Psychology CH 12-15

What does a polygraph measure and why are its results questionable?

A polygraph measures physiological changes, such as heart rate and perspiration, that are associated with emotions. Its use as a lie sector is controversial because the measure cannot distinguish between emotions with similar physiology (such as anxiety and guilt)

What are some of the tactics we can use to manage successfully the stress we cannot avoid?

Aerobic exercise, relaxation procedures, mindfulness mediation, and religious engagement

How does being physically attractive influence others perceptions?

Being physically attractive tends to elicit positive firsts impressions. People tend to assume that attractive people are healthier, happier, and more socially skilled than others are.

Driving to school one snowy day, Marco narrowly misses a car that slides through a red light. "Slow Down! What a terrible driver," he thinks to himself. Moments later, Marco himself slips through an intersection and yelps, "Wow! These roads are awful. The city plows need to get out here." What social psychology principle has Marco just demonstrated? Explain.

By attributing the other person's behavior to the person ("he's a terrible driver") and his own to the situation ("these roads are awful"), Marco has exhibited the fundamental attribution error.

According to Schachter and Siger, two factors lead to our expirence of an emotion: (1) physiological arousal and (2) ______ appraisal.

Cognitive

Jamel's therapists has suggested that Jamel should "act as if" he is confident, even though he feels insecure and shy. Which social psychological theory would best support this suggestion, and what might the therapist be hoping to achieve?

Cognitive dissonance theory best supports this suggestion. If Jamal acts confident, his behavior with contradict his negative self-thoughts, creating cognitive dissonance. To relieve the tension, Jamal may realign his attitudes with his actions by viewing himself as more outgoing and confident

______ (Secure/Defensive) self-esteem correlations with aggressive and antisocial behavior. ______ (Secure/Defensive) self-esteem is a healthier self-image that allows us to focus beyond ourselves and enjoy a higher quality of life.

Defensive; Secure

How does the two-factor theory of emotion help explain passionate love?

Emotions consist of (1) physical arousal and (2) our interpretation of that arousal. Researchers have found that any source of arousal (running, fear, laughter) may be interpreted as passion in the presence of a desired person.

What is the best way to predict a person's future behavior?

Examine the person's past behavior patterns in similar situation

Which component of the Type A personality has been linked most closest to coronary heart disease?

Feeling angry and negatively much of the time

What are three big ideas that have survived from Freud's work in psychoanalytic theory? What are three ways in which Freud's work has been criticized?

Freud first drew attention to (1) the importance of childhood experiences, (2) the existence of the unconscious mind, and (3) our self-protective defense mechanisms. Freud's work has been critisezed as (1) not scientifically testable and offering after-the-fact explanations, (2) focusing too much on sexual conflicts in childhood, and (3) based on the idea of repression, which has not been supported by modern research.

Are people in different cultures more likely to differ in their interpretations of facial expression or of gestures?

Gestures

Why didn't anybody help Kitty Genovese? What social psychological principle did this incident illustrate?

In he presence of others, an individual is less likely to notice a situation, correctly interpret it as an emergency, and take responsibility for offering help. The Kitty Genovese case demonstrated this bystander effect, as each assumed many others were also aware of the event.

Which two primary dimensions did Hans Eysenck and Sybil Eysenck propose for describing personality variation?

Introversion-extraversion and emotional stability-instablity.

The ______ - ______ theory of emotion maintains that a physiological response happens BEFORE we know what we are feeling

James - Lange

How does our attitudes and our actions affect each other?

Our attitudes often influence our actions as we behave in ways consistent with our beliefs. However, our attitudes also follow our actions; we come to believe in what we have done

How well do personality test scores predict our behavior? Explain.

Our scores on personality tests predict our average behavior across many situations much better than they predict our specific behavior in any given situation.

What are some ways to reconcile conflicts and promote peace?

Peacemakers should encourage equal-status contact, cooperation to achieve superordinate goal, understanding through communication, and reciprocated conciliatory gestures.

What are the positive and negative effects of high self-esteem?

People who feel confident in their abilities are often happier, have greater motivation, and are less susceptible to depression. Excessive optimism and very high self-esteem can lead to blindness to one's own incompetence, self-serving bias, and narcissism

______ psychology is a scientific field of study focused on how humans thrive and flourish

Positive

According to the Cannon-Bard theory, (a) our philosophical response to a stimulus (a pounding heart), and (b) the emotion we experience (fear) occur ______ (simultaneously/sequentially). According to the James-Lange theory, (a) and (b) occur ______ (simultaneously/sequentially).

Simultaneously; Sequentially

Psychologists most famous obedience experiments, in which most participants obeyed an authority figures demands to inflict presumed painful , dangerous shocks on an innocent participant, were conducted by social psychologists ______ ______ .

