Chapter 9 Social Psych

Someone who is high on the dimension of belief in a just world would be MOST likely to agree with a statement like "Without strict laws and regulations, society would be chaotic." "Unless our justice system begins to treat people more fairly, society as a whole is going to lose faith in it and begin to deteriorate." "People who are in jail right now deserve to be there." "It is important to treat others how you yourself would want to be treated by them."

"People who are in jail right now deserve to be there."

In his classic research on obedience to authority, Milgram found that roughly __________ of participants eventually "went all the way" and administered the highest levels of shocks. Interestingly, a group of psychiatrists surveyed prior to the study estimated that __________ would do so. 35%, less than 1% 35%, more than 75% 65%, less than 1% 65%, more than 75%

65%, less than 1%

Which of the following is an example of a zero-sum game? A game in which everyone must earn a certain number of points in order for the group as a whole to win. A game in which one person must lose in order for another person to win. A two-player game in which it is possible for both people to lose. A two-player game in which it is possible for both people to win.

A game in which one person must lose in order for another person to win.

Which of the following is/are motivated by empathy? Egoistic helping Altruistic helping Both egoistic helping and altruistic helping Neither egoistic helping nor altruistic helping

Altruistic helping

When it comes to helping others, how do humans compare other animals? Humans help both kin and non-kin, while other animals tend to help kin only. Humans help tend to help kin only, while other animals tend to help kin and non-kin. Both humans and other animals help kin and non-kin. Both humans and other animals tend to help kin but not non-kin.

Humans help both kin and non-kin, while other animals tend to help kin only.

In general, in which of the following situations are women more likely to offer help than men? In close relationships Toward strangers In emergency situations In public (when onlookers are present)

In close relationships

In one well-known study of helping behavior, researchers examined helping among a sample of theology students. Students were either (a) put under time pressure or not put under time pressure and (b) expecting to give a speech about the parable of the (very helpful) Good Samaritan or expecting to give a speech about something else. What did the researchers find? In this study, helping was not affected by time pressure. In this study, helping was not affected by the speech manipulation. In this study, helping was not affected by time pressure or by the speech manipulation. Helping was highest among the low-time-pressure, Good Samaritan group.

In this study, helping was not affected by the speech manipulation.

As discussed in the textbook, when people encounter situations in which their help might be needed, there are five major steps they pass through before ultimately deciding to render help (or not render help). At which step(s) can the presence of others interfere (and reduce the likelihood of helping)? Steps 1, 2, and 3 (noticing the situation, interpreting the situation as an emergency, and taking responsibility) Step 3 (taking responsibility for providing help) Steps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (noticing the situation, interpreting the situation as an emergency, and taking responsibility, deciding how to help, and helping) Steps 1, 3, and 4 (noticing the situation, taking responsibility, and deciding how to help)

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (noticing the situation, interpreting the situation as an emergency, and taking responsibility, deciding how to help, and helping)

Much of the time, people engage in altruistic behavior because doing so makes them feel good. Is it correct to conclude, then, that altruistic acts are fundamentally selfish? Or should such acts be considered altruistic despite their seemingly selfish motives? What do the textbook authors conclude about this? Such acts are best thought of as selfish (ego-driven). Such acts are best thought of as helpful (driven by social conscience). Such acts are best thought of as selfish AND helpful. Indeed, it is incorrect to pit these drives against one another, as they have evolved in harmony. Such acts are best thought of as selfish (ego-driven) UNLESS they involve clear self-sacrifices.

Such acts are best thought of as selfish AND helpful. Indeed, it is incorrect to pit these drives against one another, as they have evolved in harmony.

Stanley Milgram's classic research on obedience to authority was spurred on by--and conducted in the wake of--__________. a series of catastrophic decisions by NASA scientists. the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. the internment of Japanese-Americans in the US. WWII and the Holocaust.

WWII and the Holocaust.

The political scientist Robert Axelrod once held a computer tournament designed to determine the most successful strategy for approaching the prisoner's dilemma (the strategy that would win out most often on a sustained basis). What he found was that the most successful strategy was loosely based on a pattern of beginning by cooperating and then shifting into competing. a pattern of constant cooperation. a pattern of reciprocity. a pattern of beginning by competing and then shifting into cooperating.

a pattern of reciprocity.

