Social Psychology

Question 1

Actor-Observer Bias

Answer 1

In causal attribution, the tendency for an observer to overestimate the effects of dispositional factors when making attributions about an actor’s behavior but to overestimate the effects of situational factors when making self-attributions.

Question 2

Barnum Effect

Answer 2

The Barnum effect is the tendency to accept vague, general descriptions of oneself (e.g., a horoscope) as accurate.

Question 3

Base Rate Fallacy

Answer 3

The base rate fallacy is the tendency to underutilize or ignore relevant statistical (base rate) data and to rely, instead, on irrelevant information when making probabilistic judgments about an event or characteristic.

Question 4

Bases Of Social Power

Answer 4

French and Raven identified six bases of social power that induce compliance in another person: coercive, reward, expert, legitimate, referent, and informational.

Question 5

Bystander Apathy

Answer 5

Bystander apathy refers to the tendency of people to not intervene in emergency situations when others are present. It has been attributed to three factors: social comparison, evaluation apprehension, and diffusion of responsibility.

Question 6

Catharsis Hypothesis

Answer 6

The catharsis hypothesis predicts that an act of aggression reduces an individual’s arousal level which then decreases the likelihood that he/she will act aggressively again in the near future. The research has not been supportive of this claim.

Question 7

Characteristics Of The Communication

Answer 7

Several characteristics of a communication affect its persuasiveness - e.g., the level of discrepancy between the positions of the recipient and the message, the order in which the two sides of an argument are presented (primacy/recency effects), and whether the message is intentionally delivered or is overheard.

Question 8

Characteristics Of The Communicator

Answer 8

Research on attitude change has confirmed that credible communicators are more persuasive and that one factor that contributes to credibility is trustworthiness (e.g., if the person is arguing against his/her own best interests, the person may seem more trustworthy).

Question 9

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Answer 9

Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory proposes that inconsistencies in cognitions produce discomfort (dissonance) that motivates the individual to reduce the dissonance by changing his/her cognitions.

Question 10

Confirmation Bias

Answer 10

The confirmation bias is the tendency to seek or pay attention to information that confirms one’s hypothesis or current beliefs and to ignore disconfirming information.

Question 11

Contact Hypothesis

Answer 11

The contact hypothesis proposes that prejudice may be reduced through contact between members of majority and minority groups as long as the following conditions are met: Members of the different groups have equal status and power, members are provided with opportunities that disconfirm negative stereotypes about members of the other group, and intergroup cooperation is necessary to achieve mutual (superordinate) goals.

Question 12

Deindividuation Model

Answer 12

Deindividuation is a state of relative anonymity that allows an individual to feel unidentifiable. It has been associated with increases in antisocial behavior, apparently because the deindividuated person’s behavior is no longer controlled by guilt, fear of evaluation, or other inhibitory controls.

Question 13

Effects Of Crowding

Answer 13

Crowded conditions tend to enhance positive experiences and increase the unpleasantness of negative experiences. Men seem to be more stressed by crowded conditions than women and are more likely to react with increased aggressiveness, apparently because men require more personal space.

Question 14

Effects Of Media Violence

Answer 14

The research has generally confirmed that viewing media violence increases aggression by providing viewers with models for aggressive behavior. In addition, media violence can affect attitudes as well as behavior - e.g., frequent viewing of media violence has been linked to a tendency to overestimate the likelihood that one will be a victim of violence.

Question 15

Effects Of Pornography

Answer 15

Studies investigating the effects of pornography have shown that, while exposure to mild erotica may reduce aggressiveness, exposure to pornography with violent themes tends to increase aggressive behaviors toward women as well as increase acceptance of rape myths and the adoption of callous attitudes toward sexual violence

Question 16

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Answer 16

ELM is a cognitive theory of attitude change that distinguishes between two information processing routes - central and peripheral. Use of the central route is likely when the listener’s motivation is high, the listener has the ability to process the information contained in the message, and/or the listener is in a neutral or slightly negative mood. Use of the peripheral route is likely when the listener is unmotivated, the listener lacks the ability to process the information, and/or the listener is in a positive mood.

Question 17

Emotion-In-Relationship Model

Answer 17

This model of emotion provides an explanation for the experience of strong emotions in close relationships and proposes that there is an innate mechanism that generates emotion in response to unexpected events that disrupt ongoing sequences of behaviors.

Question 18

Epinephrine Studies (Schachter & Singer)

Answer 18

The epinephrine studies supported the predictions of self-perception theory by confirming that, when internal cues are insufficient or difficult to interpret, people acquire information about themselves by observing their external behaviors and/or the context in which those behaviors occur.

Question 19

Equity Theory

Answer 19

Equity theory predicts that motivation (e.g., motivation to remain in a relationship) is affected by a comparison of the input/outcome ratios of oneself and one’s partner.

Question 20

Field Theory

Answer 20

Lewin’s field theory describes human behavior as being a product of interdependent factors in the person and his or her physical and social environment.

Question 21

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

Answer 21

This hypothesis proposes that aggression is motivated by frustration, and a revised version predicts that frustration leads to aggression in the presence of aggressive cues.

Question 22

Fundamental Attribution Bias

Answer 22

The fundamental attribution bias is the tendency for an observer to overestimate dispositional causes and underestimate situational causes when making attributions about an actor’s behavior.

Question 23

Gain-Loss Effect

Answer 23

The gain-loss effect predicts that people tend to be most attracted to individuals who show increasing liking for them and to be least attracted to individuals who show decreasing liking for them.

Question 24

Gender Differences In Affiliation

Answer 24

The research has shown that women generally spend more time than men engaged in conversation, are more likely to talk to people of the same gender, and may affiliate more than men do in public places.