Stanley Milgram

What general effect does stress have on our overall health

Stress tends to reduce our immune system's ability to function properly, so that higher stress generally leads to greater incidence of physical illness.

The stress response system: When alerted to a negative, uncontrollable event, our ______ nervous system arouses us. Heart rate and respiration ______ (increase/decrease). Blood is divert from digestion to the skeletal ______ . The body releases sugar and fat. All this prepares the body for the _______ - ______ - ______ response.

Sympathetic; increase; muscles; fight-or-flight

What are the Big Five personality factors, and why are they scientifically useful?

The Big Five personality factors are conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism (emotional stability vs. instability), openness, and extraversion (CANOE). These factors may be objectively measured, and research suggests that these factors are relatively stable over the life span and apply to all cultures in which they have been studied.

What situations have researchers found to be most likely to encourage obedience in participants?

The Milgram studies showed that people were most likely to follow orders when the experimenter was nearby and was a legitimate authority figure, the victim was not nearby, and there were no models of defiance

You are organizing a meeting of fiercely competitive political candidates. to add to the fun, friends have suggested handing out masks of the candidates faces for supporters to wear. What phenomenon might these masks engage?

The anonymity provided by the masks, combined with the arousal of the contentious setting, might create de-individualization

What does it mean to be empathetic? How about self-actualized? which humanistic psychologists used these terms?

The be empathetic is to share a mirror another person's feelings. Carl Rogers believed that people nurture growth in others by being empathetic. Abraham Maslow proposed that self-actualization is the motivation to fulfill one's potential, and one of the ultimate psychological needs (the other is self transcendence).

Dr. Huang, a popular music professor, delivers fascinating lectures on music history but gets nervous and makes mistakes when describing exam statistics in front of the class. Why does his performance vary by task?

The presence of a large audience generates arousal and strengthens Dr. Huang's most likely response: enhanced preference on a task he has mastered (teaching music history) and impaired performance on a task he finds difficult (statistics).

How does the two divisions of autonomic nervous system affect our emotional responses

The sympathetic devision of the ANS arouses us for more intense expirences of emotion, pumping out the stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine to prepare our body for fight or flight. The parasympathetic division of the ANS takes over when a crisis passes, restoring our body to a calm physiological and emotional state

What is social facilitation, and why is it more likely to occur with a well-learned task?

This improved performance in the presence of others is most likely to occur with a well-learned task, because the added arousal caused by am audience tends to strengthen the most likely response. this also predicts poorer performance on a difficult task in others presence

How did humanists psychology provides a fresh perspective?

This movement sought to turn psychology's attention away from drives and conflicts and toward our growth potential, with a focus on the way healthy people strive for a self-determination and self-realization, which was in contrast to Freudian theory and strict behaviorism

Which elements of traditional psychoanalysis have modern-day psychodynamic theorists and therapists retained, and which elements have the mostly left behind?

Today's psychodynamic theorists and therapists still rely on the interviewing techniques that Freud used, and they still tend to focus on childhood experiences and attachments, unresolved conflicts, and unconscious influences. However, they are not likely to dwell on fixation at any psychosexual stage, or the idea that resolution of sexual issues is the basis of our personalty

A Chinese proverb warns, "The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns you more than him." How is this true of Type A individuals?

Type A individuals frequently experience negative emotions (anger, depression), during which the sympathetic nervous system diverts good away from the liver. This leaves fat and cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream for deposit near the heart and other organs, increasing the risk of heart disease and other health problems. Thus, Type A individuals actually harm themselves by directing anger at others

How does Type D personality differ from Type A?

Type D individuals experience distress rather than anger, and they tend to support their negative emotions to avoid social disapproval.

Which of the following strengthens conformity to a group? a. finding the group attractive b. feeling secure c. coming from an individuals culture d. having made a prior commitment

a. finding the group attractive

If we encounter a person who appears to be high on drugs, and we make the fundamentals attribution error, we will probably attribute the persons behavior to a. moral weakness or an addictive personality b. peer pressure c. the easy availability of drugs on city streets d. societies acceptance of drug use

a. moral weakness or an addictive personality

In Milgram's experiments, the rate of compliance was highest when a. the "learner" was at a distance from the "teacher." b. the "learner" was close at hand c. other "teachers" refuse to go along with the experimenter d. the "teacher" dislike the "learner."

a. the "learner" was at a distance from the "teacher."

Because it triggers the release of mood-boosting neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, serotonin, and the endorphins, ______ exercise raises energy levels and helps alleviate depression and anxiety.

aerobic

Which of the following factors do NOT predict self-reported happiness? Which factors are bettor? a. age b. personality traits c. close relationships d. gender e. sleep and exercise f. religious faith

age and gender (a. & d.) do NOT effectively predict happiness levels. Better predictions are personality traits, closer relationships, sleep and exercise, and religious faith (b., c., e., & f.).

