Deck 6: Being Impressive by Making Others Feel Good

Question 1

Julie engages in impression management by enhancement of others when she says to her boss

A) "I am in top form today."
B) "You look to be in top form today."
C) "I just received a great thank-you note from a major customer."
D) "The world is getting much better today."

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A key reason that ingratiation is important is that

A) wanting to be liked is almost a universal need.
B) most people like to do favors for others.
C) a little bit of intimidation goes a long way in developing a relationship.
D) most people are suspicious of compliments.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Balance theory explains that when you express a positive attitude toward another person, you expect

A) that your motives could arouse suspicion.
B) a neutral attitude in return.
C) an negative attitude in return.
D) a positive attitude in return.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A study showed that for ingratiation to work well as a tactic of impression management, the actor needed

A) to have the support of coworkers.
B) limited political skill.
C) good political skill.
D) to have limited formal authority.

Question 5

A study showed that subordinates who reported using more ingratiation were perceived by their managers as using less ingratiation when the subordinates

A) had good political skill.
B) had poor political skills.
C) were the same sex as the manager.
D) were the opposite sex of the manager.

Question 6

A study of high-level managers found that managers who ingratiated themselves toward a CEO who was a board member at another firm were

A) less likely to be nominated for a board position by the CEO.
B) more likely to be nominated for a board position by the CEO.
C) more likely to be given a favorable reference after being fired.
D) less likely to be given a favorable reference after being fired.

Question 7

A study found that ingratiation toward a fellow director increases the chances that the first director will

A) be perceived as too political to be recommended for a board appointment.
B) be reprimanded for attempting to exert too much influence for being nominated to a board.
C) not receive a board appointment to a board on which the fellow director serves.
D) receive a board appointment to a board on which the fellow director serves.

Question 8

A study of high-level managers found that interpersonal influence in the form of ingratiation substitutes to some extent for

A) low job performance.
B) being away from the office frequently.
C) not being a member of an elite group.
D) being a member of a majority group such as a Caucasian male.

Question 9

Flattery tends to work well as a form of enhancing others because most people

A) want to receive accolades, even if exaggerated.
B) suffer from self-esteem problems.
C) are true narcissists.
D) want compliments to cover up for poor performance.

Question 10

The sincerity or insincerity of flattery is often revealed by the

A) time of the day when the flattery is expressed.
B) medium chosen to deliver the flattering statements.
C) nonverbal behavior of the flatterer.
D) number of times that flatterer says, "Are you serious?"

Question 11

A basic approach to flattery is to

A) joke about the target's shortcomings.
B) make the target feel important.
C) state sincerely what you do not like about the target.
D) invite the target to become a friend on your social network.

Question 12

One recommended way of increasing the power of flattery is to

A) begin the flattery with the statement, "To be honest with you."
B) say "I'm not a kiss up" before delivering the flattery.
C) mildly criticize the target's acknowledged area of weakness.
D) say "I really mean it" after each flattering statement.

Question 13

Mixing occasional light criticism with your flattery tends to be effective because

A) most targets have an element of self-hatred.
B) most people have low self-confidence.
C) very few people are self-centered.
D) offering a little criticism adds to your credibility.

Question 14

A study about the effectiveness of flattery and praise suggested that people who perceived themselves to be technically oriented, had

A) less favorable attitudes toward being praised and flattered.
B ) more favorable attitudes toward being praised and flattered.
C) favorable attitudes toward being praised and flattered if delivered by text message.
D) favorable attitudes toward being praised and flattered if delivered by a person with a strong technical orientation.

Question 15

Jack wants to flatter Tim who just developed a system to purify the air in the company office building. Tim perceives himself to be doing highly technical, specialized work. A recommended flattering statement Jack might make to Tim is

A) "Fabulous, we now have a potential Nobel Prize winner in chemistry in our company."
B) "Your system of purifying air is quite good. The company should now be able to reduce the amount of time list to illness."
C) "Tim, I always knew that you are a genius. Keep up the spectacular work."
D) "From my standpoint Tim, you are a true American hero."

Question 16

Melody engages in opinion conformity when she says to her boss,

A) "Your budget analysis makes a lot of sense to me."
B) "Your budget analysis would make more sense if it had more depth."
C) "I may be a conformist, but I think that a company must earn a profit."
D) "If you were part of my generation, you would conform more to my thinking."

