Chapter 12 Reading - Groups

Which of the following is necessary for a collection of individuals to be considered a group?

A. Any number of individuals greater than 10

B. The presence of a leader

C. Interdependence between the individuals

D. Individuals all in the same location

C. Interdependence between the individuals

Which of the following is correct about groups?

A. Living in groups can help ensure the reproduction of our genes.

B. Group living does not provide any evolutionary benefits to humans.

C. Only humans have the capacity to form and live in groups.

D. The advantages to group living are purely physical, not psychological.

A. Living in groups can help ensure the reproduction of our genes.

Which of the following correctly describes the elements of Zajonc’s theory of mere presence?

A. The mere presence of others can either facilitate or hinder performance.

B. The mere presence of others increases arousal for difficult tasks, while they decrease arousal for easy, simple tasks.

C. The mere presence of others increases arousal, which makes us less likely to make a dominant response.

D. The mere presence of others facilitates performance, but coacting with others hinders performance.

A. The mere presence of others can either facilitate or hinder performance.

Zadaesha recently started to learn Tae Kwon Do. After she successfully executed a spinning kick for the first time in her second class, she tried to demonstrate the kick in front of her siblings but failed. Based on Zajonc’s theory, which of the following best explains why Zadaesha was not able to perform the kick in front of her siblings?

A. Zadaesha needed an audience who would evaluate her kick objectively.

B. Zadaesha needed to attempt the kick alongside another person attempting the kick.

C. Zadaesha’s level of arousal was not high enough to perform the kick.

D. Zadaesha’s dominant response was to fail to execute the kick.

D. Zadaesha’s dominant response was to fail to execute the kick.

According to the evaluative apprehension hypothesis, which of the following correctly describes the effects of an evaluative versus a merely present audience?

A. An evaluative audience facilitates performance, while a merely present audience hinders performance.

B. An evaluative audience increases the likelihood of a dominant response, but a merely present audience does not.

C. An evaluative audience decreases arousal, while a merely present audience increases arousal.

D. An evaluative audience makes participants feel psychologically alone, while a merely present audience does not.

B. An evaluative audience increases the likelihood of a dominant response, but a merely present audience does not.

In one study (Markus, 1978), participants put on new lab clothes (novel task) while they waited for the experiment to begin, and then they changed back into their own clothes (well-learned task). Some participants completed these tasks while they were alone, some completed the tasks in the room with another person who had their back turned to them, and some completed the tasks in front of another person watching attentively. Which of the following hypotheses were tested with the condition with a person who had their back turned to the participant?

A. The evaluation apprehension hypothesis

B. The mere presence hypothesis

B. The mere presence hypothesis

Which of the following correctly describes social loafing?

A. Savitha devotes less time on the project when she is part of a group.

B. Weida, an Olympic athlete, attains her personal best record at the Olympics.

C. Xavier falls off his new bike when he sees several other kids watching him.

D. Dinh takes longer than usual to pack his backpack when he is alone.

A. Savitha devotes less time on the project when she is part of a group.

Which of the following conditions would most likely lead to groupthink?

A. Lack of a strong leader

B. Presence of a devil’s advocate

C. In-depth examination of information

D. High-stress situation

D. High-stress situation

Which of the following statements is true of groupthink?

A. Group members honestly share their opinions with the group.

B. Group members understand that each member may hold different opinions.

C. Group members consider themselves to be morally superior to other groups.

D. Group members acknowledge that they are vulnerable to making bad decisions.

C. Group members consider themselves to be morally superior to other groups.

Which of the following groups demonstrates group polarization?

A. Several socially liberal adults end up endorsing liberal attitudes more strongly after interacting in an online forum.

B. The leader of the senior prom committee doesn’t allow others to voice their true opinions about the prom venue.

C. A group of college students with differing opinions on which musician they should ask to perform at the spring concert tries to come to a consensus.

D. A parent-teacher community group votes for a leader who will make most of the decisions for the group.

A. Several socially liberal adults end up endorsing liberal attitudes more strongly after interacting in an online forum.

In one study, group members were exposed to everyone’s stances on an issue, but not the arguments underlying the reason for those stances. Results demonstrate that group polarization occurred even without group members understanding the reasoning behind people’s stances (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). Which of the interpretations for group polarization does this study support?