Which of the following is an effective strategy for reducing angry feelings? a. Retaliate verbally or physically b. Wait or "simmer dowb" c. Express anger in action or fantasy d. Review the grievance silently

b. Wait or "simmer down"

After moving to a new apartment, you find the street noise irritatingly loud, but after a while, it no longer bothers you. this reaction illustrates the a. relative deprivation principle b. adaption-level phenomenon c. feel-good, do-good phenomenon d. catharsis principle

b. adaption-level phenomenon

The number of short-term illness and stress-related psychological disorders was higher than usual in the months following an earthquake. Such findings suggest that a. daily hassles have adverse health consequences b. experiencing a very stressful event increases a person's vulnerability to illness c. the amount of stress a person feels is directly related to the number of stressors experienced d. small, bad events don't cause stress, but large ones can be toxic

b. experiencing a very stressful event increases a person's vulnerability to illness

Assume that after spending an hour on a treadmill, you receive a letter saying that your scholarship request has been approved. The two-factor theory of emotion would predict that your physical arousal will a. weaken your happiness b. intensify your happiness c. transform your happiness into relief d. have no particular effect on your happiness

b. intensify your happiness

Seligman's research showed that a dog will respond with learned helplessness if it has received repeated shocks and has had a. the opportunity to escape b. no control over the shocks c. pain or discomfort d. no food or water prior to the shocks

b. no control over the shocks

Zajonc and LeDoux maintain that some emotional reactions occur before we have had the chance to label or interpret them. Lazarus disagreed. These psychologists differ about whether emotional responses occur in the absence of a. psychical arousal b. the hormone epinephrine c. cognitive processing d. learning

c. cognitive processing

The aspect of pornographic films that most directly influences men;s aggression toward women seems to be the a. length of the film b. eroticism portrayed c. depictions of sexual violence d. attractiveness of the actors

c. depictions of sexual violence

A conference of social scientists studying the effects of pornography unanimously agreed that violent pornography a. has little effect on most viewers b. is the primary cause of reported and unreported rapes c. leads viewers to be more accepting of coercion in sexual relations d. has no effect, other than short-term arousal and entertainment

c. leads viewers to be more accepting of coercion in sexual relations

Studies show that parents of delinquent young people tend to use beatings to enforce discipline. This suggests that aggression can be a. learned through direct rewards b. triggered by exposure to violent media c. learned through observations of aggressive models d. caused by hormones changes at puberty

c. learned through observations of aggressive models

The bystander effect states that a particular bystander is less likely to give aid if a. the victim is similar to the bystander in appearance b. no one else is present c. other people are present d. the incident occurs in a deserted or rural area

c. other people are present

Research on the faith factor has found that a. pessimists tend to be healthier than optimists b. our expectations influence our feelings of stress c. religiously active people tend to outlive those who are not religiously active d. religious engagement promotes isolation, repression, and ill health

c. religiously active people tend to outlive those who are not religiously active

Research has shown that people are at increased risk for cancer a year or o after experiencing depression, helplessness, or bereavement. In describing this link, researchers are quick to point out that a. accumulated stress causes cancer b. anger is the negative emotion most clearly linked to cancer c. stress does not create cancer cells, but it weakens the body's natural defenses against them. d. feeling optimistic about chances of survival ensures that a cancer patent will get well

c. stress does not create cancer cells, but it weakens the body's natural defenses against them.

Researchers have found that a person is most likely to conform a group if a. the group members have diverse opinions b. the person feels competent and secure c. the person admires the groups status d. no one else will observe the persons behavior

c. the person admires the groups status

When people act in a way that is not in keeping with their attitudes, and then change their attitudes to match those action, ______ ______ theory attempts to explain why.

cognitive dissonance

A happy couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary is likely to experience deep ______ love, even though their ______ love has properly decreased over the years.

companionate; passionate

Evidence of a biochemical influence on aggression is the finding that a. aggressive behavior varies widely from culture to culture b. animals can bred for aggressiveness c. stimulation of an area of the brain's limbic system produces aggressive behavior d. a higher-than-average level of the hormone testosterone is associated with violent behavior in males

d. a higher-than-average level of the hormone testosterone is associated with violent behavior in males

