Chapter 5 Social Psychology
When people wish to make accurate judgments, but don't have the time or ability to analyze the evidence closely, they
B) rely on "shortcut" evidence.
Cognitive dissonance effects are LESS likely to occur for people who
B) score low on a preference for consistency scale.
It is not just general arousal that is crucial to attitude change via cognitive dissonance, but specifically arousal that
D) is unpleasant.
Peripheral processing of a persuasive message, as opposed to central processing, is associated with which of the following?
D) lower personal relevance of the topic
According to the text, after people place a bet on a horse, they are more confident in their choice. Why?
A) After making the bet, the bettors experience postdecisional dissonance.
How would the use of the pronoun "you" in a persuasive message affect the way you would process the message?
A) It will make you process the message more centrally.
Imagine you are trying to persuade an audience that is hostile to your view and suspicious that you are presenting arguments for personal gain. How might you best increase your trustworthiness with the audience?
A) Provide evidence for both sides of the argument.
A study (Sivacek & Crano, 1982) was conducted at Michigan State University when the government proposed raising the drinking age from 18 to 21. Which students volunteered to campaign against the proposal and why
A) Students who were under 20 were more likely to volunteer because the issue was more personally relevant to them.
The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) proposes that message recipients will centrally process a communication when they
A) are motivated to attend to it and have the ability to do so.
According to the theory of planned behavior, the BEST predictor of behavior is
A) behavioral intentions.
The consistency principle states that people will
A) change their attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and actions to achieve consistency.
Individuals who are most likely to engage in denial even when confronted with troubling information are
A) chronic unrealistic optimists.
A tiny reward that gets you to perform an activity that you dislike can make you like this activity more than a larger reward would. Simply making a decision can make you have more favorable feelings toward what you have chosen and more negative feelings toward what you have rejected. What theory of attitude change would be consistent with these statements?
A) cognitive dissonance
Imagine that you are a participant in the Kassin and Kiechel (1996) study, in which you are falsely accused of pressing a "forbidden" keyboard button while performing a computer task. According to the results of the study, you would be more likely to "confess" that you really pressed the button if you were
A) cognitively overloaded during the task.
Nonreactive measurement
A) does not change participants' responses while recording them.
The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion is an example of a
A) dual-process model.
According to the cognitive response model, all of the following tactics would reduce counterarguing against a persuasive message EXCEPT
A) encouraging "self-talk" by the target
Central processing of a persuasive message, as opposed to peripheral processing, is associated with which of the following?
A) higher levels of motivation and the ability to analyze the message
The motivation to achieve approval is
A) impression motivation
When attitudes are formed through the process of classical conditioning, the degree of liking for something is influenced by
A) its association with something we already like or dislike.
Imagine that you are about to buy a new car. You would have
A) more negative thoughts about the car before you buy it than after you buy it.
The tendency to enjoy and engage in deliberate thought is known as
A) need for cognition.
Yuta is a high self-monitor. Consequently, at parties, Yuta
A) shifts his attitudes to match those of whomever he's talking to.
When people wish to make accurate judgments, but don't have the time or ability to analyze the evidence closely, they often rely on "shortcut" evidence. According to the text, shortcut evidence can be gathered from all of the following EXCEPT
A) strength of the arguments.
Encouraging positive self-talk, inhibiting counterarguments, and defeating a message through inoculation are implications of
A) the cognitive response model.
Messages that include fear appeals are most effective when
A) the message generates high levels of fear, and the targets are told what to do to reduce the danger.
Imagine you need to create a TV advertisement for a political candidate who is not trusted by the public. Of the following choices, which would be the best way to start an ad that made your candidate look more trustworthy?
B) "Although my opponent has a good record of fighting crime,..."
According to cognitive dissonance research, which of the following advertising appeals would be most persuasive in a collectivistic culture?
B) "The best relationships are lasting ones."
Which of the following is an example of operant conditioning potentially influencing an attitude?
B) A teacher smiles and nods when a student expresses a political view that the teacher likes.
Imagine that you are an attorney trying to prove that a certain chemical caused your client's cancer. Your arguments will be more persuasive if your witness is
B) Dr. Fallon, described as highly expert in the field, who states, "The chemical leads to tumor induction as well as hepatomegaly, hepatomegalocytosis, and lymphoid atrophy of the spleen and thymus."
Vinny is a professional thief and currently in prison. As such, he's not what most people would consider a trustworthy communicator. However, if Vinny were to voice one of the following messages, he could be considered a trustworthy communicator. Which one would make him the most trustworthy?
B) He should promote longer jail terms.
As mentioned in your text, the interrogators of Peter Reilly did not let him eat or sleep for about 24 hours before the formal questioning. According to the cognitive response model, how did this affect his false confession?
B) He was not able to think straight in order to form counterarguments.
Jack and Jill go to a party, and they both meet Muhammed who has political views that oppose their own. After they hear Muhammed give his perspective of current politics, Jack is likely to respond, "________," whereas Jill is more likely to respond, "________."
