Psychology Chapter 12 Study Guide Social Psychology – Flashcards
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Vince has always believed children deserve the best prenatal care available. During a class discussion, he hears the first of several speakers express negative attitudes toward spending tax money on prenatal care for the poor. When it is his turn to speak, he voices an opinion more in keeping with the previous speakers. Vince's behavior is an example of a) compliance. b) persuasion. c) conformity. d) obedience.
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c) conformity. Conformity involves going along with the group despite one's real opinion. Compliance would be the case if someone had asked him to voice an opinion in keeping with the previous speakers. In this case, Vince did it on his own as a result of internal pressure to conform.
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Which of the following researchers conducted a series of studies on conformity that involved having a subject judge the length of three lines after a group of confederates all reported an obviously incorrect answer? a) Jane Elliot b) Stanley Milgram c) Philip Zimbardo d) Solomon Asch
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d) Solomon Asch Asch conducted the well-known studies on conformity. Milgram studied obedience in his famous studies with electrical shock.
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_____________ occurs when people begin to think that it is more important to maintain a group's cohesiveness than to objectively consider the facts. a) Groupthink b) The lowball technique c) Obedience d) Social loafing
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a) Groupthink Groupthink describes the thought processes that can dominate a group of individuals
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At the supermarket, a demonstrator gives away free samples of a new pizza. He also gives each taster a coupon worth $1 off his or her grocery bill. This manufacturer is depending on the social process of ________ to increase sales. a) norm of reciprocity b) deindividuation c) group polarization d) social facilitation
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d) social facilitation Groupthink results in lack of differing opinions. Believing that the group can do no wrong is actually a cause for groupthink.
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At the supermarket, a demonstrator gives away free samples of a new pizza. He also gives each taster a coupon worth $1 off his or her grocery bill. This manufacturer is depending on the social process of ________ to increase sales. a) norm of reciprocity b) deindividuation c) group polarization d) social facilitation
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a) norm of reciprocity The norm of reciprocity involves the tendency of people to feel obligated to give something in return after they have received something. Social facilitation is an increase in performance caused by greater arousal.
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Selena is trying to get her boyfriend to wash the dishes for her. To start with, she asks her boyfriend to cook dinner for her. When her boyfriend refuses, she asks, "Well, will you at least wash the dishes then?" To which he readily agrees. Selena has just used the a) foot-in-the-door technique. b) door-in-the-face technique. c) lowball technique. d) that's-not-all technique
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b) door-in-the-face technique. The door-in-the-face technique involves asking for a large request that you know will be refused followed up by a smaller request, which many people then agree to.
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Changing one's behavior due to a direct order of an authority figure is referred to as a) compliance. b) obedience. c) conformity. d) persuasion.
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b) obedience Obedience involves changing your behavior due to an order from "above," while conformity involves changing your behavior to better "fit in" with others around you.
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Imagine 100 individuals are asked to take part in a replication of Milgram's famous study on obedience. How are these 100 people likely to respond? a) The majority would administer 450 volts as instructed. b) The majority would immediately realize the use of deception and leave. c) Most of the women would refuse to obey, whereas almost all of the men would obey. d) Most of the participants would work together to force the experimenter to end the experiment.
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a) The majority would administer 450 volts as instructed. The Milgram experiment has been repeated at various times, in the United States and in other countries, and the percentage of participants who went all the way consistently remained between 61 and 66 percent. In addition, few differences between males and females have been found.
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A teacher decides against assigning group projects in which all group members get the same grade. What social psychological phenomenon might the teacher be concerned about? a) conformity b) social loafing c) social influence d) social facilitation
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b) social loafing The teacher knows that some students will slack off if they are not being evaluated for their individual performance, due to a phenomenon known as social loafing.
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Ashley has practiced her drum routine over and over. When she gets up to play it at the recital in front of 100 people, she performs it better than she ever has. Her improved performance is an example of a) social compliance. b) persuasion. c) social facilitation. d) social impairment.
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c) social facilitation Social facilitation is the term for the positive effect on one's performance caused by the perception that others are watching.
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Which of the following is the best example of the behavioral component of an attitude? a) Bea feels recycling is a great concept. b) Bob is upset when he hears a corporation plans to build a polluting plant near his home. c) Bill struggles to understand the arguments both sides present in a debate over a new manufacturing plant. d) Betty writes a letter to her senator asking for support of a law making corporations responsible for the pollution they cause.
