Prosocial Behavior and Prejudice/Discrimination Flashcards
Realistic conflict theory focuses on conflicts between groups that are due to:
A. status inequality.
B. competition for scarce resources.
C. differences in basic values.
D. differences in political power.
Answer B is correct. According to realistic conflict theory (Pettigrew, 1978), prejudice and discrimination are the result of direct competition between different groups for scarce and valued resources.
Diffusion of responsibility increases as the:
A. similarity between a victim and the bystander increases.
B. the magnitude of stimulus overload decreases.
C. the number of bystanders increases.
D. bystanders’ beliefs about their competence to help decreases.
Answer C is correct. Diffusion of responsibility is a reduced sense of personal responsibility resulting from the belief that others are willing and able to provide assistance. Research conducted by J. M. Darley and R. Latane found that diffusion of responsibility increased as the number of bystanders increased (Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8, 377-383, 1968).
Sherif (1966) found that superordinate goals:
A. increased resistance to persuasion.
B. reduced intergroup hostility and competition.
C. increased altruistic motives for providing assistance.
D. reduced social loafing.
Answer B is correct. Sherif’s Robbers Cave study evaluated several strategies for reducing intergroup conflict and found that having members of hostile groups work together on superordinate goals was most effective.
__________ refers to a bystander’s decision not to intervene in an emergency situation because the bystander believes the inactivity of other bystanders is due to their conclusion that the situation does not constitute an emergency.
A. The overjustification effect
B. The false consensus effect
C. Audience inhibition
D. Pluralistic ignorance
Answer D is correct. Pluralistic ignorance has been identified as a contributor to bystander apathy and refers to a misperception of how others are thinking or feeling.
Allport (1954) identified four factors that increase the likelihood that intergroup contact will reduce hostility and conflict between the groups. These factors include all of the following except:
A. fair competition
B. equal status
C. superordinate goals
D. support of authorities
Answer A is correct. Allport’s contact hypothesis proposes that contact between members of majority and minority groups is most effective for reducing prejudice and discrimination when (a) members of the groups have equal status; (b) members must work together to achieve common (superordinate) goals; (c) there is no competition between members; and (d) the contact is sanctioned by law, custom, or institutional authorities.
According to terror management theory (TMT), which of the following function as defenses against the existential terror caused by awareness of one’s own mortality?
A. cultural encapsulation and self-control
B. compartmentalization and self-identification
C. cultural worldview and self-esteem
D. conditions of worth and self-monitoring
Answer C is correct. TMT predicts that people defend themselves against death anxiety by adopting a cultural worldview and maintaining their self-esteem.
According to the infrahumanization theory of Leyens and colleagues (2007), members of an ingroup tend to attribute which of the following to members of outgroups?
A. more negative primary emotions
B. fewer positive and negative secondary emotions
C. more primary and secondary emotions
D. fewer positive and negative primary emotions
Answer B is correct. Leyens et al. distinguish between primary (non-uniquely human) emotions and secondary (uniquely human) emotions and propose that members of ingroups tend to attribute fewer positive and negative secondary emotions to members of outgroups than they attribute to members of their ingroups.
Results of research evaluating the effects of the “jigsaw classroom” are most consistent with:
A. the predictions of Pettigrew’s realistic conflict theory.
B. the predictions of Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory.
C. the results of Sherif’s Robbers Cave study.
D. the results of Ridley’s research on covert racism.
Answer C is correct. Aronson and colleagues (1978) developed the jigsaw classroom to evaluate the effects of superordinate goals on prejudice and discrimination in ethnically diverse elementary school classrooms. Consistent with the results of the Robbers Cave study, they found that having students cooperate to achieve a common goal had beneficial effects on the relationships among students.
Microaggressions are a type of __________ racism.
A. intrapersonal
B. interpersonal
C. institutional
D. structural
Answer B is correct. Microaggressions are interpersonal: They are subtle intentional or unintentional communications and behaviors of members of the dominant group that are aimed at members of marginalized groups and that are insulting or hostile and convey prejudice.
