PSY360 Chapter 3-5 Practice Questions

According to the theory of planned behavior, what type of process precedes the decision to engage in a particular behavior?

A rational process

Which of the following statements accurately describes the effectiveness of impression management tactics?

Impression management tactics can make a good impression as long as they are not overused.

At an interview with a local tech start-up, Janine answered questions about her qualifications. She elaborated on her education and relevant working experiences. She said that she graduated top of her class easily. She said she received more compliments from her professors than any of her peers and that one professor commented that he couldn't believe Janine learned many computer languages so quickly. Janine also said that she was working on "a rival to Facebook," but that she couldn't show the interviewer this work because it was confidential. In the end, Janine did not get the job. Which of the following is a likely explanation as to why?

Janine used excessive and impression management tactics.

Which of the following examples BEST illustrates a situation where there is a gap between our attitudes and behavior?

Roz tells her new boyfriend that she is extremely excited to see the new James Bond movie, even though she truly dreads seeing that film.

Marion hopes to come to a deeper sense of self-understanding. Which of the following, according to research, should Marion do to gain self-insight?

She should try to view herself as others do.

"Whistle-blowers" generally blow the whistle on corporate misbehavior because of what three attributes?

Their attitude is extreme, certain, and derives from personal experience.

Suppose we are trying to discern whether an individual is lying based on his or her verbal and nonverbal information and cues. Which of the following statements BEST describes how well we will be able to judge whether this individual is lying?

We will probably pay more attention to her or his verbal cues and, in doing so, will have difficulty determining any deception.

Kim is an American but spent much of her childhood in Japan. She is fluent in both English and Japanese. We might reasonably expect her response to the question "Who am I?" to differ depending on the language (Japanese or English) of the question because

a particular language might activate different self-concepts for bilingual people.

People's personal identities, and their various social identities, require them to be different people in different contexts. This results in

a potentially variable but coherent self-definition.

The suggestion that attitudes can be automatically activated and influence behavior by shaping interpretation of the situation, which in turn dictates behavior, is suggested by the

attitude-to-behavior process model. (According to this process, events trigger our attitudes and, simultaneously, the appropriate norms for how people should or typically do behave in a given situation.)

The process through which we seek such information and draw inferences is known as _______.

attribution {The process through which we seek to identify the causes of others' behavior and so gain knowledge of their stable traits and dispositions.}

On her way to work one morning, Samantha was cut off by a driver who was weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating slower moving cars, racing through yellow lights, and generally driving rather erratically. According to recent research, Samantha should probably ________ because ________.

avoid making eye contact with the driver; the driver might interpret Samantha's eye contact as an act of aggression

Thomas has concluded that, on average, he is academically superior to the peers around him. As a result of this comparison, over the next 6 months, his self-esteem will

be reliably higher.

According to the elaboration-likelihood and the heuristic-systematic models of persuasion, the two key factors that will determine whether we engage in effortful or effortless processing of information are one's

capacity to process information and level of motivation.

We might think that waiters who all flirt with a particular customer do so because the customer welcomes the attention if we notice that the waiters do not also flirt with other customers while we eat. This best represents the concept of ________.

consensus

When I consider the extent to which this person reacts in the same way to this same stimulus on other occasions, I am basing my attribution on

consistency.

Suppose a breaking news story has occurred involving an incident of terrorism. A certain news station invites a well-respected terrorism scholar to discuss the event. His views will likely be persuasive because he will be seen as

credible.

Together, the attitude and the previously stored information about what's appropriate or expected in a given situation shape our _________ the event.

definition of

LaPiere's research with the Chinese couple pointed out the

difficulty of predicting actual behavior from reported attitudes.

We might think that a waiter who flirts with a customer does so because he likes to flirt, if we observe this waiter flirting with several different customers while we eat. This best represents the concept of ________.

distinctiveness

Students entering college who had social networks with more ________ attitudes toward affirmative action exhibited ________ change over the following 2 months.

diverse; more

Emma is trying to convince her professor that he gave her an unfair grade. She continues to pester him for several days, as her arguments become ever more extreme. Ultimately, the professor tells Emma, "I wilII will not change your grade; moreover, you should be thankful for the grade you received!" Emma's professor likely resisted changing her grade because he

felt strongly that he was being pushed to do something he didn't want to do, rather than being asked.

