Social Psychology Domain Quiz
In a research study, a social psychologist offers participants either $1.00 or $20.00 to tell potential participants that a dull experiment was very interesting. With regard to cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception theory, which of the following is true?
Cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception theory both predict that participants in the $1.00 condition will subsequently report greater liking for the dull experiment than will those in the $20.00 condition. Cognitive dissonance theory predicts that participants in the $1.00 condition will report liking the dull experiment more than will those in the $20.00 condition in order to reduce the dissonance they feel about describing the dull study as interesting to potential participants. In contrast, self-perception theory predicts that participants in the $1.00 condition will report greater liking for the dull experiment because they will evaluate their actual opinion of the study by looking at their overt behavior (telling others that the experiment was interesting).
_____________ refers to publicly acting in ways that are consistent with what is requested by another person in order to obtain a reward or avoid punishment while privately disagreeing with the request.
Compliance Compliance occurs when a person publicly changes his/her opinion to obtain a reward or avoid punishment but does not actually (privately) accept that opinion. Research has found that social influence can have one of three effects on an individual's opinions and behavior - compliance, identification, and internalization.
Berkowitz's frustration-aggression hypothesis
Berkowitz found that frustration may lead to aggression, especially in the presence of aggressive cues.
double bind communication
Double-bind communication presents a "mixed message" (e.g., contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages) and is not relevant to the situation described in this question.
_____________ predicts that our perceptions of fairness in a relationship are more important than the absolute costs and rewards of being in that relationship.
Equity theory According to equity theory, people consider a relationship equitable when they believe their reward/cost ratio is proportional to the reward/cost ratio of the other person.
Those with privilege may hold beliefs that they are superior to others or others are inferior to them, that they have the power to impose standards, and that their reality is the same experience for everyone. This sort of worldview is known as:
Ethnocentric monoculturalism Ethnocentric monoculturalism is a worldview sometimes exhibited by those who hold privilege
the results of Sherif's Robber's Cave study
In a jigsaw classroom, students work together in teams to complete an assignment (i.e., to achieve a superordinate goal). The research has found that the jigsaw classroom helps reduce hostilities related to racial, ethnic, or cultural differences. Sherif found that cooperation in achieving a superordinate goal reduced hostility between groups of boys.
According to Hays (2001), would a 25-year-old individual be considered privileged?
No, the age group that is privileged is between 30-60 years According to Hays, regarding age and generational influences, individuals between the ages of 30 and 60 hold privilege,
Which of the following is true about a person who is faced with an approach-avoidance conflict?
The closer the person gets to his/her goal, the stronger the desire to avoid it.
In a research study on bystander intervention, a participant hears someone (a confederate) fall and cry out in pain in an adjacent room. In this situation, the participant is most likely to respond to this apparent need for help when the participant is:
The greater the number of bystanders, the greater the bystander apathy (i.e., the less likely a person will receive assistance). Studies on bystander intervention have found that a person in need is most likely to receive help when there is only one bystander.
social judgment theory ego-involvement
When the individual's ego-involvement is high, his/her latitude of rejection is wide.
Zimbardo's (1970) deindividuation model applies to which of the following?
Zimbardo found that people were more likely to act aggressively when participating in a group when they could do so anonymously (i.e., when their identity had been disguised). Zimbardo's deindividuation model addresses the effects of anonymity on the likelihood that a person will act aggressively.
optimism bias
a bias whereby people believe that, compared with other people, they are more likely to experience positive events and less likely to experience negative events in the future
Research has found that which of the following is most important for reducing the negative effects of crowding on behavior?
a sense of control The research has found that a sense of control over the situation mediates the impact of crowding on behavior. For example, Sherrod (1974) found that, when people working on a task in a crowded situation could press an "escape button" in order to leave the situation, their performance was enhanced even though they never actually pressed the button.
