Social Psychology Quiz Questions Chapters 1-6 for Exam 1

Social psychology is defined as the scientific study of how people

think about, influence, and relate to one another

Identify a true statement about social psychology

Compared with sociology, social psychology focuses more on individuals

Chloe attributes the irrational behavior of her husband, George, to him having a bad day. Which of the following statements most likely represents this scenario?

People tend to construct their social reality, regardless of its effects on others

The tendency to exaggerate one's ability to have foresaw how something turned out, only after learning the outcome, is known as

hindsight bias

Theories formed from testable predictions are called

hypotheses

Which of the following scenarios exemplifies the concept of random sampling?

Ren, a researcher, selects participants for a study in such a way that every person in the population being studied gets an equal chance of inclusion

A psychology professor conducts a research study to determine if there is a relationship between the time spent on studying and the grades achieved by college students. Which type of research is this?

correlational research

In the context of correlation and causation, the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement concludes that

though self-esteem and academic achievement are both positively correlated, the relationship is likely explained by one or more additional variables

You ask all those students who fail a class if they believe the course is difficult, and you find that they think it is. Although you have conducted a basic survey, the results of it are limited because of your sample’s

representativeness

An experimenter exposes a participant to different room temperatures to determine its effects on the participant's aggressive behavior. In this experiment, the aggressive behavior is the

dependent variable

Chloe dyes her hair blue and goes to school. She assumes that the students will stare at her and comment on her hair color. However, only a few of her friends really notice her dyed hair. Which of the following psychological effects is best exemplified in this scenario?

The spotlight effect

The fact that we usually attribute more responsibility to our partners than to ourselves when problems arise in a relationship is an example of how

self-interest colors our social judgment

Which of the following terms denotes what we know and believe about ourselves?

Self-concept

In the context of psychology, ________ are mental templates by which we organize our worlds.

Schemas

Which statement is most accurate regarding self-analysis?

We are unaware of much that goes on in our minds

Which of the following terms is defined as a person's overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth?

Self-esteem

Children and adults with strong feelings of self-efficacy are more ________ than those with low self-efficacy.

Persistent

Most cultures native to Asia, Africa, and Central and South America place a greater emphasis than other cultures on

Collectivism

On subjective, socially desirable, and common dimensions, most people

See themselves as better than the average person

Self-serving bias can be adaptive in that it

Allows us to savor the good things that happen in our lives.

Andrea's mother invites Andrea and her boyfriend for dinner. She tells Andrea that she will make sushi. Hearing this, Andrea remembers a previous instance when her boyfriend had an allergic reaction to seafood. This scenario exemplifies

Priming

Mental concepts or templates that intuitively guide our perceptions and interpretations are called

Schemas

Evan has a job interview in a different city. The airport in his city is far from his place. Despite being aware of the heavy traffic in his city, he starts late for the airport as he is convinced he can reach on time. However, he misses his flight and is unable to attend the interview. In the context of social thinking, this scenario illustrates _

the Overconfidence phenomenon

A cognitive rule that judges the likelihood of things in terms of their presence in memory is called the _____ heuristic.

Availability

Alex, a professional soccer player, played extremely well in the first few years of his career. Later, his career suffered a setback, and he became a mediocre player. In the context of psychology, this scenario illustrates

Regression to the average(mean)

In the context of social thinking, which of the following illustrates a dispositional attribution?

Chiara dislikes playing with her classmates because she is an introvert

Your boss is always cranky. You assume this is because he has not been given a raise for the last 10 years. What type of attribution are you making to explain his behavior?

a situational attribution

The tendency for observers to underestimate situational influences and overestimate dispositional influences upon others' behavior is called the

fundamental attribution error

In _____ cultures, people less often perceive others in terms of personal dispositions than other cultures.

Collectivistic

Which of the following is NOT an example of automatic thinking?

Reflection

The implicit association test (IAT) ______.

Measures unconscious attitudes

Which statement is NOT true about attitudes?

Attitudes best predict behavior when social influences on subjects are the highest.

A set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave is what social psychologists call a ______.

Role

Which of the following illustrates the attitudes-follow-behavior principle in psychology?