Question 25

Hardiness

Answer 25

Research by Kobasa et al. (1982) found that the personality trait of hardiness acts as a protective factor against stress and has three primary characteristics: commitment (a sense of purpose and involvement in one’s relationships and life events); challenge (an openness to new experiences and change); and control (the belief that one has the ability to influence or manage life events).

Question 26

Heuristics

Answer 26

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that people use when making attributions and other social judgments and include the representativeness, availability, simulation, and anchoring and adjustment heuristics. Although heuristics allow us to reach conclusions quickly, they may result in errors.

Question 27

Intraindividual Conflict

Answer 27

Lewin (1931) and Miller (1944) distinguished between four intraindividual (motivational) conflicts: approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, approach-avoidance, and double approach-avoidance. Of these, the double approach-avoidance (which occurs when we have to choose between two goals that both have positive and negative qualities) is the most difficult type to resolve.

Question 28

Jigsaw Method

Answer 28

The jigsaw method is a method of learning in which assignments must be completed by teams with each team member being assigned a different piece of the project. It has been found to improve intergroup relations, cooperation, and self-esteem as well as academic achievement, especially for members of minority groups.

Question 29

Law Of Attraction (Byrne)

Answer 29

According to Byrne’s (1971) law of attraction, we are attracted to others who have similar attitudes because interacting with those individuals is more rewarding than interacting with people who have dissimilar attitudes and is, therefore, more likely to generate positive affect.

Question 30

Levels Of Racism

Answer 30

Several investigators argue, to understand the effects of racism, it is necessary to recognize that it operates on multiple levels. These levels may be categorized as cultural, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized.

Question 31

Minority Influence

Answer 31

The research shows that a minority can influence the majority by maintaining a consistent (but not dogmatic) position.

Question 32

Misery Loves Miserable Company

Answer 32

Schachter concluded that people like to affiliate most with others who are in similar circumstances (e.g., anxious people prefer to affiliate with other anxious people).

Question 33

Obedience To Authority (Milgram)

Answer 33

Milgram’s famous and controversial studies evaluated participants’ willingness to obey the direct order or command of a high-status individual (authority) even when doing so seemed to harm another person.

Question 34

Overjustification Hypothesis

Answer 34

The overjustification hypothesis predicts that, when people are externally rewarded for a task they previously found intrinsically interesting, their intrinsic interest in the task will decrease.

Question 35

Prison Study

Answer 35

Zimbardo’s prison simulation study demonstrated that people alter their behaviors to fit their assigned roles.

Question 36

Pseudopatient Study (Rosenhan)

Answer 36

Rosenhan’s pseudopatient study demonstrated the effects of the social context on impression formation. Once admitted to a mental hospital, the pseudopatients were viewed, especially by hospital staff, as being schizophrenic even though they did not exhibit any abnormal behaviors.

Question 37

Psychological Reactance

Answer 37

Psychological reactance is the tendency to resist being influenced or manipulated by others, usually by doing the opposite of what is expected or requested.

Question 38

Robber’s Cave Study (Sherif)

Answer 38

Sherif’s research with boys at a summer camp demonstrated that the most effective way to reduce intergroup hostility is having the members of the groups cooperate to achieve a mutual (superordinate) goal.

Question 39

Schemata

Answer 39

Schemata (schemas) are cognitive structures that organize past information and experience and provide a framework for processing and understanding new information and experiences.

Question 40

Self-Perception Theory

Answer 40

Self-perception theory predicts that people make attributions about their own attitudes and behaviors on the basis of observations of their behaviors and other external cues.

Question 41

Self-Serving Bias

Answer 41

The self-serving bias refers to the tendency to attribute our own successes to dispositional (internal) factors and failures to situational (external) factors.

Question 42

Self-Verification Theory

Answer 42

Self-verification theory predicts that people prefer to receive feedback from others that is consistent with their own self-evaluations.

Question 43

Social Comparison Theory

Answer 43

Social comparison theory predicts that people use other (usually similar) people as sources of comparison to evaluate their own attitudes and behaviors.

Question 44

Social Exchange Theory

Answer 44

Social exchange theory predicts that a person’s decision to leave a relationship depends on the relationship’s costs and rewards - i.e., a person is likely to stay in a relationship when rewards exceed costs but leave when costs are greater than rewards.

Question 45

Social Judgment Theory

Answer 45

Social judgment theory predicts that people have three “categories of judgment” by which they evaluate persuasive messages - a latitude of acceptance, a latitude of non-commitment, and a latitude of rejection - and that people are most likely to be persuaded when the message is within their latitude of acceptance.

Question 46

Social Learning Theory

Answer 46

Social learning theory predicts that learning can occur simply by observing the behavior of a model. It has been used to explain the acquisition of aggressive behaviors (e.g., the effects of media violence).

Question 47

Superordinate Goals

Answer 47

Superordinate goals can be achieved only when individuals or members of different groups work together cooperatively and have been found useful for reducing intergroup conflict.

Question 48

Symbolic Racism

Answer 48

Sears et al. propose that that symbolic (modern) racism has gradually taken the place of “old-fashioned” racism and that symbolic racists believe that African Americans and other minorities violate such traditional American values as individualism, self-reliance, and the work ethic. They also deny their prejudice and attribute the social and economic problems of minority group members to internal factors (e.g., a lack of effort and discipline).

Question 49

Theory of Planned Behavior

Answer 49

The theory of planned behavior predicts that attitudes are accurate predictors of behavior when the attitude measure assesses all three components of the behavioral intention - the person’s attitude toward engaging in the behavior, what the person believes other people think he or she should do, and the person’s perceived behavioral control.

Question 50

Zeigarnik Effect

Answer 50

The Zeigarnik effect is the tendency to remember interrupted and unfinished tasks better than completed ones, especially in non-stressful situations.