In a research study, prison inmates and counselors working at the prison were asked to explain why the inmates had committed their crimes. In response, the inmates cited situational factors, while the counselors attributed the offenses to the dispositional characteristics of the inmates. Which of the following predicts the outcome of this study?
actor-observer effect The actor-observer effect addresses the discrepancy in an actor's and observer's attributions for the actor's behavior. It predicts that actors tend to attribute their own behaviors to situational factors, while observers tend to attribute the actors' behaviors to dispositional factors.
actor-observer effect
addresses the discrepancy in an actor's and observer's attributions for the actor's behavior. It predicts that actors tend to attribute their own behaviors to situational factors, while observers tend to attribute the actors' behaviors to dispositional factors.
In a research study, boys observe a model act aggressively toward an inflatable "Bobo" doll. For some boys, the model is rewarded for acting aggressively; for others, the model is punished; and, for others, the model is neither rewarded nor punished. Subsequently, all boys are offered incentives for acting aggressively toward the doll. Based on your knowledge of Bandura's (1983) research on social learning theory, you predict that:
all boys (those who saw the model rewarded, punished, or receiving no consequence) will act aggressively toward the doll. Bandura found that, when no incentive was offered to the boys for imitating the model's behavior, only those in the reward or no consequence condition did so. However, when boys were offered an incentive for imitating the model, all boys acted aggressively toward the Bobo doll.
A co-worker says, "It never fails. Every time I plan to go hiking with my children, it rains." Assuming that your co-worker's claim is not really true, her statement is best described as a manifestation of which of the following?
illusory correlation The tendency to overestimate a relationship between two variables is referred to as illusory correlation. Illusory correlation is most likely to occur when the two events or other variables are distinctive (e.g., occur relatively infrequently).
Lewin (1931) and Miller (1944) distinguished between four motivational conflicts:
approach-approach, In this type of conflict a person is faced with two attractive alternatives, only one of which can be selected. avoidance-avoidance, A second type of conflict, avoidance-avoidance, involves two negative goals and is a fairly common experience. A boy must do his arithmetic homework which he dislikes or get a spanking.approach-avoidance, approach-avoidance, is often the most difficult to resolve because, in this type of conflict, a person is both attracted and repelled by the same goal object. The closer the person gets to his/her goal, the stronger the desire to avoid it. double approach-avoidance, Many of life's major decisions involve multiple approach- avoidance conflicts, meaning that several goals with positive and negative valences are involved. Suppose a woman is engaged to be married; suppose, further, that the goal of marriage has a positive valence because she loves the man she will be marrying. Suppose, on the other hand that marriage is repellent to her because it will mean giving up an attractive offer of job in another city. With respect to her career, the woman is attracted to new job, but also repelled by the problems it will creates for her marriage.
Cognitive dissonance theory is most useful for understanding:
attitude change According to cognitive dissonance theory, inconsistencies in cognitions produce tension (dissonance), which motivates the individual to modify one of his/her cognitions.
Sherif and Hovland's (1961) social judgment theory is useful for understanding which of the following?
attitude change Social judgment theory predicts that we are most likely to be persuaded (i.e., to change our attitude) when the position advocated by a message is within our latitude of acceptance.
Sherif (1935) used which of the following to investigate conformity to group norms?
autokinetic effect The autokinetic effect is a perceptual phenomenon in which a stationary point of light appears to move in a darkened room. Sherif found that, in certain circumstances, research participants conformed to the judgments of confederates regarding how far the light had moved (even though the light was actually stationary).
Four types of conflict have been distinguished by researchers interested in intraindividual conflict
avoidance-avoidance, produces vacillation between the two courses of action approach-approach, choose one of his two options and feel confident that it was the correct one approach-avoidance, double approach-avoidance,
Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior predicts that attitudes are good predictors of a person's behavior when the measure of attitudes assesses the person's:
behavioral intention. The theory of planned behavior predicts that the accuracy of a measure of a person's attitude is increased when the measure assesses the three factors that determine the person's behavioral intention -- i.e., the person's attitude toward engaging in the behavior, what the person believes other people think about the behavior, and the person's perceived behavioral control.
