Social Psychology Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
Social Psychology examines how individuals thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence real or imagined of others. This course explores foundational theories and research in areas such as social perception, attitudes, group dynamics, conformity, persuasion, prejudice, aggression, altruism, and interpersonal relationships. Students will analyze classic and contemporary studies, learning how social context shapes human actions in both subtle and profound ways, and will develop critical thinking skills to apply these concepts to real-world scenarios and personal experiences.
Recommended Textbook
Social Psychology 4th Edition by Tom Gilovich
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Chapter 1: An Invitation to Social Psychology
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is a construal? Describe two different ways in which a person might construe the same situation.
Answer: A construal is an interpretation or inference about the stimuli or situations people confront. Several answers regarding the ways in which a person consTrues a situation are acceptable. For example, the same person may be consTrued as a migrant worker or an illegal alien.
Q2) According to evolutionary theory, males put ________ investment in their offspring than females because males ________.
A) less; have more opportunities to produce offspring
B) more; have fewer opportunities to produce offspring
C) less; are more likely to die before their offspring reach maturity
D) more; are less likely to die before their offspring each maturity
Answer: A
Q3) Which statement is most consistent with the beliefs of an individualist culture?
A) Eat, drink, and be merry.
B) Live by the sword, die by the sword.
C) Different strokes for different folks.
D) The nail that stands out gets pounded down.
Answer: C
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Methods of Social Psychology
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Sample Questions
Q1) A study shows that people who watch the local evening news believe the world is more dangerous than people who do not watch the evening news. On the basis of this study, a newspaper reporter concludes that watching the evening news causes people to believe the world is more dangerous than it actually is. This is a flawed conclusion because
A) the reporter has a bias because he works for the newspaper.
B) it confuses a correlational relationship with a causal relationship.
C) it fails to compare evening news viewers with newspaper readers.
D) one study does not provide enough evidence to make this type of conclusion.
Answer: B
Q2) Experiments are the best research method for finding causal relationships between variables because they incorporate ________ and ________ into their design.
A) control conditions; self-selection
B) control conditions; random assignment
C) external validity; dependent variables
D) independent variables; informed consent
Answer: B
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4
Chapter 3: The Social Self
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Q1) Which of the following statements about culture and self-esteem is the most accurate?
A) People from Western cultures are more likely to say or do things to enhance other people's self-esteem (relative to people from Asian cultures).
B) The Japanese praise each other for their achievements more often than Americans do.
C) People from Asian cultures generally feel worse about themselves than people from Western cultures.
D) Americans utter many more self-complimentary statements during conversations (relative to Japanese individuals).
Answer: D
Q2) Ji-Min thinks of herself as outgoing, a big sister, a runner, and intelligent. These are aspects of Ji-Min's
A) self-schema.
B) self-appraisal.
C) social-self.
D) self-esteem.
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Social Cognition: Thinking About People and Situations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Psychologists have discovered that people store information in coherent configurations called
A) information nodes.
B) schemas.
C) primes.
D) flashbulb memories.
Q2) What is the intuitive system? What are the advantages of relying on this system? What are the disadvantages?
Q3) Define pluralistic ignorance and explain how it can undermine learning in the classroom or the development of friendship across ethnic groups.
Q4) Give two examples of variables that influence the accuracy of secondhand information. Then, for each, describe a situation in everyday life where it could occur.
Q5) How accurate are snap judgments? Take a position one way or the other and support it with two pieces of evidence.
Q6) Describe the confirmation bias and explain how it can affect people's decision making. Make sure to indicate when people will make good decisions.
Q7) Describe the planning fallacy and summarize research on why this fallacy occurs.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Social Attribution: Explaining Behavior
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Q1) Which of the following statements best represents something that a Japanese coach might say to a newspaper reporter after winning a game?
A) "It seems as if the other team was tired and unprepared for this game."
B) "Our players really made the difference; they are much more skilled than the other team."
