Social Psychology - Chapter 4: Social Perception
Self-fulfilling prophecy
A belief that leads to its own fulfillment Pygmalion effect (wherein high expectations lead to improved performance) Rosenthal (1968) Bloomers teachers expectations Rosenhan (1973) Non psychiatric patients were placed in psychiatric hospitals after a pseudo diagnosis. They were then told to act normal following their admission. The question was whether nurse etc would diagnose their sanity Aver 19 days in hospital. The patients were able to detect that nothing was wrong with the new patients
Attribution theory
A description of the way in which people explain the causes of their own and other peoples behaviour Note:
Belief in a just world
A form of defensive attribution wherein people assume that bad things happen to bad people and that good things happen to good people Notes: They deserved it because........
Locus of control (Internal V's External)
A person's tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment
Covariation model
A theory that states that to form an attribution about what caused a person's behaviour, we systematically note the pattern between the presence or absence of possible causal factors and whether the behaviour occurs Notes: Consensus, consistency & Distinctiveness Low, high, low (Internal) High, High, High (External)
Two-step attribution process
Analysing another person's behaviour first by making an automatic internal attribution and only then thinking about possible situational reasons for the behaviour, after which one may adjust the original internal attribution Notes: Going from analytical to holistic thinking? Going from top down to bottom up processing
According to Darwin's research on facial expressions, how do humans encode primary emotions? a) All humans encode primary emotions in the same way b) Humans make a lot of effort to convey primary emotions c) Expressions of primary emotions is culture specific d) Humans learn to encode primary emotions through the process of learning
Answer = A - All humans encode primary emotions in the same way Notes:
A consequence of our belief in a just world is that we a) Blame the victims of misfortune b) Focus on situational causes of others behaviour c) Make accurate attributions and impressions d) Are more likely to attribute our own behaviour to dispositional causes
Answer = A - Blame the victims of misfortune Notes:
________________ refers to how other people behave toward the same stimulus a) Consensus b) Distinctiveness c) Consistency d) Confirming
Answer = A - Consensus Notes:
Japanese women less often exhibit a wide uninhibited smile than women in Western cultures because Japanese and Western cultures prescribe different a) Display rules b) Values c) Affect blends d) Implicit personality theories
Answer = A - Display Rules Notes:
Tom, an American businessperson, is making a sales presentation to Chen, a Chinese businessperson. As Tom makes his presentation, Chen smiles and nods his head up and down. Tom assumes that Chen is pleased with his presentation and that he will make a sale. However, Chen has no intention of making a deal with Tom, but in Chinese culture Che is from, it would be rude to show his lack of interest non-verbally. Tom and Chen have different: a) Display rules b) Emblems c) Channels of communication d) Interpretation biases
Answer = A - Display rules Notes:
Imagine that you are in Hong Kong reading the morning news and you notice a headline about a double murder that took place overnight. A suspect is in custody. Which of the following headlines is most likely to accompany the story a) Dispute over Gambling debt ends in murder b) Crazed Murderer Slays Two c) Homicidal Maniac Stalks Innocents D) Bloodthirsty Mobster Takes Revenge
Answer = A - Dispute over Gambling debt ends in murder Notes: Why?
