Exam 8: Behavior in Social and Cultural Context

The members of Ike's fraternity think spending the entire activity fund for the cultural fest is reasonable. Ike does not think this is a good idea but he decides to keep quiet rather than offend his fraternity brothers and risk being ridiculed. This scenario illustrates a symptom of:

Candidate Carson spends $3 million to make sure his name is seen and heard frequently and to repeat unverified charges that his opponent is a thief. What psychological processes is he relying on to win?

In the textbook's first chapter, we read about the critical thinking principles "Don't Oversimplify" and "Consider Other Interpretations." How do these guidelines relate to social psychology with regard to attribution, especially when encounters occur with those from other cultures?

The obedience study conducted by Stanley Milgram has become world famous. Explain, in detail, the procedures that Milgram used in his study and then evaluate his results. What conclusions did Milgram reach? How have critics reacted to his research?

The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to:

A friend of yours, who is moving, asks you to bring over a few boxes. Because you are there anyway, he asks you to fill them with books. Before you know it, you have packed up his kitchen, living room, and bedroom. What social-psychological process is at work here?

Resistance to groupthink can be fostered by:

Social cognition is an area of social psychology concerned with social influences on thought, memory, perception, and other cognitive processes.

When people in Western countries try to find reasons for someone else's behavior, they tend to:

Ethnocentrism can be reduced by:

The purpose of Milgram's study of obedience was to find out how many people would obey an authority figure when directly ordered to violate their own ethical standards.

A tourist selflessly dives into an icy river to rescue a drowning stranger. This scenario is an example of altruism.

The_______________ is a controversial method for measuring prejudice, which pairs positive and negative words with black or white faces and then measures the participant's reaction time.

Which phenomenon is illustrated in each of the following situations? 1. The president's closest advisers are afraid to disagree with his views on energy policy. 2. You are at a costume party wearing a silly gorilla suit. When you see a chance to play a practical joke on the host, you do it. 3. Walking down a busy street, you see that fire has broken out in a store window. "Someone must already have called the fire department," you say. B. Imagine you are chief executive officer of a new electric-car company. You want your employees to feel free to offer their suggestions and criticisms to improve productivity and satisfaction. You also want them to inform managers if they find any evidence that the cars are unsafe, even if that means delaying production. What concepts from this chapter could you use in setting company policy?

Tahir, an Arab, and Jan, a Swede, meet at a dinner for international students. Because the cultures of the two men differ with regard to ________, both may feel uncomfortable during their conversation.

Helping someone you are attracted to with his or her homework so they will go out with you is an example of altruism.

If a person had an epileptic seizure in a public place, she would be more likely to be helped if:

Which of the following is a situation that increases the likelihood someone will act altruistically?

William is a police officer who is instructed by a superior officer to beat a suspect in order to obtain a confession. According to research conducted on obedience, William is more likely to disobey this order if:

The basic asymmetry in social perception is due, in part, to the ________, which makes you feel good about yourself even when you shouldn't.