Deck 12: Cooperation and Conflict Within Groups

Question 1

Which of the following is true?

A) Competitive groups report more positive attitudes and better task performance.
B) Cooperative groups report more positive attitudes and better task performance.
C) Competitive groups report more negative attitudes but better task performance.
D) Competitive groups report more positive attitudes but poorer task performance.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is true about conflict within groups?

A) Conflict is always harmful to group process, and therefore should be avoided at all costs.
B) Conflict can in some cases produce innovation and creativity.
C) Conflict always hinders innovation and creativity.
D) Conflict is rarely observed in working groups.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A description of a social dilemma is that

A) "If everyone is selfish, everyone suffers."
B) "It is better for everyone if we all take what we need immediately."
C) "It is better to take what you need after everyone else has gotten what they need."
D) "If everyone is selfish, the group will prosper."

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Bob is trying to decide whether to drive to build a new house or to buy an existing one. Although he really wants to build the new house, he realizes that if everyone builds a new house the existing land will be consumed more quickly, leaving less for everyone to enjoy. Bob's decision is an example of a

A) harvesting dilemma.
B) contributions dilemma.
C) matrix game.
D) public good.

Question 5

Hew is trying to decide whether to volunteer at the local fire department. He doesn't really want to spend the time doing the work, but he realizes that if no one volunteers, the fire department will not be effective at protecting the community. Hews' decision is an example of a

A) harvesting dilemma.
B) contributions dilemma.
C) matrix game.
D) public good.

Question 6

Which of the following has been used to study social dilemmas?

A) The minimal intergroup paradigm.
B) The tit-for-tat game.
C) The prisoner's dilemma game.
D) The social norm game.

Question 7

Which of the following is true about the prisoner's dilemma game?

A) It is in the individual's best interest to cooperate, no matter what the other person does.
B) It is in the individual's best interest to cooperate only if the other person also cooperates.
C) It is in the individual's best interest to compete, no matter what the other person does.
D) It is in the individual's best interest to compete only if the other person also cooperates.

Question 8

In resource dilemma games, the optimal use of the available resources requires

A) taking only what will be replenished in a given time.
B) that individual goals be given priority.
C) that individuals do not take any resources for themselves.
D) than individuals place their own needs above those of the group.

Question 9

Edney created a game in which participants sat around a bowl of nuts. The number of nuts in the bowl was replenished regularly as long as the participants did not harvest all of the nuts right away. The results of these studies found that in most of the groups

A) the participants delayed harvesting so that the nuts could be replenished.
B) the participants delayed harvesting, but only if they knew each other well.
C) the participants delayed harvesting, but only if they were strangers
D) the participants grabbed up the nuts immediately, and the bowl was never refreshed.

Question 10

In Deutsch and Krauss's studies using the trucking game, in which condition did participants gain the least money?

A) The unilateral gate condition.
B) The bilateral gate condition.
C) The closed gate condition.
D) The open gate condition.

Question 11

Which of the following was demonstrated in research using the trucking game?

A) When threatened, it may be best to not return the threat.
B) People can be very cooperative when they are required to be.
C) People are more likely to cooperate than to compete.
D) People behave differently in laboratory games than they do in everyday life.

Question 12

Which is true of the gaming approach to studying cooperation and conflict?

A) Gaming studies always generalize to the real world.
B) Gaming studies never generalize to the real world.
C) It seems likely that gaming studies would generalize to the real world.
D) It is not useful to know whether gaming studies would generalize to the real world.

Question 13

Which of the following are not likely to increase cooperation in social dilemmas?

A) Rules and regulations.
B) Incentives.
C) Privatization.
D) Larger group size.

Question 14

Which of the following was found in Messick and McClelland's research on resource management?

A) Group managed pools were maintained three times longer than were private pools.
B) Private pools were maintained three times longer than were group managed pools.
C) Private pools gained lower outcomes.
D) Group managed pools, while not maintained as long, produced higher outcomes for participants.

