Psych330 Exam 2

Question 1

social cognition

Answer 1

the study of how people combine intuition and logic to process social information

Question 2

Dual Processing

Answer 2

the ability to process information using both intuition and logic

Question 3

Planning Fallacy

Answer 3

the unjustified confidence that one’s own project will proceed as planned (unlike similar projects)

Question 4

What are the characteristics of intuitive and logical thinking?

Answer 4

Intuition: emotional, automatic, effortless, quick, associative

Logical: analytical, rule-directed, explicit, reasoned, slow

Question 5

Describe the differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. How do these cultural values shape social cognition?

Answer 5

Individualistic prioritizes personal. Collectivistic emphasize group harmony/interdependence. Social cognition is affected by how individuals perceive and the importance they place on relationships/social norms.

Question 6

What are schemas? What do they do?

Answer 6

Mental frameworks that organize knowledge. Info from our environment (since birth) is stored as memories. These memories are used to interpret the world and make decision.

Question 7

What are scripts? How can scripts play out in dating relationships?

Answer 7

schemas about typical sequence of events. Scripts may cause an individual to think that the events of a relationship/date will need to play out in a certain order

Question 8

Explain the differences between (and consequences of) satisficing and maximizing.

Answer 8

Satisficing: taking shortcuts, using “good-enough” solutions
greater happiness with more error
Maximizing: more thorough
over examining

Question 9

What is counterfactual thinking? What is the difference between upward and downward counterfactuals?

Answer 9

Imagining what might have been.
Upward: imagined outcomes that are better than reality
Downward: imagined outcomes that are even worse than reality

Question 10

Optimistic Bias

Answer 10

an unrealistic belief that one’s future will be great. It’s associated with better mental health

Question 11

How does priming relate to mental accessibility?

Answer 11

Priming is immediate exposure to information activates a concept

Question 12

Describe the 3 types of heuristics discussed in the text. Give examples.

Answer 12

Anchoring-and-adjustment
decisions made by starting with an arbitrary number. A grab for any answer, regardless of source

Availability
frequency and importance is influenced by those viewed as famous

Representativeness
trade-off between efficiency and errors. Looking for a worker dressed in a specific outfit

Question 13

3 Types of Mental Biases discussed at the end of Chapter 4? Give examples.

Answer 13

Confirmation Bias: searching for info confirming our beliefs and ignoring contradicting info
A Pisces is supposed to moody - looking for their mood changes more often

Hindsight Bias: believing we “knew it all along”
Now we “connect the dots” of 9/11

Negativity Bias: notice and remember negative info more that positive
“better safe than sorry”

Question 14

Halo Effect

Answer 14

When a central trait colors other aspects of our impression of a person

Question 15

Nonverbal Communication

Answer 15

Communicating through body language, tone of voice, facial expressions

Question 16

Duchenne Smile

Answer 16

a genuine felt smile

Question 17

Explain primacy effect and how it can impact person perception

Answer 17

Info received at beginning. affects how we perceive someone at a later stage

Question 18

What is the “What is beautiful is good” effect?

Answer 18

physical attractiveness creates a halo effect that beautiful individuals will have other positive characteristics

Question 19

How do self-fulfilling prophecies work?

Answer 19

when we make our initial impressions come true

Question 20

What is the universality hypothesis? What evidence in the book supports?

Answer 20

nonverbal facial expressions are universal, regardless of culture. Test Ekman and Friesen (1971) of sic basic emotions. Conveyed same meaning across cultures

Question 21

What are Micro-expressions? What are Affect blends? How do both make it difficult to interpret facial expressions?

Answer 21

Micro-expression: involuntary flash of emotional honesty
Affect Blends: two or more contradictory emotions shown on different parts of the face

They happen quickly, involuntarily, and can be interpreted differently by individuals

Question 22

How does nonverbal communication differ based on culture?

Answer 22

Different cultures have different display rules. Emblems: body movements for specific meanings. Culturemes: objects, language, behavior that carries meaning

Question 23

What are defensive attribution? How is our tendency to make defensive attribution related to the belief in a just world?

Answer 23

Attributions made by individuals to avoid feeling fear about the potential negative events. Terror Management Theory: an awareness of our own mortality terrifies individuals, forcing them to cling to comforting beliefs

Question 24

Explain the difference between internal attributions and external attributions

Answer 24

Internal: an event or person’s behavior is die to personal factors

External: a person’s behavior is die to situational factors

Question 25

What are the three pieces of information that people look for when making attributions, according to Kelley’s covariation model?

Answer 25

Internal: consensus is low, distinctiveness is low, consistency is high

External: consensus is high, distinctiveness is high

Question 26

What is the fundamental attribution error?

Answer 26

the tendency to overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the power of the situation when making attributions about other people’s behaviors

Question 27

What are the three self-serving attributions described in the text? How do any of these biases differ across cultures?

Answer 27

False Consensus Bias: false assumption that other people share our values, perceptions, & beliefs

Truly False Consensus Bias: individuals believe that others share their beliefs even after they have information contradicting that belief

False Uniqueness Bias: we are more unique than others when it comes to socially desirable traits

Question 28

social learning theory

Answer 28

a model for understanding social behavior that proposes we learn attitudes by observing and imitating others

Question 29

attitude inoculation

Answer 29

process of building up resistance to attempts at persuasion

Question 30

rationalization trap

Answer 30

progressively larger self-justifications that lead to harmful, stupid, and immoral outcomes

Question 31

What are the three components of attitudes, according to information presented in class?

Answer 31

ABCs
Affective - emotional/feeling
Behavioral - attitude
Cognitive - thoughts/beliefs

Question 32

What are dual attitudes?

Answer 32

contrasting beliefs about the same attitude object

Question 33

What are the differences between explicit and implicit attitudes?

Answer 33

Explicit: consciously endorsed

Implicit: involuntary, incontrollable

Question 34

Explain the theory of planned behavior

Answer 34

behavior is pest predicted by people’s behavioral intentions. Specific attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control

Question 35

What is a bogus pipeline? Why would it be used in research?

Answer 35

measurement technique to circumvent the problem of the social desirability bias for self-report measures by pretending to be a lie detector

Question 36

Explain cognitive dissonance? What types of situations can arouse cognitive dissonance?

Answer 36

state of psychological discomfor that occurs when we try to maintain conflicting beliefs and behaviors.

Example: original prophecy fails, believers must decide whether to change attitudes

Question 37

How does cognitive dissonance relate to self-justification?

Answer 37

discomfort of cognitive dissonance may be alleviated with self-justification.

Example: a smoker believes smoking is harmful. They may deny evidence of harm for self-justification

Question 38

Explain the central and peripheral paths to persuasion. What is the name of the model that proposes these paths?

Answer 38

Central: uses evaluation and consideration

Peripheral: non-content related factors, superficial cues, emotional cues

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Heuristic Systematic Model (HSM)

Question 39

Under what conditions is persuasion likely to happen via the central path?Via the peripheral path?

Answer 39

Central: motivation and ability to pay attention, strong arguments

Peripheral: peripheral cues, likeable communicator, appealing emotions, slogans

Question 40

What are the four elements to the persuasion process, according to Hovland’s message learning approach? Give examples of each element.

Answer 40

Message-learning Approach

Source Variables: who, credibility

Message Variables: what, framing

Recipient Variables: to whom, personality

Context Variables: how, distraction, forewarning

Question 41

Give examples of lowballing, the foot-in-the-door technique, and the door-in-the-face technique.
o Why do each of these processes work to gain compliance?