B) I disagree; That's interesting
According to the theory of planned behavior, behavioral intentions are influenced by all of the following EXCEPT
B) attitude accessibility
Franklin dislikes the Rush Limbaugh radio talk show. At a party, Franklin meets Jefferson, who lavishly praises the Rush Limbaugh show. Franklin takes an instant dislike to Jefferson. Which of the following psychological theories would best predict Franklin's response to Jefferson?
B) balance theory
Credibility of the communicator is used as a shortcut when people are motivated to
B) be accurate.
Embeddedness makes attitudes resistant to change because
B) changing the attitude would mean changing many other aspects of the self.
Which of the following theories best explains how a person's actions can change his or her attitudes and beliefs?
B) cognitive dissonance theory
Imagine that you have given a speech to your colleagues about the potential health hazards of smoking. Your message can be considered persuasive if, after hearing the speech, your colleagues
B) come to privately believe more strongly that smoking is bad for their health.
Which of the following are the two qualities of strong attitudes that make them resistant to change?
B) commitment and embeddedness
A credible communicator is defined as one who is both
B) expert and trustworthy.
According to the text, cognitively ready ideas are
B) ideas that are easy to picture or bring to mind.
In a study by Burnkrant & Unnava (1989), participants were presented with an advertisement for disposable razors which either did or did not contain the self-referencing pronoun "you." The results of the study revealed that the use of the word "you" caused people to be
B) more persuaded by the ad only when the ad contained strong arguments.
After-only design should be used for measuring attitude change only when
B) participants are placed in either the treatment or control condition completely by chance.
Jose is enthusiastic about a new political candidate but feels that he has no time to campaign in support of this candidate. In this example, Jose's behavior has been influenced by
B) perceived behavioral control.
According to your text, advertisements that appeal to ________ work well for Western cultures, whereas advertisements that appeal to ________ work well for non-Western cultures.
B) personal self-enhancement; group enhancement
Criminal interrogators often tell the suspect that they have an eyewitness who agrees with them. According to the text, this tactic is
B) successful, because the suspect uses the eyewitness testimony in order to form an "accurate" judgment of whether he or she committed the crime
The cognitive response model of persuasion emphasizes
B) the importance of what a target says to himself or herself after hearing a persuasive communication.
Low self-monitors rely on ________ to determine their attitudes, whereas high self-monitors rely on ________ to determine their attitudes.
B) their own internal standards; the social situation
In an experiment conducted by Festinger and Carlsmith (1959), participants had to perform a boring task and were paid either $1 or $20 to tell the next participant that the task was interesting. The results of the experiment demonstrated that
B) those who received $1 saw the task as more enjoyable than those who received $20.
Below are some phrases that car dealers frequently use. The persuasiveness of which one can best be explained by the consistency principle?
C) "You said that this is the car that you want."
Which of the following is an example of observational learning potentially influencing an attitude?
C) Children watch a video that shows other children having fun recycling.
Which of the following statements related to attitudes and heredity is true?
C) Many political and religious attitudes have been found to have a genetic component
According to balance theory, which of the following best explains why one only has to be liked, not an expert, in order to be convincing?
C) People tend to agree with those whom they like in order to preserve cognitive consistency
Imagine you are an incumbent politician who wants to employ inoculation in a campaign letter so your constituents will vote against your challenger. Which of the following techniques best employs the inoculation procedure (McGuire, 1964)?
C) Present a few of the weaker arguments that your opponent will use against you.
Suppose that you have to deliver a message that contains primarily weak arguments. What could you do to increase its persuasiveness?
C) Present the arguments rapidly, so the audience will not have enough time to consider them centrally.
Which of the following phenomena would NOT be explained by balance theory?
C) We want to return favors that we receive from others.
Which of the following statements about gender differences and persuasion is FALSE?
C) Women are more persuaded than men under private circumstances
The text defines persuasion as
C) a change in a private attitude or belief resulting from the receipt of a message.
The tactic known as "stealing the opponent's thunder" refers to
C) acknowledging a minor weakness in one's own position.
A researcher who wanted to test the persuasiveness of a message against abortion sent a letter to half of the households in the sample. Later, she called all of the households in the sample and asked them about their attitudes toward abortion. What kind of design was employed in the study?
C) after-only
Chen, Schechter, and Chaiken (1996) discovered that the expectation of discussion
C) caused high self-monitors to become more moderate in their positions.
According to dissonance theory, people are likely to ________ when they experience cognitive inconsistency, and they will be motivated to ________.
C) feel tension; reduce tension by reducing inconsistency
Suppose you are in a situation in which you perform an act that you think is inconsistent with what you believe. You would be more likely to experience cognitive dissonance if you were given a
C) high degree of choice in deciding whether or not to do it.
In a study conducted by Cooper, Bennett, and Sukel (1996), a jury was most persuaded by a witness who was
C) highly expert in his field and spoke in complex, almost incomprehensible language.
More cognitive dissonance arises when the action or decision
C) is seen as freely chosen.