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d) Betty writes a letter to her senator asking for support of a law making corporations responsible for the pollution they cause. Writing is an action, or behavior. The fact that Bill struggled to understand indicates that what he is doing is cognitive.
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Which of the following is not a factor that influences attitude formation? a) direct contact with an individual b) DNA inherited from your parents c) instructions from your parents d) observing someone else's actions
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b) DNA inherited from your parents Attitude formation is believed to occur solely through the learning process and is not considered to be something that is inherited biologically.
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Kerry's positive attitude toward China, even though she has never been there, seems to be related to the fact that her mother is Chinese and talks about China all the time with Kerry. Which method of attitude formation is involved in this example? a) direct contact b) direct instruction c) interaction with others d) classical conditioning
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c) interaction with others The fact that Kerry's mother talks about China all the time with Kerry and is Chinese indicates that her attitude is the result of interaction with her mother.
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Which communicator would likely be most persuasive? a) an attractive person who is an expert b) a moderately attractive person who is an expert c) an attractive person who has moderate expertise d) a moderately attractive person who has moderate expertise
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a) an attractive person who is an expert Attractiveness and expertise have been shown to increase persuasiveness.
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_____________ describes the situation in which people attend to the content of a message. a) Central-route processing b) Cognitive dissonance c) Social facilitation d) Peripheral-route processing
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a) Central-route processing In central-route processing, an individual pays attention to the content of the message, whereas in peripheral-route processing, an individual focuses on details other than the main content of the message.
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Which of the following was a finding in the classic study by Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)? a) Those who got $1 to perform a boring task said the task was more interesting than did those who got $2. b) Those who got $20 to perform a boring task said the task was more interesting than did those who got $1. c) Paid groups said the task was less boring than did nonpaid groups. d) Women performed the tasks for less money than men.
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a) Those who got $1 to perform a boring task said the task was more interesting than did those who got $2. The group that got paid less used cognitive dissonance to justify their poor pay for telling a lie.
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Which of the following represents an example of cognitive dissonance? a) A boy learns how to ride a bicycle without the training wheels. b) A father tells his daughter that he will really only be proud of her if she gets all A's like she did last semester. c) A student stays up all night to study for an upcoming exam. d) A woman argues that it is morally wrong to kill animals for food becomes upset when she is asked to explain why she is wearing a leather belt and leather shoes.
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d) A woman argues that it is morally wrong to kill animals for food becomes upset when she is asked to explain why she is wearing a leather belt and leather shoes. Cognitive dissonance is an emotional disturbance that occurs when a person's actions don't match his or her statements.
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What is the term for the process of developing an opinion about another person? a) social interaction b) stereotyping c) impression formation d) interpersonal judgment
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c) impression formation Although stereotyping may be a component of impression formation, it is not the term for the process of developing an opinion about another person.
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Toni sees a picture of the new international exchange student and notices that the student looks happy, so Toni automatically assumes that he is also friendly. This automatic assumption about the student's personality is an example of a) central-route processing. b) implicit personality theory. c) cognitive dissonance. d) discrimination.
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b) implicit personality theory. Implicit personality theory represents the automatic associations a person makes about personality traits that are assumed to be related.
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The process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of other people is called a) stereotyping. b) attribution. c) central-route processing. d) cognitive dissonance .
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b) attribution An attribute is an explanation for a person's behavior. Stereotypes are preconceived ideas about a group of people.
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"Look, Officer, I didn't see the stop sign back there because the sun was in my eyes." The police officer responds, "You were not paying attention." How would a social psychologist describe this situation? a) Both individuals were making fundamental attribution errors. b) Both individuals were making situational attributions. c) The driver was making a dispositional attribution; the officer was making a situational attribution. d) The driver was making a situational attribution; the officer was making a dispositional attribution.
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d) The driver was making a situational attribution; the officer was making a dispositional attribution. The driver attributed his error to something in his situation, the sun; whereas the officer attributed the driver's error to something internal to him, his lack of attention.
