Social Psych Exam 1

A researcher formed the following hypothesis: "Good children receive more positive attention from their parents than bad children". The main problem with this hypothesis is:

'Good children' and 'bad children' are too vague and abstract.

If an individual is part of your outgroup, you are more likely to make what type of attribution?

A dispositional attribution

In general, how will a large gap between the ideal self and the actual self impact a person's self-mage?

A large gap between the ideal and actual self will negatively impact a person's self-image.

A researcher finds that there is a relationship between the amount of time college students spend at the library and performance on tests. Specifically, the more time spent at the library, the higher students scored on their exams. This relationship represents what type of correlation?

A positive correlation

_____________ is a type of schema in which we apply generalized information to an individual based on the group to which he or she belongs.

A stereotype

Which of the following represents a major factor in determining whether social loafing occurs instead of social facilitation?

Accountability

Which phenomenon states that we have a tendency to make dispositional attributions for others' behavior but situational attributions for our own behavior?

Actor-observer effect

A researcher who wants to know whether drinking caffeine causes increased energy would be most likely to conduct what type of study?

An experimental study

Erin is conducting research on how to improve recycling behavior in suburban towns. This type of research is best described as _______________.

Applied research

Which of the following statements best represents a conclusion you could draw from LaPiere's landmark study on the relationship between people's attitudes and their behaviors?

Attitudes do not always predict behaviors.

Some of the conclusions drawn by researchers' studies in social psychology may seem obvious. However, as your textbook author points out, many of our common beliefs have been disproven by social psychologists. What is one reason why we may assume that social psychology is common sense?

Because the subject matter of social psychology often seems familiar and personal and we believe we are naturally knowledgeable about human behavior

Which of the following is a theory designed to explain the attributions people make?

Both Covariation theory and Correspondent inference theory

Which psychologist(s) is (are) credited with first describing heuristics?

Both Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky

You conduct a study on college students and find that there is a positive correlation between exercise and happiness. What can you conclude based on your findings

Both an increase in exercise is associated with an increase in happiness and an increase in happiness is associated with an increase in exercise.

In a study done on counterfactual thinking, what did researchers find with respect to the satisfaction level of Olympic medalists?

Bronze medalists were more satisfied than silver medalists.

___________ refers to a strategy whereby we disassociate ourselves from others who have failed or behaved poorly.

CORFing

Norman Triplett conducted a study measuring the performance of children playing a simple game either alone or in the presence of another child. Triplett's results indicated that:

Children playing the game in pairs performed better than children playing alone.

Which of the following represents a major difference between behaviors driven by intrinsic motivation compared with extrinsic motivation?

Compared with extrinsically motivated behaviors, intrinsically motivated behaviors are driven by enjoyment.

Which of the following can be considered a major limitation of correlations?

Correlations do not allow researchers to assess cause and effect between two variables.

______________ is a perspective that focuses on the physical and biological predispositions that result in human survival.

Evolutionary perspective

Jane is in a very good mood. According to the mood congruence effect, what information from her day will Jane be more likely to remember?

Finding a ten dollar bill on the ground.

Which of the following statements regarding impression formation is supported by research?

First impressions are so powerful that we don't even need to be present for them to have an impact.

______________ are simple rules that reduce mental effort and allow us to make decisions or judgments quickly.

Heuristics

The tendency to view events that have already occurred in the past as more predictable than they were before they took place is defined as _____________.

Hindsight bias

Subjects are told at the beginning of a study as much information as possible so that they can determine if they would like to participate. This is termed _______________.

Informed consent

According to your textbook, the use of laboratory research was a source of debate among some researchers. What was a main criticism of this type of research?

It was too artificial.

John is trying to decide between two colleges. According to research, John would be happier with his decision if he did the following:

Made his decision based on his gut feelings about each college.

Who is known for developing a 10 item self-esteem scale?

Morris Rosenberg

___________ refers to the force that drives us to complete a task or achieve a goal.

Motivation

Laurie hypothesizes that women will be more likely than men to hold a door open for others. She decides to watch people coming in and out of a local coffee shop, recording the sex of each individual who holds the door open for another person. Laurie is conducting what type of research?

Naturalistic observation

___________ are defined as behaviors, gestures, and expressions that convey thought or emotion without words.

Nonverbal cues

A parent hits a child for misbehaving and then later on that child hits his sibling for breaking a toy. Assuming the child hit his sibling because he was imitating his parent's behavior, this would be an example of ______________.

Observational learning

What piece of evidence from Gordon Gallup's work on chimpanzees can be used to support the idea that the self's relationship to others is important for the development of the self-concept?

Only chimpanzees who had been raised in social environments seemed to recognize their reflection in the mirror.

A teacher decides to give her students stickers every time they finish reading a book. After awhile she chooses not to give out any rewards for reading. She notices that the students are not motivated to read as much as before and don't seem to be enjoying their reading time. This best illustrates what phenomenon?