Emily, an employee in a software company, dares to share confidential company information with a rival company as she was not caught doing a similar act earlier.

No one wants to look foolishly inconsistent according to _____ theory.

self-presentation

Cognitive dissonance theory was formulated by __________.

Leon Festinger

Once we make a decision or choice, and feel some cognitive dissonance, we _____.

give additional reasons for that decision or choice

Which statement is NOT true according to the research findings on expressions and attitudes?

We cannot sense how someone else is feeling by mirroring his or her facial expressions

Rewarding people for doing what they already enjoy may lead them to attribute their action to the reward. If so, this would undermine their self-perception that they do it because they like it. This is called ___________.

the Overjustification effect

You are an obese teenager who enjoys jogging. Your parents are concerned about your health and give you money whenever you jog. According to self-perception theory, your parents' behavior is most likely to _____ your intrinsic motivation for jogging.

Decrease

The evolutionary process by which heritable traits that best enable organisms to survive and reproduce in particular environments are passed to ensuing generations is called _____.

Natural selection

Evolutionary psychologists study _______.

Both physical and psychological traits

Diego, an immigrant worker from Mexico, is despised by his North American friends as he is always late for meetings. His girlfriend, another North American, complains that he never turns up on time when they meet. Diego, however, is puzzled by their time-obsessed behavior. In the context of culture and behavior, which of the following cultural behaviors is exemplified in this scenario?

Norms

The buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies is called our ______.

Personal space

In psychology, the characteristics by which people define male and female, whether biologically or socially influenced, are referred to as _________.

Gender

When faced with stress, women are more likely than men to _____.

Befriend

Research has found that _____ are generally superior at decoding others' emotional messages.

Women

Chloe, a young adult woman, is a social worker. She works among the poor and destitute. She is able to feel what others feel, and she collects funds to support the poor in her neighborhood. In the context of connectedness, which of the following traits is most likely exemplified by Chloe in this scenario?

Empathy

Evolutionary psychologists suggest that males are sexually assertive while females are more selective of sexual partners because ______.

Each strategy is likely to promote gene survival

Tyler, a middle-aged man, has been married for 15 years and has two children. During the early years of his marriage, he was very assertive. However, over the years, he has become nurturing too. Identify the gender role performed by Tyler in this scenario.

Androgynous role

Ella, a teenager, follows her school's dress code even though she believes that the dress code is unnecessary—she feels that following the dress code is better than getting punished. In this scenario, Ella’s act exemplifies _____.

Compliance

In Western individualistic societies, the word "conformity" carries _____.

A negative connotation

After hearing a great deal about the benefits of soy products from your friends, you decide to drink soy milk instead of cow's milk. Your behavior is an example of _______.

Acceptance

Ryan, a 24-year-old man, tries to end his life after his favorite celebrity committed suicide. In an investigation, police found that about 20 people, like Ryan, have tried to commit suicide within a week of the celebrity's death. This scenario most likely exemplifies a phenomenon called ______.

Mass Hysteria

Which of the following studies tested the consequences of the demands of authority clashing with the demands of conscience?

Milgram’s Obedience studies

In the context of Milgram’s study of compartmentalization of evil, which of the following statements is true about the research findings on the power of social norms?

The drift toward evil usually comes in small increments, without any conscious intent to do evil

In the context of group size and conformity, Asch and other researchers found that there is more conformity with _____.

Three to five people than one to two

Meghan, a versatile singer, is a judge on a reality show. She scores a contestant lower than the other judges in the panel do. She does not revise her scores despite requests from the management of the show. According to Asch's study on conformity, Meghan most likely sticks to her judgment because of her _____.

Prior commitment

Jason, a free-spirited young man, is traveling to the Bahamas for the first time. He depends on his friends' reviews to decide on the islands to visit during the trip. He makes his hotel bookings based on hotel reviews by a travel website. In this scenario, Jason most likely exemplifies _____.

Informational influence

Lillian is an adolescent girl, and her mother insists that Lillian bathe twice a day and maintain personal hygiene. Lillian does not listen to her mother. Lillian most likely exhibits _____ in this scenario.

Psychological reactance