Psychology 11th Edition Wade Test Bank

Psychology 11th Edition Wade Test
Bank
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Name __________________________________________________________
Chapter 8 – Pop Quiz 1
1. Culture can be defined as a program of shared ________ that govern the behavior of people in a society as
well as a set of shared values and beliefs.
a. social roles
b. rules or norms
c. expectations
d. cognitions
2. Who conducted the “obedience study” in which an authority figure commanded participants to violate their
ethical standards?
a. Solomon Asch
b. Stanley Milgram
c. Philip Zimbardo
d. Muzafer Sherif
3. About ________ of all participants in Milgram’s study administered the highest level of shock to the learner.
a. a fourth
b. a third
c. half
d. two-thirds
4. Which of the following increased the likelihood that participants would disobey in Milgram’s obedience
study?
a. having only one teacher
b. having the experimenter in the room with the teacher
c. having two experimenters issuing the same commands
d. having the experimenter be an ordinary man
5. According to attribution theory, the explanations we give for our behavior and the behavior of others
generally fall into two categories:
a. dispositional and situational.
b. environmental and situational.
c. mental and physical.
d. implicit and explicit.
6. Representative Jansen, a U.S. congresswoman, believes in the reproductive rights and welfare of women but
voted to ban late-term abortions. Jansen feels very uneasy about the conflict between her beliefs and her
behavior. She is most likely experiencing:
a. the just-world hypothesis.
b. cognitive resolution.
c. cognitive dissonance.
d. the fundamental attribution error.
7. ________ is a tendency for people on a team or a mission together to agree with each other and suppress
dissension among their ranks.
a. Groupthink
b. Diffusion of responsibility
c. Cognitive dissonance
d. Deindividuation
8. Lucas walks around his busy college campus between classes. He notices smoke coming from the side of the
cafeteria, but assumes that someone inside already has called the fire department. What phenomenon does
this example illustrate?
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
a. the just-world hypothesis
b. diffusion of responsibility
c. deindividuation
d. groupthink
9. A cultural cause of prejudice is that it:

a. helps people bond to their own ethnic group.
b. encourages acculturation.
c. increases disobedience.
d. replaces official forms of discrimination.
10. ______ reflects a behavioral expression of prejudice: a reluctance to get too close to another group.
a. Personal space
b. Social distance
c. Cultural space
d. Discrimination distance
Answer Key
1. b Rationale: Culture includes shared norms, values, and beliefs that are taught to each successive
generation. (Page 257, Factual, Easy, LO 8.1)
2. b Rationale: Stanley Milgram conducted a classic study on the effects of obedience, in which
participants were asked to give a “learner” increasing increments of shock for wrong answers.
(Pages 257–258, Factual, Easy, LO 8.2)
3. d Rationale: About two-thirds of the participants gave the highest level of shock, 450 volts. (Page
258, Factual, Moderate, LO 8.2)
4. d Rationale: When the person ordering them to continue was an ordinary man (apparently another
volunteer instead of the authoritative experimenter), many participants disobeyed. (Page 259,
Factual, Moderate, LO 8.2)
5. a Rationale: When trying to understand the cause of a person’s behavior, we either make
dispositional attributions (that behavior is caused by personality traits) or situational attributions
(that behavior is caused by the effects of the situation). (Page 263, Factual, Easy, LO 8.6)
6. c Rationale: Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously
holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, or when a person’s belief is
incongruent with his or her behavior. (Page 266, Applied, Moderate, LO 8.8)
7. a Rationale: A hallmark of groupthink is a tendency for members of a group to think alike and for
disagreement to be suppressed. (Page 274, Factual, Easy, LO 8.11)
8. b Rationale: In groups, the tendency of members to avoid taking action because they assume that
others will is called diffusion of responsibility. (Pages 275, Applied, Moderate, LO 8.12)
9. a Rationale: A cultural cause of prejudice is that it helps people bond to their own ethnic group.
(Page 287, Conceptual, Easy, LO 8.16)
10. b Rationale: Social distance reflects a behavioral expression of prejudice: a reluctance to get too
close to another group. (Page 288, Factual, Easy, LO 8.17)
Name __________________________________________________________
1. The Stanford prison study demonstrates how a person’s ________ affect(s) behavior.
a. beliefs
b. values
c. role
d. past experience
2. A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically
inconsistent is called:
a. cognitive dissonance.
b. the fundamental attribution error.
c. the validity effect.
d. deindividuation.
3. The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to:

a. be unable to distinguish between actual experiences and what they have been told.
b. believe that a statement is true simply because it has been repeated a number of times.
c. feel more positive toward a person, item, product, or other stimulus that they have seen often.
d. overestimate their abilities to have predicted an event once the outcome is known.
4. Who conducted an experiment on conformity in which people were asked to judge the length of lines?
a. Solomon Asch
b. Stanley Milgram
c. Philip Zimbardo
d. Muzafer Sherif
5. Which of the following is a symptom of groupthink?

