Social Psych Exam 2 part 1

Suppose that you are a landlord for an apartment building, and one of your tenants, Gus, has just paid his rent with a "bad check" (i.e., you tried to deposit his rent check in the bank, but the check "bounced" and was returned to you). According to Harold Kelley's attribution theory, in determining what type of attribution to make for this event, one of the questions you are likely to ask yourself is: "Has Gus ever given me a 'bad check' before?" That is, one of the things you are likely to ask about is consistency information. consensus information. distinctiveness information. priming information.

consistency information.

According to Harold Kelley's attribution theory, people are MOST likely to make internal attributions for others' behaviors when consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness are all perceived to be low. consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness are all perceived to be high. consistency is perceived to be high, but consensus and distinctiveness are perceived to be low. distinctiveness is perceived to be high, but consistency and consensus are perceived to be low.

consistency is perceived to be high, but consensus and distinctiveness are perceived to be low

The attribution theorist Harold Kelley proposed that people make use of three types of information when they make attributions for others' behaviors- uniqueness, variance, and distribution. base rate, representativeness, and availability. temporal sequence, context, and convenience. consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness.

consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness.

Quite understandably, students are often more upset about missing an exam question when they had previously circled the correct answer-and then changed it to an incorrect answer-as opposed to when they had chosen an incorrect answer all along. This is MOST directly related to the representativeness heuristic. the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. the simulation heuristic. the confirmation bias.

the simulation heuristic.

Research indicates that people are especially likely to engage in the false consensus effect when it comes to __________, and especially likely to engage in the false uniqueness effect when it comes to __________. their undesirable characteristics, their desirable characteristics their desirable characteristics, their undesirable characteristics their unusual characteristics, their more common characteristics their more common characteristics, their unusual characteristics

their undesirable characteristics, their desirable characteristics

Polina is 3 years old. She is just beginning to understand concepts such as "dog," "cat," "chair," and "sofa," and to understand how these concepts differ from one another. In other words, she is just beginning to employ framing. to use heuristics. to develop schemas. to develop scripts.

to develop schemas.

You and a friend are visiting a new city and would like to splurge and go out for a fine meal. You look at the restaurant listings in the newspaper and find one that is very expensive. Your friend says: "Let's go for it. With prices like that, we're bound to have a delicious meal!" In making this statement, your friend was most likely guided by the vacation effect. the representativeness heuristic. the contrast effect. the primacy effect.

the representativeness heuristic

Even though Vlad never actually exercises, you have always assumed that he is an athlete because he hangs around at the gym (like other athletes), drinks bottled water nonstop, and wears sweat suits everywhere. Your (false) assumption that Vlad is an athlete is MOST clearly an example of: the availability heuristic. the failure to take base-rate information into account. the representativeness heuristic. the anchoring and adjustment heuristic.

the representativeness heuristic.

The so-called illusory correlation can MOST directly help explain why people tend to think that they are "better than average" on most traits and abilities. why people tend to overestimate the degree to which members of minority groups engage in criminal behaviors. why people tend to continue to gamble even when they have hit an "unlucky streak." why people tend to assume that it is more common for people to die from plane crashes than from lung cancer.

why people tend to overestimate the degree to which members of minority groups engage in criminal behaviors

Confucius just fell down a flight of stairs. One of his disciples makes an internal attribution for the fall. What might this disciple be thinking? "Someone probably pushed Confucius!" "The stairs were probably very slippery!" "Confucius is so clumsy!" "I would have fallen if I were in his position!"

"Confucius is so clumsy!"

The fundamental attribution error is sometimes also known as the correspondence bias. the ultimate attribution error. the self-serving error. the covariation principle.

the correspondence bias.

Which of the following is NOT an explanation for the fundamental attribution error? Behavior is more noticeable than situational factors. People are cognitive misers and internal attributions are easier. Language is richer in situation-type terms than trait terms. People assign insufficient weight to situational causes even when they are aware of them.

Language is richer in situation-type terms than trait terms.