One of the most consistent findings of psychological research is that happy people are also a. more likely to express anger b. generally luckier than others c. concentrated in wealthier nations d. more likely to help others

d. more likely to help others

After vigorous exercises, you meet an attractive person, and you are suddenly seized by romantic feelings for that person. This response supports the two-factors theory of emotion, which assumes that emotions, such as passionate love, consists of physical arousal plus a. a reward b. proximity c. companionate d. our interpretation of that arousal

d. our interpretation of that arousal

People who have close relationships are less likely to die prematurely than those who do not, supporting the idea that a. social ties can be a source of stress b. gender influences longevity c. Type A behavior is responsible for many premature deaths d. social support has a beneficial effect on health

d. social support has a beneficial effect on health

Which of the following is NOT one of the three main types of stressors a. catastrophes b. significant life changes c. daily hassles d. threatening events that we hear about

d. threatening events that we hear about

In a group situation that fosters arousal and anonymity, a person sometimes loses self-consciousness and self-controll. This phenomenon is called ______ .

de-individuation

According to Frued's ideas about the three-part personality structure, the ______ operates on the reality principle and tries to balance demands in a way that produces long-term pleasure rather than pain; the ______ operates on the pleasure principle and seeks immediate gratification; and the ______ represents the voice of our internalized ideals (our conscience)

ego; id; superego

When faced with a situation over which you feel you have no sense of control, it is most effective to use ______ (emotion/problem)-focused coping.

emotion

Two vital components for maintaining companionate love are ______ and ______ - ______ .

equity, self - disclosure

When people are induced to assume fearful expressions, they often report feeling a little fear. This result is known as the ______ ______ effect

facial feedback

In the psychoanalytic view, conflicts unresolved during one of the psychosexual stages may lead to ______ at that stage

fixation

We tend to agree to a larger request more readily if we have already agreed to a small requests. This tendency is called the ______ - ______ - ______ - ______ phenomenon.

foot-in-the-door

Sharing our opinions with like-minded others tends to strengthen our views, a phenomenon referred to as ______ ______ .

group polarization

When like-minded groups discuss a topic, and the results is the strengthening of the prevailing opinion, this is called ______ ______

group polarizing

When a group's desire for harmony overrides it realistic analysis of other options, ______ has occurred.

groupthink

When elderly patients take an active part in managing their own care and surroundings, their morale and health tend to improve. Such findings indicate that people do better when they experience an ______ (internal/external) locus of control.

internal

The more familiar a stimulation becomes, the more we tend to like it. This exemplifies the ______ ______ effect.

mere exposure

People tend to marry someone who lives or works nearby. This is an example of the ______ ______ ______ in action.

mere exposure effect

Our enemies often have many of the same negative impressions of us as we have them. This exemplifies the concept of ______ - ______ perceptions

mirror-image

The other-race effects occurs when we assume that other groups are ______ (more/less) homogeneous than our own group.

more

The components of Type A personalities that have been linked most closely to coronary heart disease are anger and other ______ feelings

negative

celebrity endorsements in advertising often lead consumers to purchase products through ______ (central/peripheral) route persuasion

peripheral

To cope with stress, we tend to use ______ -focused (emotion/problem) strategies when we feel in control of our world, and ______ -focused (emotion/problem) strategies when we believe we cannot change a situation.

problem; emotion

The field of ______ studies mind-body interactions, including the effects of psychological, neural, and endocrine functioning on the immune system and overall health

psychoneuroimmunology

A philosopher observed that we cannot escape envy, because there will always be someone more successful, more accomplished, or richer with whom to compare ourselves. In psychology, this observation is embodied in the ______ ______ principle.

relative deprivation

Selye's general adaptation syndrome (GAS) consists of an alarm reaction followed by ______ , then ______ .

resistance; exhaustion

When prejudiced judgment causes us to blame an undeserving person for a problem that person is called a ______ .

scapegoat

The tendency to accept responsibility for success and blame circumstances or bad luck for failure is called ______ - ______ ______ .

self-serving bias

Albert Bandura proposed the ______ - ______ perspective on personality, which emphasizes the interaction of people with their environment. To describe the interacting influences of behavior, thoughts, and environments, he used the term ______ ______ .

social cognitive; reciprocal determinism

People tend to exert less effort when working with a group then they would alone, which is called ______ ______ .

social loafing

Prejudice towards a group involves negative feelings, a tendency to discriminate, and overly generalized beliefs referred to as ______ .

stereotypes

One way of resolving conflicts and fostering cooperation is by giving rival groups shared goals that help them override their differences. These are called ______ goals.

superordinate

When faced with stress, women are more likely than men to experience the ______ -and- ______ response.

tend; befriend

If several well-publicized murders are committed by members of a particular group, we may tend to react with fear and suspicion toward all members of that group. What psychological principle can help explain this reaction?

this reaction could occur because we tend to over generalize from vivid, memorable cases

Freud believed that our defense mechanism operate ______ (consciously/unconsciously) and defend us against ______ .

unconsciously; anxiety