a. a feeling of vulnerability
b. weak leadership within the group
c. self-censorship
d. disagreement
6. If a person had an epileptic seizure in a public place, she would be more likely to be helped if:
a. one person was in the area.
b. four to five people were in the area.
c. a dozen people were in the area.
d. the place was crowded with many people.
7. Which of the following is the most common explanation of bystander apathy?

a. diffusion of responsibility
b. entrapment
c. blaming the victim
d. acculturation
8. Which of the following is a situation that increases the likelihood someone will act altruistically?
a. No one is actually in danger or in need of help.
b. He or she becomes entrapped by previous actions.
c. He or she is the only person willing to act.
d. There are no situational factors that increase altruistic behavior.
9. The Robbers Cave experiment showed that:

a. playing athletic games, such as football and baseball, reduces us-them hostility.
b. watching movies together, and similar quiet interactions, reduces us-them hostility.
c. engaging in mutually exciting activities, such as tug or war, reduces us-them hostility.
d. interdependence in reaching mutual goals reduces us-them hostility.
10. One way in which stereotypes can distort reality is that:

a. they exaggerate differences between groups.
b. they exaggerate differences within stereotyped groups.
c. they increase awareness of evidence that contradicts stereotypes.
d. they make it seem like groups are different, when in reality, most groups are exactly the same.
Answer Key
1. c Rationale: The role we play affects our behavior by causing us to conform to expectations for that
role. (Page 260, Factual, Easy, LO 8.4)
2. a Rationale: When two attitudes held by a person conflict, or when a person’s attitudes and behavior
conflict, the person experiences the uncomfortable tension of cognitive dissonance. (Page 266,
Factual, Easy, LO 8.8)
3. c Rationale: The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to feel more positive toward a person,
item, product, or other stimulus that they have seen often. (Page 267, Factual, Easy, LO 8.8)
4. a Rationale: The well-known conformity study involving the judgment of line length was conducted
by Solomon Asch. (Page 273, Factual, Easy, LO 8.10)
5. c Rationale: Self-censorship is one of the symptoms of groupthink. For example, dissenters may
decide to keep quiet rather than make trouble, offend their friends, or risk being ridiculed. (Page
274, Factual, Easy, LO 8.11)
6. a Rationale: Research has demonstrated that the more people who witness a person in trouble, the
less likely it is that anyone will help. This is called bystander apathy, and is driven by diffusion of
responsibility. (Page 275, Applied, Moderate, LO 8.12)
7. a Rationale: Diffusion of responsibility, the idea that the responsibility for action is divided among
the bystanders so that each individual feels less personal responsibility, is the most common
explanation for bystander apathy. (Page 275, Conceptual, Moderate, LO 8.12)
8. b Rationale: After they have taken the initial step of getting involved, most people will increase their
commitment to help. (Page 278 Factual, Difficult, LO 8.13)
9. d Rationale: Sherif’s strategy of creating interdependence in reaching mutual goals was highly
successful in reducing the boys’ “ethnocentrism,” competitiveness, and hostility at the Robbers
Cave camp. (Page 281, Conceptual, Easy, LO 8.14)
10. a Rationale: Although stereotypes reflect real differences among people, they often exaggerate
differences, making the stereotyped group appear odd or even dangerous. (Page 282, Conceptual,
Moderate, LO 8.15)
Multiple Choice Questions
1. ________ are the rules that regulate social life within a culture.
a. Norms
b. Roles
c. Routines
d. Stereotypes
Section: Roles and Rules
Page(s): 256–257 Type: Factual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 8.1: Compare social norms and social roles, and note how each contributes to the social rules that
govern a culture.
Rationale: Norms are defined as rules that regulate social life, including explicit laws and implicit
cultural conventions.
2. Explicit laws and implicit cultural conventions are both examples of:
a. norms.
b. roles.
c. routines.
d. stereotypes.
Page(s): 256–257 Type: Factual Answer: a
govern a culture.
Rationale: Norms are rules about how we are supposed to act. Some norms are enshrined in law, but
many are simply the conventions of everyday life that make interactions with other people
predictable and orderly.
3. Donald enters an elevator and stands in it, facing the back instead of turning around to face the elevator
door. Donald is violating:
a. his gender role.
b. a social role.
c. a norm.
d. a stereotype.
Page(s): 256–257 Type: Applied Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
govern a culture.
Rationale: This is an example of violating an unspoken rule or norm about facing forward on
elevators.
4. Who conducted the “obedience study” in which an authority figure commanded participants to violate their
ethical standards?
a. Solomon Asch
b. Stanley Milgram
c. Philip Zimbardo
d. Muzafer Sherif
Page(s): 257–258 Type: Factual Answer: b
LO 8.2: Outline the basic procedures and findings of the Milgram obedience experiments.
Rationale: Stanley Milgram conducted a classic study on the effects of obedience, in which
participants were asked to give a “learner” increasing increments of shock for wrong answers.
5. An implicit cultural standard has been violated when:
a. taxes are due on April 15 but a person doesn’t file a return.
b. a parent allows a 13-year-old to get behind the wheel for a short drive home.
c. a driver accelerates during a yellow light in order to cross the intersection.
d. the school library is almost completely empty but a student sits right next to a stranger.
Page(s): 257 Type: Applied Answer: d
govern a culture.
Rationale: The incorrect choices involve violations of explicit laws, but sitting next to a stranger
violates an implicit cultural standard.
6. Research on social roles suggests that:

a. people usually follow social roles with conscious deliberation.
b. certain aspects of every role must be carried out or there will almost always be penalties.
c. male gender roles in Western cultures have been resistant to any changes.
d. social roles are fairly independent of culture.
Page(s): 257 Type: Conceptual Answer: b
govern a culture.
Rationale: There are almost always penalties for failing to carry out a social role, even if the penalty
may be nothing more than feeling uncomfortable.
7. Culture can be defined as a program of shared ________ that govern the behavior of people in a society, as
well as a set of shared values and beliefs.
a. social roles
b. rules or norms
c. expectations
d. cognitions
Page(s): 257 Type: Factual Answer: b
govern a culture.
Rationale: Culture includes shared norms, values, and beliefs that are taught to each successive
generation.
8. Tahir, an Arab, and Jan, a Swede, meet at a dinner for international students. Because the cultures of the
two men differ with regard to ________, both may feel uncomfortable during their conversation.
a. knowledge of a common eating etiquette
b. attitudes toward higher education
c. explicit laws
d. conversational distance
govern a culture.
Rationale: Swedes tend to maintain much greater social distance during conversations, whereas
Arabs in general stand the closest together.
9. ________ generally have the greatest conversational distance compared to other cultures; that is, they stand
further apart when they converse.
a. Southern Europeans
b. Arabs
c. The English and Swedes
d. Latin Americans
Page(s): 257 Type: Factual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
govern a culture.
Rationale: The English and Swedes tend to have the greatest conversational distance, whereas Arabs
and Latin Americans stand the closest together.
10. Which statement best describes an aspect of Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience?
a. an ominous-looking shock machine, which had voltage markings from zero to 450 volts
b. participants in the study were randomly assigned to be teachers or learners
c. participants were electrically shocked when they made errors in reciting word pairs
d. a learner and the teacher always sat side by side across from the shock machine
Page(s): 258 Type: Factual Answer: a
Rationale: In Milgram’s study, the learner was always an actor and the teacher was always the true
participant; participants were never shocked; and the learner and teacher were typically in separate
rooms. The shock machine was marked in increments up to 450 volts.
11. Before Stanley Milgram conducted the obedience study, he surveyed several psychiatrists, students, and
middle-class adults as to how many people they predicted would go all the way to the highest voltage under
the instructions of the authority. Milgram’s survey found that:
a. psychiatrists accurately predicted that about 45 percent of the participants would inflict what they
thought were dangerous amounts of shock.
b. students and middle-class adults accurately predicted that about 25 percent of the participants would
inflict what they thought were dangerous amounts of shock.
c. psychiatrists predicted that only one person in a thousand would administer the highest voltage and the
nonprofessionals agreed with this statement.
d. psychiatrists, students, and middle-class adults accurately predicted that about 15 percent of the
participants would inflict what they thought were dangerous amounts of shock.
Rationale: Almost everyone, both professionals and laypeople, predicted that most people would
refuse to go beyond 150 volts and that only one person in a thousand would administer the highest
voltage.
12. About ________ of all participants in Milgram’s study administered the highest level of shock to the
learner.
a. a fourth
b. a third
c. half
d. two-thirds
Page(s): 258 Type: Factual Answer: d
Rationale: About two-thirds of the participants gave the highest level of shock, 450 volts.
13. Replications of Milgram’s study of obedience showed:
a. occupational differences, because 90 percent of lower-SES individuals and 55 percent of upper-SES
individuals inflicted what they thought were dangerous levels of shocks to the “learner.”
b. gender differences in a willingness to obey, because 75 percent of men but only 30 percent of women
inflicted what they thought were dangerous levels of shocks to the “learner.”
c. that more than 90 percent of the subjects in Spain and in the Netherlands inflicted what they thought
were dangerous levels of shocks to the “learner.”
d. that when the victim said that he had a heart ailment or screamed in agony, 10 percent of the “teachers”
inflicted what they thought were dangerous levels of shocks to the “learner.”
Rationale: When Milgram’s study was conducted in Spain and the Netherlands, obedience was much
higher than in the United States. Occupation, gender, and complaints by the learner made no
difference.
14. Which of the following actions by the “learner” reduced the likelihood of being shocked by the “teacher” in
Milgram’s study?
a. protesting noisily
b. screaming in pain
c. complaining of having a heart ailment
d. nothing the learner did substantially affected the likelihood of being shocked
Page(s): 258–259 Type: Factual Answer: d
Rationale: In Milgram’s study, virtually nothing the victim did or said changed the likelihood of
compliance from the teacher.
15. In the Milgram study, under which of the following conditions were the participants (teachers) most likely
to disobey orders from experimenters?
a. when the participant and the learner were in separate rooms
b. when two experimenters both encouraged the participant to continue
c. when the participant worked with a peer who refused to continue the procedure
d. when the person ordering them to continue was a Ph.D. and wore a lab coat
LO 8.3: Discuss five conditions that make disobedience to authority more likely.
Rationale: When the teachers had peers who objected to the shock experiment, they were much more
likely to disobey the experimenters.
16. Milgram concluded that obedience in his study was a function of:
a. the religious beliefs of the participant.
b. the personality of the participant.
c. the responses made by the learner.
d. the situation of the experiment.
Rationale: Milgram concluded that obedience was more a function of the situation than of
the personalities of the participants. The only thing that changed the outcome of the experiment was
if the basic situation was changed, such as having the experimenter leave the room or having the
teacher in the same room as the learner.
17. Milgram’s study of obedience has been criticized on the basis of:
a. its lack of random assignment.
b. the inability of any of its findings to be replicated.
c. the physical pain learners experienced from the electric shock.
d. the emotional distress and deception experienced by participants.
Rationale: Many consider the Milgram study unethical because participants were kept in the dark
about what was really happening until the session was over, and because many suffered emotional
distress during the experiment.
18. Which of the following increased the likelihood that participants would disobey in Milgram’s obedience
study?
a. having only one teacher
b. having the experimenter in the room with the teacher
c. having two experimenters issuing the same commands
d. having the experimenter be an ordinary man
Rationale: When the person ordering them to continue was an ordinary man, apparently another
volunteer instead of the authoritative experimenter, many participants disobeyed.
19. Results of Stanley Milgram’s study on obedience showed that:

a. about two-thirds of the subjects stopped delivering shocks when the learner first demanded to be free.
b. about two-thirds of the subjects, from all ages and from all walks of life, obeyed to the fullest extent.
c. almost 90 percent of the women and about 60 percent of the men stopped administering shocks even
though the experimenter said, “The experiment requires that you continue.”
d. about 90 percent of the older adults and about 60 percent of the students stopped administering shocks
even though the experimenter said, “The experiment requires that you continue.”
Rationale: About two-thirds of the participants gave the highest level of shock, 450 volts.
20. William is a police officer who is instructed by a superior officer to beat a suspect in order to obtain a
confession. According to research conducted on obedience, William is more likely to disobey this order if:
a. the superior officer is in the room with William and the suspect.
b. another senior officer agrees that William should beat the suspect.
c. the suspect asks William to stop.
d. William sees another police officer refuse to continue beating the suspect.
Rationale: In Milgram’s famous obedience studies, when the participant worked with peers who
refused to go further, he or she often gained the courage to disobey.
21. In the Stanford prison study, male college students agreed to participate in a two-week experiment to
discover what would happen when they took on the roles of prisoners and guards. The researchers found
that:
a. within a short time the prisoners became distressed and felt helpless, developing emotional
symptoms and physical ailments.
b. about five percent of the guards became tyrannical, giving the prisoners electric shocks
when they were slow in obeying their orders.
c. 90 percent of the guards tried to be “tough but fair” and demanded that the tyrannical
guards lighten up on the prisoners because it was only a simulation.
d. the study was conducted in an unused wing of a real prison; therefore, the realistic atmosphere
enhanced the role behavior of prisoners and guards.
LO 8.4: Outline the basic procedures and findings of the Zimbardo prison study.
Rationale: In the Stanford prison study, students-prisoners quickly became distressed and the
study had to be ended sooner than planned.
22. The Stanford prison study demonstrates how a person’s ________ affect(s) behavior.
a. beliefs
b. values
c. role
d. past experience
Rationale: The role we play affects our behavior by causing us to conform to expectations for that
role.
23. Critics of the Stanford prison study argue that:

a. the methodology was flawed, because participants were not randomly assigned to either the prisoner
role or the guard role.
b. by stopping the study after six days, instead of letting it continue for the two-week experimental
period, the researchers had not allowed enough time for dramatic change to occur.
c. a makeshift prison in the basement of a university building was not an effective setting to investigate
the factors involved.
d. briefing the guards at the beginning of the study influenced their behavior, and the study merely
showed how willingly people obey orders.
Rationale: Critics have noted that the briefing gave powerful suggestions to the guards about how
they would be permitted to behave.
24. According to C. P. Snow, “more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of ________ than in the
name of rebellion.”
a. obedience
b. conformity
c. religion
d. the law
LO 8.5: Explain how feelings of entrapment contribute to destructive obedience.
Rationale: Snow suggested that people are more likely to do negative things because they are obeying
orders (behaving as expected in a particular situation), than because they are acting on beliefs and
rebelling.
25. Which of the following is true about obedience?
a. Obedience is not always harmful or bad, and is necessary in many cases.
b. Most people follow orders because they secretly enjoy being told what to do.
c. Most people follow orders despite a strong desire to “rock the boat.”
d. Entrapment is a process that helps people disobey.
Page(s): 261 Type: Conceptual Answer: a
Rationale: Obedience to authority or to the norms of a situation is not always harmful or bad. A
certain amount of routine compliance with rules is necessary in any group, and obedience to
authority has many benefits for individuals and society.
26. ________ is defined as a gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of
action to justify their investment of time, money, or effort.
a. Motivation
b. Entrapment
c. Acculturation
d. Conformity
Rationale: Entrapment occurs when each successive act of obedience serves to further commit
a person to a course of action.
27. Which of the following is an example of entrapment as it relates to obedience?

a. A friend who is moving asks you to bring over a few empty boxes; when you arrive, he asks you to fill
the boxes with dishes, and before you realize, you’ve packed his entire kitchen.
b. A friend convinces you that it would be fun to stand backwards in the checkout line of the grocery
store, and other customers gawk at you.
c. A friend invites you to her wedding, but then complains that the gift you brought wasn’t expensive
enough.
d. A friend encourages you to participate in a music competition and gives you tips to maintain poise and
relax. When the competition commences, he nags you with more suggestions.
Page(s): 262 Type: Applied Answer: a
Rationale: In the correct scenario, you are asked to commit to helping your friend a little more at
each stage until you find it hard to refuse. Thus, this is an example of entrapment.
28. Researchers in the area of ________ examine how people’s perception of themselves and others affect their
relationships.
a. psychoanalysis
b. sociobiology
c. social cognition
d. experimental psychology
Section: Social Influences on Beliefs and Behavior
LO 8.6: Contrast situational and dispositional attributions, and explain how and why the
fundamental attribution error takes place.
Rationale: Social cognition is an area in social psychology concerned with social influences on
thought, memory, perception, and beliefs.
29. Social _______________ refers to the effect of social influences on thought, memory, perception, and
beliefs.
a. attribution
b. entrapment
c. dissonance
d. cognition
Rationale: Social cognition involves the effects of our social environment on our thoughts, beliefs,
and other cognitive processes.
30. Attribution theory examines:

a. the explanations people make about the causes of their own behaviors and the behaviors of others.
b. the psychological traits or “attributes” that a person possesses.
c. the way in which attitudes affect our behavior.
d. the tension caused by holding two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent.
Rationale: Attribution theory states that people are motivated to explain their own and other
people’s behavior by attributing causes of that behavior to a situation or a disposition.
31. When we make situational attributions, we are identifying the cause of an action as something:
a. in the environment.
b. in the person’s disposition.
c. that is a biological trait.
d. in the unconscious.
Rationale: When we make a situational attribution, we are identifying the cause of an action as
something in the situation or environment.
32. According to attribution theory, the explanations we give for our behavior and the behavior of others
generally fall into two categories:
a. dispositional and situational.
b. environmental and situational.
c. mental and physical
d. implicit and explicit.
Rationale: When trying to understand the cause of a person’s behavior, we either make dispositional
attributions (that behavior is caused by personality traits) or situational attributions (that behavior is
caused by the situation).
33. While stuck in a traffic jam, Yani notices a frustrated driver frequently honking his horn. Yani thinks to
himself, “That driver is a real jerk!” This is an example of a _______________ attribution.
a. situational
b. dispositional
c. self-serving
d. prejudiced
Page(s): 263 Type: Applied Answer: b
Rationale: When we make a dispositional attribution, we are identifying the cause of an action as
something in a person, such as a trait or motive.
34. When people in Western countries try to find reasons for someone else’s behavior, they tend to:
a. ignore dispositional attributions in favor of situational attributions.
b. leap to the attribution that people’s behaviors correspond to the context.
c. explore the personality traits and the environmental constraints to derive an explanation.
d. overestimate personality traits and underestimate the influence of the situation.
Page(s): 263 Type: Conceptual Answer: d
Rationale: It is common—especially in Western nations—to underestimate the role of the situation
and overestimate the role of traits or personality factors when judging other people’s behavior. This
is called the fundamental attribution error.
35. Janet, an administrative assistant at a London firm, is trying to find reasons for her boss’s hostile behavior.
She is likely to:
a. ignore her boss’s dispositional attributions in favor of situational attributions.
b. leap to the attribution that her boss’s behavior corresponds to work demands.
c. explore her boss’s personality traits and the environmental constraints to derive an explanation.
d. overestimate her boss’s personality traits and underestimate the influence of the situation.
Rationale: It is common—especially in Western nations—to underestimate the role of the situation
and overestimate the role of traits or personality factors in judging other people’s behavior. This is
called the fundamental attribution error.
36. ______________ refers to the tendency to overestimate dispositional influences (and underestimate
situational influences) when explaining another person’s behavior.
a. Cognitive dissonance
b. The fundamental attribution error
c. Diffusion of responsibility
d. Deindividuation
LO 8.7: Describe three biases that are based on attributions people make about themselves and
others.
Rationale: It is common to underestimate the role of the situation and overestimate the role of traits
or personality factors in judging other people’s behavior. This is called the fundamental attribution
error.
37. The basic asymmetry in social perception is due, in part, to the ________, which makes you feel good
about yourself even when you shouldn’t.
a. confidence quotient
b. fundamental attribution error
c. self-serving bias
d. familiarity effect
others.
Rationale: The self-serving bias involves the tendency to feel good about yourself, even when you
shouldn’t.
38. In which of the following countries would the fundamental attribution error be more prevalent?
a. India
b. Canada
c. China
d. Japan
Rationale: The fundamental attribution error is especially common in Western nations, such as
Canada.
39. ________ occurs when a person chooses attributions for his or her own behavior that are favorable.
a. The fundamental attribution error
b. The just-world error
c. The self-serving bias
d. Entrapment
others.
Rationale: Self-serving bias is a tendency to explain our own behaviors in a favorable way.
40. The tendency for people to take personal credit for their good actions, but blame the situation for their
mistakes, is known as the:
a. fundamental attribution error.
b. just-world bias
c. validity effect.
d. self-serving bias.
others.
41. Garret has a tendency to take credit for his good actions, but he attributes his mistakes to factors beyond his
control. This is an example of:
a. the fundamental attribution error.
b. the validity effect.
c. the just-world hypothesis.
d. the self-serving bias.
others.
42. According to the just-world hypothesis, people tend to believe that:

a. a person’s actions are just if they truly believe in them.
b. all members should benefit equally from belonging to a social group.
c. bad people are punished and good people are rewarded.
d. rewards come to us in just this world, and not in the afterlife.
others.
Rationale: The just-world hypothesis is the notion that many people need to believe that the world is
fair and that justice is served; that bad people are punished and good people are rewarded.
43. A belief about people, groups, ideas, or activities is called a(n):

a. social norm.
b. attitude.
c. attribution.
d. disposition.
LO 8.8: Explain how the validity effect and the familiarity effect shape our attitudes.
Rationale: An attitude is a belief about people, groups, ideas, or activities.
44. Cognitive dissonance is:

a. a state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are
psychologically inconsistent.
b. the tendency of members of a group to avoid taking responsibility for their actions because they
assume that others will do so.
c. the tendency for members of a close-knit group to think alike for the sake of harmony and to suppress
disagreement.
d. a belief that a statement is true just because the person has heard it repeated over and over again.
Rationale: When two attitudes held by a person conflict, or when a person’s attitudes and behavior
conflict, the person experiences the uncomfortable tension of cognitive dissonance.
45. A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically
inconsistent is known as:
a. cognitive dissonance.
b. the fundamental attribution error.
c. the validity effect.
d. deindividuation.
Rationale: When two attitudes held by a person conflict, or when a person’s attitudes and behavior
conflict, the person experiences the uncomfortable tension of cognitive dissonance.
46. Representative Jansen, a U.S. congresswoman, believes in the reproductive rights and welfare of women
but voted to ban late-term abortions. Jansen feels very uneasy about the conflict between her beliefs and her
behavior. She is most likely experiencing:
a. the just-world hypothesis.
b. cognitive resolution.
d. the fundamental attribution error.
Page(s): 266 Type: Applied Answer: c
Rationale: Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds
two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, or when a person’s belief is incongruent with his
or her behavior.
47. The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to:

a. be unable to distinguish between actual experiences and what they have been told.
b. believe that a statement is true simply because it has been repeated a number of times.
c. feel more positive toward a person, item, product, or other stimulus that they have seen often.
d. overestimate their abilities to have predicted an event once the outcome is known.
Rationale: The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to feel more positive toward a person, item,
product, or other stimulus that they have seen often.
48. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, used a technique called “The Big Lie.” He knew that
people begin to believe that a statement is true simply because it has been repeated a number of times. The
formal name for this technique is:
a. the validity effect.
b. groupthink.
c. diffusion of responsibility.
d. symbolic racism.
Rationale: When a person hears an opinion or attitude repeatedly, he or she tends to believe it is
true. This is referred to as the validity effect.
49. At Nicholas’ high school, a rumor was spread that the principal was having an affair with one of the
teachers. Although Nicholas didn’t believe the rumor at first, the more he heard the rumor repeated, the
more he accepted it as a fact. This is an example of:
a. the familiarity effect.
b. brainwashing.
d. the validity effect.
Rationale: The validity effect is the tendency of people to believe that a statement is true or valid
simply because it has been repeated many times.
50. When Lidia first moved to Texas, she really didn’t like country music. However, after being exposed to it
for a while, her attitude began to change. This is an example of the:
a. just-world effect.
b. familiarity effect.
c. validity effect.
d. fundamental attribution error.
Rationale: The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to feel more positive toward a person, item,
product, or other stimulus the more familiar they are with it.
51. As part of the indoctrination process used by terrorist groups and cults, as soon as a person is a committed
believer, the leader is most likely to:
a. allow them more choices than before.
b. encourage private doubts.
c. encourage contact with family members.
d. denigrate critical thinking.
LO 8.9: Summarize four elements that contribute to indoctrination.
Rationale: As soon as a person is a committed believer, the leader limits the person’s choices,
denigrates critical thinking, and suppresses private doubts. Recruits may be physically isolated from
the outside world and thus from possible antidotes to the leader’s ideas.
52. According to your textbook, the need to ________ may be the most powerful human motivation.
a. be creative
b. belong
c. participate
d. achieve
Section: Individuals in Groups
LO 8.10: Outline the basic procedures and findings of the Asch line-judging study.
Rationale: The need to belong is the strongest need listed here.
53. Solomon Asch set up an experiment in which eight people were shown a 10-inch line, and they had to
choose the line (from a group of three) that matched the original line in length. Through this experiment,
Asch was studying:
a. bystander apathy.
b. social loafing.
c. groupthink.
d. conformity.
Rationale: Solomon Asch studied conformity in this experiment.
54. Angela is a participant in a replication of a very famous psychology experiment. Along with seven other
students seated in a room, she is shown a 10-inch test line, and then everyone takes turns identifying
another line that matches the test line in length (choosing from a set of three lines). The experimenter is
interested in studying:
a. visual perception.
b. depth perception.
c. absolute threshold.
d. conformity.
Rationale: This describes Solomon Asch’s original study on conformity.
55. Who conducted an experiment on conformity in which people were asked to judge the length of lines?
a. Solomon Asch
b. Stanley Milgram
c. Philip Zimbardo
d. Muzafer Sherif
Rationale: The well-known conformity study involving the judgment of line length was conducted by
Solomon Asch.
56. _______________ is the tendency for people on a team or a mission together to agree with each other and
suppress dissension among their ranks.
a. Groupthink
b. Diffusion of responsibility
c. Cognitive dissonance
d. Deindividuation
LO 8.11: List four symptoms of groupthink, and give an example from history, politics, or business
to illustrate them.
Rationale: A hallmark of groupthink is a tendency for members of a group to think alike and for
disagreement to be suppressed.
57. Which of the following is a symptom of groupthink?

