Psychology ch. 13

Question 1

In a crowd of witnesses to an emergency, the individual bystander tends to:
a) observe other bystanders for cues as to the seriousness of the emergency.
b) feel more driven to help if none of the other bystanders is helping.
c) feel more responsibility for helping as the crowd increases.
d) give orders to other bystanders about how to help the victim.

Answer 1

a) observe other bystanders for cues as to the seriousness of the emergency.

Question 2

Cialdini and his colleagues investigated the effects of implicit norms on people’s behavior by creating different signs aimed at decreasing the pilfering of petrified wood from Petrified Forest National Park. The sign that was effective in decreasing the amount of stealing to well below the base-line rate implied that:
a) many people have taken wood and were destroying the natural state of the park.
b) national parks are the nation’s treasures and must be protected by all citizens.
c) stealing wood is rare and it is not okay to steal rare objects.
d) the high monetary fines for taking wood would be levied in every case.

Answer 2

c) stealing wood is rare and it is not okay to steal rare objects.

Question 3

What is the difference between social facilitation and social interference?
a) Social facilitation is a decline in performance when an audience is present, whereas social interference enhances performance when an audience is present.
b) Social facilitation enhances performance when an audience is present, whereas social interference is a decline in performance when an audience is present.
c) Social facilitation is when someone is nervous in public, whereas social interference is when someone is confident in public.
d) Social facilitation is when society is organized, whereas social interference is when there are disturbances in society.

Answer 3

b) Social facilitation enhances performance when an audience is present, whereas social interference is a decline in performance when an audience is present.

Question 4

After playing the clarinet for only a few weeks, Shelly learns to play a simple song fairly well during practice. Unfortunately, she finds that she cannot play it in front of her family without making one mistake after another. It might help Shelly to feel better if she knew this was probably a function of:
a) impression management.
b) cognitive dissonance.
c) social interference.
d) informational influence.

Answer 4

c) social interference.

Question 5

Research subsequent to Solomon Asch’s primarily indicates that for easy tasks conformity stems from _____ influence, and for difficult tasks it stems primarily from _____ influence.
a) social; perceptual
b) informational; normative
c) normative; informational
d) perceptual; social

Answer 5

c) normative; informational

Question 6

Devon often chokes on tests. Research shows that this problem occurs when students:
a) have distracting and disturbing thoughts that interfere with working memory.
b) overanalyze each test item rather than keeping their first answer.
c) experience overconfidence that causes them to study superficially.
d) experience physiological arousal that causes malfunctions in long-term memory.

Answer 6

a) have distracting and disturbing thoughts that interfere with working memory.

Question 7

Pablo usually fishes alone, but when his friend Jaime accompanied Pablo on his last fishing trip, Pablo wound his fishing reel faster than when he was fishing alone. This might best be explained by:
a) social contagion.
b) social facilitation.
c) conformity.
d) group polarization.

Answer 7

b) social facilitation.

Question 8

Which is a normative explanation of group polarization effects?
a) obedience
b) one-upmanship hypothesis
c) reduced accountability hypothesis
d) group conflict hypothesis

Answer 8

b) one-upmanship hypothesis

Question 9

A beginning piano player who is performing a solo in front of a large audience for the first time is likely to experience what?
a) cognitive dissonance
b) elation
c) stereotype threat
d) social interference

Answer 9

d) social interference

Question 10

One major criticism of the Milgram study revolved around:
a) validity.
b) reliability
c) authenticity.
d) accuracy.

Answer 10

a) validity.

Question 11

The first time Jerrod goes out with a new group of friends, the other guys whistle at girls walking by. Based on their behavior, Jerrod feels pressure to do the same. By going along with the behavior of the group, Jerrod has demonstrated _____. If he went along with the group because of a need to be accepted by its members, his behavior would be the result of _____.
a) obedience; social facilitation.
b) conformity; normative influence.
c) obedience; social interference.
d) conformity; informational influence.

Answer 11

b) conformity; normative influence.

