PYC3701 - assignments

According to balance theory, non-balance exists when - - - - - 

two people dislike one another.

The balance theory suggests that people naturally organise their likes and dislikes in a

symmetrical way

Whenever two people dislike each other their relationship involves

non-balance

Angela and Becky are good friends. Carol greatly dislikes Angela but is not acquainted with Becky. Given this information, if Carol sees Angela and Becky interacting, Carol is MOST likely to react to Becky - - - - -

by having a negative reaction to her

It is an example of classical conditioning which happens when

a neutral stimulus is being paired with a negative stimulus, the neutral stimulus is evaluated more negatively

Thomas is beginning his first year of college. Since one of his goals is to meet people and make new friends in his classes, Thomas would be well-advised to - - - - - 

sit between other students in his classes whenever possible

Almost everyone has a need to affiliate with others, to form 

basic relationships and interact with people

Research shows that attractive defendants are - - - - - 

less likely to be found guilty than unattractive defendants

Research shows that physical appearance is

a very powerful factor which determines whether people like one another or not.

>> It influences many types of interpersonal evaluations

The proportion of similarity is predictive of the degree of attraction between two people - - - - -.

regardless of the importance of the topics they discuss

Attraction is determined by the proportion of 

Similarity

Research reveals that people respond to the similarity-dissimilarity effect in a very precise manner 

The higher the proportion of similarity the greater the liking

In several variations on Asch’s classic experiment, a standard-setting line was first presented to small groups of people, followed by the presentation of three comparison lines of different lengths. In one condition, two of three accomplices, posing as students, chose an incorrect answer before the subject could respond. The third accomplice sometimes chose a correct response and sometimes chose a more incorrect response. Under these conditions, respondents were more likely to choose the correct response. These results suggest - - - - - 

it becomes easier to resist conformity pressure once unanimity of the group is broken

Pressures toward conformity have a stronger effect on our behaviour when - - - - - 

we like and admire a particular group of persons 

The more we like other people and want to belong to the same group as they do is the more we 

tend to conform

Ada had missed the notes for several classes and asked Rob for the notes for one day. Rob gave the notes to Ada, who copied them and then asked Rob for a week’s worth of notes. Because of the - - - - - Rob is highly likely to give Ada the notes. 

foot-in-the-door technique

The foot-in-the-door technique is a procedure where

a persuader begins with a small request and when this is granted, then follow up with a larger request

The empathic joy hypothesis suggests we - - - - -

help others because of the positive emotions we anticipate experiencing as a result of our helping behaviours

The empathic joy hypothesis suggests we help others because of

the Positive emotions we anticipate experiencing as a result of our helping behaviours

Mark and Cynthia are writing out checks to donate to their alma mater. First, Mark says he’s going to donate R5 000, 00 and then Cynthia indicates she might be able to donate more than that. Mark then decides he too could contribute more than R5 000,00. What is this called? 

Competitive altruism

The Competitive altruism Theory suggests that

people engage in prosocial behaviour or help others because doing so boosts their own status and reputation, ultimately bringing them large benefits

Gillian and Evelyn go out to dinner and for no reason Evelyn decides to pay the full bill rather than split the bill. Gillian is likely to feel - - - - - 

indebted and make future plans to repay this kindness

A bystander may ultimately decide not to help when confronted with an emergency situation if 

the bystander fears potential negative consequences of trying to help

Narcissism refers to holding - - - - -

an inflated view of one’s own virtues or accomplishments

People’s narcissism often leads them to be aggressive when 

their egos are threatened or when others question their views of themselves

Research in which participants consumed alcohol or not found that later when playing a game in which the loser would experience a shock at a level set by the participant, - - - - - 

both women and men set higher levels of shock for their opponents when they were drinking

The idea that providing angry persons with an opportunity to express their aggressive impulses in relatively safe ways will lead to a reduction in their tendencies to engage in more harmful kinds of aggression is the - - - - -. 

catharsis hypothesis

The catharsis hypothesis refers to the view that

if individuals give vent to their anger and hostility in non-harmful ways, their tendencies to engage in dangerous types of aggression will be reduced

Samantha is frustrated after waiting in a long line for an hour and ultimately shouts at theperson in front of her. According to the frustration-aggression hypothesis, Samantha is showing aggression due to - - - - - 

the negative affect emanating from her frustration elicited by the person in front of her

According to the frustration-aggression hypothesis

frustration is the only, or even the most important cause of aggression

frustration can serve as a powerful determinant of

ggression under certain conditions – especially when it is viewed as illegitimate or unjustified 

Paul, Sarah, Deborah, and George are working on a research paper for their social psychology class. They can reduce social loafing by - - - - - 

having each team member initial the parts of the paper she or he completed

The most obvious way to reduce social loafing involves 

making the output or effort of each participant readily identifiable. Under these conditions, people can’t sit back and let others do their work

According to Distraction-Conflict Theory, the presence of others produces increased arousal because - - - - - 

of our efforts to pay attention to both the audience and the task being performed.

