PSY325: Summer 2007 - Buffalo State College



PSY325: Practice Test 1

1. According to our discussion in class regarding dissonance theory (self justification), teachers and parents should use _____ to elicit a desired behavior.

A) reminders of their legitimate authority

B) only social punishments and rewards

C) promises rather than threats

D) the smallest possible incentive

2. For a school debate, Jade has chosen to argue in favor of teen body piercing. According to text and class discussions on attributions of other’s behavior, most observers of Jade's speech (who are all aware she has been chosen this position) will conclude that her arguments

A) reflect her true internal attitude on the topic.

B) reflect a tendency to present herself favorably.

C) are weak because she was assigned to present a particular position on the topic.

D) will lead her to experience cognitive dissonance.

3. Jade believes that she will be highly successful in medical school if she works hard and carefully manages her time. Her belief most clearly illustrates

A) integrative ability.

B) an internal locus of control.

C) an interdependent self.

D) the self-reference effect.

4. In selecting a random sample from a population, a researcher must

A) allow chance to determine the size of the sample.

B) sacrifice control by disregarding information about the population.

C) make sure every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen for the sample.

D) select most sample members from the middle of any ordered listing.

5. Which of the following best describes the relationship between expressed attitudes and behavior?

A) Expressed attitudes lead to behavioral intentions, which perfectly predict behaviors.

B) Past behaviors lead to behavioral intentions, which lead to expressed attitudes.

C) Expressed attitudes perfectly predict behaviors.

D) They are imperfectly related because both are subject to other influences.

6. Variable X is correlated with Variable Y. Which of the following could explain this correlation?

A) X causes Y.

B) Y causes X.

C) A third variable causes or influences both X and Y.

D) All of the above.

7. Saying is very unlikely to become believing when

A) we have said something positive but not negative.

B) we already tend to believe it anyway.

C) we are not forced into saying it.

D) we are forced into saying it.

8. Contrary to popular opinion, scientists investigate nature

A) from a position of pure objectivity, with no personal motives or social agenda.

B) by interpreting it according to their own mental categories.

C) for its aesthetic value with little or no regard for the artificial value of objectivity.

D) with no preconceptions.

9. In a study of self handicapping, participants guessed answers to very difficult aptitude questions. One group of participants were unexpectedly told that they had done and were told they had done extremely well. They were then given a choice of music to listen to before answering the remaining questions. Most chose to listen to the music they believed would

A) improve their intellectual functioning.

B) disrupt their test taking ability.

C) reduce anxiety.

D) keep them awake and alert.

10. Anderson, Lepper, and Ross provided people with evidence that either risk-prone or cautious people make better firefighters. Those who wrote their own explanation for the findings were particularly susceptible to -___________ even after being presented with contrary (true) findings.

A) the fundamental attribution error.

B) the hindsight bias.

C) behavioral confirmation.

D) belief perseverance.

11. Making a good impression is a way of life for people who are:

A) low in self-monitoring.

B) high in self-monitoring

C) low in self-perception.

D) high in self-perception

12. Prisoners given some control over their environments—being able to move chairs, control TV sets, and switch the lights—

A) become more manipulative of prison officials over time.

B) commit less vandalism.

C) experience greater stress and more health problems.

D) experience stronger guilt feelings over past misconduct.

13. When our expectations lead us to act in ways that induce others to confirm those expectations, _______ is at work.

A) illusory correlation

B) counterfactual thinking

C) behavioral confirmation

D) illusion of control

14. Which theory on attitude formation assumes that, when uncertain of our attitudes, we observe our actions for clues about our own attitudes and beliefs?

A) self-presentation

B) cognitive dissonance

C) self-justification

D) self-perception

15. A person's overall self-evaluation or sense of self worth constitutes his or her

A) self-efficacy.

B) self-awareness.

C) possible self.

D) self-esteem.

17. Fletch often cheats on his income taxes and consoles himself with the thought that everyone else probably cheats a little, too. This rationalization represents

A) the fundamental attribution error.

B) the false uniqueness effect.

C) unrealistic optimism.

D) the false consensus effect.

18. We experience dissonance when we have

A) made a decision between two equally attractive alternatives.

B) acted in ways that are not consistent with previously stated attitudes.

C) insufficient justification for performing a costly act.

D) All of the above.

19. Fletch typically reads information and watches programming that tends to support his existing beliefs. He's less inclined to seek information that might disprove his preconceptions. Fletch's approach illustrates

A) the confirmation bias.

B) the misinformation effect.

C) the base-rate fallacy.

D) the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.

20. When the laboratory experiment is superficially similar to everyday situations, the experiment is said to be high in

A) mundane realism.

B) experimental realism.

C) quality control.

D) situational validity.