According to Kelley's (1967) covariation model, when people use information about whether or not the actor acts the same way toward everyone, not just the target, they are using _____________ information to make an attribution about the actors behaviour. a) Distinctiveness b) Consensus c) Discriminating d) Consistency
Answer = A - Distinctiveness Notes: Add image of the model
Hoffman et al. (1986) Hypothosized that cultural implicit personality theories influence the way people a) Form impressions of others b) choose a mate c) communicate non verbally d) Develop into adults
Answer = A - Form impressions of others Notes:
On December 1, 2005, the American Public Transport Association had "A Tribute To Rosa Parks Day". In her honour passengers were asked, via a posted sign on the adjacent window, to leave the seat behind the driver empty. A journalist questioned individuals who sat in the seat in spite of the sign and found that these people a) Had not seen the sign b) Were too tired to care c) Were racist d) Had medical conditions and needed to sit down, but there were no other seats available
Answer = A - Had not seen the sign Notes:
Ming is from China; Jason is from the United States. Both participate in an experiment in which they take a test, are given feedback, and are told that they did very well. They are then asked to make attributions for their performance. Based on cross-cultural research on the self serving bias, you would expect that a) Jason but not Ming will say that he succeeded due to their high ability b) Neither Ming nor Jason will say that they succeeded due to their high ability c) Both Ming and Jason will say they succeeded due to their high ability d) Ming but not Jason will say that he succeeded due to his high ability
Answer = A - Jason but not Ming will say that he succeeded due to their high ability Notes: East Asians are more likely to state that external attributions have helped them gain success, whereas Westerners are more likely to state internal attributions
________________ is the study of how er form impressions of other people and how we make inferences a) Social perception b) Social Cognition c) Social assessment d) Social formation
Answer = A - Social perception Notes:
Cultures vary greatly in what is considered normative use of personal space a) True b False
Answer = A - True Notes:
In the United States, raising one thumb upward with the rest of of the fingers means "OK" but in Iran and Sardinia this gesture is obscene A) True b) False
Answer = A - True Notes:
People, not the situation, have perceptual salience (Importance) for us; we pay attention to them, and we tend to think that they alone cause their behaviour. a) True b) False
Answer = A - True Notes:
The pervasive, fundamental theory or schema most of us have about human behaviour is that people do what they do because of the kind of people they are, not because of the situation they are in. a) True b) False
Answer = A - True Notes:
Research has indicated that differing cultures values affect the kind of information that people notice and pay attention to a) True b) False
Answer = A - True Notes: Holistic V's Analytical thinking Does holistic perception make you more likely to complete the 2 step attribution process quicker to look at the external attributes??????
The six major emotions are the first to appear in human development a) True b) False
Answer = A - True Notes: The emotions are
According to research studies, individuals from which culture maintain more rigid boundaries between the six major emotions when applying them to faces? a) Western b) Indian c) Chinese d) Japanese
Answer = A - Western Notes:
Taylor and Fiske's (1975) study on perceptual salience demonstrated that: a) When participants were facing a speaker in a conversation, they judged that speaker as having more impact on the conversation b) Hearing a conversation made the issues in that conversation particularly accessible c) The fundamental attribution error is less likely to be made when an issue is not particularly salient to an individual d) The spotlight effect is especially strong when we have been primed to think about our positive qualities, but not our negative attributes
Answer = A - When participants were facing a speaker in a conversation, they judged that speaker as having more impact on the conversation Notes:
Children as young as _______________ months to a year express the six basic emotions with the facial expressions we associate with adults a) 3 b) 6 c) 7 d) 9
Answer = B - 6 months Notes:
Which of the following focuses on how we make inferences about the causes of other people's behaviours? a) Implicit personality theory b) Attribution theory c) Social role theory d) Social perception theory
Answer = B - Attribution theory Notes:
Studies have shown that people don't use ___________________ information as much as Kelley's theory (the covariation model) predicted a) Distinctiveness b) Consensus c) Consistency d) Conciseness
Answer = B - Consensus Notes:
According to Kelley's (1967) covariation model, when people use information about whether or not others, not just the actor, act the same way toward the target, they are using ______________ information to make an attribution about the actors behaviour a) Distinctiveness b) Consensus c) Discrimination d) Consistency
Answer = B - Consensus Notes: Con-Disc-Con
Guilt, shame, embarrassment, and pride are the first emotions to appear in human development a) True b) False
Answer = B - False Notes:
Nonverbal behaviour and implicit personality theories are fail safe indicators of what a person is really thinking or feeling a) True b) False
Answer = B - False Notes:
People in individualistic cultures prefer situational attributions, while people in collectivistic cultures prefer dispositional attributions a) True b) False
Answer = B - False Notes:
The eye tracking results in Masuda and colleagues (2008) study did not suggest that there was anything interesting going on, at a psychological level, in people who engage in analytic versus holistic thinking a) True b) False
Answer = B - False Notes:
In Japan, Traditional cultural rules dictate that women should exhibit wide, uninhibited smiles a) True b) Fales
Answer = B - False Notes: Japanese display rules dictate they shouldn't
Chinese students are expected to attribute their success to their own intelligence a) True b) False