The presence of others, either as an audience or a co-actor, can be distracting and, for this reason - - - - - 

it can produce cognitive overload

Because performers must divide their attention between the task and the audience, such increased cognitive load can result in

a tendency to restrict one’s attention so as to focus only on essential cues or stimuli while “screening out” nonessential ones

In collectivist cultures, people tend to work harder when in a group than they do when alone because - - - - - 

the collective good is more highly valued than individual accomplishment

In collectivist groups, the norm is to

maintain harmony among group members, even if doing so might entail some personal costs

>> in collectivist groups disagreement and conflict among members are to be avoided

in individualistic groups, the norm is to value

standing out from the group and be different from others

>> individual variability is to be expected and disagreeing with the group is often seen as courageous

Conflict is - - - - -

a process in which individuals or groups perceive that others have taken or will take actions that are incompatible with their own interests 

Sometimes group members may perceive their personal interest as incompatible and instead of coordinating their efforts may work against each other, often producing 

negative results for all

conflict can be defined as a process in which

Individuals or groups perceive that others have taken or will soon take, actions incompatible with their own interests

During final week of the examination, Jonah tells his friend that he will be able to write four exam papers over the next few days. Jonah is shocked and upset when he is barely able to complete two of these four papers. Jonah's behaviour is consistent with - - - - - 

the planning fallacy

The planning fallacy is

a strong tendency to believe that projects will take less time than they actually do or a tendency to believe that one can accomplish more in a given period of time than is really true

Which individual is MOST likely to experience information overload?

A person who is talking on a cell phone while driving a car

The capacity to process incoming information is limited, which means that - - - - -

our ability to focus can be easily exceeded

One way to manage information overload is to make use of - - - - -.

mental shortcuts such as heuristics

The process whereby we seek to know and understand others is called - - - - -, and frequently makes use of - - - - -

social perception; non-verbal communication

The process whereby we seek to know and understand others is called social perception and frequently makes

use of non-verbal communication

We might think that a waiter who flirts with a customer does so because he likes to flirt, if we notice that other waiters avoid flirting with that customer. This best represents the concept of - - - - -

Low consensus

Consensus refers to

an extent to which other people react to a particular motivation or something happening

the higher the proportion of people who react in the same way

the higher the consensus

Members of collectivistic cultures are more likely to recognise more of the situational determinants of behaviour than are members of individualistic cultures. As a result, members of collectivist societies are - - - - -

somewhat less likely to make the fundamental attribution error

Members of collectivistic cultures are more likely to recognise more of the situational determinants of behaviour than are

members of individualistic cultures

members of collectivist societies are somewhat less likely to make the

fundamental attribution error

Introspection is an effective means of understanding ourselves when the - - - - -

focus is on a conscious decision-making process

Introspection is an effective means of

understanding ourselves when the focus is on a conscious decision-making process

The personal identity - - - - -

conceptualises the self as a unique individual

When Karen was recently asked to describe herself to her classmates, she spoke about being a student and a member of her class. She pointed out similarities and differences between herself and her fellow students. Karen was primarily making - - - - - comparisons 

intragroup

Intragroup comparisons involve

comparisons with other individuals who share our group membership

Attitudes are - - - - -.

our evaluations of different aspects of the social world

According to the process of instrumental conditioning, behaviour will be displayed often by an individual if - - - - -. 

it is reinforced

Individuals learn which views are seen as the correct attitudes to hold because of 

the rewards received for voicing those attitudes by the people they identify with and want to be accepted by

An anti-smoking advertisement that features photographs of diseased lungs, people using oxygen tanks to offset the effects of lung disease, and funerals, but does not include information about quitting smoking, is likely to be ineffective because - - - - - 

it will probably induce too much fear

Gender-based discrimination affects a substantial proportion of the population by - - - - -.

blocking women’s progress in the workplace

Jacob is a summer camp counsellor who has decided to group his campers into three groups; each of these groups will be situated in separate areas of the campground. What is the MOST likely outcome due to this situational context?

