Unit 09: Social Psychology

Question 1

According to Kurt Lewin, human behaviour is governed by the formula B = f (P,E). In this formula, E refers to __________.

a) extraversion
b) environment
c) education
d) ego

Answer 1

b

Question 2

Synchrony occurs in conversation when

a) two people say the same word at the same time
b) people realize they were talking about two different things
c) two people realize their conversation has wandered off-topic.
d) individuals’ speech patterns and physiology become more alike

Answer 2

d

Question 3

Social pressure to adopt a group’s perspective in order to be accepted, rather than rejected, by the group is known as ________________.

a) sociocultural influence
b) social cognitive influence
c) normative influence
d) informational influence

Answer 3

c

Question 4

The reduced personal responsibility that a person feels when more people are present in a situation is known as ___________________.

a) pluralistic ignorance
b) normative influence
c) the diffusion of responsibility
d) conformity

Answer 4

c

Question 5

______ is complying with instructions from an individual who has authority.

a) Mimicry
b) Obedience
c) Conformity
d) Groupthink

Answer 5

b

Question 6

________ are very quick, effortless, and automatic, whereas ________ are slower, more careful, and effortful.

a) External attributions; internal attributions
b) Implicit processes; explicit processes
c) Explicit processes; implicit processes
d) Internal attributions; external attributions

Answer 6

b

Question 7

Which of the following statements about thin slices of behaviour is most accurate?

a) Thin slices work only when rating the attractiveness of others.
b) In many instances, lasting and often accurate impressions of others form in just a few moments.
c) Thin-slice impressions are 100% accurate.
d) Thin slices of behaviour lead to inaccurate impressions of others.

Answer 7

b

Question 8

_________ prejudice refers to situations in which a person stereotypes a group of people based on hidden, unacknowledged feelings.

a) Implicit
b) Associative
c) Explicit
d) Discriminative

Answer 8

a

Question 9

Unconscious forms of prejudice are believed to be measured with the implicit associations test. This test is based on

a) increased activity in the emotional centres of the brain that are associated with specific races.
b) changes in heart rate that accompany photos of people from different racial backgrounds.
c) how long it takes people to respond to positive or negative words along with Black or Caucasian faces.
d) the types of words people typically make up when they see a person of a specific race.

Answer 9

c

Question 10

Jacques believed that everyone from Alberta was a racist “redneck.” He was therefore quite nervous when he found out that he’d have to work with two Albertans who were visiting from his company’s Edmonton office. After spending some time with the two men, however, he realized that his views about Albertans were incorrect. This is an example of

a) pluralistic ignorance.
b) conformity.
c) the contact hypothesis.
d) the Notley effect.

Answer 10

c

Question 11

A small city wants more citizens to leave their cars at home, so they have reduced the number of public parking spaces in the downtown core while increasing the number of public transportation, walking and biking options for people to use. This is an example of a small city using ________ means to encourage positive behaviour.

a) social
b) conformity
c) economic
d) technological

Answer 11

d

Question 12

Ahmed’s grandparents immigrated to Canada from Egypt in the 1970s. He wants to raise awareness about the positive effects immigration can have on a society. To do so, he prints out a list of the benefits of immigration and puts copies in people’s mailboxes. How successful will Ahmed’s attempts at persuasion be, and why?

a) Ahmed will not be successful because he used both the central and peripheral routes to persuasion poorly.
b) Ahmed will not be successful because although he used the central route to persuasion well, he did a poor job using the peripheral route.
c) Ahmed will have great success because he applied the peripheral route to persuasion well.
d) Ahmed will be successful because he is using both the central and peripheral routes to persuasion.

Answer 12

b

Question 13

A strategy for strengthening attitudes and making them more resistant to change by first exposing people to a weak counter-argument and then refuting that argument is known as _____________.

a) value framing.
b) attitude inoculation.
c) analytic processing.
d) social-altruistic processing.

Answer 13

b

Question 14

Harinder asked Doug to help him carry some boxes from his car into his backyard. Once that small task was done, Harinder then asked Doug to help him assemble a shed that he had bought. This technique of making a simple request followed by a more substantial request is known as (the) ___________________.

a) nuisance effect.
b) social validation.
c) foot-in-the-door technique.
d) door-in-the-face technique.

Answer 14

c

Question 15

Groupthink is least likely to occur when

a) a leader emerges who suppresses dissent.
b) group members have very different sociopolitical values.
c) group members become excited about their progress.
d) the group refuses to consider alternatives.

Answer 15

b

Question 16

Which of the following does not explain why social loafing may occur?

a) The individual believes that he or she has little to contribute to a group.
b) The group is engaged in a particularly complicated project.
c) The individual believes that the group will fail no matter what his or her contribution is.
d) The individual believes that the other members of the group are not trying their best.

