Psych 41-42 Test 3

Marci suggests that the aggressiveness of her sister's new friend is the result of the friend's abuse during childhood. Marci's inference about the cause of the girl's behavior is an example of:

attribution

An ad agency creates two ads for a particular car. One stresses the car's safety and gas mileage; the other simply shows how much fun it is to drive. The first ad relies on _____ route persuasion; the second, on ____ route persuasion.

central; peripheral

During a test, Jack impulsively copied several answers from a nearby student's paper. He felt very uncomfortable about having done this until he convinced himself that copying answers is not wrong if classmates are careless enough to expose their test sheets. The theory that explains Jack's behavior is _____ theory.

cognitive dissonance

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

Tyler is with three of his friends at a restaurant. One of his friends yawns, then another friend does so, and then finally Tyler yawns. Research suggests that Tyler and his friends who also mimicked the yawn may show increased levels of:

empathy.

Christine thinks her job's strict lateness policy is an indication of her boss's overly controlling personality, rather than a necessity dictated by the company's high sales goal (her boss has to report how many shoes were sold each day to the corporate headquarters). Her judgment BEST illustrates the _____ error.

fundamental attribution error

Which phenomenon BEST explains the rise of fascism in the 1930s?

group polarization

Social loafing is MOST pronounced in _____ cultures such as _____.

individualist; Australia

normative social influence

influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

informational social influence

motivated by the desire to be accurate, not by the need for approval.

Javier has the potential to be an honor student but frustrates his teachers because of his actions. Rather than work to succeed, he tends to dumb down to act more like the students with whom he hangs out. He has at times answered questions incorrectly in class, on purpose, in order to be more like his friends. Javier's behavior is an example of:

normative social influence.

Evan's father yells at him for being five minutes late for tee time. Rather than believe his father is a rude jerk, he decides that he may be having difficulties at his job. This means he makes a _____ attribution about his behavior.

situational

group polarization

tendency of group members to move to an extreme position after discussing an issue as a group

Sherelle is with three of her friends at a restaurant. One of her friends yawns, then another friend, and then Sherelle. She has just experienced:

the chameleon effect.

You are trying to convince your parents to send you to Europe. First, you ask them for a small favor (a bus ticket to a local city), hoping that later they will be more willing to send you on the longer trip. This technique is known as:

the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.

Tim's new roommate Jaxon leaves dirty laundry all over his room, and Tim assumes he must be a slob. Tim ignores the fact that Jaxon is currently studying for finals and working 30 hours per week. Tim is demonstrating:

the fundamental attribution error.

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

group thinking

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent

attribution theory

the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

Which statement reflects the fundamental attribution error?

Eryn cheated on the exam because she's dishonest.

dispositional attribution

assuming that another's behavior is due to personality factors, not situational ones

Why are people susceptible to normative social influence?

People have a need to belong.

social loafing.

This is the tendency to exert less effort when working on a group task.

social facilitation.

This occurs when one performs better at a well-practiced task when others are watching.