A movie viewer is most likely to report feeling uncomfortable in a crowded movie theater when he/she is viewing a ________ film.
boring Research by Worchel and Brown (1984) found that crowding is experienced as less uncomfortable or stressful in attention-grabbing, arousing situations than in uninteresting situations. They conclude that this difference is due to the fact that crowding produces arousal and, when the arousal can be attributed to the circumstances, it is not experienced as unpleasant. However, when the arousal cannot be attributed to the circumstances (e.g., when the movie is boring), it is experienced as unpleasant.
The predictions of social exchange theory are most applicable to our relationships with:
business associates The research suggests that social exchange theory does not apply to people we are very close to (e.g., close friends, parents, and romantic partners) but, instead, to individuals we have more formal relationships with or have recently met (e.g., business associates, acquaintances, and strangers).
The belief that watching someone else act aggressively will serve to reduce one's own aggressiveness is most consistent with the notion of:
catharsis. Catharsis involves the release of emotion, and some experts believe that one way to reduce aggression, anger, and hostility is through catharsis. Note, however, that the research has not been very supportive of this proposal
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion predicts that:
central route processing produces attitude change that is more persistent over time than does peripheral route processing. Petty and Cacioppo's (1980) elaboration likelihood model distinguish between central and peripheral processing routes. The two routes differ in terms of the amount of effortful cognitive processing (elaboration) they require and their impact on attitude change.
Asch (1946) found that some characteristics (e.g., warm and cold) influence the impressions people form of others more than other characteristics do, and he referred to these influential characteristics as:
central traits When Asch presented participants in his studies with a list of adjectives that supposedly described another person, he found that certain traits were the most important determinants of the participants' impressions of that person. Asch concluded that these central (influential) traits are characteristics that are highly associated with other characteristics and, as a result, have a strong impact on impression formation.
In general, a communicator of a persuasive message will produce the greatest amount of attitude change in a listener when the communicator is _____ in credibility and the discrepancy between the listener's initial position and the position advocated by the communicator is _____.
high; moderate The optimal combination of communicator credibility and communication discrepancy for attitude change is a highly credible communicator and a moderate level of discrepancy. With regard to the discrepancy, a small discrepancy will not require much change in attitude on the part of the listener, while a large discrepancy is likely to produce no change.
A person is more likely to use the central route when the message is
important or personally relevant.
French and Raven (1959) distinguished between six types of social power
coercive, is being used when an individual influences the behavior of others through the control of punishments. The father would be using coercive power if he said, "If you don't do what I say, you'll have to stay in your room all weekend." reward, This power is derived from one person's ability to reward another for compliance. expert, an individual emphasizes his/her superior knowledge or expertise. The father would be using expert power if he had said, "You'll do what I say because I know what's best for you." referent, the ability of an individual or group to control the behavior of others because of their desire to identify with that individual or group. The father would be relying on referent power if he said "You should do what I say because you're part of this family." informational, This type of power is derived from someone's ability to limit or give access to relevant information. legitimate, the individual emphasizes his/her position of power or authority and the other person's obligation to comply. In this situation, the father is relying on his position as "boss" to control his son's behavior.
Heider's (1958) balance theory describes attitude change as a function of which of the following?
cognitive consistency Balance theory focuses on the relationships between three entities (the person, another person, and a third person, object, or event) and proposes that the relations between these entities may be balanced or unbalanced. According to balance theory, when the relationships between the entities are unbalanced, the person experiences a state of disequilibrium (inconsistency) and is motivated to change his/her attitude toward one of the entities.
Kelman (1958) described three types of 'opinion change':
compliance, When a person complies, they apparently agree with the request as they act upon it. In fact, they do not really agree and internally may well feel the tension of cognitive dissonance as their actions are inconsistent with their beliefs. identification, A second major form of persuasion is where the person identifies with the speaker or originator of the idea in some way, and so accepts and believes their argument without further question or challenge. internalization, Internalization is full internal acceptance and adoption of an idea or belief by the individual. This is done at the personal level, without coercion from others and not driven by any need to associate with others
Self-verification theory predicts that a person with low self-esteem will prefer to receive evaluations from others that:
confirm his/her own negative self-evaluations. Swann, Pelham, and Krull's (1989) self-verification theory predicts that people prefer confirmation of their self-concept.