Judy has recently been reflecting about all of the positive personal and professional life changes she has experienced over the past decade. The MOST likely reason she is engaging in this reflection is because she

finds it gratifying to see improvement over time.

Introspection is an effective means of understanding ourselves when the

focus is on a conscious decision-making process.

Juan feels unsure about the correctness of his attitude about a new rule at his job. He may feel more correct in his attitude if

he finds out that most of his coworkers share his attitude.

A CEO of a Midwestern chemical company gave a press briefing and espoused some fairly restrictive regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions and water pollution. His excellent credibility was probably due to the fact that

he is CEO of a chemical company.

Individuals who have high self-esteem and could be described as showing instability may exhibit

hostility and defensive responses when their self-esteem is threatened.

Ursula has decided that she will quit smoking by January 1 of next year. She creates a weekly calendar. On each week of the calendar, she notes down how many cigarettes she can smoke, gradually reducing the amount over the course of the year, so that by January 1 she will be able to give up the habit for good. Ursula has created a(n)

implementation plan.

How we produce our first view of another person and how quickly we produce that view are questions related to ________.

impression formation

Recent research suggests that impression management can work against an individual if

impression management techniques are overused or ineffectively used.

If one reflects on achievements, self-esteem ________. If one reflects on failures, self-esteem ________.

increases; decreases

During an interview, Jackie took longer to reply to certain questions and the pitch of her voice rose considerably; these aspects of her ________ gave away that that she was lying.

linguistic style

An example of interchannel discrepancy during deception would be

managing one's facial expressions well while not making much eye contact.

We hold values similar to, and identify with,

members of our reference group(s).

Deborah has just spent a great deal of money on a new fur coat. When she showed it to her husband, she asked if he liked it. Without hesitation, her husband responded by saying, "Yes. It is beautiful." Before he spoke, however, a slight frown appeared on his face for less than a second. This might indicate that he is concealing his true feelings from his wife and is known as a

microexpression.

Juan is one of three Brazilian students currently attending a college in Indiana. His roommate, Eric, is one of several thousand Hoosiers attending the same college. As a result, Juan is ________ to be aware of his racial status than Eric is of his at any given time.

more likely regardless of proportional gender presence

Tina, who favors the death penalty, hears two different, though persuasive, messages: one favoring the death penalty and one against it. Tina will likely report ________ oppositional (than supportive) thoughts about the counterattitudinal message (the message arguing against her attitude), and ________ supportive (than oppositional) thoughts about the proattitudinal message (the message in line with her attitude). Because of this experience, she will be ________ able to resist counterattitudinal persuasion in the future on this topic.

more; more; better (One reason we are so good at resisting persuasion is that we not only ignore information that is inconsistent with our current views, but we also carefully process counterattitudinal input and argue actively against it.)

According to the theory of planned behavior, our behavioral intentions are determined in part by our perceptions of whether others will approve or disapprove of the behavior, our perceptions of our ability to perform the behavior, and

our attitudes toward a particular behavior.

Jackson is a former member of a street gang. He has recently started attending classes at a local community college, has made new friends who don't know about his former gang membership, and is spending time with a woman from an upper-middle-class background. Jackson heard his new friends and his girlfriend make several snide comments about gang members shortly before he took a test in one of the classes he shares with his new friends. In the light of the stereotype threat idea, this situation may cause Jackson to

perform worse on the test than he otherwise might have.

Simone feels somewhat ambivalent about premarital sex. However, most of her friends seem to be unambiguously in favor of sexual activity before marriage. As a result, in a recent group discussion in her health class, Simone expressed fairly strong opinions in favor of premarital sex and avoided voicing her real concerns about the topic. Simone's actions are most likely due to

pluralistic ignorance. (Simone's actions are likely due to the experience of collectively misunderstanding what attitudes others hold and believing erroneously that others have different attitudes than us.)

Jerome is playing poker with his buddies and is losing badly. It seems that everyone at the table knows when he is bluffing just by watching his eyes. Jerome needs to learn to monitor his ________ and his ________ when he plays poker.

rate of blinking; frequency of eye contact

Bethany has been listening to a political speaker who is encouraging people to support a law that would require all people to recycle aluminum cans and severely penalize those who do not recycle. The speaker is giving strong arguments in favor of this proposed law and is couching his appeal in moral and ethical language. As a result, Bethany is becoming increasingly annoyed and resentful of the speaker and his arguments. She may be experiencing

reactance.

