Psy_Module 20 Quiz – Flashcards

1.) On what issues do persuasive arguments sway responses? A.) issues that have a factual element. B.) moderate, rather than severe, issues. C.) value-laden judgments. D.) complex, rather than simple issues.

2.) Group polarization occurs when group discussion _______ group members' initial inclinations. A.) challenges B.) reverses C.) neutralizes D.) strengthens

3.) According to social comparison theory, we are most persuaded by A.) experts. B.) people in our reference group. C.) people who hold opinions which are different than ours. D.) leaders.

4.) What underlying processes help to explain the occurrence of group polarization? A.) informational influences and normative influences B.) minority influences and social facilitation C.) psychological reactance and deindividuation D.) social comparison and self-censorship

5.) Teresa has joined the campus Amnesty International Group and after attending a few of the meetings, now feels even more passionate about human rights. Social psychologists would explain the change in Teresa's opinions using A.) social facilitation. B.) groupthink. C.) minority influence. D.) group polarization.

6.) Students who join extracurricular groups on campus tend to find their attitudes regarding the groups' purpose increase if they stay in the group. This is an example of A.) social facilitation. B.) groupthink. C.) minority influence. D.) group polarization.

7.) Julio is a directive leader of a highly cohesive student group on campus. When discussing important policy decisions, the group will be at greatest risk for groupthink if it is also A.) isolated from dissenting viewpoints. B.) composed of majority and minority students. C.) well-informed regarding both sides of the issue. D.) aware of the dangers of making wrong decisions.

8.) "Mindguards" protect group leaders from A.) unfair criticism. B.) disagreeable facts. C.) susceptibility to illusions. D.) stereotyped views of the opponents.

9.) Evaluating one's opinions and abilities by comparing oneself to others is called A.) informational influence processing. B.) normative influence processing. C.) the reactance theory. D.) the social comparison theory.

10.) The fact that people associate mostly with others whose attitudes are similar to their own, suggests the prevalence of naturally occurring A.) social facilitation. B.) groupthink. C.) minority influence. D.) group polarization.

11.) When people learn about others' positions, without making a prior commitment and without discussing their own position, they will A.) often take a reverse position. B.) not adjust their own position. C.) adjust their responses to be more in line with the others' position. D.) pretend they "knew it all along."

12.) Which of the following is an example of group polarization in one's community? A.) gang delinquency B.) cheering wildly at a football game C.) an isolated, troubled teenager being aggressive towards his classmates D.) a looting mob

13.) Which two symptoms of groupthink lead group members to overestimate their group's right and might? A.) rationalization and conformity pressure B.) rationalization and a stereotyped view of the opponent C.) an illusion of invulnerability and self-censorship D.) an illusion of invulnerability and an unquestioned belief in the group's morality

14.) Which of the following is NOT a prescriptive strategy to prevent groupthink from developing? A.) One or more members should be assigned the position of devil's advocate. B.) Group members should be kept together as one unit and not divided into separate discussion subgroups. C.) Outsiders should attend the meetings and challenge the group's views. D.) After reaching a preliminary decision, the group should call a second-chance meeting and ask each member to express remaining doubts.

15.) Which of the following is a comment you are LEAST likely to hear being made within a group characterized by groupthink? A.) "Our critics are not very smart." B.) "Our past decisions have always been right." C.) "Let's weigh all the alternatives carefully before we proceed." D.) "It seems to me we are all in agreement on this, so let's proceed."

16.) The fact that active participation in discussion produces more polarization is best explained by A.) informational influence processes. B.) normative influence processes. C.) the cognitive miser theory. D.) a decrease in pluralistic ignorance.

17.) Maggie favors the death penalty. In discussing this issue with some like-minded classmates, she hears arguments for this position that she has never considered before. After the discussion, her opinion is more extreme. This outcome is best explained by A.) informational influence processes. B.) normative influence processes. C.) the reactance theory. D.) the social comparison theory.

18.) A false impression of what other people are thinking, feeling or responding is what social psychologists call A.) an imaginary audience. B.) social comparison. C.) pluralistic ignorance. D.) groupthink.

19.) Myers and Bishop (1970) organized groups of prejudiced and nonprejudiced high school students and asked them to respond to issues involving racial attitudes, both before and after group discussion. Results showed that after within-group discussion, _______ became _______. A.) all students; more prejudiced B.) all students; less prejudiced C.) between-group differences; smaller D.) between-group differences; greater

20.) The illusion of unanimity in a group is one aspect of A.) social facilitation. B.) deindividuation. C.) groupthink. D.) rationalization.

21.) Groupthink can be defined as A.) a tendency to suppress dissent in the interests of group harmony. B.) a tendency to sacrifice group cohesiveness in favor of task orientation and problem focus. C.) enhancement of problem-solving capacity as a result of several persons joining together to work on the same problem. D.) reduced self-awareness as a result of group immersion and social anonymity.

22.) According to Janis, groupthink grows from all of the following except A.) the group's isolation from dissenting viewpoints. B.) having an amiable, cohesive group. C.) being assigned an additive task with a transformational leader. D.) having a directive leader who signals what decisions he/she favors.

23.) Individuals who believe that physician-assisted suicides should be legalized meet to discuss the issue. Research on group interaction suggests that after the discussion the individuals will be A.) more likely to question the wisdom of legalizing physician-assisted suicides. B.) even more convinced that physician-assisted suicides should be legalized. C.) sharply divided over whether physician-assisted suicides should be legalized. D.) opposed to the legalization of physician-assisted suicides.

24.) You are hesitant to ask questions in class because you assume everyone else understands and you would therefore seem foolish. Your thinking best exemplifies A.) groupthink. B.) pluralistic ignorance. C.) social loafing. D.) self-handicapping.

25.) The text suggests that the extremism of terrorist organizations, such as those involved in the September 11th attacks on the United States, is very likely the result of the naturally occurring process of A.) group polarization. B.) pluralistic ignorance. C.) social loafing. D.) social facilitation.

26.) Research on group polarization began with the erroneous conclusion that group discussion leads to A.) a risky shift. B.) groupthink. C.) pluralistic ignorance. D.) group moderation.

27.) Wright (2003) suggested that the Internet is an effective means to rally like-minded people and mobilize lethal consequences, such as recruiting individuals for terror organizations. Which concept in social psychology best explains this trend? A.) group polarization B.) pluralistic ignorance C.) social loafing D.) social facilitation

28.) Consistent with what is known about group polarization, Schkade and Sunstein (2003) found that on federal appellate court cases, a Republican judge sitting with two other Republican judges voted _____ than when sitting with one Democratic judge. A.) more liberally B.) more conservatively C.) more predictably D.) less predictably

29.) According to the text, groupthink symptoms can be viewed as a form of dissonance reduction as group members A.) try to maintain their positive group feelings. B.) try to persuade other group members of their opinions. C.) underestimate their group's might. D.) discuss their group's vulnerability.

30.) Closed-mindedness is most clearly fostered by which of the following symptoms of groupthink? A.) rationalization B.) unquestioned belief in the group's morality C.) an illusion of unanimity D.) conformity pressure

31.) According to Festinger (1954), it is human nature to want to evaluate our opinions by A.) comparing ourselves with others. B.) designing everyday tests of validity. C.)engaging in frequent introspection. D.) actively studying the results of scientific research.