C) "We tried our best, and it showed in our win."
D) "Our players have a lot of heart."
Q2) Many people think that victims of domestic abuse and rape are responsible for their fates. This disturbing tendency is most closely related to
A) the false consensus effect.
B) a pessimistic explanatory style.
C) the just world hypothesis.
D) the augmentation principle.
Q3) Which of the following questions best reflects what attribution theory seeks to explain?
A) How often does Tina engage in binge drinking?
B) Why did Larissa break up with Tom?
C) What did Bob say in response to Jim's insult?
D) Where is Juan most likely to find a date for the dance?
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Emotion
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Q1) It is Jasmine's thirtieth birthday and her friends want her to remember it as one of the happiest of her life. Design an agenda for Jasmine's birthday that will contribute to her friends' mission, citing research to back up your plan.
Q2) We may be bad at affective forecasting because of ________, the tendency to focus too much on a central aspect of an event while ignoring the possible impact of associated factors or other events.
A) happiness
B) immune neglect
C) focalism
D) affective forecasting
Q3) Research on affective forecasting suggests that people tend to
A) overestimate the emotional impact of negative life events.
B) underestimate the emotional impact of negative life events.
C) be accurate at predicting the emotional impact of negative life events.
D) be overly optimistic about their abilities to cope with negative life events.
Q4) What is an emotion? Explain how emotions differ from other states such as moods and emotional disorders.
Q5) Describe two effects of emotion on perception that have been documented through research.
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Chapter 7: Attitudes, Behavior, and Rationalization
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Q1) Molly knows the history of her home city of Philadelphia. There are three landmarks downtown that she always shows to friends who visit. This knowledge of Philadelphia is the ________ component of her attitude toward her city.
A) cognitive
B) affective
C) behavioral
D) knowledge
Q2) What are self-affirmations and how can they be used to ward off cognitive dissonance?
Q3) Although you want to chat with your friend during class, you're worried that the professor or other students would notice. You choose not to talk to your friend. This illustrates that
A) your attitude toward your friend are inconsistent.
B) your attitude toward class is stronger than your attitude toward your friend.
C) automatic behavior can be completely separate from your attitude.
D) powerful social norms can override the influence of attitude on behavior.
Q4) Describe three ways that researchers measure attitudes.
Q5) Describe the conditions under which attitude-behavior inconsistency is most likely to produce dissonance.
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Chapter 8: Persuasion
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Q1) Bill views himself as a Democrat. He is watching a television broadcast of a debate between two congressmen, a Republican and a Democrat. His roommate starts to vacuum the apartment. Bill asks his roommate to shut off the vacuum only when the Democrat is speaking. This scenario illustrates ________ in action.
A) peripheral processing
B) attitude inoculation
C) attentional bias
D) attitude reactance
Q2) Amir just saw a movie that he somewhat liked. According to the process of thought polarization, how is Amir likely to feel after he thinks more extensively about the film?
A) Amir will question his initial attitude about the film..
B) Amir will feel indifferent about the film..
C) Amir will come to like the film even more.
D) Amir will come to dislike the film.
Q3) Give three examples of how the media can shape our conception of social reality.
Q4) Give two examples of how you could apply research on message characteristics to persuade more people to donate to an international disaster relief effort.
Q5) Define metacognition and describe how it influences persuasion.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Social Influence
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Q1) According to the principle of reciprocal concessions, Amal's dad is more likely to comply with her request to buy her a used car if Amal
A) previously asked her dad for a new car and her dad said no to that request.
B) has never asked her dad for a car before.
C) previously asked her dad for a used car and her dad said no to that request.
D) has been generous when her dad needed help in the past.
Q2) According to the norm of reciprocity, A) people should agree to others' requests. B) people rarely return favors.
C) people should benefit those who benefit them.
D) emotions lead to compliance.
Q3) Janet has a minority opinion about dorm curfew and is afraid she will feel pressured to conform to the majority opinion at an upcoming dorm meeting. To resist conformity pressures, Janet should
A) express strong negative emotions during the meeting.