Mr. Nguyen, a 53-year-old accountant, has just been rejected for a job at a small bank that he believes he was qualified for. He later hears from a friend that the hiring manager was biased against older job applicants. Mr. Nguyen's self-esteem is likely to

remain unchanged because he can make an external attribution as to the cause of his rejection.

Tony disagrees with a certain political commercial. When the commercial comes on, he immediately switches the television channel. This is an example of

selective avoidance.

In meeting a new roommate, David stresses his studious qualities, an aspect of himself he wishes others to agree with, while being willing to underplay other potentially important aspects of himself. David is practicing a(n) ________ approach in presenting himself to others.

self-verification

Jasmine hears that her favorite poet is giving a reading on campus. She attends and has the chance to meet the poet after the reading. When Jasmine finally speaks to the poet, she gushes about how she wants to be a poet but knows she will never have anywhere near the talent of the poet. This is an example of

self-deprecation.

The belief that we can achieve a particular goal through our own actions is known as

self-efficacy.

Mike is applying for a job in advertising. While he is out to dinner with the interviewer, Mike pulls out and lights an expensive cigar and offers one to the interviewer. Mike is using what tactic to increase his chances of getting the job?

self-enhancement

Recent research has demonstrated that women will frequently perform worse on a math test when men are present than when the same test is administered to a female-only group. This finding illustrates

stereotype threat.

Although Sarah could afford any car she wants, she drives an aging Volkswagen. Sam, Sarah's friend, thinks that this choice says something about Sarah's personality. Sam clearly agrees with

the theory of correspondent inference.

Dr. Hammouda surveyed the graduating class of a small private university. One of his findings was that over 50 percent of the graduating class expected to receive a salary of at least $100,000 a year within 5 years of graduation. Dr. Hammouda knows that the actual percentage of recent graduates attaining that level of salary is much lower than 50 percent. The students are displaying

unrealistic optimism.

Having been given acting lessons to either 1) try to feel as if you are 14 years old at dinner with family, or 2) put on a performance so you will seem to others as if you're 14 years old at dinner with family, participants in acting condition ________ were more likely to see themselves as having ________.

2; more consistent traits

Which of the following is an example of an intragroup comparison? A.Dan, a firefighter, compares himself to Bill, his colleague. B.Janine, a liberal, compares herself to Colleen, a conservative. C.Ursula, a college student, compares herself to Diana, a high school student. D.JiYoo, a Korean, compares herself to Amanda, an American.

A. Dan, a firefighter, compares himself to Bill, his colleague.

Social identity theory suggests that we will ________ when our group identity is salient.

move closer to the ingroup

People who are convicted of violence and theft-related crimes view themselves as being higher than the average community member in terms of morality, kindness, generosity, trustworthiness, and honesty. What is the cause of this?

Above average effect

Bernard watched a brief video of Samantha being interviewed for a job. He reports his impression of Samantha and indicates he is not at all confident in his ratings of her. According to research, how accurate is Bernard's impression?

Bernard is probably not very accurate as he is not very confident about his impression of her.

Which type of nonverbal communication is relatively universal?

Facial expressions such as smiles and frowns

Katherine and Amy are members of the same sorority at college and are members of the school's swim team. They have been trying to master a difficult dive from the high board at the college's swimming pool. Amy is showing faster improvement in the dive than Katherine is. If they compare their performance as individuals, the self-evaluation maintenance model suggests that

Katherine should dislike Amy more.

Katherine and Amy are members of the same sorority at college and are members of the school's swim team. They have been trying to master a difficult dive from the high board at the college's swimming pool. Amy is showing faster improvement in the dive than Katherine is. If they compare their performance as teammates and sorority sisters, social identity theory suggests that

Katherine should like Amy more

Due to the fact that we can define ourselves differently at any time, we have many selves. Can we say that one of these selves is the "true" self? Why or why not?

No, because all selves can be accurate, depending on the context and comparative dimension.

Which statement BEST describes the attribution process?

The process by which we seek to understand the causes of the behavior of others and ourselves

In his home country, the United States, Arnold holds his thumb up to show approval. However, when traveling to another country last year, Arnold learned that people there took offense when he put his thumb up in this way. Which of the following best describes the reason for this?

