exam #2 social psychology

True or False: No matter what, spending more time on social media is bad for

your mental health.

false

Which of these does not lead to more social comparison?

Being physically far away from the people you could compare yourself to

True or false: using social media usually reduces the effects of social

comparison, because people get 'numb' to it.

False

Which of these is NOT a likely consequence of upward comparison?

Boosts to your self-esteem

Scrolling on social media usually results in _______ social comparisons.

Upward

A person who enters into an art competition will likely feel more pressure to

compare themselves to the other competitors if there are ________ other

competitors

Only a few

Why do silver medal winners tend to be less happy than bronze medal winners?

They engage in counterfactual thinking

When you get a test back in your statistics class, you initially feel good about

your score of 87. When you find out that your buddy got a 93, your satisfaction

with your own grade diminishes. You have engaged in ________ comparison

and that has impacted your evaluation of your own performance.

Upward

Which of the following are the criteria that are necessary for a person to engage in the process of social comparison?

Relevance and similarity

Sam and Liam are both learning French. Sam is focused on getting an 'A' in her French

class. Liam is focused on learning how to hold a natural-sounding conversation in

French

Liam’s goal is a _________.

Mastery goal

Sam and Liam are both learning French. Sam is focused on getting an 'A' in her French

class. Liam is focused on learning how to hold a natural-sounding conversation in

French.

If Sam gets an 'A' and Liam gets a 'B', which type of comparison is Sam likely to

engage in?

Downward

Sam and Liam are both learning French. Sam is focused on getting an 'A' in her French class. Liam is focused on learning how to hold a natural-sounding conversation in French.

Is Sam more likely to engage in social comparison if she and Liam are the only two students in the class, or if there are 25 other students?

More likely if they are the only two students

Which of the following does NOT describe a schema?

Cognitive generalizations that people make about a group as a whole

Your friend Marta buys a lottery ticket, and she is talking to you about how winning the lottery would make her the happiest person on Earth, solving all of her problems. Though it would be great, winning the lottery would not actually make her quite so extremely happy. This is an example of:

Impact bias

Let's say you are planning to complete a 15-page paper for one of your classes. Which of the following reflects the planning fallacy of making predictions?

You are probably underestimating how long it will take you to write your paper.

How does accessibility impact impression formation?

It shapes how we interpret ambiguous cues

Right after listening to a podcast about the pharmaceutical industry, Lynne matches with someone on Tinder who is wearing a white coat in their photo. Lynne thinks they are probably a pharmacist. This is an example of:

Priming

Which of the following statements about accessibility is FALSE?

The durability bias is an example of accessibility

After watching Jaws, Tony refuses to go swimming in the ocean, because he is concerned that a shark might bite him. This is an example of:

Availability heuristic

Heuristics are:

Sometimes accurate, sometimes false

Which of the following is not true about schemas?

They are mental shortcuts we use to make decisions in our daily life

You would be surprised if you went to the grocery store and I was standing in the checkout lane to give you a pop quiz. This is because it does not match your _______ of a trip to the grocery store.

Event schema

I hear that one of my coworkers is a perfectionist. I assume that she will also follow the rules carefully, obsess over details, and be a little bit unfriendly. This is an example of:

Trait schema

True or False: Automatic processing relies on schemas

True

True or false: we notice pretty much all environmental cues when forming impressions of people.

False

Imagine Jarred goes out with his friends at night and ends up throwing eggs on a neighbor's car, something he would never have done alone. Which process is responsible for this behavior?

Deindividuation

Which of the following psychological processes is NOT enhanced by social media?

Wisdom of the crowd

__________ refers to something that increases the temporary accessibility of a concept.

Priming

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the phenomenon of social loafing?

Exerting minimal effort on a group task

Linda is 31, single, outspoken, and bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was concerned with issues of discrimination. Is it more likely that Linda is a bank teller or a feminist bank teller?

• Bank teller

• Feminist bank teller

Bank Teller

Linda is 31, single, outspoken, and bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was concerned with issues of discrimination. Is it more likely that Linda is a bank teller or a feminist bank teller?

Linda is an example of...

Representativeness heuristic

Hanna auditioned for a part in a TV show and didn't get it. She sees on Instagram that her friend Marisa did. Hanna is likely to engage in:

Upward social comparison

Hanna auditioned for a part in a TV show and didn't get it. She sees on Instagram that her friend Marisa did. Which of the following is NOT a likely consequence?

Feel a self-esteem boost

Which of the following describes the planning fallacy?

People often underestimate the realities of projects- how long something will take or how difficult it will be

According to dual-process models, people have two 'types' of information processing. Which one is related to schemas, heuristics, and accessibility?

Automatic processing

Which statement best describes social comparison?

