elise is participating in research and is placed in a dark room and asked to estimate the movement of a dot of light projected on a screen. This is similar to research by Sherif that demonstrated the power of __________.

A) normative social influence
B) conversion
C) informational social influence
D) obedience to authority

Question 37

Which of the following phenomena is most likely to result in private acceptance of an idea or behavior?

A) normative social influence
B) contagion
C) informational social influence
D) propaganda

Question 38

Private acceptance is __________.

A) conforming to another person's behavior because of peer pressure
B) conforming to another person's behavior because you believe that person is right
C) accepting responsibility for your behavior in a group
D) accepting that you don't know what to do in all situations

Question 39

Jake was serving on a jury. Most of the jurors believed the defendant was guilty, and Jake, wanting to go home early, voted guilty as well. This is a form of __________.

A) private acceptance
B) personal sacrifice
C) public compliance
D) social deviance

Question 40

Sherif's study using the autokinetic effect demonstrated that __________.

A) people would conform to the estimates provided by the group rather than what they observed individually
B) people saw and reported the distance of movement of the green dot
C) people conformed to reporting movement even though there wasn't any
D) individuals were more accurate at reporting the distance of the movement of the green dot on their own than when they were reporting as part of a group

Question 41

People are motivated to impose clear definitions on ambiguous situations. Which of the following processes is NOT used to resolve ambiguity of information?

A) Schematic processing
B) Making attributions
C) Informational social influence
D) Dissonance reduction

Question 42

The major downside risk of informational social influence is that the more __________ the situation is, the more we rely on others who are no more likely to be knowledgeable or accurate than we ourselves are, leading us each to adopt others' mistakes and misinterpretations.

A) clearly defined
B) superficial
C) familiar
D) ambiguous

Question 43

In a situation such as the War of the Worlds broadcast, where the situation is highly ambiguous, once people begin to believe they know what is happening, they tend to __________.

A) relax
B) reinterpret potentially disconfirming evidence in line with their definition of the situation
C) stop interacting with each other, as information is no longer needed
D) become motivated to achieve acceptance by others

Question 44

When it comes to informational social influence processes, we are more likely to conform with experts' ideas and behaviors than with nonexperts' because __________.

A) social norms dictate that experts should be obeyed
B) expertise is associated with social status and power
C) experts are viewed as more credible sources of information
D) experts convey clearer expectations of obedience

Question 45

First-year college students may be more susceptible than seniors to informational social influence because __________.

A) they want to be liked by a group
B) there is a charismatic leader in the group
C) they have no allies in their group
D) the situations they encounter are ambiguous

Question 46

According to Cantril (who studied the results of the broadcast of War of the Worlds), why were Americans convinced the broadcast was a real news report?

A) At the time, it wasn't unusual to hear about alien invasions and informational social influence.
B) The actors were very convincing and normative social influence.
C) The show parodied existing news shows well and informational social influence.
D) Normative social influence and private acceptance.

Question 47

You witness a car accident where one car runs a red light and hits another vehicle. When police arrive, they find you and two other people who witnessed the accident. What are they likely to do?

A) They will separate the witnesses and interview them individually.
B) They will ask the witnesses to share stories and have only one person report back on the consensus.
C) They will interview the three witnesses together but allow them each to tell their story.
D) They will release all of the witnesses because what they saw really doesn't matter.

Question 48

When Orson Welles broadcast War of the Worlds, a fictitious program about a hostile Martian takeover of Earth, many people who heard the program eventually believed the takeover was a real threat and panicked. The power of __________ was a major cause of this widespread panic.

A) fear-arousing communications
B) informational social influence
C) propaganda
D) normative social influence

Question 49

When Steven goes to his fraternity meeting, which of the following factors will NOT increase the impact of informational social influence on him?

A) Ambiguity of the situation
B) Importance of the group
C) Extent to which a situation is a crisis
D) Expertise of others

Question 50

Many U.S. troops present at My Lai later reported that they were frightened and confused about whether people in the villages were really enemy soldiers. Others reported that they didn't know whether the rifle-fire they heard was from enemy guns or from the guns of fellow troops. Still, frightened and bewildered, many of them began setting fire to huts and shooting old men, women, and children. This tragic example illustrates that informational influence is most likely to occur when __________.

