Intro to psychology: social psychology

Compare and contrast situational influences and dispositional influences and give an example of each. Explain how situational influences and dispositional influences might explain inappropriate behavior.

A situationism view is that our behaviors are determined by the situation—for example, a person who is late for work claims that heavy traffic caused the delay. A dispositional view is that our behaviors are determined by personality traits—for example, a driver in a road rage incident claims the driver who cut her off is an aggressive person. Thus, a situational view tends to provide an excuse for inappropriate behavior, and a dispositional view tends to lay blame for inappropriate behavior.

Define interleaving

A study strategy to mix up what you are learning

Imagine that you work for an advertising agency, and you've been tasked with developing an advertising campaign to increase sales of Bliss Soda. How would you develop an advertisement for this product that uses a central route of persuasion? How would you develop an ad using a peripheral route of persuasion?

Although potential answers will vary, advertisements using the central route of persuasion might involve a doctor listing logical reasons for drinking this product. For example, the doctor might cite research suggesting that the soda is better than alternatives because of its reduced calorie content, lack of adverse health consequences, etc. An advertisement using a peripheral route of persuasion might show very attractive people consuming the product while spending time on a beautiful, sunny beach.

For each the following, determine whether it is an example of of the fundamental attribution error or self-serving attribution. Regina has just learned that her neighbor's teenage son Anthony was involved in an automobile accident at a nearby intersection. She then remarked to her husband, "Well, Anthony's recklessness has finally got him into trouble!"

Fundamental attribution error (1)

Sally did very poorly on her last math test. Her friend, Nick, concluded that Sally did poorly because she is not motivated to do well in school.

Fundamental attribution error (2)

Peter's instructor was rather short-tempered the first day of class. Peter assumed the instructor was a rude woman. He did not know that she had woken up late, had a car accident on the way to work, and had been locked out of her office.

Fundamental attribution error (3)

Based on these results, was there anything special about holding the hand of someone you love, or was it just important to hold someone's hand when you are in pain?

Holding a loved one's hand was special for relieving pain.

Compare and contrast social loafing and social facilitation.

In social loafing individual performance cannot be evaluated; however, in social facilitation individual performance can be evaluated. Social loafing and social facilitation both occur for easy or well-known tasks and when individuals are relaxed.

Some people seem more willing to openly display prejudice regarding sexual orientation than prejudice regarding race and gender. Speculate on why this might be.

In the United States, many people believe that sexual orientation is a choice, and there is some debate in the research literature as to the extent sexual orientation is biological or influenced by social factors. Because race and gender are not chosen, many Americans believe it is unfair to negatively judge women or racial minority groups for a characteristic that is determined by genetics. In addition, many people in the United States practice religions that believe homosexuality is wrong.

After hearing respected medical authorities lecture about the value of regular exercise, Rick, who has rarely exercised, begins to run and regularly goes to the gym.

Informational conformity

Based on these results alone, what is the best interpretation of this study's finding?

Looking at a loved one's picture may simply be a distraction, nothing more.

Based on these results, how does holding hands of someone you love compare to looking at that person's picture?

Looking at a picture of a romantic partner was better than holding his hand.

_____________ designed the obedience study to test if subjects would give "learners" electric shocks when they missed test questions.

Milgram

Michelle's staff all graduated from the same university. Nicole's company frequently brings in outside consultants for advice. Samantha's boss is a person with strong opinions. Holly's office is a highly cohesive group. The group least vulnerable to groupthink is ________.

Nicole's

For each of the following, determine if it an example of informational conformity or normative conformity. Ken hates to wear ties but wears one to his sister's wedding to avoid his family's disapproval.

Normative coformity (1)

Sam, a 17-year-old high school student, has just moved to a new city and enrolled in a new school. At his old school, there were strong social norms against teenagers smoking cigarettes. At his new school, several of his friends regularly smoke and say that "It's no big deal." As a result, Sam begins smoking also. Which type of conformity is this?

Normative conformity

Lucy publicly agrees with her seventh-grade classmates that parents should allow 13-year-olds to date. Later that day, she writes in her diary that she actually believes parents should prohibit kids from dating until they are at least 16 years old.

Normative conformity (2)

While sitting at their Saturday morning coffee, one of John's friends told a joke that John thought was childish and stupid, but he laughed anyway because everyone else was laughing. Responses

Normative conformity (3)

Give an example (one not used in class or your text) of cognitive dissonance and how an individual might resolve this.