A. The persuasive arguments interpretation

B. The social comparison interpretation

C. The mere presence interpretation

D. The evaluation apprehension interpretation

B. The social comparison interpretation

Rae works as a part-time shift supervisor at the library while getting their degree. The process for students who wish to renew books is overly complicated, and the shift supervisors have collaborated on a plan to streamline it. They then put their names in a hat to decide who would present it to the head of the library. Rae’s name was selected. The head of the library and Rae meet to discuss the proposal.

Is Rae likely experiencing an inhibition or an approach response in this situation?

A. Approach

B. Inhibition

B. Inhibition

Rae works as a part-time shift supervisor at the library while getting their degree. The process for students who wish to renew books is overly complicated, and the shift supervisors have collaborated on a plan to streamline it. They then put their names in a hat to decide who would present it to the head of the library. Rae’s name was selected. The head of the library and Rae meet to discuss the proposal.

Based on the social power of the situation, which approach should Rae take to convince the head of the library to change the protocols?

A. Rae should frame the potential benefits of the new protocols to the school as a whole.

B. Rae should encourage the head of the library to consider how difficult the current process is for students.

A. Rae should frame the potential benefits of the new protocols to the school as a whole.

Kosta is a resident assistant (RA) in the same building as Janine, and the two are close friends. Though Janine is the head RA in the building, most of the students seek out Kosta in times of need, and he seems to have more sway with the program director.

Which of the two RAs would be more likely to act in a disinhibited way with the students?

A. Janine

B. Kosta

B. Kosta

Kosta is a resident assistant (RA) in the same building as Janine, and the two are close friends. Though Janine is the head RA in the building, most of the students seek out Kosta in times of need, and he seems to have more sway with the program director.

Which of the two RAs would be more likely to feel frustrated with work?

A. Janine

B. Kosta

A. Janine

Sakura, Claire, and Kim work at the local coffee shop. Sakura is the manager, and Claire and Kim are baristas. Over the last few weeks, both Sakura and Kim have become aware that Claire has been giving away free coffee to her friends.

Between Sakura and Kim, who is more likely to worry about being blamed if the coffee shop owner learns that an employee is giving away free coffee?

A. Sakura

B. Kim

B. Kim

Sakura, Claire, and Kim work at the local coffee shop. Sakura is the manager, and Claire and Kim are baristas. Over the last few weeks, both Sakura and Kim have become aware that Claire has been giving away free coffee to her friends.

Between Sakura and Kim, who would be most likely to confront Claire about giving away free coffee?

A. Sakura

B. Kim

A. Sakura

Which of the following is correct about power?

A. An individual’s level of power stays constant in every social context.

B. Power is specifically about influencing the outcomes of others, but not one’s own outcome.

C. Power is about one’s relative capacity to influence.

D. People rarely organize into social hierarchies based on power.

C. Power is about one’s relative capacity to influence.

Azra leads with kindness and care for her fellow group members. Which of the following best describes her approach to gaining power?

A. Machiavellianism

B. Justice

C. Psychopathy

D. Humanity

D. Humanity

Based on the approach/inhibition theory of power, which of the following describes someone with a high level of power?

A. A person who is less likely to stereotype another person

B. A person who fails to respond empathically to others

C. A person who underestimates the accuracy of their knowledge

D. A person who engages in increased ethical behavior

B. A person who fails to respond empathically to others

Which of the following correctly describes the state of deindividuation?

A. Heighted awareness of the self

B. Increased concern for evaluations of others

C. Decreased arousal

D. Reduced guilt and shame

D. Reduced guilt and shame

Pingwei is part of an excited crowd of trick or treaters on Halloween. Wearing a costume that includes a mask, Pingwei feels that he blends in with the crowd of trick-or-treaters and grabs a large handful of candy, rather than taking just one piece. Which of the following conditions of deindividuation does this best describe?

A. Anonymity

B. Diffusion of responsibility

C. Energizing effect of others

D. Stimulus overload

A. Anonymity

Deja is part of a crowd celebrating their college basketball team winning the national championship. The crowd starts to jeer and throw things at the opponent team, and Deja joins in the mayhem because she knows there are many people to share the blame. Which of the following conditions of deindividuation does this best describe?

A. Anonymity

B. Diffusion of responsibility

C. Energizing effect of others

D. Stimulus overload

B. Diffusion of responsibility