Question 12

An increase in performance due to an audience is _____ while a decrease in performance due to an audience is _____.
a) social facilitation; social interference
b) social interference; social facilitation
c) social inhibition; social facilitation
d) social facilitation; stereotype threat

Answer 12

a) social facilitation; social interference

Question 13

“I thought that because I wore glasses there was something wrong with my vision” is an example of conformity due to:
a) social norms.
b) normative influence.
c) obedience.
d) informational influence.

Answer 13

d) informational influence.

Question 14

When Hassam thinks of himself as an independent individual with self-interests distinct from those of other people, Hassam is thinking of himself in terms of _____ identity.
a) personal
b) social
c) cultural
d) egotistical

Answer 14

a) personal

Question 15

Tiana is having a garage sale and notices that someone seems interested in buying a lamp. Tiana approaches the person, suggests a price of $5, and the person quickly agrees. Tiana suddenly wonders if she could get more money for the lamp, so she tells the person that she should check with her husband before selling the lamp. Tiana goes into her house, waits a minute, then returns, saying that her husband will only sell the lamp for $15. Tiana is using a sales strategy known as the _____ technique.
a) pregiving
b) foot-in-the-door
c) reciprocity
d) low-ball

Answer 15

d) low-ball

Question 16

John drives to work every morning even though he could take public transportation or ride his bicycle. John reasons that the pollution that he personally adds by driving his car is inconsequential in comparison to the millions of other cars that are driven on any given day. Therefore, he thinks that by continuing to commute by car he enjoys a benefit at minimal harm to the environment. John’s thinking is a good illustration of:
a) group polarization.
b) a social dilemma.
c) the prisoner’s dilemma.
d) the foot-in-the-door problem.

Answer 16

b) a social dilemma.

Question 17

According to the notion of stereotype threat, a group of female participants’ scores on a test will be lower if the researcher refers to the test specifically as a _____, as opposed to using a more general term such as a problem-solving test.
a) pop quiz
b) math test
c) highly challenging test
d) personality test

Answer 17

b) math test

Question 18

Group polarization is LEAST likely to occur when group members:
a) accumulate biased information from each other.
b) try to outdo each other in supporting the group’s position.
c) often exaggerate their shared group opinions to distinguish themselves from other groups.
d) have to work together to solve a problem that affects all members.

Answer 18

d) have to work together to solve a problem that affects all members.

Question 19

In Milgram’s original study on obedience, the majority of research participants stopped administering shocks:
a) immediately after the “learner” started moaning.
b) when the “learner” asked him or her to stop.
c) when the “learner” stopped responding.
d) after all shocks up to the maximum had been delivered.

Answer 19

d) after all shocks up to the maximum had been delivered.

Question 20

Without realizing it, Jeffery speaks very properly around his mother and uses slang when around his friends. When Jeffery’s brother points this out to him Jeffery explains his behavior in terms of:
a) conformity.
b) impression management.
c) informational influence.
d) behavior modification.

Answer 20

b) impression management.

Question 21

In a study of conformity, Asch found that if a single confederate disagreed with the others, participants were:
a) just as likely to conform as when the confederates were unanimous.
b) less likely to conform than when the confederates were unanimous, but only if the dissenting answer was correct.
c) less likely to conform than when the confederates were unanimous, even if the dissenting answer was wrong.
d) more likely to conform than when the confederates were unanimous.

Answer 21

c) less likely to conform than when the confederates were unanimous, even if the dissenting answer was wrong.

Question 22

Which two solicitation techniques are both believed to work because of the principle of cognitive dissonance?
a) foot-in-the-door and the low-ball techniques
b) pregiving and reciprocity-norm techniques
c) foot-in-the-door and reciprocity-norm techniques
d) reciprocity-norm and low-ball techniques

Answer 22

a) foot-in-the-door and the low-ball techniques

Question 23

A college is considering whether to put the English or the math department in a posh new building. A group of English professors joke about the math faculty, saying that they are all alike—unsociable, unable to participate in a discussion of the arts, and boring. The English professors see themselves as friendly, literate, and witty. Their tendency to see members of the math department as different from themselves and very similar to one another in having such undesirable traits is an illustration of:
a) within-group solidarity.
b) hostile between-group interaction.
c) social loafing.
d) negative stereotyping of the other group.