Answer 16

c

Question 17

Which of the following is a reasonable conclusion to draw from the Asch studies?

a) People will conform in most situations where there is a great deal of uncertainty; but when people are certain of what is “right,” most will disagree with the group if the group holds a different opinion from them.
b) Even a single individual has a great deal of power in group settings, because by being willing to publicly disagree with the group, conformity pressures are significantly reduced for others.
c) Conformity pressures are so powerful that it is almost impossible to help people stand up against a group’s majority opinion.
d) Conformity always happens because people simply choose to agree with the group just to fit in; conformity can never, however, lead people to privately accept a group’s perspective.

Answer 17

b

Question 18

Which of the following is the most plausible explanation for the bystander effect?

a) The person in need is likely to be unrelated, and nonrelatives are not worth helping.
b) Bystanders refuse to help because of their own experiences; when they were in need, nobody helped them.
c) People fear embarrassment that could come from helping another person.
d) There are more people who simply do not care enough to help others than originally thought.

Answer 18

c

Question 19

Darcy used a racial slur at a party. Nobody said anything about it. Although Megan was a member of an anti-racism committee at her school, she didn’t raise any objection because she noticed nobody else did. This is an example of _____________.

a) social loafing
b) altruism
c) conformity
d) groupthink

Answer 19

c

Question 20

According to variations of the Milgram experiment

a) women are much more obedient to authority figures than men are.
b) people are much less obedient now than they were shortly after World War II; so, Milgram’s findings are historically important, but are not relevant to modern generations.
c) one of the most effective ways to get people to disobey an authority figure is to make sure they have some companions who will do it too.
d) most of the power of the situation was the general reputation of Yale as an institution; people assumed that the consequences of the shocks couldn’t be too terrible, because it was, after all, happening at Yale.

Answer 20

c

Question 21

Shania feels sure that her boss doesn’t like her. As a result, every time her boss is around, Shania acts more restrained and less warm and friendly. This causes her boss to, in fact, find her unfriendly and start to not like her. This is an illustration of

a) implicit processes being stronger than explicit processes.
b) explicit processes being stronger than implicit processes.
c) thin slices of behaviour.
d) a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Answer 21

d

Question 22

Which of the following statements about stereotypes and prejudice is false?

a) Stereotypes are often experienced implicitly.
b) Stereotypes can be expressed outwardly and very explicitly.
c) All stereotypes are of negative characteristics.
d) Prejudice has become increasingly unpopular in both Canada and the United States.

Answer 22

c

Question 23

Which of the following is an example of using the central route to persuasion?

a) an organization having a cool theme song as part of their commercials
b) an organization using a funny and attractive spokesperson
c) an organization having a visually interesting web page
d) an organization providing factually correct scientific data

Answer 23

d

Question 24

Kendra wanted to go to Ottawa for the weekend with her friends but was afraid that her parents would object. In order to persuade (or manipulate) them, she first asked them if she could travel to Amsterdam with her friends. Her parents said, “No.” The next day she asked if she could at least go to Ottawa. Her parents eventually agreed to this request. This is an example of the ______________________.

a) foot-in-the-door technique
b) social validation
c) door-in-the-face technique
d) the capital effect

Answer 24

c

Question 25

Imitating the behaviour of one individual is called _____________, whereas changing your behaviour to fit in with a group is called_____________.

a) mimicry; obedience
b) mimicry; conformity
c) compliance; mimicry
d) conformity; attitudinal bias

Answer 25

b

Question 26

Louisa has been training for the Olympics for several years and is very nervous that she won’t do well enough at the trials to make the Olympic team. To her delight, she is able to do better than any of her previous times in her own event and makes the team. When talking to her parents after the competition, she says, “I don’t know what got into me! I was just feeding off the crowd’s energy and I felt unstoppable!” Louisa’s comment is really a summary of the social psychology phenomenon called

a) social facilitation.
b) social compensation.
c) the bystander effect.
d) social loafing.

Answer 26

a

Question 27

Which of the following is true in terms of the potential impact of group conformity?

a) Regardless of the degree of conformity, fundamental beliefs cannot be altered.
b) There is little impact on decision-making following an act of conformity.
c) It can result in a change in the fundamental way an individual perceives a stimulus.
d) Only social situations are candidates for conformity effects.

Answer 27

c

Question 28

Groupthink tends to happen when members desire ______________.

a) control
b) power
c) agreement
d) freedom

Answer 28

c

Question 29

When people mirror or copy the actions of another individual, even if they do so in very subtle ways, they will tend to be ___________ by the imitated person.

a) ignored
b) viewed unfavourably
c) viewed favourably
d) asked to stop

Answer 29

c

Question 30

During the rush of the holiday season, you manage to slip and then twist your ankle in the mall. Despite the large number of people around you, no one stops to help. The best thing you can do in this situation is

a) simulate a more severe health concern, such as a seizure or a heart attack, so that people know how serious your situation is.
b) pull out your cell phone and dial 911; research has shown that people do not help in crowded situations.
c) yell “Fire!” to catch someone’s attention.
d) make clear eye contact with someone and make a clear request for help (including a suggestion about what to do).