Research using fMRI to assess brain activity has found that the brain's reaction is __________ when people receive electric shocks compared to when they watch their romantic partners receive shocks. about the same completely different actually weaker about the same but stronger

about the same

Research indicates that reciprocity norms are found in __________ human cultures; and that reciprocity norms are found in __________ non-human animals. all, some (but not all) all, no some (but not all), some (but not all) some (but not all), no

all, some (but not all)

As described in the textbook, social psychologists have tended to think about obedience as __________, but obedience __________. almost always antisocial, can have prosocial or antisocial consequences. almost always antisocial, is always prosocial. almost always prosocial, can have prosocial or antisocial consequences. almost always prosocial, is always prosocial.

almost always antisocial, can have prosocial or antisocial consequences.

Research indicates that in societies where there is an intact rule of law, people are happier. are less creative. are more aggressive. are less likely to help one another in times of hardship.

are happier.

According to the textbook, prosocial behavior is defined simply as helping behavior. as any behavior that is good for other people or for society as a whole. as conformity. as behavior that does not benefit oneself.

as any behavior that is good for other people or for society as a whole.

In Vohs et al.'s (2006) experiments, people who had been primed with a screensaver of dollar bills tended to than people who had a blank screen or a fish screensaver image as a prime. be more likely to help others be less likely to help others be equally likely to help others need more help

be less likely to help others

People who forgive others tend to have better physical and mental health than people who hold grudges. better mental health, but equal physical health, compared to grudge-holders. better physical health, but equal mental health, compared to grudge-holders. better mental health, but worse physical health, compared to grudge holders.

better physical and mental health than people who hold grudges.

In social psychology, the story of Kitty Genovese's murder has been closely linked with the study of bystander helping. the prisoner's dilemma. the commons dilemma. conformity.

bystander helping.

Equity and equality are two types of __________. reciprocities rules of law norms kin selection

norms

When communication is difficult in a prisoner's dilemma game, cooperation increases dramatically. increases a small amount. decreases a small amount. decreases dramatically.

decreases dramatically.

You are driving to school and notice that there is an injured dog lying on the side of the road-presumably the victim of a hit-and-run. You are in a very busy part of town, however, so you decide that your help probably isn't needed (someone else will attend to the dog and call for help, if they haven't already). Social psychologists would say that __________ prevented you from helping in this case. belief in a just world diffusion of responsibility the Good Samaritan effect the commons dilemma

diffusion of responsibility

Standards that are established by society regarding what types of behavior are typical or expected are known as __________. rules of law norms equities normatives

norms

Being able to feel another person's pain is a characteristic of egoism. reciprocity. volunteerism. empathy.

empathy

Altruistic helping is motivated by __________ and the end goal is to __________. empathy, reduce others' distress guilt, reduce others' distress pity, reduce others' distress personal distress, reduce one's own distress

empathy, reduce others' distress

Which of the following hypotheses looks at helping behavior as truly unselfish in nature? empathy-altruism hypothesis empathy-specific-reward hypothesis empathy-specific-punishment hypothesis negative state relief hypothesis

empathy-altruism hypothesis

The notion that "feeling another's pain" motivates us to help others is called the negative state relief hypothesis. empathy-altruism hypothesis. reciprocity hypothesis. volunteering hypothesis.

empathy-altruism hypothesis.

The idea that empathy triggers the need for social reward that can be gained by helping is called the empathy-altruism hypothesis. empathy-specific-reward hypothesis. empathy-specific-punishment hypothesis. negative state relief hypothesis.

empathy-specific-reward hypothesis.

In lay terms, the term "conformity" refers to doing something just to please others. going along with the crowd. obeying orders. doing something you don't want to do.

going along with the crowd

According to the textbook, altruism, as a personality characteristic, appears to have a genetic component. develop starting at around age 6 (but be completely absent before). be completely absent in non-human animals (i.e., all non-human animals show more or less equal levels of altruism). develop starting at around age 12 (but be completely absent before).

have a genetic component.

According to the textbook authors, social psychologists have long viewed conformity as __________; newer research __________. having positive consequences, indicates that it is usually antisocial. having positive consequences, confirms this. having negative consequences, indicates that it is usually prosocial. having negative consequences, confirms this.

having negative consequences, indicates that it is usually prosocial.

Research on gender and helping indicates that male helpers tend to __________; and that female helpers tend to __________. help males more than females, help females more than males help males and females equally, help females more than males help females more than males, do the same help females more than males, help males more than females

help females more than males, do the same

Research with humans and monkeys on fairness-and the concepts of being overbenefited versus underbenefited-indicates that humans worry primarily about the former, while monkeys worry primarily about the latter. humans worry primarily about the latter, while monkeys worry primarily about the former. humans worry about both, while monkeys worry primarily about the latter. humans worry about both, while monkeys worry primarily worry about the former.

humans worry about both, while monkeys worry primarily about the latter.