One example is choosing which college to attend—the public school close to home or the Ivy League school out of state. Since both schools are desirable, the student is likely to experience cognitive dissonance in making this decision. In order to justify choosing the public school close to home, the student could change her cognition about Ivy League school, asserting that it is too expensive and the quality of education at the public school is just as good. She could change her attitude toward the Ivy League school and determine that the students there are too stuffy and wouldn't make good classmates.

When people blame a scapegoat, how do you think they choose evidence to support the blame?

One way in which they might do this is to selectively attend to information that would bolster their argument. Furthermore, they may actively seek out information to confirm their assertions.

Describe how seeking outside opinions can prevent groupthink.

Outsiders can serve as a quality control by offering diverse views and views that may differ from the leader's opinion. The outsider can also remove the illusion of invincibility by having the group's action held up to outside scrutiny. An outsider may offer additional information and uncover information that group members withheld.

Which of the following statements is correct regarding social exchange theory?

People are motivated to maximize the benefits of social exchanges, or relationships, and minimize the costs.

Provide an example of how people from individualistic and collectivistic cultures would differ in explaining why they won an important sporting event.

People from individualistic cultures would tend to attribute athletic success to individual hard work and ability. People from collectivistic cultures would tend attribute athletic success to the team working together and the support and encouragement of the coach.

___________ is a negative unfair attitude toward members of a group, whereas is ____________negative, unfair behavior toward members of a group.

Prejudice; discrimination

Describe what influences whether relationships will be formed.

Proximity is a major situational factor in relationship formation; people who have frequent contact are more likely to form relationships. Whether or not individuals will form a relationship is based on non-situational factors such as similarity, reciprocity, self-disclosure, and physical attractiveness. In relationships, people seek reciprocity (i.e., a give and take in costs and benefits), self-disclosure of intimate information, and physically attractive partners.

________ occurs when the out-group is blamed for the in-group's frustration.

Scapegoating

The Westlake Hills Little League team just played a double-header. They won the first game, but lost the second one. Afterwards, the Westlake Hills coach said, "We played better than ever today. We would have won the second game also, but the umpires made some really bad calls."

Self-serving bias

At his interview for a new position, Richard explains to the hiring committee, "As a sales representative for a major company, I often meet my sales quota and make lots of sales because of my hard work and skill. Sometimes, I don't make the quota, but it's because the company doesn't give me a list of potential customers."

Self-serving bias (1)

Jeremy earned an A in his philosophy class and concluded that he had quite a talent for writing coherently and thinking logically. When he earned a C in his sociology class, he expressed dissatisfaction with the course content, the teaching ability of the professor, and the quality and clarity of the exams.

Self-serving bias (2)

In this experiment, how many conditions did the study have?

Seven conditions

Jeanette is a woman who highly values financial security, yet her fiance is financially irresponsible. How can Jeanette reduce the anxiety that she is feeling as a result of her cognitive dissonance? Please choose the best response.

She can either end her relationship or minimize the importance of financial stability, focusing on her fiance's positive attributes.

Describe how social roles, social norms, and scripts could be applied to the Stanford prison experiment. How can this experiment be applied to everyday life? Are there any more recent examples where people started fulfilling a role and became abusive?

Social roles were in play as each participant acted out behaviors appropriate to his role as prisoner, guard, or supervisor. Scripts determined the specific behaviors the guards and prisoners displayed, such as humiliation and passivity. The social norms of a prison environment sanctions abuse of prisoners since they have lost many of their human rights and became the property of the government. This experiment can be applied to other situations in which social norms, roles, and scripts dictate our behavior, such as in mob behavior. A more recent example of similar behavior was the abuse of prisoners by American soldiers who were working as prison guards at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

All other things being equal, with whom are you most likely to develop a friendship or close relationship: Susan or Joan?

Susan, who you see nearly every day in the elevator at work

What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

The amount of discomfort the woman feels.

Which of the following adolescents is least likely to be targeted for bullying?

The captain of the football team

Lissana was waiting in line at the grocery store for about twenty minutes. When she finally got to the cashier, Lissana was angry that the cashier seemed to be so annoyed. Lissana wondered why the cashier worked there, believing that she was temperamental and had poor social skills and therefore, was in the wrong profession. Which bias does this best illustrate?