21. Social psychology is to ____________ as sociology is to ______________.

A) cognition; influence

B) manipulation; control

C) individuals; groups

D) social theory; social problems

22. Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce. Yet in a study of 137 applying for a marriage license, most rated their own chance of divorce as zero. This finding illustrates

A) false consensus.

B) self-efficacy.

C) unrealistic optimism.

D) self-verification.

23. The I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon can often lead students of social psychology

A) to over-prepare for an exam.

B) to study just the right amount for an exam.

C) to under-prepare for an exam.

D) None of the above.

24. Our tendency to judge the likelihood of an event on the basis of how readily we can remember instances of its occurrence is called the

A) confirmation bias.

B) representativeness heuristic.

C) belief perseverance phenomenon.

D) availability heuristic.

25. American Psychological Association ethical principles dictate that potential research participants should be told enough about the experiment to

A) make inaccurate guesses about its true purpose.

B) accurately perceive demand characteristics.

C) be able to give their informed consent.

D) detect the researcher's hidden values.

26. Research on the influence of individuals on groups suggests that those in the minority (i.e. minority opinions, not ethnic minority) are most influential when they

A) make use of two-sided rather than one-sided appeals.

B) consistently and unswervingly stick to their position.

C) argue positions that are greatly discrepant from the majority position.

D) show respect for the majority position.

27. A group of individuals who already believe that physician-assisted suicide should be legalized meet to discuss the issue. Research on group interaction suggests that after their discussion these individuals will be

A) more likely to question the wisdom of legalizing physician-assisted suicide.

B) even more convinced that physician-assisted suicide should be legalized.

C) sharply divided over whether physician-assisted suicide should be legalized.

D) opposed to the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

28. According to the text on the relationship between self awareness and deindividuation suggests that:

A) they have the same effects on negative behavior like aggression

B) they seem unrelated to behavior

C) they have opposite effects on negative behavior like aggression

D) they are related, but only for private behaviors

29. Fletch is excellent at organizing his employees, setting goals and focusing on achieving those goals for the company. Fletch appears to excel in

A) social leadership.

B) laissez faire leadership.

C) task leadership.

D) masculine leadership.

30. Making group members' performance individually identifiable seems to be one effective strategy for reducing

A) social facilitation.

B) social loafing.

C) minority influence.

D) group polarization.

Short Answer:

Explain , using examples, the “vicious cycle” of low self esteem discussed in class.

Your very attractive friend comes to you and tells you that he/she used to have no trouble getting people to like them. They used to have a lot of fun, people used to think they were a lot of fun to be with, and so they all had a really fun time. However, something has changed and people don’t seem to respond so positively to them anymore. They say “I really couldn’t blame them, because I’ve got everything going for me. I’m beautiful AND fun to party with. But they probably got jealous or threatened because I’m so hot. I mean really they are much uglier and less fun than me. I don’t need them, they’re all losers who just hung out with me so my awesomeness would rub off on them.” Using research on the physical attractiveness stereotype, how would you explain people’s initial reaction and possibly why things have changed (hint explain the research on why attractiveness stereotype exist, why it actually does become confirmed with many attractive people, and how the effects can be reduced or minimized).

Answer Key

1. D

2. A

3. B

4. C

5. D

6. D

7. D

8. B

9. B

10. D

11. B

12. B

13. C

14. D

15. D

17. D

18. D

19. A

20. A

21. C

22. C

23. C

24. D

25. C

26. B

27. B

28. C

29. C

30. B

#1.

[pic]

* it begins with some idea of lower value on the self (at least in one specific area)

e.g. we don’t feel we are very good in school

* as a result our schema tends to be more negative and thus we expect less of our “self” at school / on tests etc.

* this leads us to do less than we really could to succeed

e.g. we study less, pay attention less, don’t force ourself as hard when concentrating during assignments

lower effort = less success

e.g. we fail or get lower grades

this failure confirms our ideas and we internalize

e.g. “see I knew I couldn’t do this”

leading to lowered self esteem

e.g. a deeper belief in our own inability and lower value placed on our school self

#2.

• At first the physical attractiveness stereotype was probably at work (i.e. the halo effect)

• Halo effect says that people often attribute other positive characteristics to attractive people simply because they are beautiful

• We use the attractive quality as the basis around which we make all other attributions

• In many ways we like to be around them which can lead us to act positively toward them

• This can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy in that we think they are special, treat them like their special and in the end they come to feel special

• Research suggests that in SOCIAL settings this can lead attractive people to be healthier, have higher self esteem, self concept, and self efficacy – this is why they can do well in social situations and people like them

• So in this example, the friend was attractive, which attracted friends, who treated him/her well, which improved social interactions

• BUT research suggest that personality can have an influence on how attractive people are treated

• In this case the person seems to become a jerk

• Research suggests that some people dislike attractive individuals when they have a negative personality

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Low SE

Negative Expectations

Low effort

Failure

Self Blame

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