Answer 30

d

Question 31

One of the reasons that the outcomes of the Stanford Prison study were so striking in terms of the power of social roles is that

a) participants were recruited through the newspaper.
b) no actual prison guards were used.
c) participants were randomly assigned.
d) only university students were used.

Answer 31

c

Question 32

The collection of people that we perceive as “similar” to us is known as our ________________.

a) outgroup
b) scapegoat
c) thin slice
d) ingroup

Answer 32

d

Question 33

Having a negative opinion about a person because she is a member of a particular group is __________. Acting negatively toward a person because she is a member of a particular group is __________.

a) a stereotype; discrimination
b) discrimination; prejudice
c) discrimination; aggression
d) prejudice; discrimination

Answer 33

d

Question 34

One of the dangers of placing children in “advanced,” “basic,” or “remedial” classes in school is that _________ may occur.

a) a self-fulfilling prophecy
b) thin slicing
c) the fundamental attribution error
d) scapegoating

Answer 34

a

Question 35

What was found when the thin-slice method was used to examine the rapid judgments people make about the personalities of others?

a) Quick judgments are generally more accurate than judgments based on more information.
b) Quick judgments and those made with more information are remarkably similar.
c) Quick judgments tend to be more negative than judgments based on more information.
d) Judgments based on a lot of information are generally more accurate than judgments based on thin slices.

Answer 35

b

Question 36

When people automatically assume that dispositional (internal) causes are at the root of others’ behaviours and disregard the importance of situational factors, they are making the __________ attribution error, while simultaneously ignoring situational factors.

a) fundamental
b) negative
c) dispositional
d) presumptive

Answer 36

a

Question 37

What is one reason why the Implicit Associations Test (IAT) described in the text is not a perfect predictor of implicit prejudice, as noted by the authors?

a) The IAT may measure knowledge about stereotypes rather than real attitudes or beliefs.
b) The IAT does not produce consistent results.
c) The IAT measures explicit prejudice, not implicit prejudice.
d) The IAT measures implicit discrimination, not implicit prejudice.

Answer 37

a

Question 38

You receive a phone call one evening from the National Centre for Charity and Related Causes. They ask if you can donate $100 to their national campaign drive. You explain that you are a poor but proud undergraduate student and cannot afford it. They then ask if you could donate $20 instead. You agree and have just fallen for the ___________ technique.

a) foot-in-the-door
b) door-in-the-face
c) face-in-the-door
d) foot-in-the-face

Answer 38

b

Question 39

When a person asks for a small favour and then increases her demand after the first request is granted, she is using the

a) door-in-the-face technique.
b) foot-in-the-door technique.
c) bait-and-switch technique.
d) low-ball technique.

Answer 39

b

Question 40

In 1954, Marion Keech convinced her followers that aliens from the planet Clarion had sent her a message that the world was coming to an end on December 21, but that they could be saved. When the world did not come to an end, Ms. Keech and many of her followers reduced cognitive dissonance by

a) deciding that their efforts had been justified and had spared the planet.
b) revealing that the entire “event” had been one big research study on conformity.
c) distributing a cash payment to each person to keep quiet about the fact that they had fallen for such an unusual prank.
d) distributing flyers to each member that told them the actual date of the end of the world and telling them that they had passed “the test.”

Answer 40

a

Question 41

Persuasion that occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond favorably refers to

a) central-route persuasion.
b) channel-route persuasion.
c) peripheral-route persuasion.
d) rational-route persuasion.

Answer 41

a

Question 42

The central route is most reliable when people are _______ motivated about the topic, when they have sufficient _______ and freedom from distraction, and when the information is not overwhelmingly complex relative to their knowledge.

a) a little; relaxation
b) highly; time
c) slightly; money
d) not; interest

Answer 42

b

Question 43

If you wanted to use a value-appeal approach to encourage Canadians to use more public transportation, you should appeal to values that are

a) collectivistic.
b) biospheric.
c) egoistic.
d) individualistic.

Answer 43

c

Question 44

Sally is preparing her speech for the upcoming student council election. Although she is not in favour of raising student fees for a new student centre, she knows that her opponent strongly supports the idea. How should Sally handle this reality?

a) She should give equal time to both sides of the debate.
b) She should only talk about her position.
c) She should spend most of her time challenging her opponent’s position.
d) She should present both sides of the argument but be clear about why her position is best.

Answer 44

d