You are convinced that you are psychic because you're able to predict when close friends are going to call you on the phone. As a result, you always notice the times when your predictions are correct but ignore those times when they're not. This is an example of which of the following?
confirmation bias This situation illustrates the confirmation bias, which predicts that we're most likely to pay attention to events that confirm our preconceptions. In the situation described in this question, you are noticing only those phone calls that confirm your belief about your psychic ability.
The jigsaw technique is a(n):
cooperative learning strategy The jigsaw classroom was developed by Aronson and his colleagues as a method for enhancing learning and motivation and reducing racial/ethnic conflict in classrooms.
The elaboration likelihood model (Petty and Cacioppo, 1980)
distinguishes between central and peripheral processing routes. The central route involves active, effortful cognitive processing (cognitive elaboration), while the peripheral route involves reliance on simple decision-making rules.
Moscovici (1985) found that individuals with a minority opinion are most likely to change the minds of those holding the majority opinion when those with the minority opinion:
express their opinion as consistently as possible Moscovici found consistency to be the key factor in determining whether a minority would successfully change the opinion of the majority. Moscovici (1985) was interested in the factors that increase the likelihood that a minority can sway the opinion of the majority.
post hoc fallacy
false assumption that because one event occurred before another event, it must have caused that event we conclude that Event A caused Event B simply because Event A preceded Event B.
In a research study, college students who preferred brown bread were more likely than those who preferred white bread to say that other students prefer brown bread (Mullen et al., 1985). This finding is consistent with the predictions of which of the following?
false consensus bias The false consensus bias is the tendency to believe that other people share our attitudes and beliefs.
The base rate fallacy refers to the tendency to:
focus on a specific case rather than general information when reaching a conclusion or making a judgment. The tendency to ignore base rate (general)information and to focus, instead, on a specific case is referred to as the base rate fallacy. the base rate fallacy occurs when a person ignores base rate information.
Zimbardo's deindividuation study
found that people are more willing to act in antisocial ways when they can do so anonymously.
According to Herek (1991), harassment of and violence against lesbians and gay men is the result of:
heterosexism. Herek (1991) defines heterosexism as "an ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes among non-heterosexual forms of behavior, identity, relationships, or community"
Aronson and Linder's (1965) gain-loss theory predicts that we will like a person most when his/her evaluations of us are:
initially negative but become positive Gain-loss theory predicts that an evaluation sequence involving a change from a negative to a positive evaluation will result in greater liking for the evaluator than will a consistent positive evaluation sequence and, conversely, that an evaluation sequence involving a change from a positive to a negative evaluation will result in greater dislike for the evaluator than will a consistent negative evaluation sequence.
Research on the intergroup contact hypothesis has demonstrated that antagonism between members of two groups is most likely to be reduced when:
interactions between group members provide opportunities to disconfirm negative stereotypes. Intergroup contact is most likely to reduce hostility when it provides opportunities for learning that negative stereotypes about members of the opposing group are untrue.
According to Berscheid's (1991) emotion-in-relationships model, strong emotions in romantic relationships occur when:
interactions between partners deviate from expected patterns. Burscheid's model proposes that strong positive or negative emotions occur when there is a disruption in interpersonal scripts - i.e., when a partner violates expectations regarding important couple or personal goals.
A therapy client is exhibiting a depressive attributional style when she consistently attributes the negative events she experiences to:
internal, stable, and global factors Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale (1978) found that people who are depressed often exhibit signs of learned helplessness. In other words, they tend to attribute negative events to internal, stable, and global factors.
Researchers interested in causal attribution distinguish between three attributional dimensions:
internal/external, stable/unstable, global/specific,
confirmation bias
involves focusing on and seeking out information that confirms our preconceptions.
