social psych chapter 1

Why is Social Darwinism a distorted application of Darwin's theory?

It assumes that some groups of people are more deserving of survival than others.

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates how a construal can be changed by a life event?

Lisa got a "B" on her paper and jumped for joy. When she learned that her friends got a better grade, she cried over her "B."

____________ operates to mold animals and plants so that traits that enhance the probability of survival are passed on to subsequent generations.

Natural selection

What advantage do social neuroscience techniques (such as functional magnetic resonance imaging) have over other research methods used in social psychology?

Neuroscience techniques correlate social behavior with regions of brain activity.

The text describes a study in which children were shown a candy box with the lid closed. The researcher asked them to predict what was in the box. Naturally, the children said, "Candy." Next, the researcher showed the children that, in reality, there were pencils in the box. Finally, the researcher asked the children to predict what a friend will say is in the box. ____________ tend to say ____________.

Normal 4-year-olds; "candy."

The classic Milgram study showed that about

60 percent of participants delivered a 450-volt shock to the "learner."

Schemas are important because they

All of the above are true.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder" and "out of sight, out of mind" are both common sayings. A(n) ____________ is most likely to conduct an experiment to identify the conditions or situations under which each of these assertions is accurate.

Social Psychologist

Which of the following practices do people share with animals, especially higher primates?

Both a and b are correct.

Which statement is most consistent with the beliefs of an individualist culture?

Different strokes for different folks.

____________ psychology stresses the fact that objects are perceived by active, usually unconscious, interpretations of what the object represents as a whole.

Gestalt

Which of the following is a fundamental difference between individualist and collectivist cultures?

Independent cultures tend to view relationships with other people as voluntary, whereas collectivists do not.

A reader for American schoolchildren from the 1930s shows a little boy running, whereas a reader for Chinese children from the same time period shows a boy with his brother. According to the textbook, what cultural difference does this highlight?

Individualistic cultures emphasize action, whereas collectivistic cultures emphasize relationships.

Which of the following statements is NOT consistent with the evolutionary perspective?

What we are biologically predisposed to do is what we inevitably will do.

Jacquie and Karen are both interested in the topic of divorce. Jacquie is a social psychologist and Karen is a sociologist. Compared to Karen, which of the following questions is Jacquie most likely to ask?

Why does infidelity lead to divorce?

The term construal refers to

a personal interpretation about situations and other people's behaviors

In the United States, a large luxury sedan is marketed by the slogan, "Feel good about yourself. Drive a Lexmark." According to broad generalizations surrounding the individualist-collectivist distinction, why might this slogan be less successful in Japan?

because people in Japan do not have a strong need to feel good about themselves

Theory of mind is important for group living because it

can prevent misunderstandings that could lead to aggression or death

Which of the following concepts is most relevant to people who want to get someone to act on his or her intentions?

channel factors

Judy is always complimenting people she works with. Bob, one of Judy's best friends, thinks that Judy is genuinely thoughtful and friendly. Sarah, who does not know Judy well, thinks that Sarah is shallow and fake. This example suggests how friendship influences

construals.

Which of the following phenomena best illustrates the relationship between social influence and behavior?

cycling faster when people are watching you (as opposed to when you are alone)

Pro-affirmative action advocates try to activate schemas related to ____________, whereas anti-affirmative action advocates try to activate schemas related to ____________.

diversity; fairness.

Social psychologists differ from personality psychologists because social psychologists tend to

examine the influence of situations on behaviors.

Your waiter seems to be doing everything wrong. He has forgotten to take your drink order. He delivers someone else's food to your table. He does not come out and say it, but his facial expressions seem to say he'd rather be someplace else. If you assume his behavior is caused primarily by ____________, your assumption is consistent with the fundamental attribution error.

his disposition

While boarding a plane, Doug feels fear when he notices another passenger sitting in his seat looking agitated and sweating profusely. In this situation,

his emotional reaction probably occurs before careful, systematic thought takes over

Pat has listed ten things that describes who he is. The first three are, "I am a son," "I am fun when I am with my friends," and "I am a manager." Pat is most likely part of an __________________ culture.

interdependent

According to evolutionary theory, males put ____________ investment in their offspring than females because males ____________.

less; have more opportunities to produce offspring.

According to research discussed in the textbook, which of the following methods is most clearly suited for testing whether construals exert a causal effect on game performance?

manipulating the name of a game

Research conducted by Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996) illustrates how seemingly trivial aspects of a situation can influence behavior in ways that people are not aware of. These researchers showed that

people will walk more slowly after hearing words related to the elderly (for example, "cane," "Florida") than words unrelated to the elderly.

In an individualist culture, a person's sense of self tends to be based largely on

personal achievements.

Kurt Lewin, the founder of modern social psychology, argued that the effects of psychological forces can be understood in the same way that ____________ are understood.

physical forces

The president of a fraternity wants to increase the number of fraternity members who volunteer for nonprofit organizations in the community. Kurt Lewin's concept of channel factors suggests the president should

provide information about when and how members might volunteer.

Sandra thinks that smiling a lot during a job interview increases a person's chances of getting a job offer. The main difference between Sandra's folk theory and social psychological theories is that social psychological theories are

put to the test.

Professor Hansen expects that students will sit quietly and take notes during his large lecture course. Thus, a student who talks in class and never opens a notebook violates Professor Hansen's ____________ about students.

schema

A stereotype is best characterized as a type of ____________.

schema.

Social psychology can be defined as the ____________ study of the ____________ of individuals in social situations.

scientific; feelings, thoughts, and behaviors

Kurt Lewin's concept, the field of forces, emphasizes that ____________ underlie(s) much of human behavior.

the characteristics of a situation

The "Good Samaritan" study conducted by Darley and Batson (1973) examined helping behavior in seminary students at Princeton University. These students were either rushed or not rushed to get to an appointment. Results of this study showed that

the nature of participants' religious orientation did not predict helping behavior; only being rushed or not predicted helping.

The naturalistic fallacy refers to the claim that

the way things are is the way they should be.

Societies may differ from each other in many ways, but it is important to recognize that

there are still regional and subcultural differences within any large society.

Which of the following is LEAST characteristic of the goals of social psychology?

understanding how personality traits predispose people to respond to social situations

According to social psychologists, which of the following conditions is most likely to make someone do what an authority figure says to do—even if it involves hurting someone?

when people can blame an authority figure for their actions