Evaluating your traits and abilities by comparing them with the traits and abilities of others

Maya has been casually learning photography for two months. She wants to know whether she is improving. According to the role of relevance in social comparison, who would she be MOST likely to use as a meaningful comparison?

Someone who has also recently started learning photography

Daniel is a first-year college student and wants to know whether his study habits are effective. He compares himself with another first-year student taking similar classes. This example BEST demonstrates the importance of:

Similarity

After receiving an 82% on an exam, Elena learns that another student in her class received a 97%. Elena begins comparing her performance with that student’s performance. What type of comparison is Elena making?

Upward social comparison

Which reaction is a possible NEGATIVE consequence of an upward social comparison?

Envy and dissatisfaction

Adrian sees that another student has already been accepted into several graduate programs. Instead of becoming discouraged, Adrian thinks, “If they were able to accomplish that, maybe I can too,” and becomes more motivated to work on his applications. This illustrates:

A positive consequence of upward comparison

Jasmine is worried that she performed badly on a presentation. Later, she sees another student forget most of their presentation and realizes that her own performance was not as bad as she originally thought. Jasmine is engaging in:

Downward social comparison

Which of the following is a possible consequence of downward social comparison?

Increased satisfaction with yourself

After finishing second in a competition, Noah repeatedly thinks, “If I had done just a little better on the last part, I could have finished first.” Which concept BEST explains Noah’s thinking?

Counterfactual thinking

Why might someone who finishes in third place sometimes feel happier than someone who finishes in second place?

Second-place finishers may focus on how close they were to first place, while third-place finishers may focus on how close they were to receiving no award

Sofia follows an influencer whose appearance and lifestyle seem much better than her own. After looking through the influencer posts, Sofia feels worse about herself. This is an example of:

A negative consequence of social comparison in mass media

Why is someone with a growth mindset more likely to react positively to an upward social comparison?

They may view someone else’s success as a challenge and opportunity to improve

Marcus believes that people are either naturally talented at math or they are not, and there is little they can do to change it. When he meets someone much better at math than him, he feels discouraged and envious. Which individual difference is MOST relevant?

Fixed mindset

According to your notes, which situation would be MOST likely to make someone try harder?

Competing against 10 people

A psychology student cares much more about how she performed compared with the other students in her own psychology class than how she performed compared with college students across the entire country. This BEST demonstrates:

Local competitors

Why can local competitors have a stronger influence on social comparison?

The comparison is more personally relevant

A student automatically reaches for their phone the moment they hear a notification sound, without consciously deciding to do so. This is the best example of:

Automatic processing

Which situation best demonstrates controlled processing?

Carefully comparing two job offers before deciding which to accept

Which statement best describes a schema?

A mental representation that helps organize and interpret information

A student hears that a new classmate is very organized, quiet, and always finishes assignments early. The student immediately thinks, “She seems like a really responsible person.” Which type of schema is most directly being used?

Trait schema

Why are schemas considered functional?

They help conserve cognitive energy and allow us to process information quickly

A person meets someone who is extremely athletic, competitive, and spends most weekends training. They assume the person is probably a professional athlete because the person matches their idea of what an athlete is like. This best illustrates:

Representativeness heuristic

After seeing several news stories about apartment fires, someone begins to believe apartment fires are extremely common. Which heuristic is most likely influencing the judgment?

Availability heuristic

What is the main difference between the representativeness heuristic and the availability heuristic?

Representativeness involves judging based on similarity to a typical case, while availability involves judging based on how easily examples come to mind

During a class discussion, one student is the only person wearing a bright costume while everyone else is dressed normally. When classmates later describe the discussion, many remember that student particularly well. Which concept best explains this?

Cue salience

According to your notes, what can make a cue especially salient?

It is exceptional or different from the average

Someone has spent years focusing on whether people are trustworthy. When meeting a stranger, they immediately evaluate whether the person seems trustworthy, even without consciously deciding to do so. This BEST illustrates:

Chronic accessibility

Immediately before meeting a new classmate, a student completes an activity involving words related to cooperation and kindness. The student then interprets the classmate’s behavior as especially friendly. Which concept best explains this?

Priming

What is the primary difference between chronic accessibility and priming?

Chronic accessibility involves knowledge that is consistently easy to access, while priming temporarily increases accessibility

A student predicts that a research paper will take only two days, even though similar papers have repeatedly taken them nearly a week. Which concept best explains this?

Planning fallacy

Someone believes that getting rejected from a program will make them feel far more upset than they actually end up feeling. This is an example of:

Impact bias

Someone predicts that if they receive a bad exam grade, they will remain extremely upset for several weeks. They are correct that they will initially feel bad, but the feeling fades after only a couple of days. Which bias occurred?