The thumbs up sign is an emblem that has a specific meaning in a given culture.

Which of the following is a type of other-enhancement?

Using flattering language

When Matt was married to Kim, he sometimes wondered what it would feel like to get divorced. When, 10 years later, he actually did get divorced, he found out that what he thought he would feel was completely wrong. Matt's post-divorce feelings didn't match his

affective forecasting.

If Billy tells his friend that he intends to vote for a certain candidate, then Billy's intention reflects a(n)

attitude.

Marshall wants to pledge Theta Phi fraternity. He may well ________ publicly, believing active member decision makers will hear of his views. He is, in private, ________ to express those same views.

badmouth other fraternities; unlikely (Rather than being influenced to change our attitudes, we may find ourselves expressing one view on a topic to one audience and another view to a different audience.)

Betty and Vera are best friends who are both being treated for depression. Betty has come to believe that Vera's case of depression is much worse than her own case. Consequently, Betty is making a(n) ________ comparison that will likely ________ her self-esteem, and cause her to feel ________.

downward; increase; closer to Vera

Erin's boyfriend has taken her out to dinner at a very exclusive restaurant. Erin notices that he can't seem to sit still during the meal, and he is constantly rubbing his left knee, scratching an itch, or pulling his earlobe. This type of body language usually indicates

emotional arousal.

Participants in one study wore digital audio recorders. Research assistants coded the sounds and compared the coded behaviors to the participants' self-reports of behavior. Friends of the participants also made ratings of behavior frequencies. The findings show that

for some behaviors, the participants were more accurate and for other behaviors, friends were more accurate.

Upon meeting his biology professor for the first time, James says that he has read all of the professor's books, that they were some of the best books he's ever read, and that they were a catalyst for his choosing to study biology. James is employing the tactic o

ingratiation.

When Jeremy was recently asked to describe himself to his classmates, he spoke about being a member of the football team and how this helped to make his experiences different from those of other students in the class. Jeremy was primarily making ________ comparisons.

intergroup

According to Kelley's theory, behaviors that arise because of an individual's traits, motives, or intentions are ________ caused, while those behaviors that arise because of some aspect of the social or physical environment are ________ caused.

internally; externally

Chris describes himself as liberal when thinking of himself as an American, but conservative when compared to other college students. These are ________ comparisons.

intragroup

Thomas has always felt out of place in his family. He begins to wonder why he is the way he is. To better understand himself, he purchases a self-help book at his local bookstore. This book claims that Thomas will reach a deeper level of self-understanding if he spends time examining and analyzing his own past experiences and how those relate to his mental and emotional states. The book Thomas bought is advocating

introspection.

When thinking about a bad or happy event and predicting our future level of happiness, we tend to

neglect all the other factors that will contribute to our future state of mind over time.

Bradford, a gay man, recently applied for a job as a fifth-grade teacher. Shortly before his second interview with school administrators, which was to include some interaction time with current students, Bradford completed an online survey that included questions about his sexual orientation. It was explained that the survey was completely unrelated to the school system, and that the orientation items were being asked by a gay rights organization. Bradford did not think that he was particularly nervous or anxious during his interactions with the students. Recent research (Bosson, Haymovitz, and Pinel, 2004) suggests that

nonverbal measures of anxiety may have been higher than otherwise because the online survey may have made Bradford's homosexuality more salient.

Thom is a junior in college who is studying creative writing. He often daydreams about what he will be like when he is in his 30s. He usually imagines himself siting at a writing desk in the attic of a house surrounded by a dense forest and a lake. On the desk is his Nobel Prize for Literature award, and downstairs are his wife and two children. Thom has constructed a(n)

possible self.

Positive self-talk such as "I am a lovable person" tends to

sometimes decrease happiness for people with low self-esteem.

Members of collectivistic cultures are more likely to recognize more of the situational determinants of behavior than are members of individualistic cultures. As a result, members of collectivist societies are

somewhat less likely to make the fundamental attribution error.

Zoë, an attractive blond, is concerned that she might say something foolish in her college algebra class, thereby confirming the stereotype of the "dumb blond." As a result, Zoë rarely volunteers to solve problems on the board during class. This behavior can best be explained by

stereotype threat.