Overjustification effect

Tversky and Kahneman (1973) asked participants to estimate whether the letter 'R' more often held the first position of words or the third position of words. Most participants incorrectly estimated that the letter 'R' held the first position of words rather than the third position. What is the most plausible explanation for this finding?

Participants were able to recall words that started with 'R' more easily.

Hull and Young (1983) conducted a study examining the effects of providing individuals with negative feedback about their IQ. Their results indicated that:

People given negative feedback drank more wine than people given positive feedback.

____________ refers to activating a schema through a stimulus.

Priming

Automatically created cognitive frameworks that organize and guide how people think about and understand the world are known as:

Schemas

Which of the following would NOT represent a formal step in the research process? a. Searching personal blogs and websites like Wikipedia for information on your topic b. Gathering past research and background information on a topic c. Developing a research question d. Developing a hypothesis

Searching personal blogs and websites like Wikipedia for information on your topic

Which theory suggests that our self-concepts are impacted by the degree to which our actual selves match our ideal selves?

Self-discrepancy theory

Which of the following is NOT considered one of the six basic emotions that are conveyed with the same expression across different cultures?

Shame

Which theory argues that we compare ourselves to others in different situations because there is no given standard against which to measure our abilities and opinions?

Social comparison theory

_____________ is the process through which other people affect an individual's thoughts or actions.

Social influence

If you study how students' academic performance is affected by teachers praise and punishment, you would most likely be approaching your research from which of the following perspectives?

Social learning perspective

Chris works at a local coffee shop on the weekends. After the manager leaves for the night, he and his fellow employees are required to clean the tables and floors before closing. Often Chris does not put forth a strong effort to make sure he does his part and instead relies on his co-workers to do most of the cleaning. Chris is engaging in which of the following?

Social loafing

Which of the following is described by your textbook as one of the main facets of social psychology?

Social perception, social influence, and social interaction are all main facets of social psychology.

Children in the blue eye/brown eye experiment, described in the beginning of the chapter, demonstrated prejudice as a result of influence from their teacher as well as from the intolerant culture in which they lived. Which of the following perspectives best highlights the influence from both the immediate environment and society?

Sociocultural perspective

What do both the correspondent inference theory and the covariation theory assume about how we attribute causes to behaviors?

That we are rational and logical when we attribute causes to behaviors.

Solomon Asch conducted a study on impression formation by asking participants to rate the description of a person. He provided both groups of participants with the same information but varied the order of the adjectives he provided so that some participants learned about positive qualities first while others learned about negative qualities first. What was Asch's major finding?

The group that learned of the positive qualities first rated the target more highly.

Even though Christopher has lost a great deal of money gambling, he continues to place bets at the roulette table because he believes that he can predict the winning number. Christopher's perception that he can control events that are uncontrollable is known as:

The illusion of control

Which concept refers to the tendency to notice and remember negative information, which then influences the evaluation of people and situations?

The negativity bias

Which of the following describes the phenomenon whereby the first pieces of information to which we are exposed have the most impact on our judgment?

The primacy effect

Which of the following heuristics involves the use of stereotypes?

The representativeness heuristic

Suppose someone robbed a bank. How would Megan, who is from an individualistic culture, be most likely to explain this behavior?

The robber is immoral.

Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted a study in an elementary school where they misinformed teachers about the intellectual potential of randomly selected students. They found that students identified as 'growth spurters' actually performed significantly better on an intellectual test at the end of the school year even though the selection of these students was random. Which of the following is the best possible explanation for this finding?

The teacher's expectations of the 'growth spurters' potential served as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Heuristics are useful mental shortcuts but they also have drawbacks. What could be considered one disadvantage of using the representativeness heuristic?

Using the representativeness heuristic may lead to neglecting other important information such as the base rate.

According to your textbook, the false consensus effect is likely to increase under which of the following situations?

When the situation permits differential construal

The phenomenon of social loafing is diminished under which of the following conditions?

When the task is important

You believe that people who steal are self-interested and dishonest. What type of attribution are you making to explain their behavior?

a dispositional attribution

You believe that people who steal may be forced into this behavior because they live in poverty and don't have enough resources. What type of attribution are you making to explain their behavior?

a situational attribution

The ____________ is a small structure found in the medial temporal lobe of the brain and is believed to be involved in automatic processing.

amygdala

A group that we consider ourselves to be a part of is known as:

an in-group

The _____________ heuristic refers to the notion that we use a number as a starting point on which to anchor our judgment.

anchoring and adjustment

The notion that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people is known as:

belief in a just world

Maintaining our beliefs even in the face of contradictory information is known as _________.

belief perseverance.