Durability bias

Which statement best describes impression formation according to your notes?

People make very quick, often automatic social assessments using cues such as behavior, appearance, and voice

According to your notes on social facilitation, the presence of other people first tends to:

Increase physiological activation

A person is performing a task they have very little experience with. A large audience enters the room and watches closely. Based on social facilitation, what is MOST likely to happen?

Their dominant response increases, which may impair performance

During an experiment, participants perform a task while an audience watches them. When the audience is blindfolded, the audience has little effect on performance. When the audience can clearly observe them, the effect becomes stronger. Which concept best explains this difference?

Evaluation apprehension

Four students are assigned one group grade for a project. Because nobody can tell exactly how much work each student contributed, one student barely helps. This is an example of:

Social loafing

Which change would MOST directly decrease social loafing in a group project?

Make each person’s contribution identifiable

A professor wants to reduce social loafing during a group assignment. Which strategy is LEAST consistent with your notes?

Make individual contributions impossible to identify

During a large anonymous online discussion, a person begins making insulting comments they normally would never make face-to-face. According to your notes, this behavior is MOST consistent with:

Deindividuation

Which change would be MOST likely to increase deindividuation?

Making group members more anonymous

A large crowd begins behaving aggressively. One person who normally would not act aggressively joins in because they feel less personally responsible and begin following the group’s behavior. Which combination best explains what happened?

 Loss of personal responsibility and a shift toward group norms

Which strategy would be MOST likely to decrease harmful deindividuation?

Increase self-awareness and personal responsibility

Before a discussion, most members of a group mildly support a new campus policy. After discussing the issue mostly with one another, they support the policy much more strongly. This is:

Group polarization

Which statement BEST describes group polarization?

Group discussion tends to strengthen the direction members were already leaning

Someone already believes strongly that a certain diet is effective. They join an online community where other members repeatedly provide arguments supporting the diet, and afterward the person’s belief becomes even stronger. Which cause of group polarization is MOST directly demonstrated?

Persuasive arguments

A person follows social-media accounts that mostly agree with views they already hold. Over time, their original beliefs become increasingly extreme. Which idea from your notes does this BEST demonstrate?

Social media can amplify existing group polarization

Which group would be MOST likely to demonstrate the wisdom of the crowd?

A group containing people with different opinions who make their judgments independently

Why could a group LOSE the benefits of the wisdom of the crowd?

Members influence one another before making their estimates

Researchers ask 100 people independently to estimate how many candies are inside a container. Although individual guesses vary greatly, the average of all the guesses comes very close to the actual number. This illustrates:

wisdom of the crowd

Which statement BEST describes groupthink?

Group judgment deteriorates because members are striving for consensus

A committee is discussing a proposal. Several members notice serious problems with it, but they keep their concerns to themselves because they do not want to disrupt agreement within the group. This BEST demonstrates:

Groupthink

Which behavior would be MOST consistent with groupthink?

Members hiding their doubts to maintain agreement

During an important group decision, members begin pressuring anyone who disagrees to change their opinion. Which feature of groupthink does this illustrate?

Pressure to conform

A decision-making team becomes so confident in its own judgment that members stop seriously considering possible problems with their plan. Which characteristic from your groupthink notes is MOST clearly illustrated?

Overconfidence

According to your notes, which factor can contribute to groupthink?

A desire for cohesion

According to your notes, the desire for cohesion predicts groupthink:

More than existing group cohesion does

A group feels that its identity and unity are being threatened. Members respond by becoming increasingly concerned with protecting the group and maintaining agreement. According to your notes, this situation may:

Trigger the need to protect the group’s identity and increase groupthink

Which situation from your notes could threaten group cohesion and therefore contribute to groupthink?

Outsiders joining the group

A team knows that its performance is about to be formally judged by people outside the group. Based on your notes, this could increase groupthink because:

A. Being evaluated may threaten group cohesion
B. Evaluation automatically causes social loafing
C. Evaluation eliminates the desire for consensus
D. Evaluation makes everyone anonymous

Being evaluated may threaten group cohesion

Which action would BEST help reduce groupthink?

Encourage discussion and constructive criticism

A group has only a few minutes to make an important decision. Members quickly agree without carefully discussing alternatives. What change would your notes recommend to reduce the risk of groupthink?

A. Increase the time pressure
B. Minimize the time pressure
C. Increase conformity
D. Prevent constructive criticism

Minimize the time pressure

Which combination would be MOST effective for decreasing groupthink according to your notes?

A. More conformity + stronger power differences + greater time pressure
B. Constructive criticism + smaller power differences + less time pressure
C. Less discussion + greater agreement + stronger authority
D. More overconfidence + fewer objections + faster decisions

Constructive criticism + smaller power differences + less time pressure