The fundamental attribution error

Why didn't the "good" guards in the Stanford prison experiment object to other guards' abusive behavior? Were the student prisoners simply weak people? Why didn't they object to being abused?

The good guards were fulfilling their social roles and they did not object to other guards' abusive behavior because of the power of the situation. In addition, the prison supervisor's behavior sanctioned the guards' negative treatment of prisoners. The prisoners were not weak people; they were recruited because they were healthy, mentally stable adults. The power of their social role influenced them to engage in subservient prisoner behavior. The script for prisoners is to accept abusive behavior from authority figures, especially for punishment, when they do not follow the rules.

When Catherine landed a big contract for her firm, she accepted the credit for her hard work and smart "wheeling and dealing." When she failed to get the contract in another situation, she blamed the sneaky and dishonest tactics of the competition. What is this an example of?

The self-serving bias

The evolutionary theory argues that humans are motivated to perpetuate their genes and reproduce. Using an evolutionary perspective, describe traits in men and women that humans find attractive.

Traits that promote reproduction in females warmth, affection, and social skills; women with these traits are presumably better able to care for children. Traits that are desired in males include achievement, leadership qualities, and job skills; men with these traits are thought to be better able to financially provide for their families.

Imagine a group of corporate managers are experiencing groupthink. Which of the following is a symptom of this phenomenon?

When reaching a consensus is valued over critically evaluating the facts

On his first day of soccer practice, Jose suits up in a t-shirt, shorts, and cleats and runs out to the field to join his teammates. Jose's behavior is reflective of ________.

a script

It makes Stetson happy to see women excelling in what used to be seen as male-dominated jobs. This is an example of the ________ component of an attitude.

affective

Shaquallah gets upset if she sees anyone litter. This is an example of the ________ component of an attitude. Responses

affective

In order for the central route to persuasion to be effective, the audience must be ________ and ________.

analytical; motivated

Trevor votes for gun control laws and supports organizations that want to restrict access to guns.

behavioral

According to social exchange theory, humans want to maximize the ________ and minimize the ________ in relationships.

benefits; costs

Jason is exceptionally good at ping-pong. According to the research, good players such as Jason, who know they are being watched when they play, perform ________.

better than good players who do not know they are being watched

Phillip believes that affirmative action is an unfair policy that gives minorities preferential treatment. This is an example of the ________ component of an attitude.

cognitive

Giselle understands the harmful effects of smoking, and yells at her parents for smoking, but smokes anyway. She feels some psychological discomfort from her hypocritical behavior. This discomfort is called

cognitive dissonance

Michelle has spent five years and thousands of dollars getting her degree in journalism. Having finished, she is dismayed to find that she can't get the job she wants and settles instead for a less desirable job. As a result, Michelle comes to highly value her education as a learning experience. Michelle's feelings about her education can be understood in terms of ________.

cognitive dissonance theory

Scott has always strongly believed that it is wrong to cheat. But after he cheats on a physics test, his attitude toward cheating becomes significantly less harsh. What best accounts for this attitude shift?

cognitive dissonance theory

When we seek out information that supports our stereotypes we are engaged in ________.

confirmation bias

Cognitive dissonance causes discomfort because it disrupts our sense of ________.

consistency

The bystander effect likely occurs due to ________.

diffusion of responsibility

Racism is both predjudice and ____________ toward another group because of their skin

discrimination

Accoring to the Batson's _____________ model of prosocial behavior, putting yourself in the shoes of someone else and thinking about how they feel will make you more likely to help.

empathy-altruism

Attitudes describe our ________ of people, objects, and ideas.

evaluations

Examples of cues used in peripheral route persuasion include all of the following except ________.

factual information

Prejudice is to ________ as discrimination is to ________.

feelings; behavior

When it comes to buying clothes, teenagers often follow social norms; this is likely motivated by ________.

fitting in

Which type of persuasion may account for the fact that Jane is willing to driver her friend an hour to the airport after her friend agreed to only drive her to the store?

foot-in-the-door

Bobby performed poorly during his soccer game, and gets in a fist fight with his brother later that night. According to the ________, Bobby became aggressive because of is disappointing performance.

frustration aggression theory

If group members modify their opinions to align with a perceived group consensus, then ________ has occurred.

