Exam Practice test 1 answers

Fixed Mindset Definition
  • What is the definition of a fixed mindset?
    • Answer: A fixed mindset is characterized by the idea that abilities are unchangeable.
    • Explanation: The definition in psychology states that individuals with a fixed mindset believe their basic abilities, intelligence, and talents are static traits and cannot be significantly altered, which directly aligns with the term "unchangeable."
Social Psychology Concepts Applied to Personal Experiences
  • Stella, a college dance major, finds her love for dance diminish as she becomes more serious about her studies, viewing it as a chore rather than an enjoyable activity. Which social psychology concept best explains this transformation?
    • Answer: Overjustification
    • Explanation: Overjustification occurs when an expected external incentive (like pursuing dance as a serious major, potentially for grades or career) decreases a person's intrinsic motivation (the pure enjoyment of dancing). Stella's shift from enjoyment to chore illustrates this concept.
Social Comparison Theory
  • Charles wants to improve his Exam 1 grade. What type of social comparison is he likely making when he compares himself with individuals who are worse off?
    • Answer: Downward comparison
    • Explanation: Downward social comparison involves comparing oneself to others who are less fortunate or worse off. This is often done to make oneself feel better, increase self-esteem, or provide motivation by understanding potential pitfalls, aligning with Charles comparing himself to others "who are worse off."
Self-Presentation Strategies
  • Marc tells his friends he's exhausted from partying all night right before taking an important exam. Which self-presentation strategy is Marc employing?
    • Answer: Self-handicapping
    • Explanation: Self-handicapping is a cognitive strategy by which people avoid effort or create external obstacles for themselves so that if they fail, they have a ready-made excuse, and if they succeed, they appear even more competent. Marc's mention of fatigue before an exam provides such an excuse for potential poor performance.
Theories of Emotion
  • Keon is at an amusement park. He notices his heart rate is increased and he is sweating, which leads him to conclude that he is exhilarated. Which theory of emotion best describes Keon's experience?
    • Answer: Two-factor theory of emotion
    • Explanation: The two-factor theory of emotion, proposed by Schachter and Singer, states that emotional experience is the result of a two-step self-perception process: first, experiencing physiological arousal, and second, finding an appropriate explanation or label for that arousal. Keon's increased heart rate and sweating (arousal) followed by his labeling it as "exhilaration" perfectly fits this theory.
Cognitive Categorization
  • When you first meet your new roommate, you notice they are reading a complex philosophy book and immediately categorize them as an intellectual. What mental structures influence this immediate categorization?
    • Answer: Schemas
    • Explanation: Schemas are mental structures that people use to organize their knowledge about the social world. They influence what people notice, think about, and remember. Seeing the roommate read a philosophy book activates an "intellectual" schema, leading to immediate categorization.
Self-Perception Theory
  • According to self-perception theory, when do we infer our feelings from our behavior?
    • Answer: When the reasons for our attitudes or feelings are ambiguous.
    • Explanation: Self-perception theory states that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs. If the reasons were clear, we wouldn't need to infer them from our behavior.
Cognitive Effects of Media Exposure
  • Alice watched several news reports about plane crashes before her flight, and now she feels unusually anxious about her upcoming trip. This elevated anxiety is best explained by which cognitive phenomenon?
    • Answer: Priming
    • Explanation: Priming is the process by which recent experiences increase the accessibility of a schema, trait, or concept. Alice's exposure to news about plane crashes made related schemas (danger, anxiety) more accessible, influencing her current feelings about her flight.
Types of Thinking
  • What are the two main types of thinking, where one is nonconscious, effortless, and unintentional, and the other is conscious, effortful, and intentional?
    • Answer: Automatic; controlled
    • Explanation: Automatic thinking is unconscious, unintentional, involuntary, and effortless. Controlled thinking, on the other hand, is conscious, intentional, voluntary, and effortful. These definitions directly correspond to the characteristics described in the question.
Cultural Influences on Self-Concept
  • How does culture influence individual self-concept? People from Western cultures tend to have an independent view of self, while people from non-Western cultures are more likely to have an interdependent view of self.
    • Answer: Western; non-Western
    • Explanation: Research in cultural psychology shows that Western cultures often foster an independent self-concept, emphasizing individuality and uniqueness. Non-Western (e.g., East Asian) cultures typically promote an interdependent self-concept, where the self is defined in relation to others and social harmony.
Controlled Thinking Application in Decision Making
  • Dan is trying to decide which car to buy. He makes a detailed list of the positive and negative characteristics of each car he's considering. Which type of thinking is Dan primarily using?
    • Answer: Controlled thinking
    • Explanation: Controlled thinking is effortful, deliberate, and involves consciously weighing options and attributes. Dan's methodical approach of listing pros and cons for car selection is a classic example of controlled thinking, as opposed to automatic, intuitive judgments.
Thin-Slicing in Social Judgment
  • What term describes making inferences about a person's personality based on very brief observations of their behavior?
    • Answer: Thin-slicing
    • Explanation: Thin-slicing is a term used in social psychology to describe the ability to find patterns in events based only on "thin slices," or brief observations. The question directly defines this concept.
Heuristics and Reasoning
  • Which heuristic is used when judgments are made based on how easily something comes to mind?
    • Answer: Availability heuristic
    • Explanation: The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut whereby people base a judgment on the ease with which they can bring something to mind. If examples or instances come to mind easily, people tend to believe that such events are common or likely.
Counterfactual Thinking and Rumination
  • Jason continuously re-plays past events in his mind, focusing on missed opportunities and negative outcomes, which causes him significant distress. What cognitive process is Jason experiencing?
    • Answer: Rumination
    • Explanation: Rumination is the tendency to think persistently about negative and distressing feelings and situations, often focusing on what went wrong or how things could have been different (which includes counterfactual thinking). Jason's repetitive focus on missed opportunities and distress is characteristic of rumination.
Representativeness Heuristic Use
  • You see a woman on campus with a very athletic build and assume she is a runner. This judgment is an application of which heuristic?
    • Answer: Representativeness heuristic
    • Explanation: The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut whereby people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case. Assuming an athletic-looking woman is a runner because she fits a 'typical runner' stereotype is an application of this heuristic, ignoring other possibilities or base rates.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Dynamics
  • A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when individuals act based on schemas, thereby confirming their expectations.
    • Answer: Act based on schemas
    • Explanation: A self-fulfilling prophecy is a process where people's expectations about another person (which are often based on schemas) influence how they act toward that person, causing the person to behave consistently with the original expectations, thus making the expectations come true.
Emotion Decoding
  • Larry observes his friend's facial expression and body language and accurately understands that his friend is feeling sad. What process is Larry engaged in?
    • Answer: Decoding
    • Explanation: Decoding refers to the interpretation of nonverbal behavior, such as facial expressions or body language, to understand the emotional state of others. Larry is interpreting his friend's cues to understand their sadness.
Emotion Expression Capabilities in the Blind
  • Nora was born blind, but by age three, she is able to express emotions like happiness, sadness, and anger just as clearly as sighted children. What does Nora's ability demonstrate about emotion expression?
    • Answer: She would be able to express all six basic emotions adequately.
    • Explanation: Research indicates that the ability to express basic emotions is largely innate and universal, not dependent on visual learning. Even individuals born blind can express the six basic emotions (anger, happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, sadness) adequately, suggesting a biological basis rather than learned imitation.
Cultural Display Rules
  • While many basic facial expressions of emotion are universal, what factors influence how these expressions are communicated across different cultures?
    • Answer: Cultural display rules
    • Explanation: Cultural display rules are culturally