Abbie noticed that Kayla spends time talking to almost everyone she meets at work, and believes that this is because Kayla is a friendly, outgoing person. In fact, Kayla is rather shy and withdrawn most of the time, but her job at a local bank requires that she talk with most of the bank's customers periodically. Abbie's perception of Kayla is mistaken because of ________.

the correspondence bias

Imagine that you see a friend arguing with a sales clerk in a store. You have never seen your friend argue with anyone in public before. Therefore, you think that the clerk did something to cause the argument. The theory that most directly explains how you reached this conclusion is the

theory of correspondent inference.

Early research conducted by Solomon Asch suggests the presence of central traits, which are

traits that strongly color the way we interpret other aspects of another person.

Recently, Annabelle got a short story published in an online literary magazine. She was very excited because this was her first publication. However, 2 weeks later, she read a masterful story by Toni Morrison, one of the most famous writers in America. Annabelle then didn't feel so great about her own story or the fact that it was accepted for publication. This is an example of ________ social comparison.

upward (The type of comparison in question can be threatening to our self-image, so it's important to evaluate ourselves positively by choosing the right standard of comparison.)

Many times, attempts at deception are thwarted because of ________ facial expressions.

irrepressible

Research on self-control has demonstrated that engaging in self-regulation

is like a muscle in that the more we practice self-control, the easier it becomes to self-regulate.

Suppose that we might expect to experience prejudice or disapproval for some aspect of ourselves. We may downplay or subvert that aspect to the extent that

we can hide it and we are willing to hide it.

An advertising company has been hired by the Centers for Disease Control to produce TV commercials to increase awareness of breast cancer in males. Advertising executives are considering three different commercials. The first features actual patients who describe the pain they experienced from the disease. The second focuses on medical doctors discussing early detection strategies and treatment options. The third shows grieving family members surrounding a grave. Which is likely to be more effective at changing men's behavior?

The second, focusing on specific information that will reduce fear

In what health context might positive messages be much better than fear-inducing messages for effecting behavior change?

When the message's health concern is very serious or fatal

In the United States, gender differences in self-esteem are most pronounced among

white lower class people.

Joanna is part of a writer's group that meets each week. A friend of Joanna's recently asked her about the group, saying that she'd like to join, but she had also heard of another writer's group in town. Joanna knew the other group and said, "Don't join that one. Ours is focused on workshopping each other's work and providing constructive feedback. The other one just meets once a week to drink. They barely even talk about writing, let alone workshop anyone's work." This is an example of a(n)

intergroup comparison.

Ingratiation involves __________, whereas self-deprecation involves __________.

praising another person or using flattering language; lowering an audience's expectations of one's abilities

Before having an interview for a potential internship, Tanya carefully applies makeup, straightens her hair, and puts on a nice, colorful blazer. Tanya is practicing ________, which is a form of ________.

self-enhancement; impression management

People use a number of different techniques to try and manage the impression they make on others. These techniques generally fall into one of two broad categories: ________ and ________.

self-enhancement; other-enhancement

Whenever Mike enters his family's den where the sports trophies that he has won are on the mantle, his self-esteem is temporarily boosted. This is best described as caused by the fact that

self-esteem is responsive to life events.

Ellen, an undergraduate, attends an end-of-semester party. The party is full of graduate and postdoctoral students discussing research they are doing and theories they are studying. In order to make a good impression in conversation, Ellen brings up awards she has won in the past, her high grade point average, and which Ivy League schools she wants to apply to for graduate school. Ellen is engaging in

self-promotion.

William plays softball on the weekends with a group of friends from work. He believes he is a better pitcher than Tyreke because batters have fewer hits when he pitches than when Tyreke pitches. This type of comparison can best be explained by ________ theory.

social comparison

Terrence, a black man, just moved to a new town. The town is predominantly white. Terrence realizes that he needs to get a job, so he visits a few of the town's manufacturing companies. With each application, Terrence is asked to note his race. With each application he completes and submits, Terrence experiences

stereotype threat.

Having not met any members of a new social group, you hear a person expressing negative views of that group. Your attitude toward the new group would not be likely influenced by hearing this negative message if

you dislike the person expressing the attitude and see the person as dissimilar to yourself.

Which of the following is a reason why introspection can be misleading?

We don't always know or have conscious access to the reasons for our actions.