Suppose that you are in an emergency situation and need help. Social psychological research suggests that your BEST bet is to try to move to a more crowded area where many people will see you. identify a particular person, tell him or her that you need help, and tell him or her precisely what to do. repeatedly say the words "help" or "I need help" so that there is no ambiguity about the nature of the situation. simply scream at the top of your lungs until someone helps you.

identify a particular person, tell him or her that you need help, and tell him or her precisely what to do.

According to evolutionary theory, it can be adaptive for people to help others who share their genes. This idea is known as kin selection. natural selection. parental investment theory. survival of the fittest.

kin selection.

During the hurricane and subsequent flooding in New Orleans several years ago, survivors reported that they were much more likely to search for displaced family members than for friends. This finding supports the idea of parental investment theory. kin selection. the commons dilemma. rule of law.

kin selection.

Research on forgiveness in relationships indicates that better relationships ultimately lead to more forgiveness. more forgiveness ultimately leads to better relationships. worse relationships ultimately lead to more forgiveness. more forgiveness ultimately leads to worse relationships

more forgiveness ultimately leads to better relationships.

According to the hypothesis, people help others to relieve their own distress empathy-altruism pluralistic ignorance survivor guilt negative state relief

negative state relief

The term __________ refers to following orders from an authority figure. coercion obedience cooperation conformity

obedience

Egoistic helping is motivated by __________ and the end goal is to __________. empathy, reduce others' distress guilt, reduce others' distress pity, reduce others' distress personal distress, reduce one's own distress

personal distress, reduce one's own distress

People who are physically attractive tend to receive more help than people who aren't if they are female (but not if they are male). if the helper is male (but not if the helper is female). if they are female and the helper is male OR if they are male and the helper is female (but not otherwise). regardless of whether they are male or female, and regardless of whether the helper is male or female.

regardless of whether they are male or female, and regardless of whether the helper is male or female.

A society in which people respect and follow the rules is said to have an effective balance of equity. prosocial prism. rule of law. reciprocity effect.

rule of law.

Alicia and her friends are singing karaoke. Alicia is an extremely talented singer-much better than her friends. She feels awkward about being so good, however, so she sort of "fakes bad"; she doesn't want her friends to be envious of her singing talent. Social psychologists would say that Alicia is experiencing sensitivity about being the target of threatening downward comparison. sensitivity about being the target of threatening upward comparison. the commons dilemma. the tragedy of the commons.

sensitivity about being the target of threatening upward comparison.

Recall Milgram's classic research on obedience to authority. One interesting finding here was that numerous participants who went ahead and administered shocks at relatively high levels started kicking, hitting, and even biting themselves while doing so. showed general signs of intense distress while doing so. told the experimenter that they did not want to be compensated at all for participating in the study. asked the experimenter to compensate them more for doing so.

showed general signs of intense distress while doing so.

Both pluralistic ignorance and diffusion of responsibility contribute to the bystander effect. the tendency for people to fail to notice that situations are emergencies. the commons dilemma. belief in a just world.

the bystander effect.

In social psychology, the tendency for people to be less likely to offer help when they are in the presence of others than when they aren't is known as the Good Samaritan effect. the bystander effect. diffusion of responsibility. pluralistic ignorance.

the bystander effect.

The fact that people experience survivor guilt suggests that the norm of equality is learned rather than innate. the human psyche has a deep sensitivity to unfairness. people are much more sensitive to instances in which they were underbenefited as opposed to instances in which they were overbenefited. people are highly sensitive to what others think they deserve.

the human psyche has a deep sensitivity to unfairness.

The so-called prisoner's dilemma is a paradigm that is used by social psychologists to study people's tendency to compete with others versus cooperate with others. to hoard resources versus share resources. to engage in altruistic behavior, when such behavior comes at a cost to themselves. to experience empathy versus try to avoid situations that provoke empathy.

to compete with others versus cooperate with others.

Conformity to social norms is likely to be highest when you are alone. when others are watching you. when you are confident. when you are in an unambiguous situation.

when others are watching you

Pluralistic ignorance is MOST likely to occur when you are alone. when you are with a group of friends. when you are with a close partner. when you are with a group of strangers.

when you are with a group of strangers.