Question 17

According to the law of attraction, the greater the proportion of attitudes shared by two people, the

A) less reason they will have to please each other.
B) less the will be attracted to each other.
C) more they will conflict with each other.
D) more they will like each other.

Question 18

An organizational actor who is politically correct enhances the target because the target is

A) not diminished because of a demographic characteristic.
B) likely to feel pride because a demographic characteristic is brought to his or her attention.
C) poked fun at in a good-natured way.
D) less insulted than he or she has been in the past.

Question 19

Five licensed practical nurses (LPNs) are assigned to a hospital ward; four are women and one is a man. The nursing supervisor commits a micro-inequity when she says to a visiting financial contributor to the hospital,

A) "You will find that LPNs are among the most caring in the nursing field."
B) "Our LPNs are as good as doctors when it comes to devotion to duty."
C) "Our LPNs are as good as RNs (registered nurses) when it comes to devotion to duty."
D) "Any patient on our ward will receive the loving care a woman devoted to nursing is capable of giving."

Question 20

Which one of the following statements is not recommended as a way of delivering flattery?

A) Focus on a legitimate accomplishment of the target.
B) Give the same compliment to everyone to avoid favoritism.
C) Compliment something of relatively minor importance to the target, just to be safe.
D) Provide positive feedback by giving the person a straightforward declaration of what he or she did right.

Question 21

A straightforward example of ingratiating behavior is to praise the target.

Question 22

One reason that ingratiation works so well as a tactic of impression management is that most people have a strong need to be liked, much like the need for recognition.

Question 23

According to balance theory we attempt to attain a balance between liking and disliking people with whom we interact regularly.

Question 24

According to balance theory, to attain balance in a relationship, a person whose positive attitudes were not reciprocated might develop negative attitudes toward the other person.

Question 25

So long as you make strong ingratiating statements toward another person, having good political skill is not so important.

Question 26

An example of an ingratiating statement made to a boss would be, "You are beginning to show your age a little, but not to worry. I know a Botox specialist who will get you back looking better than ever."

Question 27

A finding from a minimum of two studies is that women tend to engage in more ingratiating tactics than do men.

Question 28

A study with members of the board of directors showed that ingratiation is too transparent a tactic to influence CEOs who are also board members themselves.

Question 29

A study with members of the board of directors indicated that executives who ingratiated themselves to CEOs, were more likely to receive board appointments to other boards where the CEOs served as members.

Question 30

A study with members of the board of directors indicated that directors increased their chances of gaining a board appointment at another board if they engaged in high levels of monitoring and controlling the CEO.

Question 31

A study with members of the board of directors found that directors could lower the advantage of having an elite background for receiving board appointments by engaging in more ingratiation.

Question 32

An astute flatterer will express high positive regard for attributes about which the actor is insecure such as physical appearance or presentation skills.

Question 33

Insincere flattery tends to be more effective than sincere flattery as a technique of enhancing others because the sincere flatterer is too limited in terms of what can be said.

Question 34

A basic form of flattery is to make the target feel important such as bringing his or her accomplishments to the attention of the group.

Question 35

Ralph knows that his boss Nancy feels she needs to improve her knowledge of corporate finance. So while complimenting Nancy in other areas, to be a more effective flatterer, Ralph makes an occasional comment such as, "Nancy, I think you neglected the importance of a couple of financial ratios in your last presentation."

Question 36

A study indicated that workers who perceive themselves to have a high technical orientation prefer to be praised and flattered lavishly, often in terms such as "fabulous," and "incredible job."

Question 37

Conforming to the opinion of another person enhances his or her feelings of well being while at the same time improving the relationship between the two people.

Question 38

One problem with humor as a tactic for enhancing others is that it may be perceived as more manipulative that tactics such as doing favors for the audience or complimenting their behavior.

Question 39

Being politically correct will often enhance others because it respects their uniqueness and dignity rather than slighting them in some way based on a demographic characteristic.

Question 40

During a presentation a woman executive showed a high level of political correctness when she said, "I want to especially thank my right-hand man Donna Maxwell for all she has done for the company."