Suppose that Greg and Marsha both apply for a prestigious scholarship program, and both get rejected. Greg finds out that his application was flat out rejected (he never had a chance), while Marsha finds out that she was the first runner up (she nearly won). Who is likely to be more disappointed? Why? Greg-because of the simulation heuristic Greg-because of the confirmation bias Marsha-because of the simulation heuristic Marsha-because of the confirmation bias

Marsha-because of the simulation heuristic

When people make internal, stable attributions for others' successes or failures, these attributions tend to concern questions of ability or talent. effort or hard work. ease or difficulty of the task. luck or chance.

ability or talent.

Within the field of social cognition, the term "priming" refers to modeling a behavior for someone else. activating a concept in the mind. imitating a behavior. engaging in a behavior without conscious awareness.

activating a concept in the mind.

Which of the following is the BEST example of a gain-framed appeal? Working out daily will help you maintain good health. Failure to work out daily will risk health consequences. People who don't work out enough tend to struggle with their weight. If you don't work out, you might lose muscle mass.

Working out daily will help you maintain good health.

An attribution is a knowledge structure. a causal explanation. a type of heuristic. an expectation.

a causal explanation.

Suppose that you have a certain idea about what a tropical island should be like: It should be a tourist destination, have palm trees, enjoy a warm climate, and contain plenty of bars that serve cocktails with paper umbrellas. Your general understanding of what a tropical island is all about is MOST clearly an example of a script. a schema. a heuristic. magical thinking.

a schema.

The _________ is also known as the better-than-average effect and the Lake Wobegon effect. gain-loss effect ultimate attribution error false uniqueness effect self-fulfilling prophecy

false uniqueness effect

Yogurt that is "low fat" can be described as "95% fat free" or as "5% fatty." That is, it can be __________ in different ways. framed primed scripted simulated

framed

The automatic system of the duplex mind makes use of a series of mental shortcuts in order to obtain quick information about the likelihood of different outcomes. These shortcuts are known as heuristics. scripts. attributions. schemas.

heuristics

When most people think of the concept "sleeping," they also tend to think about concepts like "dreaming," "being tired," and "yawning." That is, when they think about "sleeping," related concepts are __________. framed scripted counterregulated primed

primed

Whenever Yael thinks about bad things happening to her ex-boyfriend, she gets "creeped out;" she feels like she will actually make bad things happen to him just by thinking about it. This is an example of magical thinking illusory correlation statistical regression illusion of control

magical thinking

The false consensus effect, the illusory correlation, and the first instinct fallacy are all examples of topics in __________ research. attribution theory social cognition motivation prejudice

social cognition

The Stroop test is a psychological test that highlights the distinction between automatic thinking and controlled thinking. the tendency for ironic processes to occur in the wake of attempted thought suppressions. the fact that thinking is guided by three different types of goals. the tendency for people to make the fundamental attribution error.

the distinction between automatic thinking and controlled thinking.

Before the rise of social cognition, the field of social psychology was dominated by the doctrine of behaviorism. the doctrine of humanism. Freudian theory. Neo-Freudian-theory.

the doctrine of behaviorism

Jacob is taking his psych test. He answers question #31 with "D" but isn't sure about it. After answering all the other questions, he goes back to 31 and starts to believe that perhaps "C" was the right answer. He decides to stick with "D" probably because of downward counterfactual thinking. upward counterfactual thinking. debiasing. the first instinct fallacy.

the first instinct fallacy.

Jorge just received an A+ on a physics exam. If you make an external attribution for this event, then you might well be thinking, "So what! The exam was really easy. I would have gotten an A+ too." "Well, I'm still not that impressed. All Jorge ever does is study. If I studied all the time I would get grades like that too." "Jorge must have some sort of natural gift for physics; he is really smart!" "Jorge is probably really good at physics, but I bet he does really badly in all of his other classes."

"So what! The exam was really easy. I would have gotten an A+ too."

"If only I had decided to take a different route home... I wouldn't have hit that stupid tree and ended up getting this huge ticket! Argh!" This thought is an example of the false uniqueness effect. illusory correlation. magical thinking. counterfactual thinking.

counterfactual thinking

Which of the following kinds of thinking can help explain the first instinct fallacy? ironic processing counterfactual thinking magical thinking automatic processing

counterfactual thinking

Reducing errors and biasing by getting people to use controlled rather than automatic processing is called debiasing. meta-cognition. ironic processing. anchoring.

debiasing

A loss-framed appeal focuses on the upside of a behavior's consequences. downside of a behavior's consequences. most accurate portrayal of a behavior's consequences. priming of thoughts.

downside of a behavior's consequences.

