Social Psychology

Question 1

What are positive illusions?

Answer 1

Uncritically positive view of ourselves, illusions of control and unrealistic optimism.

Question 2

What is cognitive dissonance?

Answer 2

Unpleasant state when attitudes don’t match behavior. (smoking, exercising)

Question 3

What is the self serving bias?

Answer 3

We overestimate our own contributions and efforts. We overestimate our positive attributed compared to our negative attributes. We attribute our successes to internal traits, but our failures to circumstances of the situation.

Question 4

What is the dissonance response?

Answer 4

Dissonance- 1) change behavior 2) explain away inconsistencies 3) minimize inconsistencies 4) change attitude

Question 5

What does self control in childhood predict in adulthood?

Answer 5

Predicts higher intellectual performance, higher self esteem, less drug use, and better coping skills.

Question 6

If you exercise self control in one area of your life, will it generalize to other areas of your life? Give an example.

Answer 6

Yes, when kids play sports and are taught to practice self control, they are more likely to display self control in all other areas of their lives.

Question 7

In impression management, what is primacy?

Answer 7

The reality that first impressions are more influential than later impressions. Especially in regards to appearance.

Question 8

What is the spotlight effect?

Answer 8

Our erroneous feeling that others are constantly analyzing you. In reality, hardly anybody is noticing you because they are too busy thinking about themselves.

Question 9

What is attribution?

Answer 9

Determining the reason for peoples’ actions.

Question 10

Is attribution accurate? Are our judgments of others usually wrong?

Answer 10

No, it is prone to error. Yes our judgments are usually wrong.

Question 11

What is the fundamental attribution error?

Answer 11

We overemphasize internal traits (personality and character) and underemphasize the circumstances as the cause for peoples behavior.

Question 12

What is the actor/ observer bias?

Answer 12

We attribute the behavior of others to internal traits but our own to circumstances of the situation.

Question 13

What are most people driven by?

Answer 13

circumstances rather than personality

Question 14

What is conformity?

Answer 14

The tendency to show/share the behavior and attitudes of other people.

Question 15

Is conformity a good or bad thing?

Answer 15

Generally a good thing.

Question 16

What was Asch’s study?

Answer 16

He used 1 subject with a group of confederates. Questions were asked in regards to length of lines. The confederates answered incorrectly to see if the subject would conform regardless of the false answer.

Question 17

What did Asch’s study reveal?

Answer 17

75% confirmed at least once
5% confirmed on every answer
the rest never conformed

Question 18

What affected Asch’s study results?

Answer 18

The number of confederates involved, the higher the number the greater the conformity.

Question 19

What are the factors affecting conformity?

Answer 19

• uncertainty
• lack of knowledge
• low social status
• Degree to which the behavior is public

Question 20

What is the reality with humans and obedience?

Answer 20

Human beings are highly obedient, even to the point of of committing atrocities.

Question 21

What was Milgram’s study?

Answer 21

Milgram’s study was inspired by WWII atrocities to investigate obedience. Subjects were paired with confederates and were told that the study was on learning and punishment. Teacher helped strap the learner into the chair. Teacher was told to ask the learner questions and shock them every time they got the answer wrong. Voltage increased to dangerous levels with every wrong answer.

Question 22

What were the results of the Milgram study?

Answer 22

100% of the people kept shocking until 300 volts
65% of the people finished the study at 450 volts

Humans are highly obedient.

Question 23

What were some third variables in the study that were controlled? and what were the results?

Answer 23

Location: Yale or office in shady part of town produced almost identical results.
Contact with the learner: Learner heard: less than 70% finished
Learner seen: around 35% finished
Learner touched: around 23% finished
Being alone or with another person: 65% will obey alone
10% will obey when not alone.

Question 24

What did Melgrim’s study inspire in regards to ethics during studies?

Answer 24

The Ethics Committee to protect participants from any psychological or physical damage during studies.

Question 25

What is a group think?

Answer 25

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome

Question 26

What often results from group thinks?

Answer 26

disastrous results