Chapter 11 Social Psychology

Which of the following neurotransmitters and neurohormones are associated with prosocial behavior?

serotonin dopamine oxytocin

A(n) ________ is a generalization about a group's characteristics that does not consider any individual differences.

stereotype

Pam's new friend is a librarian so Pam assumes that she is intellectual, politically liberal, shy, not very social, and probably a vegetarian. Pam's thinking on this describes

stereotype

The tendency for observers to overestimate the importance of internal traits and underestimate the importance of external situations when they seek explanations is referred to as ______.

the fundamental attribution error

The physical attractiveness of an individual delivering a message can affect how persuasive the message is. True false question.

true

Aggression is social behavior _____.

whose objective is to harm someone physically or verbally.

Which of the following features was NOT one that participants were accurate at detecting or determining, based on viewing a photograph, having a brief interaction, or only watching brief video clips? 1) A person's sexual orientation 2) A person's artistic ability 3) A person's propensity for violence 4) A person's romantic interest in the participant

A person's artistic ability

Which of the following features were participants accurate at detecting or determining, based on viewing a photograph, having a brief interaction, or only watching a brief video clips?

A person's romantic interest in the participant. A person's sexual orientation. A person's propensity for violence.

___________ refers to social behavior whose objective is to harm someone physically or verbally.

Aggression

Which of the following personality traits is most strongly associated with prosocial behaviors?

Agreeableness

________ is giving aid to another person with the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, even if it incurs a cost to oneself.

Altruism

Which of the following summarizes the evolutionary psychology explanation of altruistic behavior?

Altruism is more likely to occur among family members, because helping a relative also means promoting the survival of the family's genes.

Which of the following describes the false consensus effect?

An overestimation of the degree to which everyone else thinks or acts the way we do

Which of the following is an example of the fundamental attribution error?

Antonio almost hit you with his car in the parking lot because he's a jerk, not because he couldn't see around a blind corner.

Which is the term in social psychology for the opinions and beliefs we have about people, things, and ideas?

Attitudes

_____ theory seeks to explain how we decide, on the basis of samples of an individual's behavior, what the specific causes of that person's behavior are.

Attribution

Which of the following are ways to reduce cognitive dissonance?

Change the attitude causing the dissonance. Change the behavior causing the dissonance.

Modifying attitudes, rationalizing attitudes, and/or changing behavior are all ways to reduce what?

Cognitive dissonance

The insula and anterior cingulate cortex are associated with the experience of which of the following?

Cognitive dissonance

What is the term for the conflict that occurs when a person holds two contradictory attitudes?

Cognitive dissonance

_____ involves giving to another person for personal gain, such as to feel good or avoid guilt.

Egoism

_____ is a feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another person.

Empathy

________ can produce altruistic behavior even toward members of rival groups.

Empathy

Which of the following research methods do social psychologists use most often?

Experimental Methods

According to several studies on physical attractiveness, which of the following faces did participants rate as most attractive?

Faces that were an average (composite) of several other faces

Lee is certain that everyone in her class holds the same political beliefs that she does, in spite of the fact that she doesn't really know her classmates. This is an example of the ________ _______ effect.

False consensus

When research participants were in a room filling with smoke, they were less likely to get help if they were alone than if another bystander was present.

False. No, participants were more likely to get help if they were alone. When more people were present, they were less likely to get help. This is the bystander effect.

In a study on physical attractiveness, researchers found that participants rated individual faces as more attractive than faces that were created by averaging up to 32 other faces.

False. Participants rated the averaged composite faces as more attractive than the individual faces.

When research participants were in a room filling with smoke, they were less likely to get help if they were alone than if another bystander was present.

False. Participants were more likely to get help if they were alone. When more people were present, they are less likely to get help.

What does the frustration-aggression hypothesis state?

Frustration always leads to aggression.

_______ refers to a tendency to explain behavior in terms of personalities, rather than the solution

Fundamental attribution error

Altruism is which of the following?

Giving aid to another person, even if it incurs a cost to oneself

What is the term for a cognitive shortcut that enables us to make decisions rapidly?

Heuristic

Which of the following are NOT associated with aggression?

High levels of introversion

Which of the following is a method to help people avoid persuasion?

Inoculation

Which of the following areas of the brain are associated with cognitive dissonance?

Insula Anterior cingulate cortex

How long did it take participants in one research study to form an impression of an unfamiliar face?

Less then a second

Which of the following personality traits are associated with aggression?

Low levels of agreeableness Low levels of conscientiousness Coldness toward others

Which of the following has been linked to aggressive behavior?

Lower levels of serotonin

Maura is getting ready for work. Which circumstance is LEAST likely to result in her behaving aggressively toward her colleagues and customers?

Maura has her favorite kind of omelet for breakfast.

The _______ learning approach to aggression emphasizes that social and environmental conditions can teach individuals to be aggressive.

Observational

____ refers to directly harming another person, whether physically or verbally.

Overt aggression

What would a social psychologist be most likely to study?

Personal attitudes and the perception of others

_____ involves trying to change someone's attitudes and/or behavior.

Persuasion

________ involves trying to change someone's attitudes and/or behavior.

Persuasion

_________ involves trying to change someone's attitudes and/or behavior.

Persuasion

Greater volume in which of the following brain areas is positively associated with agreeableness?