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While watching the TV game show Jeopardy, your roommate says, "The game show host, Alex Trebek, knows all the answers. He must be a genius." You tell your roommate she probably would not have said that if she had attended class the day the instructor discussed the topic of a) social facilitation. b) stereotyping illusions. c) internal attribution biases. d) fundamental attribution errors.
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d) fundamental attribution errors. Your roommate attributed something that is situational (Trebek gets the answers ahead of time) to an internal characteristic (genius). Although internal attribution bias sounds correct, it is not a term used in social psychology.
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A bank loan officer thinks people who speak with an accent are lazy; consequently, he refuses to grant them loans. The loan officer's belief is an example of _______. His refusal to grant them loans is an example of __________ . a) discrimination; prejudice b) stereotyping; attribution c) attribution; stereotyping d) prejudice; discrimination
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d) prejudice; discrimination Prejudice is an unsupported, often negative belief about all people in a particular group, whereas discrimination is an action taken that is based on this belief. In this case, the action is the refusal to grant loans.
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The part of a person's self-concept that is based on his or her identification with a nation, culture, or ethnic group or with gender or other roles in society is called a) the fundamental attribution error. b) self-serving bias. c) ethnocentrism. d) social identity.
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d) social identity. Social identity refers to a person's identity with his or her social group. Ethnocentrism is the process of viewing the world from your own viewpoint and failing to see alternative perspectives.
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Which of the following does NOT represent an effective method for reducing prejudice? a) establishing a jigsaw classroom b) bringing diverse groups of people into contact with each other c) learning about people who are different from you d) establishing equal status contact between different groups of people
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b) bringing diverse groups of people into contact with each other Simply bringing groups together normally does not reduce prejudice unless all the members of the group have equal status and power in the group.
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We tend to ___ attractive people more than we do less attractive people. a) like b) dislike c) ignore d) hate
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a) like Social psychologists have found that we tend to like attractive people more than unattractive people.
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When opposites attract it is said that they have __________ characteristics. a) proximal b) complementary c) rewarding d) reciprocal
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b) complementary Things that "complement" each other tend to be opposites. The term proximity refers to nearness.
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Which of the following was NOT a component of Robert Sternberg's theory of love? a) intimacy b) lust c) passion d) commitment
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b) lust Sternberg's theory of love includes the three components of intimacy, passion, and commitment
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Behavior that is intended to hurt or destroy another person is referred to as a) empty love. b) prejudice. c) aggression. d) dissonance.
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c) aggression Aggression describes a type of behavior, whereas prejudice refers to a person's attitude.
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The fact that a social role can lead to an increase in aggressive behavior points to __________ as a major contributor to aggression. a) biology b) the environment c) DNA d) chemical influences
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b) the environment The impact of the social role points to learning and the influence of the surrounding environment on an individual's aggressive behavior.
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What term refers to helping behavior that is performed voluntarily for the benefit of another person, with no anticipation of reward? a) altruism b) collectivism c) interdependence d) humanitarianism
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a) altruism Altruism is defined as helping others for no personal benefit. Humanitarianism means almost the same thing as altruism but is not the term social psychologists use for the helping behavior that is performed voluntarily for the benefit of another person, with no anticipation of reward.
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In a crowded mall parking lot, dozens of people hear a female voice yell, "He's killing me!" Yet, no one calls the police. What is the reason for the lack of action, according to Darley and Latané? a) People are too busy to respond. b) Most people "do not want to become involved." c) The fight-or-flight response is not activated when others are in danger. d) There is a diffusion of responsibility.
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d) There is a diffusion of responsibility According to Latané and Darley most people say they do want to become involved, however often diffusion of responsibility occurs. Diffusion of responsibility is what occurs as each person thinks someone else will call for help (i.e., take responsibility).
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In Latané and Darley's classic 1969 study, they found that __________ of the participants reported the smoke in the room when the two confederates in the room noticed the smoke but then ignored it. a) all b) three-fourths c) one-half d) one-tenth
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d) one-tenth About one-tenth of the participants reported smoke when the confederates in the room noticed the smoke but did nothing about it. This number was much higher when the participants were in the room alone.
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All of the following are decision points in helping behavior EXCEPT a) noticing. b) defining an emergency. c) taking responsibility. d) diffusion of responsibility.
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d) diffusion of responsibility. Diffusion of responsibility stops a person from helping and is not considered a decision point.