A) authorities model the appropriate behavior
B) situations are interpreted as a crisis
C) we look to experts for cues
D) charismatic leaders provide a new definition of reality

Question 51

According to research presented in the text (Baron et al., 1996), participants were asked to select perpetrators after a lineup in conditions of high ambiguity; the perpetrator wore different clothing in the lineup than in the original photo, and the slides were shown very quickly. Recall also that some participants were told that the task was one that was being designed for use by the police department and were offered $20 if they were the most accurate, while others were told that it was just a laboratory task under development. This study demonstrated that __________.

A) the more important it was to the participants to be accurate, the more they conformed to other group members' answers
B) the more important it was to participants to be accurate, the less they conformed to other group members' answers
C) when the task was more important, people conformed more but their self-esteem decreased
D) people were more resistant to influence in this study than in the Sherif study because of the greater degree of mundane realism

Question 52

In the study by Gabbert and others, two individuals were unknowingly shown slightly different videos and then allowed to discuss what they saw together. When asked to report on what they witnessed in their video, __________.

A) both people accurately described what they had seen in their video.
B) both people mistakenly reported items that the other person had viewed in their video.
C) only one of the individuals reported inaccurate information, and they were deemed to be the weaker of the pair.
D) both people accurately reflected what they had seen, but only when they were interviewed separately.

Question 53

Not all members of the radio audience of Orson Welles's War of the Worlds broadcast panicked immediately. Indeed, some didn't panic until they looked out of the window and saw empty streets; others didn't panic until they saw streets full of traffic. It was after checking out the situation that these citizens decided that the Martians had indeed invaded Earth. This example illustrates that contagion __________.

A) can result when cultural norms reinforce people's most likely responses
B) is especially likely when people are motivated to make independent decisions
C) can result when people look to others for the interpretation of ambiguous situations
D) occurs primarily because humans are by nature irrational creatures

Question 54

People are especially likely to conform due to informational social influence __________.

A) when the task is intellectual or academic
B) more in private than in public
C) when the situation is a crisis
D) the more flexible and yielding the other people are

Question 55

Mass psychogenic illness, when many people in a group suddenly begin to feel sick, shows the power of __________.

A) informational social influence
B) normative social influence
C) compliance
D) the immune system

Question 56

When it is important to provide a correct answer and the stakes are high, people are more likely to __________.

A) rely on informational social influence
B) use their independent judgment
C) think quietly to themselves, and not seek other peoples' opinions
D) want to decide alone

Question 57

The Nazis succeeded in convincing the German people that European Jews needed to be destroyed. Of the following, which is NOT a strategy they used to influence people?

A) Prejudice
B) Propaganda
C) Informational conformity
D) Contagion

Question 58

Informational social influence is most likely to play a significant role in which of the following situations?

A) Members of a jury trying to reach a verdict in a murder trial
B) Family members sitting around the living room trying to guess answers to a TV game show
C) Fraternity members encouraging each other to "chug-a-lug"
D) Two art students viewing a museum exhibit and discussing their preferences for different works

Question 59

Noor is in a study similar to Baron et al. (1996). She has been asked to select the person she saw in a series of photos. If she's told that her decision is not very important, she will __________.

A) conform more than when the decision is very important
B) not conform at all
C) conform less than when the decision is very important
D) conform about as much as when the decision is important

Question 60

Dr. Rashid is an expert environmentalist. After his recent lecture, he asked that attendees sign a petition to support blocking construction of a dam near his home in Illinois. What most likely happened with his petition?

A) He was seen as credible and so most people signed the petition.
B) Because his lecture was in Colorado, most folks didn't sign, because it didn't concern them.
C) Most people ignored his expertise and assumed the dam was needed, so they did not sign.
D) Most people signed, but only because the situation was ambiguous and didn't seem like a crisis.

Question 61

Cyberbullying impacts __________ of school children in the United States.

A) 5 to 8 percent
B) 10 to 35 percent
C) 40 to 55 percent
D) over 60 percent

Question 62

Implicit or explicit rules that a group has for acceptable beliefs, values, or behavior are that group's __________.

A) personal acceptance
B) group acceptances
C) social norms
D) public compliance

Question 63

Which of the following is an example of a social norm in mainstream U.S. culture?

