Social Psychology Quiz

On which of the following tasks would the presence of others be most likely to lead to improved performance?

counting backward from 10 to 1

Individuals who are normally law-abiding may vandalize and loot when they become part of a mob. This change in behavior is best understood in terms of

deindividuation

Elizabeth's room is always a mess. Her parents attribute this to her laziness. They are using an example of what

dispositional cause

Fritz Heider concluded that people tend to attribute others' behavior either to their:

dispositions or their situations.

Tami asks her mother for permission to go to an all night party at a friend's house while the friend's parents are away. Her mother says no. The Tami asks to go to a smaller party a friend's house for a few hours. Her mother agrees to this. Which technique has Tami used?

door in the face

The mere exposure effect refers to the fact that people:

experience increasing attraction to novel stimuli that become more familiar.

Bart complied with his friends' request to join them in smashing decorative pumpkins early one Halloween evening. Later that night he was surprised by his own failure to resist their pressures to throw eggs at passing police cars. Bart's experience best illustrates the:

foot-in-the-door phenomenon.

After Manny's father refused to let him use the family car on Friday night, Manny let all the air out of the tires. His action is best explained in terms of the:

frustration-aggression principle.

Normative social influence results from peoples' desire to:

gain social approval.

Professors Maksoud, Struthers, and Vasic each tend to think that obtaining a university degree is easier today than it was when they were students. After discussing the matter over coffee, they are even more convinced that obtaining a degree is easier today. This episode provides an example of:

group polarization.

When a group of racially prejudiced high school students discussed racial issues, their attitudes became even more prejudiced. This best illustrates:

group polarization.

An overwhelming desire for harmony in a decision-making group increases the probability of:

groupthink.

Groupthink is fueled by a desire for:

harmony.

Attribution theory was designed to account for:

how people explain others' behavior.

After hearing respected medical authorities lecture about the value of regular exercise, Raul, who has rarely exercised, begins to jog regularly. The change in Raul's behavior best illustrates the impact of:

informational social influence.

Conformity resulting from the acceptance of others' opinions about reality is said to be a response to:

informational social influence.

During a Girl Scout picnic, Lavinia was randomly selected to be on one baseball team and Carla on the opposing team. Before the game started, Lavinia and Carla were each convinced that their own team was the better one. The girls' beliefs best illustrate:

ingroup bias.

Kelly, a Republican, and Carlos, a Democrat, both believe that members of their own political party are more fair-minded and trustworthy than members of other parties. Their beliefs best illustrate:

ingroup bias.

Milgram's classic 1964 experiment found that

most people are surprisingly obedient to authority

Professor Maslova attends faculty meetings simply to gain the approval of the college dean. Professor Maslova's behavior exemplifies the importance of:

normative social influence.

Using the Asch procedure, conformity to group judgments would be least likely when

participants are not observed by other group members when giving their answers.

Social facilitation refers to the tendency to:

perform well-learned tasks more effectively in the presence of others.

An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members is called:

prejudice.

Deindividuation refers to:

a loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Philip Zimbardo devised a simulated prison and randomly assigned college students to serve as prisoners or guards. This experiment best illustrated the impact of:

role-playing on attitudes.

Bonnie pedals an exercise bike at her health club much faster when other patrons happen to be working out on nearby equipment. This best illustrates

social facilitation

Expert pool players were observed to make 71 percent of their shots when alone. When four people watched them, they made 80 percent of their shots. This best illustrates:

social facilitation.

Sandy loves to play pool and has gotten quite good. Lately she seems to play better when people are watching her. This is due to

social facilition

Class members are asked to work cooperatively in groups on major course papers. Every member of a group is to receive exactly the same grade based on the quality of the group's paper. This situation is most likely to lead to:

social loafing.

University students were observed to pull harder on a rope when they thought they were pulling alone than when they thought three others were pulling with them on the same rope. This best illustrates:

social loafing.

Alexis believes that all male athletes are self-centered and sexist. Her beliefs are an example of:

stereotypes.

Mrs. Pinheiro fell on a busy city sidewalk and broke her leg. Although hundreds of pedestrians saw her lying on the ground, most failed to recognize that she was in need of medical assistance. Their oversight best illustrates one of the dynamics involved in:

the bystander effect.

If one student in a classroom begins to cough, others are likely to do the same. This best illustrates

the chameleon effect

Research participants who worked alongside someone who rubbed his or her face or shook his or her foot were observed to do the same thing themselves. This best illustrated:

the chameleon effect.

When a salesperson visits your home and asks you to try a free sample of a cleaning fluid, you agree. When he returns the following week and asks you to purchase an assortment of expensive cleaning products, you make the purchase. The salesperson appears to have made effective use of:

the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.

Marilyn judges her professor's strict class attendance policy to be an indication of his overcontrolling personality rather than a necessity dictated by the limited number of class sessions in a course that meets only once a week. Her judgment best illustrates:

the fundamental attribution error.

An eagerness to believe that victims of a natural disaster are being punished by God for their sins best illustrates a potential consequence of

the just-world phenomenon

The fundamental attribution error is most likely to lead observers to conclude that unemployed people:

are irresponsible and unmotivated.

The best explanation for the inaction of bystanders during the Kitty Genovese murder is that they failed to:

assume personal responsibility for helping the victim.

Fernando's favorable attitude toward capital punishment began to change when he was asked to offer arguments opposing it in a university debate class. His attitude change is best explained by __________ theory.

cognitive dissonance

The discomfort we feel when two thoughts are inconsistent is called:

cognitive dissonance.

According to Sternberg, committed couples who share a deep, mature love experience

companionate love

The foot-in-the-door phenomenon refers to the tendency to:

comply with a large request if one has previously complied with a small request.

Solomon Asch's 1951 study with a standard line and comparison lines showed

conformity

Solomon Asch asked people to identify which of three comparison lines was identical to a standard line. His research was designed to study

conformity.

Which of the following is an example of central route to persuasion to disregard a candidate?

"The logic of his argument doesn't hold up"

After three months of riding the 8:30 bus to work, Cindy has actually started to feel affection for the gruff and scowling old bus driver. Cindy's reaction best illustrates:

the mere exposure effect.

When buying groceries, many shoppers prefer certain products simply because they have a familiar brand name. This preference best illustrates the importance of:

the mere exposure effect.

Professor Jones is a member of the faculty committee on academic standards. He personally disagrees with the other committee members' proposed plan to begin accepting students with below-average grades. Professor Jones is most likely, however, to vote in favor of their plan if:

the other committee members are unanimous in their opinion.

After she received a free hand-painted Christmas ornament from a religious organization, Mrs. Montevecchi felt obligated to mail a cash donation to the organization. Her response to the free gift best illustrates the impact of:

the reciprocity norm.