Exam 11: Social Psychology

Attribution theory

Jack and John were recently dumped by their girlfriends.Jack believes that his girlfriend broke up with him because she is selfish and unhappy, whereas John believes that his girlfriend broke up with him because she had to attend to a family emergency and could not make a commitment right now.Jack is making a(n) _____ about his girlfriend's behavior, whereas John is making a(n) _____.

Which of the following is a similarity between the cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception theory?

Melissa and John have been happily married for 30 years because they have ensured that they have no opportunities to fight.Both of them have jobs so they contribute proportionately to the household income, and they equally share all other responsibilities.Melissa and John's happy marriage can best be explained by the

The elaboration likelihood model

_____ is an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual's membership in a group.

Susan drives by an unusually colorful apartment building each day on her way to and from work.Initially, she does not think much of the structure and has a mild dislike for it.However, after several months of commuting, she starts to like the apartment building and is even considering renting an apartment there.This change in Susan's feelings about the building best demonstrates

The process by which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to others is known as

Katie, who is moderately liberal, attends a very liberal college.After four years at this college, Katie is likely to become more liberal as a result of

Robert, a nine-year-old boy, loves watching wrestling on TV.Last night, he used several of the aggressive wrestling moves on his little brother.Which of the following theories best explains William's behavior?

In attribution theory, the person who offers a causal explanation of the actor's behavior is called the

Joyce has the potential to be an honor student but frustrates her teachers because of her actions.Rather than working to succeed, she tends to "dummy down" to act more like the students that she hangs out with.She has at times answered questions incorrectly in class on purpose to be more like her friends.Joyce's behavior is due to

In the context of psychological factors in conformity, which of the following best describes informational social influence?

The tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members is known as

Rob and Deandra are members of a football team.Their self-esteem is greatly affected by their team's performance.They tend to compare their team with that of the opponents in order to improve their self-image.Which of the following theories best explains this scenario?

Allison is at a workshop where a presenter is attempting to persuade people to make a rather risky but potentially profitable financial investment.The arguments for investing appeal to logic and reason.After slowly and carefully considering the presenter's arguments, Alison finds that this person's idea sounds compelling and decides to invest.This example best demonstrates the

Andrew openly criticizes the Asian Americans in his neighborhood.He says that the presence of these "outsiders" has led to an increase in the crime rate in the United States.Others in his neighborhood do not agree with him.His openly shared racist attitude is an example of

Pretend that you just landed a new job as a psychological consultant for an internet dating service.Your new boss has asked you to give a presentation on the social psychological principles of attraction.Discuss the factors that influence interpersonal attraction.

_____ is based on a person's desire to be liked by a group.

Define Festinger's concept of cognitive dissonance.How can dissonance be reduced?