As a supervisor, Jason J. always tries to modify his communication and managerial style so that they "match" the style and characteristics of the particular employee he is interacting with. Based on this information, you can conclude that Jason:
is high in self-monitoring. High self-monitors are concerned about the impression they make and, as a result, pay close attention to the behaviors of other people so that they can adjust their own behavior to fit the expectations, style, and other characteristics of those people. The individual described in this question is adjusting his behavior to fit the behavior of each employee that he supervises.
A father is quite upset about his 11-year old son's recent unwillingness to do as he is told, and he tells his son, "I'm the boss around here and you must do as I say." The father is relying on which type of social power to control his son's behavior?
legitimate When using legitimate power, the individual emphasizes his/her position of power or authority and the other person's obligation to comply. In this situation, the father is relying on his position as "boss" to control his son's behavior.
Identification
occurs when a person changes his/her opinion or behavior in response to a request because he/she wants to be liked by or identified with the person making the request.
Internalization
occurs when the person changes his/her opinion or behavior because the person actually (privately) accepts the beliefs or opinions of another person.
psychological reactance
occurs when we do the opposite of what is requested or desired by another person because we feel our freedom-of-choice is being restricted. In family therapy, paradox is sometimes used to elicit resistance (psychological reactance) in order to promote change.
Solomon Asch (1958) found that a research participant's conformity to group norms was substantially reduced when:
only one of the group members (confederates) deviated from the group norm. The participant was more likely to conform when the confederates were unanimous in their judgment of the line length than when even one confederate deviated from the group norm. In Asch's (1958) studies, group members (participant and confederates) were shown a vertical line and asked to indicate which of three other lines it matched in terms of length. Results indicated that when the confederates offered their estimates first, the participant conformed to the confederates' estimates about one-third of the time.
Which of the following strategies would probably be least effective for reducing aggressiveness in children?
opportunities for catharsis Catharsis (release of strong emotions through a particular activity or experience) has not been found to be an effective way to reduce aggressive behavior. In fact, there is evidence that it may actually increase aggression.
People who frequently view violent shows on television are most likely to:
overestimate the likelihood that they will be a victim of violence The research has confirmed that long-term exposure to media violence is associated with a tendency to overestimate the amount of violence in society as well as the likelihood of being a victim of violence.
Research on consumer behavior has found that providing a bonus to customers for purchasing a product increases the sales of that product. However, if the bonus is subsequently discontinued, product loyalty declines substantially. This phenomenon is predicted by which of the following?
overjustification hypothesis The overjustification hypothesis predicts that a person's internal motivation to perform a behavior will be weakened when he/she is provided with external reinforcement for engaging in the behavior.
Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action
people consider two factors when deciding whether to behave in certain ways: their attitude toward the behavior and the subjective norms that apply to the situation.
In Zimbardo's (1972) prison study, students were randomly assigned to enact the role of either a prisoner or prison guard and were placed in an environment that simulated an actual prison. Results of the study indicated that:
prisoners and prison guards both quickly adapted to their assigned roles to such an extreme that the study had to be terminated early. Within the first six days of Zimbardo's prison simulation study, students assigned the role of guard became very aggressive and authoritarian (e.g., they issued arbitrary commands to prisoners to do push-ups and refused requests to go to the bathroom), while those assigned the role of prisoner quickly lapsed into depression and helplessness and began exhibiting signs of both physical and emotional distress. Because of the rapid decay of the behavior of both prison guards and prisoners, the study was halted prematurely.
Which of the following has been used to explain the phenomenon known as the Zeigarnik effect?
psychic tension The Zeigarnik effect refers to the tendency to recall uncompleted tasks better than completed tasks. Zeigarnik was a student of Lewin and proposed that it is easier to recall uncompleted tasks (at least in some conditions) because they create a state of "psychic tension."
