Michigan State University Psychology 101 Exam 4

In a study conducted by Sherif (1936), participation watched a dot of light in a dark took, and in time it appeared to move, even though it really was stationary. This phenomenon is ________. Also, the result of this study using paired respondents is best explained by ____ social influence. A. Proof that people can start seeing things if left along for too long; informational. B. Known as the autokinetic effect; normative C. Widely used to make people conform; normative. D. Known as the autokinetic effect; informational.

D

In all likelihood, participants in Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments (conducted in the 1960s and 1970s) were willing to administer increasingly severe shocks to a confederate learner because they were concerned that the experimenter would be disappointed or perhaps even angry with them. Such concerns reflect the power of _______ to induce obedience to authority. A. Informational social influence. B. The reciprocity norm. C. Mindless conformity. D. Normative social influence.

D

Jonathan has talked about cognitive dissonance in terms of one's _____ being ____ to their ______ as _______ people. A. Actions; parallel; self-perceptions; ignorant. B. Actions; parallel; self-perceptions; sensible. C. Actions; contrary; behaviors; sensible. D. Actions; contrary; self-perceptions; sensible.

D

When we make self-serving attributions, we tend to attribute our success to ______ factors and our failures to _______ factors. A. Internal; external. B. Dispositional; situational. C. External; internal. D. Both A and B are correct answers.

D

__________ refers to an attitude toward a distinguishable group of people based solely on their group membership. A. Discrimination. B. A stereotype. C. Racism. D. Prejudice.

D

Cynthia thinks that her new neighbor is mean and snobbish. This __________ will likely influence Cynthia to act negatively toward her neighbor. A. Attitude. B. Foot-in-the-door phenomenon. C. Situational attribution. D. Belief.

A

Jessica isn't invited to a Super Bowl party her coworkers are throwing because she's a woman. Jessica experiencing _____ from her coworkers. A. Discrimination. B. Prejudice. C. Hostile sexism. D. Race-based exclusion.

A

The "fundamental attribution error" refers to our tendency to _________. A. Explain others' actions in terms of traits. B. Explain others' actions in terms of situations. C. Give ourselves more credit for our own success then we really deserve. D. Overestimate the role of situations in causing our own behavior.

A

You have practiced and practiced playing a song on the piano and you know it by heart. According to research on social inhibition and social facilitation, under what conditions would your performance be best? A. Playing the song for a group of people. B. Playing the song with no one else around. C. Conditions do not matter. Your performance never changes. D. None of the answers are above are correct.

A

According to cognitive discussion theory, soldiers may reduce their guilt about killing innocent civilians during wartime by... A. Dehumanizing their victims. B. Killing more enemy soldiers. C. Going into therapy. D. Telling themselves that the war is almost over.

A (they don't want to kill people so they dehumanize them to reduce guilt)

Across the studies that Milgram did investigating obedience to authority, the one factor that never made a consistent difference in how participants behaved was... A. Instructions from the experimenter. B. Pleas for help from the victim. C. Disagreement among authority figures D. Disobedience from other teachers.

B

In a psychology class debate on the humanistic perspective, you need to take the opposing view and rebut its positive aspects. Which of the following criticisms of the humanistic perspective can you site? A. Its concepts are too precise and specific. B. The descriptions of self-actualizing people reflect Maslow's personal values. C. It emphasizes collectivism too heavily. D. It emphasizes unconscious motivations too heavily.

B

In a psychology class debate on the trait perspective, you need to take the opposing view and rebut its positive aspects. Which of the following criticisms of the trait perspective can you cite? A. The trait perspective emphasizes unconscious motivation too heavily. B. People do not act with predictable consistency and behavior varies from one situation to the next. C. The Big Five personality traits are not stable in adulthood. D. The Big Five traits cannot describe personality across different cultures.

B

The fundamental attribution error occurs more often in ___________ cultures. A. Collectivist. B. Western. C. Asian. D. Interdependent.

B

While visiting the Bergin-Berlin concentration camp shortly after World War II, one German civilian is said to have remarked, "What terrible criminals these prisoners must have been to receive such treatment." This reaction is best explained in terms of... A. More exposure effect. B. The belief in a just world phenomenon. C. The realistic group conflict phenomenon. D. Deindividuation.

B

You are trying to convince your parents to send you to Europe. First, you ask them for a small favor (a bus ticket to a local city), hoping that later they will be more willing to send you on the longer trip. This technique is known as... A. The fundamental attributions error. B. The foot-in-the-door phenomenon. C. Motivated forgetting. D. Cognitive dissonance.

B

A neurotransmitter (brain chemical) whose lack is associated with aggression is... A. Testosterone. B. Norepinephrine. C. Serotonin. D. Dopamine.

C

A study was mentioned in lecture where a confederate attend large university classes for a systematically varied number of class sessions. In keeping with the mere exposure effect, when unsuspecting students in those classes were later shown photos of the confederate, they liked her best when she had... A. Worn their school colors. B. Challenged the professor. C. Attended more classes. D. Worn short skirts.

C

According to the social-psychological definition of "aggression," which of the behaviors below is the best example of aggression? A. David is not paying attention and runs over the neighbor's cat as he backs out of the driveway. B. Amanda asserts herself with her boss and make a spirited argument for a raise. C. A child throws a temper tantrum and tries to hit his father. D. One basketball player accidentally fouls another player during the shot.

C

At her health club, Bonnie pedals an exercise bike much faster when other patrons are using nearby equipment. This best illustrates... A. Social loafing. B. Normative social influence. C. Social facilitation. D. Social inhibition.

C

Eli has always been an extravert. There is some evidence that people like Eli seek stimulation because their normal brain arousal is relatively low. For example, extraverts... A. Have lower levels of dopamine. B. Exhibit more activity in a frontal lobe area involved in behavior inhibition. C. Exhibit less activity in a frontal lobe area involved in behavior inhibition. D. Both A and C correct.

C

Humanistic psychology emphasizes the importance of... A. Empirically derived tests. B. Reciprocal determinism. C. A positive self-concept. D. An external locus on control.

C

It is likely that participants in Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments (conducted in 1960s and 1970s) were willing to administer increasingly severe shocks to a confederate learner because when confronted with a confusing, unfamiliar, and upsetting situation, they would turn to the experimenter for cues as to how to proceed. This speculation in essence identifies ______ as a source of participants' destructive obedience. A. Social norms. B. Normative social influence. C. Informational social influence. D. Straight up meanness.

C

Vale is sociable, fun-loving, and affectionate. She would likely score very high on personality test that measures... A. Conscientiousness. B. Agreeable. C. Extraversion. D. Openness.

C

What do deindividuation and social loafing have in common? In both, A. People act more impulsive and deviant. B. People experience heightened self-awareness. C. Individuals' actions are not identifiable. D. People perform differently depending on whether the task is simple of complex.

C

You run a study using Asch's line judgment paradigm. You have 4 unanimous majority members saying the wrong line. If you add another person to the majority, conformity ________. A. Will increase. B. Will decrease. C. Will not increase, or decrease. D. Will reach nearly 60% on all error trials.

C

Carl Rogers said, "They only question which matters is, 'Am I living in a way that is deeply satisfying to me?" Critics of Rogers are most likely to object this statement because... A. It encourages too much individualism, which can lead to self-indulgence and selfishness. B. It encourages too much individualism, which can lead to erosion of moral restraints. C. It fails to recognize that people who focus beyond themselves are more likely to experience life satisfaction. D. Critics of Carl Rogers are likely to voice all of these objections.

D