Question 1

Given the strong need for acceptance and belonging that people have, it is not surprising that they often have a difficult time saying "no" and not conforming when it may lead to social disapproval. Nonetheless, there are times when people resist normative social influence. Name the two main conditions under which someone is more likely to resist normative social influence attempts.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Given the strong need for acceptance and...

Question 2

Results from a recent fMRI study replicated Asch's line judgment study. The results of the fMRI suggest that when participants judged rotated figures and stated a correct answer when the others around them unanimously stated an incorrect answer, the area of the brain that was active was the

Accepted Answer

A)  visual cortex, which senses and perceives visual input. 
B)  amygdala, which is associated with negative emotions. 
C)  hippocampus: an area associated with trauma. 
D)  right cingular gyrus: an area associated with pain detection.

Question 3

Bob is from Michigan. He's familiar with cultural norms that emphasize

Accepted Answer

A)  conformity. 
B)  cooperation. 
C)  individuality. 
D)  obedience to authority.

Question 4

According to the authors of your text, the actions of Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi official responsible for transporting Jews to death camps, can best be described as

Accepted Answer

A)  a madman in a mad world. 
B)  an ordinary man in an extraordinary circumstance. 
C)  a simple bureaucrat easily manipulated by false promises. 
D)  Hitler's "fall guy."

Question 5

Informational social influence is to ________ as normative social influence is to ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  public compliance; private acceptance 
B)  private acceptance; public compliance 
C)  conversion; private acceptance 
D)  conformity; conversion

Question 6

Results from Milgram's study, in which participants were led to believe that they were being asked to shock another person at lethal levels, suggest that people

Accepted Answer

A)  are generally rather sadistic. 
B)  have strong aggressive impulses, as Freud suggested. 
C)  will obey authority, even when perhaps they shouldn't. 
D)  are willing to do just about anything for a buck.

Question 7

Majority influence is to ________ as ________ is to private acceptance.

Accepted Answer

A)  private acceptance; propaganda 
B)  informational power; normative power 
C)  public compliance; minority influence 
D)  norms; idiosyncrasy credit

Question 8

Joe has a fairly average body for a man, and wants women to be attracted to him physically. Joe is most likely to (wrongly) think that women are attracted to

Accepted Answer

A)  very tall men only. 
B)  a specific "type." 
C)  muscular men. 
D)  the average male body.

Question 9

People are motivated to impose clear definitions on ambiguous situations. All of the following processes except ________ are used to resolve ambiguity of information.

Accepted Answer

A)  schematic processing 
B)  making attributions 
C)  informational social influence 
D)  dissonance reduction

Question 10

Studies of the importance of normative social influence are particularly noteworthy in that they show that people conform even

Accepted Answer

A)  to strangers they will never see again 
B)  to friends 
C)  to relatives 
D)  in private as well as in public

Question 11

Injunctive norms tend to be more powerful than descriptive norms because they are based on

Accepted Answer

A)  informational social influence. 
B)  normative social influence. 
C)  minority influence. 
D)  obedience to authority.

Question 12

It's Libby's first day in college. When she approaches the professor to have an "add" form signed, she listens to other students to see if they address the professor as "Professor," "Dr.," "Mrs.," or by her first name, and then she does the same. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  situational uncertainty. 
B)  informational social influence. 
C)  normative social influence. 
D)  situational interdependence.

Question 13

Given the role of informational and normative social influence processes in contributing to participants' willingness to shock a confederate learner , which of the following situations would yield the least obedience?

Accepted Answer

A)  The experimenter administers shocks to himself to demonstrate that the shocks are not lethal. 
B)  The experimenter tells participants that the learner will later be allowed to administer shocks to them. 
C)  The experimenter tells participants that the best teacher will be awarded a prize at the conclusion of the experiment. 
D)  Before leaving the room, two experimenters disagree on instructions before finally telling participants to take their time and choose their own shock levels.

Question 14

Victor goes to a fancy French restaurant. There are utensils on the table that he's never even seen before, and more spoons and forks than he's ever seen on one table. Eager to dine in an appropriate and sophisticated way, Victor secretly watches other diners to see what they do. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  normative social influence. 
B)  situational interdependence. 
C)  informational social influence. 
D)  normative conformity.

Exam 8: Conformity: Influencing Behavior