During a family therapy session, the therapist tells the 8-year old son that he should keep annoying his sister, even though it makes her very mad. The boy says, "I don't have to if I don't want to." The boy's response to the therapist's request is best described as a manifestation of which of the following?
psychological reactance Psychological reactance occurs when we do the opposite of what is requested or desired by another person because we feel our freedom-of-choice is being restricted. In family therapy, paradox is sometimes used to elicit resistance (psychological reactance) in order to promote change.
According to Baumeister, Catanese, and Wallace (2002), a man may feel that his personal freedom is being restricted when a woman refuses his sexual advances and, as a result, become aggressive toward the woman. In other words, Baumeister and his colleagues suggest that, in some circumstances, sexual aggression toward women by men may be attributable to which of the following?
psychological reactance The phrase "feel that his personal freedom is being restricted" should have helped you identify the correct response to this question. Psychological reactance occurs when a person acts in a way that is opposite of what is being requested because the person feels that his/her freedom-of-choice is being restricted. Based on their research, Baumeister and his colleagues conclude that the attempts of sexually coercive men to force women to engage in sexual behavior is the result of a combination of reactance and narcissism.
When Rosenhan's (1973) pseudopatients were admitted to a mental health facility after reporting that they were "hearing voices," they were:
recognized as being normal by the other patients more often than by the staff members. Nearly 1/3 of the patients identified the pseudopatients as sane, but the hospital staff members diagnosed all but one of the pseudopatients as schizophrenic.
In the context of attitude change, "inoculation" is a method for:
reducing the likelihood that a listener will be persuaded by a message The purpose of inoculation is to reduce a listener's susceptibility to a persuasive message. It involves three steps: warning the listener of the impending persuasive message; making a weak attack against the listener's position; having the listener actively defend his/her position.
Source derogation
refers to defending oneself against persuasion by criticizing the source of the message.
Deindividuation
refers to the tendency for people to be more willing to act in antisocial ways when they can do so anonymously.
primacy effect
refers to the tendency to remember stimuli that occurred first better than stimuli that occurred last.
fundamental attribution bias
reflects one's tendency to attribute another person's behavior to his or her personal characteristics, as opposed to situational factors the tendency to overestimate the role of dispositional factors when making attributions about the behaviors of others.
Research on __________ has found that people tend to pay more attention to information that confirms their beliefs about themselves than to information that contradicts those beliefs.
schemas Schemas (schemata) are organized mental networks of information that are based on prior experience or knowledge and that influence our interpretation of or reaction to current experience. Research on schemas has found that people tend to pay attention to and recall schema-consistent information better than information that is inconsistent with their current schemas. For example, a person who considers herself to be a very independent person will be able to recall many examples of her independence but few, if any, examples of times when she acted in dependent ways.
A person with symbolic racist views is least likely to oppose which of the following?
school integration In contrast to "old-fashioned" racism, symbolic racism is characterized by more subtle forms of prejudice and discrimination. A person with symbolic racist views is not likely to oppose school integration because doing so represents an overt form of racism. However, he/she is likely to oppose other efforts designed to promote equality or benefit members of minority groups - e.g., affirmative action, welfare, and bilingual ballots - on the ground that they violate traditional American values.
Participants in a research study are injected with epinephrine which produces mild arousal. One-half of the participants are told to expect arousal while the other half are told that the injection will have no physiological side effects. Each participant is then placed in a waiting room with a confederate who has been instructed to act in an angry manner. Subsequently, participants who were told to expect arousal from the epinephrine report no change in their emotional state, while those who were told to expect no side effects report feeling angry. Results of this study provide evidence for which of the following?
self-perception theory Results of the study are consistent with self-perception theory, which predicts that, in ambiguous situations, a person's self-attributions are based on observations of cues in the external environment (e.g., the behavior of others). participants in one group have an explanation for their arousal (the epinephrine), while participants in the other group do not.
The tendency to take credit for our successes but to blame other people or external circumstances for our failures is referred as the:
self-serving bias. The self-serving bias applies to the attributions we make for our own behaviors. It refers to the tendency to take credit for our successes (i.e., make dispositional attributions) but to blame the circumstances or other people for our failures (i.e., make situational attributions).