Answer = B - False Notes: They display external attributes being from Asia
It is 10:00 a.m. and Jamie, an American college student, is dragging himself to his next class to turn in a paper for which he pulled an all-nighter. Through a haze of exhaustion, on the way to class he sees a student slip and fall down. How would Jamie be most likely to interpret the cause of the student's behaviour? a) Jamie's attribution will most heavily influenced by his own personality b) Given what we know about Jamie's current cognitive capacity and cultural background, he will likely assume that the student fell because he or she is clumsy c) Jamie would probably attribute the cause to the situation, such as the fact that it was raining and the sidewalks are slippery d) Jamie would be so tired that he would not make any casual attributions
Answer = B - Given what we know about Jamie's current cognitive capacity and cultural background, he will likely assume that the student fell because he or she is clumsy Notes:
According to Fritz Heider (1958), the attributions we make for people's behaviour can be either _______________ or ________________ a) Target based; category based b) Internal; external c) Perceptual; Physical d) Accurate; biased
Answer = B - Internal; external Notes:
Which of the following best illustrates the primacy effect in social perception a) Joseph was introduced to his class as someone who is rigid, jealous, inquisitive, and very brilliant. His classmates formed a very positive impression of him and wanted to make him their friend b) Mike entered a room filled with lots of people. He was introduced by his best friend as someone who is very brilliant, creative, rigid and jealous. Everybody in the room formed a very positive impression of him c) When Chris met Joe for the first time, he found Joe to be very knowledgable and wise. Later, on other occasions, Chris discovered that Joe was a fake and regarded him as stupid d) Wendy was smart and assertive during her adolescence and continued to be the same as a grown-up and was appreciated by every one.
Answer = B - Mike entered a room filled with lots of people. He was introduced by his best friend as someone who is very brilliant, creative, rigid and jealous. Everybody in the room formed a very positive impression of him Notes:
Implicit personality theories consists of ideas about what kinds of _______________ go together a) Personality disorders b) Personality traits c) Temperament types d) People
Answer = B - Personality Traits Notes:
Research on cultural differences in attribution styles indicates that people from individualistic cultures a) Are less skilled at forming impressions of behaviour b) Prefer dispositional explanations for behaviour c) Prefer situation explanations of behaviour d) Are reluctant to publicly state dispositional explanations of behaviour
Answer = B - Prefer dispositional explanations for behaviour Notes: Individual cultures i.e. Western cultures?
The study of how we inform impressions of and make inferences about other people is called a) Judgemental heuristics b) Social perception c) Attribution theory d) social cognition
Answer = B - Social perception Notes:
When we form quick impressions of people, we often use two general schemas, judgments of ____________________ a) Attractiveness and outgoingness b) Warmth and confidence c) Intelligence and attractiveness d) Friendliness and intelligence
Answer = B - Warmth and confidence Notes:
Tammy is feeling surprised, angry and disgusted, all at the same time. Tammy's face will likely display a) Only one of these emotions b) Two of these emotions at most c) An Affect blend d) A multichannel affect
Answer = C - An Affect blend Notes:
D. Vaughn Becker et al. (2007) found that research participants were faster and more accurate at decoding _________________ expressions on male faces and at detecting _________________ expressions on female faces a) Fear; disgust b) Disgust; fear c) Angry; happy d) Happy; Angry
Answer = C - Angry; happy Notes:
Decoding nonverbal behaviours and relying on implicit personality theories tends to occur a) Only in competitive situations b) Only in ambiguous situation c) Automatically d) With much thought and effort
Answer = C - Automatically Notes:
Which of the following is a type of defensive attribution? a) Realistic hopefulness b) Unrealistic hopefulness c) Belief in a just world d) Illusion of vulnerability
Answer = C - Belief in a just world Notes: That wouldn't happen to me, they must have deserved it or got into a situation that was of their own making
Joshua Susskind et al. (2008) studied facial expressions of _______________________ and found that the muscle movements of each emotion were completely the opposite of the other. a) Surprise and fear b) Disgust and sadness c) Disgust and fear d) Happiness and sadness
Answer = C - Disgust and fear Notes:
To express emotions is to ________________ and to interpret emotions is to ________________ a) Display; perceive b) Decode; encode c) Encode; decode d) Display; decode
Answer = C - Encode; decode Notes:
Research has indicated that the emotion of pride: a) Involves no facial expression b) Has no particular body posture c) Exists cross culturally d) Does not have gesture cues
Answer = C - Exists cross culturally Notes:
Lassiter and colleagues (2010) presented courtroom judges and police officers with a videotapes suspect (actually a confederate) who confessed to a crime. They found that: a) For both the judges and police officers, the videotape that focused on the detective and the suspect produced significantly higher ratings of "voluntariness" b) For the police officers, the videotape that focused on the detective produced significantly higher ratings of "voluntariness" but for the judges the videotape that focused equally on both the detective and suspect produced the highest ratings of "voluntariness" c) For both the judges and police officers, the videotape that focused only on the suspect produced significantly higher ratings of "voluntariness" d) For both the judges and police officers, the videotape that focused only on the detective produced significantly higher ratings of "voluntariness"
Answer = C - For both the judges and police officers, the videotape that focused only on the suspect produced significantly higher ratings of "voluntariness" Notes: Is this why police interrogations are side on now?