B) bring an ally to the meeting.
C) bring cookies to the meeting.
D) adopt an interdependent mind-set right before the meeting.
Q4) Describe the phenomenon of automatic mimicry and give two reasons why it occurs.
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Chapter 10: Relationships and Attraction
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Q1) Eddie and Leann have been married for ten years. Their friends notice that not only do they look alike but they seem to look more and more alike as time goes on. What factors might explain their increasingly similar appearance?
Q2) In a study conducted by Art Aron and his colleagues, married couples engaged in one of two tasks: either they were tied together with Velcro and required to move a soft ball positioned between their heads across a long mat, or they each had to push a ball on their own across the mat with a stick. Couples in the first condition reported higher marital satisfaction after completing the task compared to couples in the second condition. How did the researchers interpret these results?
A) The first task encouraged participants to capitalize on the good in their relationship. B) The first task made couples physically closer, which led them to feel psychologically closer.
C) The first task was more arousing, leading to a misattribution of arousal to feelings about one's partner.
D) The first task was more challenging, leading couples to feel more pride after completing it.
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Chapter 11: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination
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Q1) How do threats to self-esteem impact people's attitudes toward outgroup members?
Provide one example of a relevant study. According to social identity theory, why do self-esteem threats have this effect?
Q2) Give an example of the outgroup homogeneity effect and explain why it occurs.
Q3) Janet believes that all Asians are polite and good at math. Janet is engaging in A) discrimination.
B) stereotyping.
C) prejudice.
D) hostile racism.
Q4) Define modern racism and give an example of one method that researchers have used to measure it.
Q5) In one study, white participants were faster to identify a weapon as a weapon when it was preceded by a picture of an African American face as opposed to a white face.
Subsequent research suggests that this effect is due to
A) a stereotypical association between handguns and African Americans.
B) generally negative attitudes toward African Americans.
C) controlled processing of information about African Americans.
D) motivated inattention to stereotype-inconsistent information.
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Chapter 12: Groups
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Q1) Raymond is in a position where he is able to control his own outcomes and those of others. Which of the following terms best describes what Raymond possesses?
A) status
B) power
C) authority
D) dominance
Q2) Research on social ________ suggests that performance ________when novel tasks are performed in the presence of others.
A) facilitation; improves B) facilitation; suffers C) loafing; improves D) loafing; suffers
Q3) In what situation would sorority members be most likely to engage in self-censorship?
A) when they have a strong leader
B) when they have a weak leader
C) when there is an overall lack of motivation to reach a consensus within the sorority
D) when there is an overall low level of stress within the sorority
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Chapter 13: Aggression
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Q1) Which of the following hypotheses was proposed to help explain the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School?
A) The killers frequently played violent video games.
B) The killers felt rejected by the more popular students at school.
C) The killers were high in power and therefore had reduced inhibitions.
D) Both a and b are correct.
Q2) Evidence that social rejection triggers a physical threat defense system, which includes the tendency to act aggressively, supports a(n) ________ explanation of aggression as a result of social rejection.
A) evolutionary
B) hostile
C) situational
D) cultural
Q3) Describe how the phenomenon of copycat violence can be applied to understanding suicide.
Q4) Distinguish between hostile and instrumental aggression and provide one example for each.
Q5) Drawing on research described in the textbook, evaluate the claim that playing violent video games leads to aggression.
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Chapter 14: Altruism and Cooperation
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Q1) The concept of altruism refers to
A) behavior that enhances the survival of one's own genes.
B) unselfish behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for the self. C) feelings of compassion toward a needy other.
D) an action intended to benefit both the self and someone else at the same time.
Q2) In one experiment, a "victim" (actually a confederate) staggered across the aisle of a subway car, collapsed to the floor, and then stared up at the ceiling. In one condition, the victim was bleeding, while in another condition, he was not. Results showed that the A) presence of blood neither increased nor decreased the victim's chances of receiving help.