Heuristics are
shortcuts in decision making that save mental activity "mental shortcuts" that help us process complex information. Schemas (schemata) are organized mental networks of information that are based on prior experience or knowledge and that influence our interpretation of or reaction to current experience. Research on schemas has found that people tend to pay attention to and recall schema-consistent information better than information that is inconsistent with their current schemas. For example, a person who considers herself to be a very independent person will be able to recall many examples of her independence but few, if any, examples of times when she acted in dependent ways.
Researchers interested in declarative knowledge define propositions as
simple ideas that are either true or false.
The results of a research study on persuasion reveal that, one month following exposure to a persuasive message, participants in the study can remember the message but have forgotten the source of the message. This result is a manifestation of which of the following?
sleeper effect The phenomenon described in this question is probably one that you have experienced yourself. It has been used to explain why the attitude change produced by a high-credible communicator decreases over time, while the attitude change produced by a low-credible communicator increases over time.
Schachter's (1959) conclusion that "misery loves miserable company" is most consistent with the predictions of which of the following?
social comparison theory Social comparison theory predicts that we reduce uncertainty about our feelings, opinions, etc. by observing those of others in similar circumstances. Schachter found that, when fearful participants who were anxious about the study they were about to participate in were given a choice of waiting for the study alone or with another anxious participant, they preferred to wait with other another anxious participant. However, if anxious participants were given a choice of waiting alone or with a non-anxious individual, they chose to wait alone.
Which of the following emphasizes the role of the costs and rewards of a relationship on a person's decision to stay in the relationship?
social exchange theory As its name implies; social exchange theory is based on the premise that human behavior is affected by the exchange of rewards between actors. Specifically, it predicts that the decision to stay in a relationship depends on the balance of costs and rewards: When a person believes that costs exceed rewards, the person will leave the relationship, but when the person believes that rewards exceed the costs, he/she will stay in the relationship.
In his book, The Nature of Prejudice, Gordon Allport concludes that:
stateways are often in advance of folkways. In contrast to the traditional view that "stateways cannot change folkways" (e.g., you cannot legislate against racial prejudice), Allport asserts that, at least in the United States, stateways are often in advance of folkways. Allport proposes that, while laws do not prevent violations altogether, they do act as a restraint and can, therefore, break the vicious cycle of racial prejudice and discrimination. In other words, by terminating the overt signs of prejudice through legislation, the open expression of prejudice is discouraged and, eventually, thoughts and attitudes "fall into line."
fundamental attribution bias
tendency to attribute another person's behavior to dispositional factors.
People with a high need for cognition (i.e., those who usually think carefully about issues) are more likely to rely on
the central route
A recipient who is in a neutral or slightly negative mood is more likely to use
the central route for processing a communication.
Lewin's (1936) field theory predicts that human behavior is a function of:
the characteristics of the person and the person's environment Lewin's (1936) field theory is expressed by the following formula: B = f(P,E), where B is behavior, P is person, and E is environment.
Research on prejudice indicates that certain conditions can reduce intergroup hostilities. Which of the following conditions would be MOST effective for reducing racial prejudice displayed by groups of White and African American children?
the children are required to cooperate in order to achieve a common goal When children are required to cooperate in order to achieve a common ("superordinate") goal, prejudice is likely to decrease. Research on intergroup hostility has contributed greatly to the understanding of the variables that contribute to prejudice. One of the most consistent findings is that intergroup hostilities (e.g., prejudice) can be reduced by having groups work on a common goal (Cook, 1978; Sherif, 1966).
When a listener is exposed to both sides of an argument, a primacy effect is most likely to occur when:
the first side of the argument is presented immediately before the second side and the listeners attitude is measured at a later time. When both sides of an argument are presented, a primacy effect occurs (the listener is swayed more by the first argument) when the second argument immediately follows the first and the attitude measure is administered at a later time. In contrast, a recency effect occurs (the listener is swayed more by the second argument) when there is a delay between presentation of the two sides of the argument and the attitude measure is administered immediately after the second argument.