When they looked at how Japanese media described the performance of Japanese gold medalists in the 2000 and 2002 Olympics, Makus et al. (2006) found that the medalists were described: a) Only in terms of the athletes abilities b) Only in terms of how their coaches, teammates, and family had contributed to their success c) In broad terms, including the individuals ability, but also discussing past successes and failures, as well as the role of other people (such as coaches) had played in the success d) Mostly in terms of how they had overcome past failures
Answer = C - In broad terms, including the individuals ability, but also discussing past successes and failures, as well as the role of other people (such as coaches) had played in the success Notes: Is this due to best eastern and western cultures and their internal or external attribution for success?
You visited a close friend after a long time and wanted to have a good time together. All of a sudden her brother came out of his room and started yelling at her. You wondered what was wrong with her brother. Is he crazy? Doesn't he know how to behave with people? He seemed like a very impatient and ill-mannered person. You felt very bad for your friend, who started crying What kind of attribution were you making about your friends brother? a) External attribution b) Self-serving attribution c) Internal attribution d) Fundamental attribution
Answer = C - Internal attribution Notes:
When people make ________________ attributions for successes and _________________ attributions for failures, they are making self serving attributions a) External; dispositional b) Internal; dispositional c) Internal; external d) External; internal
Answer = C - Internal; external Notes:
Suppose a certain student, Jake, falls asleep during every chemistry class. Further suppose that Jake is the only one who falls asleep in the class and he falls asleep in all other classes. According to Kelley's covariation theory of attribution, how will people explain his behaviour. a) It is due to something unusual about this particular class because his behaviour is low on consensus, high in distinctiveness, and high in consistency b) Chemistry is a really boring class because Jake's behaviour is high in consensus, high in distinctiveness and high in consistency c) It is due to something unusual about Jake because his behaviour is low in consensus, low in distinctiveness and high in consistency d) It is due to something peculiar about the circumstances on a particular day because his behaviour is high in consensus
Answer = C - It is due to something unusual about Jake because his behaviour is low in consensus, low in distinctiveness and high in consistency Notes: Add image of table
During her three month visit to the United States, Rose had an opportunity to meet people from diverse cultures. She was very fond of analysing their facial expressions while meeting them on various occasions. She observed that __________________ women often tried to hide a wide smile behind their hands whereas __________________ women smiled broadly without hesitation a) African American; Indian b) Japanese; British c) Japanese; Western d) African American; Australian
Answer = C - Japanese; Western Notes:
Preliminary research suggests that in cultures with extremes of wealth and poverty, just world attributes are; a) Non existent b) Uncommon c) More common than in cultures where wealth is more evenly distributed d) Less common than in cultures where wealth is more evenly distributed
Answer = C - More common than in cultures where wealth is more evenly distributed Notes:
The covariation model assumes that people make causal attributions in a(n) __________________ way a) Unrealistic b) Calculating c) Rational, logical d) irrational, illogical
Answer = C - Rational, logical Notes:
Greg has recently taken in a stray dog. If you make an external attribution for Greg's behaviour, you will conclude that a) Greg likes dogs b) Greg felt sorry for the dog c) The dog is probably cute and friendly d) Others will perceive Greg as an animal lover
Answer = C - The dog is probably cute and friendly Notes: A, B & D are all internal feeling about himself where as C is about the animal itself
