Question 1

In Paco's group,all three of the other members disagree with his idea for the spring festival.In Taurus's group,four out of five of the other members disagree with Taurus's idea,while in Margo's group,six out of eight group members disagree with her idea.Based on research findings,which person is most likely to conform to the majority group opinion?

Accepted Answer

A)  Paco 
B)  Taurus 
C)  Margo 
D)  none of these people will conform because the groups are too small.

Question 2

Research suggests that if you wish to persuade an audience,only one side of the argument should

Accepted Answer

A)  be presented to a poorly informed audience. 
B)  be presented to a well-informed audience. 
C)  be presented to every audience. 
D)  never be presented to an audience.

Question 3

A degree of uniformity is necessary if we are to interact comfortably with others and to anticipate their behaviors in schools and businesses and when driving on the highways.This degree of uniformity is due to

Accepted Answer

A)  mutual affiliation. 
B)  passive compliance. 
C)  harmless stereotyping. 
D)  conformity.

Question 4

Harry and Sally's public displays of love were met with staring,"rolling of eyes," and "heavy sighs" by their friends and by strangers,too.Harry and Sally soon conformed to the expectations of the others due to

Accepted Answer

A)  group discrimination. 
B)  groupthink. 
C)  group sanctions. 
D)  social facilitation.

Question 5

When we bring our behavior into agreement with the actions,norms,or values of others in the absence of any direct pressure,we are exhibiting

Accepted Answer

A)  conformity. 
B)  compliance. 
C)  obedience. 
D)  adaptation.

Question 6

The range of four to 12 feet in which impersonal business and casual social gatherings take place is known as one's

Accepted Answer

A)  social distance. 
B)  acquaintance space. 
C)  public distance. 
D)  commercial space.

Question 7

Once your mind is made up,you will reject any new information that contradicts the ideas you already hold,according to the

Accepted Answer

A)  frustration-aggression hypothesis. 
B)  fundamental attribution theory. 
C)  theory of alternative actions. 
D)  cognitive dissonance theory.

Question 8

College students are more likely to think their courses will be good AFTER they have registered than they did before making a commitment.Emphasizing the positive aspects of what we choose,while downgrading other alternatives will minimize

Accepted Answer

A)  group pressure. 
B)  attributional errors. 
C)  cognitive dissonance. 
D)  selective perception.

Question 9

In a study on social loafing,people played tug-of-war while blindfolded.Compared to when they thought they were pulling alone,people showed which of the following behaviors when they thought they were pulling as part of a group?

Accepted Answer

A)  They pulled harder. 
B)  They made less of an effort to pull. 
C)  They did not vary the amount of effort they exerted. 
D)  They were erratic in the amount of effort exerted.

Question 10

Studies of conformity indicate that people are more apt to be influenced by others if they

Accepted Answer

A)  are concerned about the approval of others. 
B)  have low needs for certainty and structure. 
C)  belong to a culture that emphasizes individuality. 
D)  have a great deal of self-confidence.

Question 11

Which of the following underlies attempts to convince ourselves that we have done the right thing,such as creating stories that change one's spouse's faults into virtues?

Accepted Answer

A)  cognitive dissonance 
B)  overgeneralization 
C)  dialectical thinking 
D)  ethnocentrism

Question 12

You are a very good school teacher,who is confident in your teaching ability.One day,you are instructing your class when you spy the principal standing outside the door watching you.According to social facilitation theory,you are likely to

Accepted Answer

A)  improve your teaching performance. 
B)  decrease in your teaching performance. 
C)  not change your teaching performance. 
D)  become indigent that the principal would just stand silently outside the door rather than coming in to the classroom and making his or her presence known.

Question 13

We tend to emphasize positive aspects of what we choose,while downgrading other alternatives in order to minimize

Accepted Answer

A)  our cognitive dissonance. 
B)  the fundamental attribution error. 
C)  our tendency for groupthink. 
D)  our self-handicapping attitude.

Question 14

The core of which of the following is misguided loyalty,in which group members are hesitant to "rock the boat" or question sloppy thinking?

Accepted Answer

A)  the halo effect 
B)  cognitive dissonance 
C)  groupthink 
D)  compliance

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the common techniques for bringing about compliance?

Accepted Answer

A)  the bandwagon technique 
B)  the lowball technique 
C)  the foot-in-the-door effect 
D)  the door-in-the-face effect

Question 16

The success or failure of attempted persuasion can usually be understood by considering the characteristics of the

Accepted Answer

A)  communicator, group, and target behavior. 
B)  communicator, message, and audience. 
C)  messenger, attitude, and group. 
D)  informer, message, and target behavior.

Question 17

Jason had promised to help his elderly next door neighbor move some heavy furniture next Friday.When Friday came,Jason really wanted to go with his friends to the beach,but he did promise the neighbor.He decides to help the neighbor because the "old guy" always had been nice to him and deserves his help and,besides,he tells great stories.Jason was able to find "this helping behavior" meaningful by

Accepted Answer

A)  resolving the actor-observer bias. 
B)  resolving his cognitive dissonance. 
C)  obeying his conscience. 
D)  utilizing individuating information about the "old guy."

Question 18

Regarding Solomon Asch's classic experiment on conformity,which involved the "judging of lines," which of the following statements is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)  Actors playing "student subjects" gave the wrong answer on about a third of the trials to create group pressure. 
B)  Subjects conformed to the group on about one third of the critical trials. 
C)  Of those subjects tested, less than half yielded to group pressure at least once. 
D)  Subjects who were tested alone erred in less than one percent of their judgments.

Question 19

If the persuader appears to have nothing to gain if the audience accepts his or her message,then attitude change

Accepted Answer

A)  is encouraged. 
B)  is discouraged. 
C)  rarely occurs. 
D)  becomes more difficult.

Question 20

When we bring our behavior into agreement or harmony with norms or with the behavior of others in a group,we are exhibiting

Accepted Answer

A)  cognitive dissonance. 
B)  the fundamental attributional error. 
C)  stereotyping. 
D)  conformity.

Exam 16: B: Social Thinking and Social Influence