Social judgment theory distinguishes between three "categories of judgment" that determine our susceptibility to persuasion -
the latitude of acceptance, which is the range of ideas that a person sees as reasonable or worthy of consideration the latitude of non-commitment, which is the range of ideas that a person sees as neither acceptable nor questionable latitude of rejection, which is the range of ideas that a person sees as unreasonable or objectionable
The elaboration likelihood model predicts that the recipient of a persuasive message is more likely to use the peripheral route of information processing when:
the person delivering the message is a well-liked and trusted celebrity. A listener is more likely to use the peripheral route (i.e., rely on peripheral cues) when the person delivering the message is attractive or well-liked,
According to Sherif and Hovland's (1961) social judgment theory, a person's latitudes of rejection, non-commitment, and acceptance are affected by which of the following?
the persons level of involvement with the topic addressed by the persuasive message Social judgment theory predicts that the size of the latitudes of acceptance, non-commitment, and rejection are affected by the individual's level of ego-involvement (i.e., the extent to which the person is personally involved with the topic addressed by the persuasive message).
correspondence bias
the tendency to make a dispositional attribution even when a person's behavior was caused by the situation is another name for the fundamental attribution bias
correspondence bias
the tendency to make a dispositional attribution even when a person's behavior was caused by the situation is another name for the fundamental attribution bias, which is the tendency to attribute the behaviors of others to dispositional factors.
self-serving bias
the tendency to perceive oneself favorably refers to the tendency to make dispositional attributions for our successes but situational attributions for our failures
Stanley Milgram investigated which of the following at Yale University in the 1960s?
the willingness of individuals to obey an authority even when doing so had harmful consequences for someone else Milgram's research found that, under certain conditions, people are willing to comply with the requests of an authority, even when doing seems to have negative consequences for another person. Milgram's research at Yale University is among the most well-known and controversial research in the field of social psychology.
Berkowitz (1971) revised the original frustration-aggression hypothesis by proposing that frustration leads to aggression only when:
there are aggressive cues in the environment Berkowitz's (1971) research found that frustration leads to a "readiness for aggression" but that the actual expression of aggression requires anger arousal plus the presence of appropriate environmental (aggressive) cues.
Research on persuasion has found that people who argue against their own self-interest are:
usually viewed by listeners as credible Walster, Aronson, and Abrahams (1966) found that communicators are usually considered credible by listeners when they are arguing against their own self-interest, apparently because they are perceived as more trustworthy when doing so. The studies have found that a communicator's credibility is affected by a number of factors including his/her apparent motives for advocating a particular position.
Raymond R. and his wife have not been getting along for some time, and Raymond has recently started thinking about seeking a divorce. The problem with getting a divorce is that it will require Raymond to either divide the business he and his wife have or to sell his share of the business to her, neither of which appeals to him. The problem with staying with his wife is that Raymond will have to continue putting up with her nagging and his feeling that he has no "life of his own." Assuming that Raymond is experiencing an "avoidance-avoidance conflict," it is most likely that he will do which of the following in the near future?
vacillate between the two options, first choosing one and then the other An avoidance-avoidance conflict produces vacillation between the two courses of action. Even if you're not familiar with research on intraindividual conflict, you've probably had a personal experience that could help you understand why this is the correct answer.
According to social comparison theory:
we often judge our own actions by looking at those of other people. Social comparison theory "sounds like" what it is: It predicts that people make judgments about themselves by comparing their behaviors and beliefs to those of other people.
Research by Herek (2000) and others on the attitudes of heterosexual men and women toward gays and lesbians has found that all of the following have been linked to higher levels of sexual prejudice EXCEPT:
younger (versus older) age Older (not younger) age has been linked to higher levels of sexual prejudice. All of the characteristics listed in the other answers have been linked to higher levels of sexual prejudice among heterosexual men and women. B. high levels of authoritarianism. C. conservative political views. D. lower levels of education.