In East Asian cultures such as those in China, Japan, and Korean, the individual derives his or her sense of self from a) Being perceived as independent b) Being perceived as smart c) The social group to which he or she belongs d) His or her intelligence
Answer = C - The social group to which he or she belongs Notes:
Which of the following is an example of an emblem? a) A road sign b) The written explanation of a non verbal cue c) The 'okay' sign created with the thumb and forefinger d) Averted eye gaze
Answer = C - The written explanation of a non verbal cue Notes:
The display of different emotions on different parts of the face is called a(n) a) Affect emblem b) Nonverbal blend c) Facial incongruity d) Affect blend
Answer = D - Affect blend Notes:
In the two-step process of making attributions, we will engage in the second step if we a) Consciously slow down and think carefully before reaching a judgment b) Are motivated to reach as accurate judgement as possible c) Are suspicious about the behaviour of the target person d) All of the above
Answer = D - All of the above Notes:
All of the following are reasons why people make self-serving attributions EXCEPT which one? a) To maintain self-esteem b) Because we want to present ourselves to others in a positive way c) Because of the information we have available to us d) Because we are motivated to be accurate
Answer = D - Because we are motivated to be accurate Notes: People often want to be right and may not look at all of the facts to maintain self-esteem
The three types of information central to Kelley's (1967) covariation model are a) Consensus, correspondence & distinctiveness b) Consensus, consistency and correspondence c) Correspondence, distinctiveness and consistency d) Consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency
Answer = D - Consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency Notes: Table of the theory
Cathy sees a mother in the grocery store shaking her child very roughly. Cathy assumes that the mother has had a very stressful day that she normally would not treat her child this way. What type of attribution has Cathy made? a) Sympathetic b) Empathetic c) Internal d) External
Answer = D - External Notes:
Gyeke and Salminen (2004) asked industrial workers and their supervisors in Ghana, Africa to assign causality for on-the-job accidents. Workers blamed _________________ and supervisors blamed _________________. a) Weather conditions; the fact that the workers were often tired b) Factors in the situation; Weather conditions c) The supervisor; the workers d) Factors in the situation; the workers
Answer = D - Factors in the situation; the workers Notes: what does this study tell us?
In America, we presume that if someone is kind the person is also: a) Full of pride b) Funny c) Unintelligent (especially if the person is blond) d) Generous
Answer = D - Generous Notes:
Members of American culture become suspicious when a person doesn't "look them in the eye" while speaking; however, in other parts of the world, direct eye gaze is considered a) To be rude unless you are speaking to someone of low status b) To be a sign you have something to hide c) Haughty d) Invasive or disrespectful
Answer = D - Invasive or disrespectful Notes:
Masuda and colleagues (2008) conducted a study of decoding facial expressions in which they presented participants in the United States and Japan with cartoon drawings of people in groups. They found that the facial expressions on a group members' faces had a) A great effect on North American and Japanese participants ratings on the central figure b) Little effect on the Japanese participants' ratings of the central figure c) A great effect on Americans' ratings of the central figure d) Little effect on Americans' ratings of the central figure
Answer = D - Little effect on Americans' ratings of the central figure Notes:
Facial expressions, tone of voice, and the use of touch are all examples of: a) Context dependent attributional cues b) Affect blends c) Display rules d) Non verbal communication
Answer = D - Non verbal communication Notes: Is tone classed as non verbal because its not a specific word?
