Practice Test - Social Psychology
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Remember! The final is a comprehensive exam over the entire course.
Use these sample questions to test yourself & to practice for the test.
1. Which of the following topics would be most likely studied by a
social psychologist?
sexism, attribution, obedience, attitudes
unconditional positive regard, hypnotic amnesia
systematic desensitization, UCR, dieting, superego
formal operations, Korsakoff’s syndrome, fight-or-flight response
2. Forming impressions & making judgments about the traits of
others is called:
social reasoning
person perception
social facilitation
person polarization
3. Stereotypes are widely held beliefs that people have certain
traits because:
of their observable behavior
they hold utilitarian attitudes
they belong to a particular group
of the fundamental attribution error
4. Prejudice is to discrimination as:
attitude is to behavior
attribution is to schema
schema is to stereotype
underestimation is to overestimation
5. Stereotypes can best be described as
cognitive tools
beliefs validated by fact
the effects of aggression
examples of misplaced attributions
6. Schemas are:
attitudes resulting in prejudice and discrimination
errors in attribution caused by cognitive dissonance
mental categories representing an organized collection of knowledge
factors that co-vary with the behavior we are trying to explain
7. Which of the following statements concerning a schema is not accurate?
Schemas persist.
Schemas change easily.
Information supporting a schema is attended to.
Information inconsistent with a schema is discounted.
8. An attribution is a(n):
belief
attitude
stereotype
explanation
9. The covariation principle says that in deciding between dispositional
& situational explanations, we should look for three factors:
person, role, and event schemas
stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination
consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness
behavioral, affective, and cognitive components
10. In explaining a friend’s behavior, you decide that there is high
consistency, low distinctiveness, & low consensus. You are most
likely to make a(n) _______ attribution.
a external
b internal
c situational
d fundamental
11. According to the cognitive miser model, people conserve time &
energy in making attributions by:
forming utilitarian attitudes
taking cognitive shortcuts
basing judgments on schemas
using the peripheral route for persuasion
12. The tendency to overestimate the importance of dispositional factors
& underestimate the importance of situational ones is known as:
prejudice
stereotyping
schema-driven processing
fundamental attribution error
13. The actor-observer effect suggests that, as actors, we attribute our
behaviors to _________, but, as observers, we attribute
others’ behavior to ____________.
motivation; conformity
consensus; consistency
self-schema; event schema
the situation; their disposition
14. "When I beat my average shooting score, I attribute it to my skill, but
if I score below my average, I blame it on the gun sight."
This is an example of the:
self-serving bias
covariation principle
actor-observer effect
fundamental attribution error
15. In order to convince a freshman that academic problems can be
overcome, a teacher must get the freshman to:
attribute problems to innate abilities
attribute problems to temporary factors
believe that college success is attributable in part to good luck
let the instructor assume responsibility for the student’s success for a while
16. Any belief that includes a positive or negative evaluation of some target
which predisposes us to act in certain ways toward the target
can be defined as a(n):
schema
attitude
stereotype
attribution
17. Which of the following is not a component of an attitude?
genetic
affective
cognitive
behavioral
18. With regard to attitudes: cognitive component is to _______
as affective component is to ________.
beliefs; actions
behavior; actions
emotions; feelings
thoughts; emotions
19. Attitudes can serve 3 functions. Which of the following is not
one of them?
adjust
interpret
evaluate
predispose
20. The state of unpleasant psychological tension that motivates
people to reduce our inconsistencies and return to a more
consistent state is referred to as:
prejudice
attribution
cognitive dissonance
the self-serving bias
21. When a person takes a public position that is different from their
private belief, they are engaging in ___________ behavior.
synergic
persuasive
oppositional
counterattitudinal
22. Self-perception theory suggests that we:
strive to reduce inconsistencies between our attitudes & behavior
observe our own behavior and then infer attitudes from the behavior
feel motivated to conserve time and effort by taking cognitive shortcuts
attempt to control and regulate the information that we present to others
23. Central routes for persuasion generally work on the __________, whereas
peripheral routes for persuasion work primarily on the ___________.
disposition; situation
person schema; role schema
cognitive component; affective component
fundamental attribution error; self-serving bias
24. If an audience is known to be initially opposed to a persuasive message,
which of the following types of communication will be most effective
in changing the audience’s attitudes?
a one-sided message
a two-sided message
a fear-inducing message
a message from a non-credible source
25. “A behavior performed because of group pressure even though that pressure
involves no direct requests” is the definition of:
obedience
conformity
compliance
consistency
26. According to the decision-stage model of helping, most people don’t
help other who are in trouble because they don’t:
notice the situation
carry out the assistance
choose a form of assistance
assume personal responsibility
27. Which theory proposes that we join groups to be able to measure
the correctness of our attitudes & beliefs?
attribution theory
social comparison theory
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
informational influence theory
28. Which of the following is associated with a greater likelihood of taking
on an antisocial role?
altruism
social facilitation
deindividuation
informational influence
29. What does deindividuation provide an individual in a crowd?
anonymity
motivation
an identity
social inhibition
30. Which statement is most related to the diffusion of responsibility theory?
“Someone else will probably help.”
“How are these other people reacting?”
“That individual is a legitimate authority figure.”
“It seems whenever I am with others I do a lot better.”
31. Ingroup is to outgroup as ________ is to _________.
us; them
them; us
conservative; liberal
difference; similarity
32. In groupthink, the decision is _______ than ______.
more important; reaching agreement
more important; having a spirited debate
less important; reaching agreement
less important; having a spirited debate
33. The frustration-aggression hypothesis was modified because
of research which indicated that:
aggression is genetic
cognitive factors can override aggression
ggression is an innate, biological phenomenon
people always respond to frustration with aggression
34. The majority of rapes are committed by:
anger rapists
power rapists
sadistic rapists
rapists out to physically hurt someone
35. The study & understanding of temperament / personality belongs in the
physical domain.
biosocial domain.
cognitive domain.
psychosocial domain.
36. When we make the "fundamental attribution error" we blame somebody’s misfortunes on
ourselves.
an evil leader.
historical factors.
their personal qualities.
factors beyond their control.
37. In Asch's study of conformity involving the length of lines, naïve participants conformed
___ of the time
• 20 percent
• 47 percent
• 37 percent
• 61 percent
38. What is group polarization?
• The strength of the liking and commitment group members have toward each other and to a group
• The tendency for a dominant point of view in a group to be strengthened to a more extreme
position after a group discussion
• The tendency of a close-knit group to emphasize consensus at the expense of critical thinking
and rational decision making
• A situation in which one harms oneself and others by acting in one’s self-interest
39. Research shows that romantic attraction is determined primarily by which characteristic?
• Partners’ personality
• Partners’ commitment
• Partners’ intimacy
• Partners’ physical attractiveness
40. Attraction is influenced by which of the following?
• Whether people live or work in the same neighborhood
• How similar people are to each other
• Whether liking is reciprocated
• All of these
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Topics in Psychology
Robert C. Gates