Module 74
What is the name for the theory that says we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition?
Maggie is an excellent hockey player, and she is playing in the final game of her high school career. The cheering of the fans causes her to score three goals in the game, a record for her. What is the most likely explanation for her improved performance?
social facilitation
What is the term for a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people?
Stereotype
What is the term for the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases our liking of them?
mere-exposure effect
Putting himself in danger, Nick stood up to the bullies who were beating up Mike in a display of
a. assuming responsibility
b. mirror-image perception
c. altruism
d. the bystander effect
e. diffusion of responsibility
c. altruism
The discomfort we feel when our attitudes are not in line with our actions is called __________________.
cognitive disonance
Jon does what his friends are doing and throws eggs at houses on Halloween, even though he knows that he should not. Jon's egg throwing is most likely due to what?
normative social influence
What is the term for the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races?
other-race effect (also known as the cross-race effect or own-race bias)
Dwayne is acting violently toward his friends and family. A PET scan of his brain may show:
a. increased frontal lobe activity
b. diminished activity in the amygdala
c. decreased frontal lobe activity
d. a decrease in the size of the hippocampus
e. enlarged ventricles
c. decreased frontal lobe activity
Lee feels that he cannot understand chemistry, so he gives up on doing the homework or studying for tests. When he fails chemistry he is demonstrating a(n) ____________________.
self-fulfilling prophecy
Which persuasive technique uses incidental cues to influence people?
peripheral route persuasion
Marie disagrees with the answer her math review group comes up with. She does not voice her own answer because she does not want to go against the group. What is Marie being affected by?
groupthink
In recent years,
a. both explicit and implicit prejudice have shown steady and equal increases.
b. explicit prejudice has decreased, but implicit prejudice has not.
c. both explicit and implicit prejudice have been increasing, but explicit prejudice is increasing at a faster rate.
d. both explicit and implicit prejudice have been increasing, but implicit prejudice is increasing at a faster rate.
e. explicit prejudice has been decreasing more than implicit prejudice.
b. explicit prejudice has decreased, but implicit prejudice has not.
Which of the following is an example of a social-cultural influence on aggressive behavior?
a. Reading an anxiety-provoking novel
b. Frustration
c. Testosterone
d. Exposure to violent media
e. Genetics
d. Exposure to violent media
What psychological phenomenon likely caused nobody to help Kitty Genovese when she was screaming for help outside of her Queens, New York apartment?
the bystander effect
In a research experiment, half of the participants were asked if they were willing to complete a 10 question survey. Most of them agreed. The other half of the participants were asked if they were willing to complete a 100 question survey, most of them disagreed. The participants in the first group who agreed to complete the 10 question survey were then asked if they were willing to complete a 100 question survey. Most of them agreed. What phenomenon is being illustrated by this experiment?
the foot-in-the-door phenomenon
Following a natural disaster, it is not uncommon for large groups of people to loot stores and take far more than they might need to help them survive the situation. This behavior is best explained by what concept?
deindividuation
When prejudiced judgment causes us to blame an underserving person for a problem, that person is called a ______________.
scapegoat
As love matures, it typically becomes a steadier type of love marked by the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. What is the term used to describe this type of love?
companionate love
What psychological phenomenon is illustrated by the prisoner's dilemma?
Claire has had several car accidents that she blames on other drivers. When her boyfriend has an accident, she is quick to blame his carelessness behind the wheel. Claire's difference in blame is due to what?
the fundamental attribution error
In Milgram's classic study on obedience, approximately what percentage of people delivered what they believed to be the maximum shock level?
Acceptable responses are:
More than 60%
Approximately 60%
Approximately two-thirds
Psychologists use tests for unconscious group associations in which people quickly pair a person's image with a trait to study which psychological concept?
Implicit Prejudice
Two vital components for maintaining companionate love are _____________ and _________ - _______________.
equity and self-disclosure
(will also accept positive support as a third vital component)
This type of goal can be used to reduce conflict by forcing people to cooperate in order to achieve a desired outcome.
superordinate goal