Implicit personality theories are strongly tied to culture, For example, when Americans perceive someone as helpful, they also perceived them as: a) Practical b) Cautious c) Intelligent d) Sincere
Answer = D - Sincere Notes:
Satisfies spouses a) Do not make attributions about their partners' behaviour b) Make only external attributions about their partners behaviour c) Tend to make external attributes for their partners' positive behaviours and internal attribution for their partners' negative behaviour d) Tend to make internal attributions for their partners' positive behaviours and external attributions for their partners' negative behaviours
Answer = D - Tend to make internal attributions for their partners' positive behaviours and external attributions for their partners' negative behaviours Notes:
The automatic formation of an internal attribution, followed by a situational one given time and effortful thought, describes the: a) Fundamental attribution error b) Multistep process of attribution c) Acto/observer difference d) Two step process of attribution
Answer = D - Two step process of attribution Notes:
Which is of the following is FALSE regarding implicit personality theories? a) The implicit personality theories of different individuals can share common components b) Implicit personality theories are influenced by cultural factors c) Implicit personality theories influenced how people form impressions of others d) We are always consciously aware of using implicit personality theories
Answer = D - We are always consciously aware of using implicit personality theories Notes:
Display rules
Culturally determined rules about which nonverbal behaviours are appropriate to display Notes:
Thin Slicing
Drawing meaningful conclusions about another person's personality or skills based on an extremely brief sample of behaviour Notes: Used in successful relationship prediction
Self-serving attributions
Explanations for one's successes that credit internal, dispositional factors and explanations for one's failures that blame external, situational factors Notes:
Affect blends
Facial expressions in which one part of the face registers one emotion while another part of the face registers a different emotion Notes:
Distinctivness Information
Information about the extent to which one particular actor behaves in the same way to different stimuli Notes:
Consensus information
Information about the extent to which other people behave the same way toward the same stimulus as the actor does Notes:
Consistency information
Information about the extent to which the behavior between one actor and one stimulus is the same across time and circumstances Notes:
Emblems
Nonverbal gestures that have well-understood definitions within a given culture; they usually have direct verbal translations, such as the OK sign Notes:
External Attribution
The inference that a person is behaving a certain way because of something about the situation he or she is in; the assumption is that most people would respond the same way in that situation Notes:
Internal Attribution
The inferences that a person is behaving in a certain way because of something about the person, such as attitude, character, or personality Note:
Perceptual salience
The seeming importance of information that is the focus of peoples attention Notes: Visual point of view, What the individual is looking at i.e. a person Salience = The quality of being particularly noticeable or important = Prominence
Social Perception
The study of how we form impressions of and make inferences about other people Notes:
Fundamental attribution error
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which people's behaviour is due to internal, dispositional factors and to underestimate the role of situational factors Notes:
Belief perseverance
The tendency to stick with an initial judgement even in the face of new information that should prompt us to reconsider Notes
Bias blind spot
The tendency to think that other people are more susceptible to attributional biases in their thinking than we are Notes:
Nonverbal communication
The way in which people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words; nonverbal cues include facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body position and movement, the use of touch, and gaze Notes:
Weiner (1985,1995)
Theory of Causal Dimension in attribution Locus of control - Internal V's External Stability - Stable V's Unstable Controllability - Controllable V's Uncontrollable
Encode
To express or emit nonverbal behaviour, such as smiling or patting someone on the back Notes: Encoding - the act
Primacy effect
When it comes to forming impressions, the first traits we perceive in others influence how we view information that we learn about them later Notes:
Pessimistic Attribution style
When people develop a characteristic way of attributing negative outcomes to causes that are Internal to the self, stable and global
Hopelessness
When people develop a characteristic way of attributing negative outcomes to causes that are Stable and global
Biases
distorted beliefs based on a person's subjective sense of reality
Implicit Personality theory
sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are related to each other Fisk (2018) believes that it is an evolutionary role Warmth is associatied with safety etc (Stereotyping) cold is associated with dander (Stereotyping)
Impression Formation
the forming of the first knowledge that a person has concerning another person Snyder (1977) male participation of a phone call. Results found that if when told prior that the female on the phone was more or less attractive it varied the conversation in a more or less sociable way. The women who were then spoken to in a sociable way where then subsequently more sociable themselves Basis of the self fulfilling prophecy Acsh (1946) Showed participants lists of words to two groups with one set containing warmth and the other saying cold. He found that the change in word of warm and cold participants shaped an overall impression of another person (he then changed from polite and blunt which had a weaker effect) Primed and created a schema for people
The actor observer effect
the tendency to make situational attributions for our own behaviours while making dispositional attributions for the identical behaviour of others
Decode
to interpret the meaning of the nonverbal behaviour other people express, such as deciding that a pat on the back was an expression of condescension and not kindness Notes: Decoding - interpreting the act