A) Bowing to your parents as a greeting
B) Using your turn signal to indicate which direction you will be turning
C) Using public transportation for most travel
D) Asking a homeless person for help finding an address

Question 64

When people conform in attitudes or behaviors in order to be accepted and liked by others, social psychologists say that __________ has occurred.

A) contagion
B) informational social influence
C) social approval
D) normative social influence

Question 65

Itsuki, a Japanese teenager, has withdrawn from all social interaction. He is referred to as a hikikomori. Most likely, his withdrawal is the result of __________.

A) academic failure
B) being from a dishonored family
C) being an illegitimate child
D) being bullied severely

Question 66

In essence, normative social influence arises from humans' fundamental __________.

A) selfishness, which must be kept in check
B) need for companionship, affection, and acceptance
C) need for accurate perceptions and beliefs about a confusing world
D) desire to submit to knowledgeable authorities

Question 67

Imagine that you are attending a new high school and would like to make friends. On the first day of school, you observe that all of the students in your homeroom are crumpling paper into balls and throwing them on the floor. You begin to do the same. You have conformed to the group's behavior due to __________.

A) informational social influence
B) propaganda
C) normative social influence
D) obedience to authority

Question 68

When you and your friends greet each other, it's customary for you to give each other a special, complicated handshake. This handshake can be considered the __________ for greeting each other in your group.

A) hikikomori
B) autokinetic effect
C) social norm
D) disjunctive norm

Question 69

What characteristic of the ice bucket challenge made it difficult for people to ignore?

A) Many of those challenged were called out by name.
B) The challenge was presented by many experts.
C) The pressure to conform contained a passive threat.
D) There were so many people involved once it went viral that the peer pressure was global.

Question 70

Deviant behavior is usually met with rejection. For example, in Japan, deviants in school tend to be shunned and harassed by their entire class or school. Such treatment is particularly psychologically damaging in Japan because the culture __________.

A) demands perfection
B) emphasizes cohesion and group harmony
C) frowns upon conformity
D) emphasizes good grades

Question 71

Going along with the crowd (e.g., doing the ice bucket challenge, smoking pot, polar plunging) because of a fear of social exclusion is an example of __________.

A) normative social influence
B) informational social influence
C) social impact
D) social dominance

Question 72

Which type of conformity is most at odds with our cultural ethos of individualism and independence and most closely matches the negative stereotypes of those who conform as being "weaklings"?

A) Nonconformity
B) Informational conformity
C) Normative conformity
D) Anti-conformity

Question 73

The authors of your text report instances of teens taking a "polar plunge" by jumping into freezing water. Which of the following best explains such dangerous behavior?

A) The power of normative social influence
B) The power of informational social influence
C) The teens having "excitement seeking" personalities
D) Delinquent teens using this activity for gang initiations

Question 74

According to your text, what seems to drive an idea "going viral" through social influence?

A) That it cognitively makes sense
B) That it is funny
C) That it is emotionally arousing
D) That it has many rewards for liking it

Question 75

Informational social influence is to __________ as normative social influence is to __________.

A) public compliance; private acceptance
B) private acceptance; public compliance
C) conversion; private acceptance
D) conformity; conversion

Question 76

Priscilla is on her way to a concert and has gotten lost. Which of the following people, based on information from your text about informational social influence, would she be most likely to ask for directions?

A) A tourist from out of town
B) The largest group of people she can find
C) A police officer
D) A homeless person

Question 77

In Japan, some teens become hikikomori, often after being the victims of severe bullying. Someone who is hikikomori can be described as __________.

A) withdrawn from all social interaction
B) gregarious and outgoing
C) schizophrenic and paranoid
D) extremely aggressive towards others

Question 78

Bill has been deprived of human contact for long periods of time. He will tend to experience __________.

A) insanity
B) stress and trauma
C) contentment
D) increased desire to help others

Question 79

__________ conformity is to the desire to be right as __________ conformity is to the desire to be liked.

A) Normative; informational
B) Mindless; normative
C) Informational; mindless
D) Informational; normative

Question 80

Pierre joins the other concertgoers in giving the symphony a standing ovation, even though he thought the performance was merely adequate. The next morning, Pierre confides to his girlfriend that the performance was "satisfactory, but not overwhelming." In joining the standing ovation, Pierre displayed what kind of conformity?

A) Private acceptance
B) Mindless conformity
C) Public compliance
D) Social deviance