The campers will develop a strong attachment to their own group and may grow to hold very negative views of the other groups

One result of tokenism is that it - - - - -.

can damage the self-esteem and confidence of tokenised individuals

The basic motive to seek and maintain interpersonal relationships is known as the - - - - -.

affiliation-need

The need for affiliation with others and to be accepted by others may be just as basic to our psychological well-being as

hunger and thirst to our physical well-being

The finding that frequent contact with a mildly negative, neutral, or positive stimulus results in increasingly positive evaluations of that stimulus is known as - - - - -.

the repeated exposure effect

The more we are exposed to a new person, a new idea, or a new product, our evaluations of the stimulus tend to become

more favourable

The repeated exposure effect is LEAST likely to generate positive evaluations when the - - - - -.

stimulus initially generates strong negative affect

The repeated exposure effects most likely to generate positive evaluations when the - - - - -.

• individual being exposed has a relatively strong need for structure

• individual is consciously processing information about the stimulus

• individual is not aware that exposure has taken place

When the initial reaction to another person is negative, repeated contact leads to

reduced rather than increased attraction.

In Asch’s classic experiment, a standard-setting line was first presented to small groups of people, followed by the presentation of three comparison lines of different lengths. In one condition, three accomplices, posing as students, chose an incorrect answer before the subject could respond. - - - - - of the research participants agreed with a clearly incorrect answer at least once 

About 75 percent

All of the factors that bind group members together into a coherent social entity are collectively known as - - - - -

cohesiveness

People who see others picking up litter in a parking lot are less likely to litter themselves. This observation can best be explained by - - - - -

normative focus theory

The normative focus theory suggests that

norms will influence behaviour only to the extent that they are relevant to the people involved at the time the behaviour occurs

People obey injunctive norms only when

they think about them and see them as applying to themselves and their actions

Foot-in-the-door technique involves

presenting target people with a small request – then following up with a larger request, one that is desired all along

In one study participants were told about a person in need of help who was either a member of their group or another group. The more empathy participants felt increased the chances they would help this person. What is the other result of this study?

Participants were more likely to help the person who was a member of their own group

participants were more likely to help the person who was

a member of their own group

In one study on social behaviour, Zhong, Bohns, and Gino (20I0) found that participants in a dark room or wearing dark sunglasses were - - - - -.

more likely to exaggerate their scores because they felt relatively anonymous

Zanele was driving home after a particularly difficult day at work when someone cut her off and almost caused her to wreck her car. Still shaken from her near miss, she arrived home to find that her spouse had not yet started dinner, as he had promised to do. Zanele angrily accused him of being “a lazy bum” and started an argument with him. This situation can best be explained by - - - - -. 

the excitation transfer theory

The excitation transfer theory claims that

under some conditions, heightened arousal from one source can enhance aggression in response to an unrelated situation

The excitation theory suggests that because physiological arousal tends to dissipate slowly over time 

a portion of such arousal may persist as a person moves from one situation to another

Hostile aggression occurs when - - - - -.

the primary goal is to inflict harm on the victim

Hostile aggression displays itself in

verbal, non-verbal and physical ways and holds the intention of causing harm

Some support for an evolutionary explanation for aggression comes from gender differences that show - - - - -.

men are more aggressive towards other men than towards women

The Canadian Victimisation Statistics show that men are more likely than women to be

both perpetrators and victims of crime

The Social Psychology Research which indicates that all mass shootings are 

committed by males and youth violence of all forms is disproportionately committed by and affects males

According to Diener and Oishi (2005), among the very best predictors of level of happiness among the population is - - - - -.

degree of connectedness to others

Under threatening situations, human beings tend to identify more with social groups. The degree of connectedness to others is in fact among

the best eight predictors of psychological wellbeing across people

One’s position or rank within a group is one’s - - - - -.

status

Status refers to

a special position within a group

People are often sensitive to their status within a group because

it usually carries special privileges

A common factor that increases the likelihood of helping behaviour irrespective of the bystander’s emotional state is a(n) - - - - - 

unambiguous need for help

the bystander’s position

we are likely to help people who are similar to us than those who are different from us

According to the social learning perspective, people learn - - - - -.

which persons or groups are acceptable targets for aggression and what actions justify aggressive behaviour

The social learning perspective suggests that whether a specific person will aggress in a given situation depends on many factors, including

the person’s past experience, the current rewards associated with past or present aggression, and attitudes and values that shape this person’s thoughts concerning the appropriateness and potential effects of such behaviour