Posterior cingulate cortex

_____ refers to activities such as gossiping and spreading rumors.

Relational aggression

_______________ ____________________ is the degree to which we have positive or negative feelings about ourselves.

Self - Esteem

_____ is the degree to which we have positive or negative feelings about ourselves.

Self-esteem

What is the term for expectations about a future event or behavior that act to increase the likelihood that the event or behavior will occur?

Self-fulfilling prophecies

_____ comparison is the process in which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people.

Social

______ ______ is the area of social psychology that explores how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information.

Social Cognition

______ threat is a person's fast-acting, self-fulfilling of being judged base on a negative stereotype about their group.

Stereotype

The hormone related to aggression is which of the following?

Testosterone

_________ is the male hormone related to aggression.

Testosterone

Which of the following are types of heuristics in social information processing?

The false consensus effect Stereotypes

Person perception is which of the following?

The processes by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others

What is the definition of social psychology?

The study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people

Attribution theory is which of the following?

The view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior, theirs as well as others

Social cognition is which of the following?

The way in which individuals think in social situations

A person who experience stereotype _______ is well aware of stereotypical expectations for him or her as a member of a group.

Threat

High levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and oxytocin are related to prosocial behavior.

True

Kitty Genovese's murder inspired research on people's likelihood of helping a person in distress.

True

Social psychologists tend to use experimental methods more often than descriptive methods.

True

When are attitudes most likely to guide behavior?

When a person is very aware of their own attitudes. When a person has strong attitudes. When a person rehearses and practices their strong attitudes.

Which of the following is a circumstance in which researchers would NOT expect attitudes to guide behavior?

When the person's attitudes recently changed

The limbic system and the frontal lobes are the brain structures related to the social behavior known as ________.

aggression

The limbic system and the frontal lobes are the brain structures related to which of the following?

aggression

The personality trait of _______ is most strongly associated with prosocial behaviors.

agreeableness

In "smoke-filled room" studies, smoke billowed from a vent in a room. If the research participant in the room was _______, they were more likely to get help quickly. If the participant was _______, they were likely to either take much longer to get help or not get help at all.

alone, or with another bystander

In the field of social psychology, the term _____ describes an opinion or perspective that someone has towards a person, a behavior, a belief or a concept.

attitudes

Researchers who take a _____ viewpoint examine the influence of genetics and neurobiological factors on aggression.

biological

Researchers who take a(n) ________ viewpoint examine the influence of genetics and neurobiological factors on aggression.

biological

Social _____ is the process in which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to other people.

comparison

Cognitive ___ is the conflict that occurs when a person holds two contradictory attitudes or thoughts.

dissonance

Giving aid to another person to ensure reciprocity is called __________.

egoism

A key social emotion in altruism is _____, a person's feeling of oneness with the emotional state of another.

empathy

The ___________ perspective of reciprocity is that it serves to secure the survival of the family's genes, even if the helped individual is not actually family.

evolution

Elaina complained to her best friend that she lost the spelling bee because the judges were unfair and gave her all of the harder words to spell. Elaina is attributing her performance in the spelling bee to a(n) _____ cause.

external

One theory of aggression suggests that ____ (the reaction to the thwarting or blocking of goals) produces anger, leading to a readiness to display ____.

frustration; aggression

The _______ attribution error is the tendency to explain the behavior of others in terms of their personalities rather than aspects of the situation.

fundamental

The genetic basis for aggression states that ________ are important in understanding the biological basis of aggression.

genes

The role of _____ in aggression is most easily seen in nonhuman animals and the process of selective breeding.

genes

Egoism is which of the following?

giving to another person to ensure reciprocity

Helping others consistently leads to increased _______ mood.

good

Communicators who are physically and socially attractive produce _____ attitude change compared to those who are less attractive.

greater

In so-called cultures of ________, a man's reputation is thought to be an essential aspect of his (and his family's) economic survival. Such cultures may foster aggressive behavior.

honor

in one study, just a 100-millisecond exposure was long enough for participants to form a(n) _____ of the unfamiliar individual

impression

Resisting persuasion can be done by _____ people with a weak version of a persuasive message.

inoculating

Matt sees a painting that Ben painted and says that the painting is good because Ben is a talented artist. Matt is attributing Ben's work on the painting.to a(n) _____ cause.

internal

When we feel compassion for another person's suffering, areas of the midbrain associated with the perception of _____ are activated.

pain

The murder of Kitty Genovese inspired researchers to examine whether ________.

people are less likely to help if other people are present

Person ______ refers to the process by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others.

perception

Greater volume in the ________ ________ cortex is positively associated with agreeableness

posterior cingulate

Helping others strongly and consistently leads to increased ______ mood.

postive

The dorsomedial _______ cortex is involved in first impression formation.

prefrontal

Anything that makes us think aggressive thoughts could be associated with aggression. The concept from cognitive psychology is _________ anything that makes something salient to a person.

priming

Based on the results of research in psychology, which of the following individuals is the LEAST likely to express aggression in the given situation?

samantha had to sit in an air-conditioned waiting room for 20 min

If people think that members of a specific group lack ambition, they may treat them in a way that actually brings about a lack of ambition. What does this illustrate?

self-fulfilling prophecy