A social psychologist would be most likely to study which of the following? a. Societal based problems such as deviance and crime b. How personality characteristics like introversion predict behavior Correct c. The social factors that influence how high school students choose their college major d. They would be equally likely to study all of the above.

c. The social factors that influence how high school students choose their college major

A cultural focus on the self as interdependent and defined by the connectedness of people to one another is defined as ___________.

collectivism

Paul is having trouble getting his ipod to work. If you ask him whether he typically has trouble using his ipod, you are seeking information about:

consistency

What type of research involves exploring the relationship between two variables?

correlational research

Last year Joseph was in a serious car accident. He often thinks to himself "If only I hadn't been driving so fast, maybe the accident would never have happened." This example best illustrates the concept known as _____________.

counterfactual thinking

Danny's father rewards him with ten dollars every time he receives an A in a class. Danny works hard to get as many A's as he can so that he can earn more money. In this example, Danny's behavior would be considered:

extrinsically motivated

John skips all of his classes on most Fridays. He does not think it's a big deal and believes most other people skip classes on Fridays too. This best represents an example of which of the following concepts?

false consensus effect

When you base a conclusion about a situation on the framework in which it is presented, you are using the _____________ heuristic.

framing

Matthew interviews for an important job but the company ultimately decides to select someone else for the position. Matthew thinks to himself, "I knew the interview went poorly and I wasn't going to get the job!" Matthew's belief that he knew the outcome all along is an example of what phenomenon?

hindsight bias

In an attempt to determine whether noise interferes with performance, Marc randomly assigns participants to take a math test either while listening to loud music or in silence. In this study, the presence of absence of noise would be considered the:

independent variable

The measurement of a variable is considered valid when:

it measures what it is supposed to measure

Which term best describes the notion that we see ourselves through the eyes of other people?

looking glass self

Individuals high in___________ like to think, solve problems, and understand their world accurately.

need for cognition

A subject in your study correctly assumes that you are interested in whether people behave in a prejudicial way towards people of a homosexual orientation. She then goes out of her way to act friendly and nice. This represents an example of ______________.

participant bias

When every participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group in an experiment this is termed:

random assignment

Consistent measurement refers to ______________.

reliability

Paying more attention to sensory information that fits a given schema while at the same time filtering information that is inconsistent is defined as ____________.

selective filtering

Your mental representation or overall sense of 'you' is known as your _____________.

self-concept

Compared with those how who hold a fixed-theory of intelligence, people who hold a growth-based theory of intelligence are more likely to:

set goals and face challenges

Derek is feeling sad. According to the facial feedback hypothesis, what could Derek do that would likely make him feel better?

smile

Meredith studies patterns of crime rates among different societies over time. Meredith is most likely a ____________.

sociologist

Ruth is taking a social psychology class with a professor who has a reputation of being mean and unhelpful. Ruth notices that the professor will not provide any extensions for late work or provide any extra credit opportunities for students struggling with the coursework. However, Ruth fails to consider that the professor offers review sessions prior to examinations and responds to all email questions within a 24 hour time period. By noticing information that confirms her belief that the professor is unhelpful and ignoring information that disconfirms her belief, Ruth is engaging in what social psychological phenomenon?

the confirmation bias

Jones and Harris (1967) found that subjects still attributed pro-Castro attitudes to essay authors even when subjects knew that the authors had no choice but to write the essays. This is evidence for:

the correspondence bias

The fundamental attribution error is a more commonly known name for__________.

the correspondence bias

In an experimental research design, the group that receives the main treatment or manipulation is called ____________.

the experimental group

Daniel cheated on his college history exam and believes that, like himself, almost every student cheats on an exam at least once or twice. Assuming he is incorrect, Daniel's tendency to overestimate the extent to which others cheat is known as _______________.

the false consensus effect

Katherine believes that in the future she will earn a higher salary than her classmates once she's out of college and that she is less likely to incur any financial problems. Katherine is exhibiting:

the optimistic bias

A measureable improvement that is found in a participant that cannot be attributed to any treatment given by the experimenter is known as ___________

the placebo effect

Which part of the brain plays a role in higher-order thinking, including judgment, decision making, and evaluation?

the prefrontal cortex

Which of the following is used by members of the scientific community to minimize bias and reduce errors?

the scientific method

We often think that our beliefs, appearance, and our internal states are obvious to other people. This is known as ____________.

the spotlight effect

Jarrod is a handsome college athlete and, as a result, many people also view him as friendly, outgoing, warm, and very likeable. This illustrates what phenomenon?

the what is beautiful is good effect

A _____________ is a general framework for understanding a concept that allows us to describe, predict, and explain events.

theory

Gender and level of self-esteem can be considered examples of ______________

variables

You see a man bump into and knock over an elderly woman crossing the street and he doesn't stop to help her up. According to the phenomenon of spontaneous trait inference, you would likely assume the man:

was unkind