B) presence of blood increased the victim's chances of receiving help from men, but the presence of blood decreased the victim's chances of receiving help from women.
C) victim was more likely to get help when he was bleeding.
D) victim was less likely to get help when he was bleeding.
Q3) Give an example of how construal processes can influence cooperation.
Q4) Describe the tit-for-tat strategy and evaluate its effectiveness.
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Application Module-Social Psychology and Health
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Q1) Explain how rumination may contribute to chronic stress and then describe one way that rumination can be reduced.
Q2) Which of the following was found in breast cancer patients who were evaluated by their physicians as having better responses to the disease?
A) They relinquished control of their treatment to their doctors.
B) They reported having a sense of control over the course of the disease.
C) They were more likely to deny that they had cancer.
D) They were more likely to report intense anger at the cancer.
Q3) Glenda was recently placed in a nursing home, and her physical health has been gradually deteriorating. Accordingly to the textbook, which of the following would be most likely to improve her health?
A) having the staff ensure that she is pampered
B) encouraging her to conserve her strength by resting
C) allowing her a greater sense of control
D) reducing stress by minimizing the amount of time visitors can stay
Q4) Explain how differences in the social and physical environments of upper- and lower-SES neighborhoods can contribute to health disparities.
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Chapter 16: Application Module- Social Psychology and Personal Finance
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Q1) According to the textbook, research has found that people experience greater neural activation when considering ________ than when considering ________.
A) saving; spending
B) spending; saving
C) losses; gains
D) gains; losses
Q2) Ella just started her first job and wants to be thoughtful about planning for retirement. She visits a financial planner for the first time. What advice is this planner likely to give Ella?
A) buy shares in mutual funds that invest in a broad range of companies
B) start by buying real estate because it is a safe investment
C) wait to begin investing until you are more settled in work life
D) stick to one kind of asset so you can maximize your payoffs
Q3) Imagine that a friend is thinking of opening up a shop and asks you how many different products she should sell. Explain the concept of decision paralysis and design a product plan for your friend's new store.
Q4) Challenge the long-held assumption that people make rational financial decisions. Provide two pieces of evidence in support of your position.
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Application Module- Social Psychology and Education
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Q1) Bob is from a working-class family and is the first in his family to attend college. He receives a welcome letter that emphasizes how he will be able to explore his personal interests and participate in independent research. According to the research discussed in the text, how is Bob likely to respond to this letter?
A) Bob is likely to be excited about attending college and taking advantage of these opportunities.
B) Bob is likely to focus on how he can impress his professors and do well in his classes.
C) Bob is likely to become more stressed about college and worried about making social connections.
D) This particular letter will not influence Bob's thoughts about attending college.
Q2) Which of the following best summarizes the effects of airing telenovelas?
A) The programs changed people's attitudes but not their behaviors.
B) The programs did not influence people's attitudes or behaviors.
C) The programs changed behaviors only in people who already agreed with the values being portrayed.
D) The programs changed people's attitudes and behaviors.
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Chapter 18: Application Module- Social Psychology and the Law
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Q1) Challenge the idea that eyewitness testimony is accurate and reliable. Describe two research findings that support your argument.
Q2) Explain how stereotypes can lead to biases in our criminal justice system.
Q3) African Americans and Latinos are more likely to be stopped by police officers and receive harsher sentences. This bias in the criminal justice system is largely due to the
A) use of cultural stereotypes.
B) frequency of their criminal activity.
C) need for procedural justice.
D) desire for retribution.
Q4) The social psychologist Tom Tyler identified three factors that shape our sense of procedural justice. Which of the following is NOT one of those three factors?
A) the neutrality of the authority figure
B) trust in the system
C) being treated with respect
D) the magnitude of the punishment
Q5) Compare the just desserts and deterrence motives for punishment. In addition, explain how these motives are related to cultural variations in punishment.
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