Question 15

Which of the following techniques would be most effective in increasing cooperation?

A) Letting the group members work together to manage the good.
B) Leaving the good alone and assuming people will care for it.
C) Electing a group leader to make decisions for the group.
D) Increasing the gender and racial diversity of the group.

Question 16

When norms about the appropriate distribution of resources are well established,

A) people will challenge those norms to better their circumstances.
B) the potential for competition is increased.
C) the likelihood of competition is decreased.
D) increased social identity reduces cooperation.

Question 17

Maki, Thorngate, and McClintock had participants estimate what others would do in a social dilemma game. The results of this research indicated that participants generally

A) expected others to cooperate.
B) expected others to compete.
C) used their own behavior to predict the behavior of others.
D) used others' behavior to determine their own behavior.

Question 18

Sattler and Kerr conducted a study to assess the effects of lectures and sermons in increasing cooperation. What was the outcome of this study?

A) Lectures and sermons increased cooperation.
B) Surprisingly, lectures and sermons decreased cooperation.
C) Lectures and sermons increased cooperation, but only for religious people.
D) Lectures increased cooperation but sermons did not.

Question 19

As group size increases, cooperation

A) decreases.
B) increases.
C) increases up to about four people, but then levels off.
D) decreases up to about four people, but then levels off.

Question 20

In their research on the role of communication, Kerr and his colleagues found that

A) group discussion led to more argumentation and conflict.
B) group discussion led group members to develop norms of cooperation.
C) group discussion usually had little effect on cooperation.
D) group discussion created higher group self-esteem.

Question 21

When groups discuss relevant issues simultaneously, rather than sequentially,

A) they are not as effective.
B) they reach more integrative outcomes.
C) they do not know what is most important to each member of the group.
D) they are more productive.

Question 22

The 1978 Camp David meetings between representatives of Egypt and Israeli was a good example of

A) a conflict that appeared fixed-sum, but through communication was found to not be.
B) poor communication producing even less cooperation.
C) a fixed-sum conflict.
D) the role of how social identity in cooperation.

Question 23

Which of the following is not a type of social value orientation identified in the research conducted by Van Lange and his colleagues?

A) Pro-social.
B) Competitor.
C) Group-oriented.
D) Individualist.

Question 24

Which of the following models suggests that individuals will relate to social dilemmas in different ways, depending upon their underlying personal orientations or as influenced by the characteristics of the situation?

A) The social value orientation model.
B) The dual-concern model.
C) The intergroup-conflict model.
D) The social dilemma model.

Question 25

Which of the following strategies would be most successful in producing cooperation in a prisoner's dilemma game?

A) Make competitive choices on each trial, regardless of what choice your opponent makes.
B) Make cooperative choices on each trial, regardless of what choice your opponent makes.
C) First make a competitive choice, and thereafter make the opposite response that your partner made on the prior trial.
D) First make a cooperative choice, and thereafter make the same response that your partner made on the prior trial.

Question 26

Which of the following describes the process of negotiation?

A) Each side makes a series of offers, followed by counter-offers from the other side.
B) Each side makes a series of offers, and the other side must choose which they wish to adhere to.
C) One side makes a series of offers and the other side then makes counter-offers.
D) One side usually makes more counter-offers than the other.

Question 27

Which of the following are types of third-party interventions?

A) Mediation and negotiation.
B) Arbitration and negotiation.
C) Mediation and arbitration.
D) Arbitration and group meetings.

Question 28

Give an example of a contributions dilemma and an example of a harvesting dilemma. Consider for each the characteristics that make the dilemma problematic.

Question 29

Explain the prisoner's dilemma, and explain what makes it a social dilemma. What techniques can be used to get people to cooperate in social dilemmas?

Question 30

Why does communication promote cooperation?

Question 31

Explain the similarities and differences among negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. How and when would each be used to reduce group conflict?