As in the Peter Reilly case, interrogators often ask suspects to imagine how they could have committed the crime. According to your text, this strategy is effective because
C) it creates a cognitively ready idea about committing the crime.
In a study by Insko (1965), students at the University of Hawaii were surveyed by phone about their attitudes toward the creation of a Springtime Aloha Week. The interviewer said "good" after some students expressed a favorable attitude, but said "good" after other students expressed an unfavorable attitude. One week later, a survey revealed that the interviewer's comments influenced students' attitudes toward Springtime Aloha Week via the process of
C) operant conditioning.
It is preferable to use self-report measures of attitudes rather than covert measures when
C) people have no good reason to hide their true feelings.
The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion is considered a dual process model because it postulates that there are two
C) routes to persuasion: central and peripheral
Your text described attitudes being formed from all of the following processes EXCEPT
C) schemas.
Strong attitudes are more resistant to persuasion because
C) strong attitudes are more related to additional features of the person.
The two aspects of knowledge that strengthen the link between attitudes and behavior are
C) the amount of knowledge gained and the direct versus indirect nature of the knowledge.
Dwayne purchased a Sony TV ten years ago. Now he wants to purchase a new wide-screen TV, and when he goes to the store, he looks at the Sony TVs first. What principle might account for his behavior?
C) the consistency principle
According to your text, William McGuire's (1964) inoculation procedure refers to
C) the presentation of easily defeated, weak arguments for the opposition's position
Strong cognitive dissonance effects are NOT likely to occur when
C) there is strong external justification for acting contrary to one's beliefs.
According to the cognitive response model of persuasion, persuasion is affected most strongly by
C) what the person says to himself or herself after receiving the message.
In Alba and Marmorstein's (1987) study, participants were presented with ads of two cameras. When were the participants most likely to prefer the camera that was described as superior on three important features over the camera that was described as superior on eight less important features?
C) when participants were given unlimited time to consider the features
What is the role of arousal in the effect of cognitive dissonance on attitude change?
D) Inconsistency between attitudes and behavior leads to unpleasant arousal, which makes people change their attitudes.
How do people process persuasive information that agrees with their personal preferences and positions?
D) They don't expend the effort to look for flaws in the message.
The speed with which an attitude springs to mind is known as attitude
D) accessibility.
Which of the following pairs of theories is derived from the human desire to be consistent?
D) balance theory and cognitive dissonance theory
The desire to make accurate judgments is highest
D) before a decision is made.
The theory of planned behavior characterizes attitudes as influencing action by first influencing
D) behavioral intention
Peter met Hal on a very cold and windy day. Peter didn't like Hal very much because he associated Hal with the negative experience of being cold. In this example, Peter's attitude toward Hal was influenced by the process of
D) classical conditioning.
Your text described how all of the following can influence attitude-behavior consistency EXCEPT
D) dissonance level
According to the text, one persuasive strategy recommended by the cognitive response model is to
D) give the audience little time to formulate counterarguments
According to the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion, all of the following are factors associated with peripheral route processing of a message EXCEPT
D) high personal relevance of the message.
Which of the following persuasive strategies of McDonald's Corporation would be best explained by balance theory?
D) hiring Michael Jordan to endorse their products
Central processing of a persuasive message leads to ________ than peripheral processing
D) more enduring attitude change
According to cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957), people are motivated to
D) reduce inconsistency only to the extent that it involves something important.
The text discusses how anti-tobacco groups aired TV ads that parodied ads by tobacco companies, such as the ad where tough Marlboro Man-like characters were reduced to wheezing and coughing. These parody ads were effective because they induced viewers to
D) register counterarguments against the tobacco company ads.
According to the text, high self-monitors are more persuaded by ads that promote socially appealing images, because they have a stronger desire for
D) social approval.
Suppose that the students on your campus are presented with a message favoring using a helmet when bicycling. Which of the following groups would be most likely to process the arguments in the message centrally?
D) students with a high need for cognition
Emily has a strong attitude about the issue of gun control, but all her close friends hold the opposite attitude about the issue. Consequently, Emily is not active politically on this issue. According to the language of the theory of planned behavior, Emily's reduced consistency between her attitude and her actions is influenced by
D) subjective norms.
In order to measure whether a message produced an attitude change when an after-only design was used, you should compare the attitudes of the people who received the message with
D) the attitudes of people who did not receive the message
Accuracy motives can become more prominent when
D) the issue is personally relevant.
Suppose that you are presented with an essay favoring comprehensive exams at your school. Which of the following would most likely affect your attitudes if you are told that the policy will not go into effect for 10 years?
D) the total number of arguments
Suppose that you hold a strong attitude against capital punishment and you are shown an essay that opposes your position. According to a study by Pomeranz, Chaiken, & Tordesillas (1995), you would be likely to perceive the essay arguments as
D) weak, and do not change your position.
When should you try to change someone's attitudes through central processing of the message?
D) when your goal is to achieve attitude change that is resistant to counterattacks