groupthink

After moving to a new apartment building, research suggests that Sam will be most likely to become friends with ________.

his next door neighbor

According to a study done by Sarah Master and her colleagues, which was most helpful in reducing pain?

holding hands of a loved one

The tendency for people to form social networks, like friendships and relationships, with others who are similar to them is known as

homophily

Social loafing occurs when the task is easy and ________. Responses

individual performance cannot be evaluated

Which of the following is not a type of prejudice? Responses

individualism

According to the actor-observer bias, we have more information about ________.

influences on our own behavior

Zoe believes that homeless people deserve to be homeless because she thinks they don't work hard enough. Her belief is an example of the

just-world hypothesis

Jarred Younger's research showed that

looking at images of a romantic partner or holding hands with a romantic partner was helpful in reducing pain.

In the Asch experiment, participants conformed due to ________ social influence.

normative

Celeberity endorsements of produces utilize the ____________ to persuasion.

peripheral route

The process of changing our attitude toward something based on some kind of communication is called

persuasion

What trait do both men and women tend to look for in a romantic partner?

physical attractiveness

Typically, bullying from boys is to ________ as bullying from girls is to ________.

physical harm; emotional harm

The saying, "I scratch your back, you scratch me," best fits with the concept of

reciprocity

According to the triangular theory of love, what type of love is defined by passion and intimacy but no commitment?

romantic love

Lionel is visiting a new church for the first time. Because he has been to other churches, he understands the appropriate sequence of events that he should follow, also known as a ________. He greets a few people around him before sitting quietly for the service.

script

If Dana's management team wants to avoid falling prey to groupthink, they should

seek outside opinions on group decisions.

Jamal is placed in the remedial reading class at school and labels himself as a bad reader, thereby causing him to read less and not improve his reading. This is an example of the

self-fulfilling prophecy

Making internal attributions for your successes and making external attributions for your failures is an example of ________.

self-serving bias

Intrapersonal things focus on topics like emotions, attitudes that things that affect the __________, wheras interpersonal things examine topics like prejudice, discrimination, relationships, and ____________ behavior.

self; group

High unemployment, family background, recessions, and lack of educational opportunities are all ____________ factors of why people may be in poverty

situational

As a feild, social psychology focuses on _________ in predicting human behavior.

situational factors

Collectivistic cultures would be more likely to understand ________ factors when analyzing behavior, whereas individualistic cultures would be more likely to emphasize ________ factors.

situational; dispositional

Those who examine external forces on behavior take the side of ________, while those who focus on internal factors take the side of ________.

situationism; dispositionism

Perhaps the most surprising result from Milgram's study was that

so many of the "teachers" continued to provide shocks because they were told to do so.

Imagine you are just learning how to play the piano, so you are not very good. You are practicing by yourself when suddenly your mother and her friends walk into the room to listen. You notice that your performance has changed. Research on ________ is most relevant to predicting how your performance will change in this situation. Specifically this research suggests that your performance will ________.

social facilitation; worsen

Professor Wilcox has students work in groups, but also requires that each group member submit a paper detailing what exactly they did for the project. He does this to prevent

social loafing

A(n) ________ is a set of group expectations for appropriate thoughts and behaviors of its members.

social norm

The behaviors by the prison guards in the Stanford prison experiment coincided with expected ______________; the guards gave orders and expected the prisoners to follow them.

social roles

The Stanford prison experiment mostly showed that

social roles have an impact on behavior.

A ________ is a widely held belief about the characteristics of a particular group that attributes those characteristics to all members of the group.

stereotype

The influence that a group has on the judgement of an individual is called

the Asch effect

One reason that people are willing to obey persons in authority who order them to engage in destructive behaviors is that ________.

the authority figure relieves those who obey of responsibility for their actions

Following his initial study, Milgram conducted several experiments on factors that might increase or decrease obedience to authority. In one of these experiments, Milgram showed that participants (that is, "the teachers") were less likely to obey the experimenter's orders if ________.

the experimenter's requests to continue were issued over a telephone

The concept of altruism refers to ________.

unselfish behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for the self

Under what conditions will informational social influence be more likely? (Pick two choices).

when the group has expertise; when the answer is unclear

In Milgram's controversial study on obedience, nearly ________ of the participants were willing to administer what appeared to be lethal electrical shocks to another person because they were told to do so by an authority figure.

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