As described in the textbook, current theory and research suggests that humans may have evolved to have especially large and powerful brains largely in order to dominate other species. effectively relate to other people. obtain food. fend off predators.

effectively relate to other people.

Compared to conscious or controlled thinking, automatic thinking involves a GREATER level of effort. efficiency. control. intention.

efficiency

Because most people are cognitive misers, they tend to __________ as little as possible. make use of schemas rely on heuristics engage in conscious processing engage in automatic, nonconscious processing

engage in conscious processing

Social cognition refers to a movement within social psychology that focuses on how individuals think about social relationships and about other people. group thinking and group decision-making. cross-cultural differences in how people think and problem-solve. conformity, obedience, and crowd mentalities.

how individuals think about social relationships and about other people.

Attribution theory is MOST concerned with how people make decisions among a set of choices. how people form scripts and schemas. how people explain everyday events. how people make predictions about future events.

how people explain everyday events.

The belief that people can control totally chance situations is the illusion of control. fundamental attribution error. availability heuristic. first instinct fallacy.

illusion of control.

According to research on the actor-observer effect, people have a tendency to make relatively more __________ for their own behaviors but relatively more __________ for others' behaviors. internal attributions, external attributions external attributions, internal attributions stable attributions, unstable attributions unstable attributions, stable attributions

internal attributions, external attributions

In Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996), participants who were in the "rude" priming condition were more likely to wait patiently for the experimenter to speak to them with instructions. interrupt the experimenter to get instructions. view Donald as reckless, conceited, and aloof. view Donald as careful, modest, and warm.

interrupt the experimenter to get instructions.

People who think they have a "hot hand" after winning five poker hands in a row tend to think that it is more likely they will win the next hand than it actually is. it is more likely they will lose the next hand than it actually is. they are equally likely to win versus lose the next hand. their winning is due to having better traits than others.

it is more likely they will win the next hand than it actually is.

When people want to suppress a thought, the automatic mind works to keep a lookout for anything that might remind them of the unwanted thought. redirect attention away from the unpleasant thought. "numb" the mind so that people do not think any thoughts. "cover up" the unwanted thought with other, competing thoughts.

keep a lookout for anything that might remind them of the unwanted thought.

Schemas and scripts are both examples of types of conscious or controlled thinking. knowledge structures. heuristics. counterfactuals.

knowledge structures.

When people make external, unstable attributions for others' successes or failures, these attributions tend to concern questions of ability or talent. effort or hard work. ease or difficulty of the task. luck or chance.

luck or chance.

Thinking about thinking is called magical thinking. meta-cognition. counterregulation. information overload.

meta-cognition.

The illusion of control tends to produce more risky behavior. more conservative behavior. covariation. distinctiveness.

more risky behavior

The false consensus effect refers to the tendency for people to overestimate the number of people who agree with them. underestimate the number of people who agree with them. rely too heavily on the primacy effect. not rely heavily enough on the primacy effect.

overestimate the number of people who agree with them.

Given the research on cognitive errors and biases, it can be concluded that people are not nearly as smart as they are usually given credit for. people can be extremely unpredictable in terms of when and why they will engage in rational versus irrational decision-making styles. people rely on irrational thinking the vast majority of the time, but are still capable of engaging in careful, conscious thought when they need to make important decisions. These errors are extremely serious, and tend to have cumulatively biasing effects across time.

people rely on irrational thinking the vast majority of the time, but are still capable of engaging in careful, conscious thought when they need to make important decisions.

Research on the anchoring and adjustment heuristic indicates that people usually do not "adjust" enough away from their anchors. people usually "adjust" too much away from their anchors. people will not engage in this heuristic if they know that the anchors are arbitrary. people will not engage in this heuristic if they know that it can lead to faulty decisions.

people usually do not "adjust" enough away from their anchors.