Answer 23

d) negative stereotyping of the other group.

Question 24

An individual wants his boss to view him in a professional manner. He also wants his friends to see him as casual. How would a social psychologist best describe this phenomenon?
a) informational influence
b) social facilitation
c) impression management
d) reciprocity norm

Answer 24

c) impression management

Question 25

When Helen, Tom, and Mary each sing solo, they try their best to sing loud, expressively, and in perfect tune. However, when Helen, Tom, and Mary sing as a group, they do not try as hard, which lowers their overall performance. Helen, Tom, and Mary's behavior when singing as a group is an example of: a) group polarization. b) groupthink. c) social loafing. d) social interference.

Answer 25

c) social loafing.

Question 26

Experiments have demonstrated that when cheating occurs during a social-dilemma game involving several players, people will: a) complain about it if they don't know the player who cheated, but ignore the behavior if they know the cheater. b) not punish the cheater if punishment involves giving up some of their own earnings. c) give up some of their own earnings in order to punish the cheater. d) punish the behavior if the cheater has garnered a relatively large sum of money, but ignore it if the sum of money is relatively small.

Answer 26

c) give up some of their own earnings in order to punish the cheater.

Question 27

If Imani wants to strengthen a different person's existing attitude about an issue, she should have that person participate in a group discussion with people who: a) are like-minded. b) represent a number of varying points of view. c) are united in holding a strongly opposing point of view. d) are neutral on the issue.

Answer 27

a) are like-minded.

Question 28

McKenzie is participating in a public-goods game. She is given a sum of money and must choose, under conditions of anonymity, whether to keep the money or contribute it to a common pool. If a certain percentage of the players contribute, they will all receive a reward that is substantially greater than the amount of each individual contribution. McKenzie will be most likely to contribute to the pool if: a) the number of players is small b) the number of players is large

Answer 28

a) the number of players is small

Question 29

Robert Zajonc theorized that, when others are present during the performance, social facilitation occurs with responses and social interference occurs with _ responses. a) dominant; non-dominant b) non-dominant; dominant c) socially oriented; cognitively oriented d) cognitively oriented; socially oriented

Answer 29

a) dominant; non-dominant

Question 30

Which two solicitation techniques are both believed to work because of the principle of cognitive dissonance? a) foot-in-the-door and the low-ball b) foregiving and reciprocity-norm c) foot-in-the-door and reciprocity-norm d) reciprocity-norm and low-ball

Answer 30

a) foot-in-the-door and the low-ball

Question 31

A group of college students is taking part in a study. For which tasks would the presence of others be more likely to result in social interference than social facilitation? a) solving a nine-letter anagram (scrambled-word) problem b) pregiving and reciprocity-norm techniques c) pressing a button every time a speaker says the word d) crossing out every noun in a list of words

Answer 31

a) solving a nine-letter anagram (scrambled-word) problem

Question 32

Experimental evidence supports the theory that stereotype threat, like other causes of choking on tests, Involves: a) the test taker's over-preparation for the test. b) anxiety caused by unfamiliarity with the test questions c) a reduction in available working memory. d) neurotic tendencies in personalities of those affected.

Answer 32

c) a reduction in available working memory.

Question 32

Jasmine asks her friend for a small favor of watering her plants while she is gone for the weekend. After her friend agrees to this request, Jasmine asks the friend if she would feed and walk her dog while she is away. Jasmine is using: a) low-ball technique. b) foot-in-the-door technique. c) normative influence

Answer 32

b) foot-in-the-door technique.

Question 33

Dominique was involved in an apparent emergency involving many bystanders. In this situation, diffusion of responsibility will tend to cause: a) the bystanders to spread various specific helping tasks among themselves. b) each bystander to feel less responsible to help than if the bystander was alone with the victim. c) the bystanders strong sense or responsibility to diminish as time goes by. d) bystanders to feel the victim is probably responsible for the emergency and therefore less deserving of help.

Answer 33

b) each bystander to feel less responsible to help than if the bystander was alone with the victim.