The term "cognitive miser" was coined to refer to people's general reluctance to do much extra thinking. people's general reluctance to share their ideas with other people. people's tendency to give themselves the benefit of the doubt in ambiguous situations. people's tendency to blame negative experiences on other people (or on other external circumstances).

people's general reluctance to do much extra thinking.

People are faster to classify the target word "flower" when it is preceded by the word "plant" than when it is preceded by the word "elephant." This effect is due to attribution. priming. simulation. counterregulation.

priming

When people want to suppress a thought, the conscious mind works to keep a lookout for anything that might remind them of the unwanted thought. redirect attention away from the unpleasant thought. "numb" the mind so that people do not think any thoughts. "cover up" the unwanted thought with other, competing thoughts.

redirect attention away from the unpleasant thought.

When you go to a restaurant, you know that there is a certain sequence of things that you need to do: (a) wait to be seated, (b) order, (c) eat, and then (d) pay. In other words, you have a __________ for what needs to be done at restaurants. frame heuristic schema script

script

Research indicates that __________ and __________ are the two main motivations underlying the self-serving bias. self-enhancement, self-presentation self-enhancement, consistency self-presentation, social comparison consistency, social comparison

self-enhancement, self-presentation

The so-called "Sports Illustrated jinx"-the tendency for athletes to experience a dip in performance directly after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated-can be BEST explained by statistical regression. magical thinking. illusory correlation. the base rate fallacy.

statistical regression.

The so-called "self-serving bias" refers to the tendency for people to take credit for their successes but deny blame for their failures. remember cases in which they succeeded but forget cases in which they failed. notice when they are better than others at things, but fail to notice when they are worse than others at things. think that their personal skills, traits, and characteristics are more valuable and desirable than they really are.

take credit for their successes but deny blame for their failures.

The so-called "gambler's fallacy" refers to the (false) belief that chance events are affected by previous events, and that chance events will "even out" across a relatively short period of time. the (false) belief that one is far more skilled or gifted than others are. the (false) belief that one can control or change situations that are completely (or almost completely) due to chance. the tendency to compare oneself to people who are far, far worse off in order to feel better about oneself.

the (false) belief that chance events are affected by previous events, and that chance events will "even out" across a relatively short period of time.

Suppose that you meet an old man named Al. You have no idea how old he is. To try to guess his age you start with your grandfather's age (80), and then add on a few years since Al seems to be a little older. That is, you make use of priming. counterfactual thinking. the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. the simulation heuristic.

the anchoring and adjustment heuristic.

Even though stomach cancer kills more people than plane crashes do, most people tend to assume that plane crashes cause more deaths. This misconception seems to arise from __________, since plane crash fatalities tend to be widely publicized and are therefore relatively easy for people to bring to mind. the representativeness heuristic. the availability heuristic. the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. information overload

the availability heuristic.

It would not be surprising if people overestimated the likelihood for celebrity marriages to end in divorce, since celebrity divorces tend to be highly publicized (while happy celebrity marriages do not as easily make front page news). The overestimation could be explained in terms of the representativeness heuristic. the availability heuristic. the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. information overload

the availability heuristic.

Jules and Jim are reading a book review about a book that both of them have read. Jules hated the book, and seems to feel that the reviewer also hated it. Meanwhile, Jim thought the book was witty and provocative, and he seems to think that the reviewer shares HIS views. It seems as though both Jules and Jim are "seeing" different things when reading the book review. That is, both of them seem to be engaging in the confirmation bias. the self-fulfilling prophecy. the false consensus effect. the illusory correlation.

the confirmation bias

Ingrid is highly educated, nerdy, and outspoken. She loves to read, surf the web, hike, go camping, and cook vegetarian meals. When asked whether it is more likely that Ingrid is (a) a teacher, or (b) both politically liberal and a teacher, most people answer (b). By choosing (b), however, most people are committing the base rate fallacy. the conjunction fallacy. the illusory correlation. counterfactual thinking.

the conjunction fallacy.

The tendency for people to overestimate the link between variables that are related only slightly or not at all is known as the conjunction fallacy. the illusory correlation. the representativeness heuristic. the base rate fallacy.

the illusory correlation.