a. a feeling of vulnerability
b. weak leadership within the group
c. self-censorship
d. disagreement
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Self-censorship is one of the symptoms of groupthink. For example, dissenters may decide
to keep quiet rather than make trouble, offend their friends, or risk being ridiculed.
58. Carlos and his work associates form a close, friendly group, and they usually work well together. However,
they may face a problem involving an extreme form of conformity called:
a. the fundamental attribution error.
b. generational identity.
c. groupthink.
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Groupthink, a tendency for members of a group to think alike and for disagreement to be
suppressed, is more likely in close, cohesive groups.
59. When close-knit group members experience groupthink, it means that:

a. they tend to overestimate the personality factors of others and underestimate the situation.
b. they tend to use problem-solving procedures that have been effective in the group’s past.
c. they tend to take individual credit for good decisions and blame the group for poor decisions.
d. they tend to think alike and to suppress disagreement for the sake of harmony.
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Groupthink, a tendency for members of a group to think alike and for disagreement to be
suppressed, is more likely in close, friendly groups.
60. When a group believes that they are totally correct in all of their decisions, it is a sign that _____________
may be occurring.
a. the self-serving bias
b. a fundamental attribution error
c. groupthink
d. diffusion of responsibility
Page(s): 274 Type: Moderate Answer: c
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Groupthink is a tendency for all members of a group to think alike and for disagreement
to be suppressed. An illusion of invulnerability—the belief that the group can do no wrong—is a
symptom of groupthink.
61. The members of Ike’s fraternity think spending the entire activity fund for the cultural fest is reasonable.
Ike does not think this is a good idea but he decides to keep quiet rather than offend his fraternity brothers
and risk being ridiculed. This scenario illustrates a symptom of:
a. groupthink.
b. deindividuation.
c. the diffusion of responsibility.
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Groupthink is a tendency for members of a group to think alike and for disagreement
to be suppressed. Self-censorship by group members is one of the symptoms of groupthink.
62. According to the textbook, the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was a result of:
a. a weak leader.
b. groupthink.
c. the self-serving bias.
d. group polarization.
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Throughout history, groupthink has led to disastrous decisions in military and civilian
life, including President Kennedy and his advisers’ decision to support the invasion of Cuba.
63. When President George W. Bush launched an invasion of Iraq, claiming that the country had weapons of
mass destruction and was allied with Al-Qaeda, he and his team ignored evidence from intelligence
agencies that neither claim was true. Some in the intelligence agencies attributed this error to a process
called:
a. groupthink.
b. unanimity.
c. self-censorship.
d. conservatism.
to illustrate them.
Rationale: The Bush administration was accused of groupthink by some in the intelligence
community.
64. Which of the following is a sign of groupthink?

a. an illusion of vulnerability
b. an illusion of anonymity
c. unbiased information seeking
d. self-censorship
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Self-censorship to avoid making trouble, offending, or being ridiculed by other group
members is a common sign of groupthink.
65. Which of the following is the most common explanation of bystander apathy?
a. diffusion of responsibility
b. entrapment
c. blaming the victim
d. acculturation
LO 8.12: Explain how diffusion of responsibility, deindividuation, and anonymity contribute to the
madness of crowds.
Rationale: Diffusion of responsibility—the idea that the responsibility for action is divided among the
bystanders so that each individual feels less personal responsibility—is the most common explanation
for bystander apathy.
66. Groupthink can be counteracted by creating conditions that:
a. foster strong, directive leadership.
b. punish disloyalty.
c. explicitly encourage doubt and dissent.
d. help members focus on being team players.
Page(s): 275 Type: Conceptual Answer: c
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Groupthink can be minimized if the leader rewards the expression of doubt and dissent,
and protects and encourages minority views.
67. Resistance to groupthink can be fostered by:

a. fostering strong, directive leadership.
b. asking group members to generate as many alternative solutions as possible.
c. discouraging doubt and dissent.
d. helping members focus on being team players.
to illustrate them.
Rationale: Groupthink can be reduced if the leader asks group members to generate as many
alternative solutions to a problem as they can think of.
68. If a person had an epileptic seizure in a public place, she would be more likely to be helped if:
a. one person was in the area.
b. four to five people were in the area.
c. a dozen people were in the area.
d. the place was crowded with many people.
madness of crowds.
Rationale: Research has demonstrated that the more people who witness a person in trouble, the less
likely it is that anyone will help. This is called bystander apathy, and is driven by diffusion of
responsibility.
69. Bystander apathy results from:

a. social loafing.
b. deindividuation.
c. diffusion of responsibility.
d. the familiarity effect.
madness of crowds.
Rationale: Bystander apathy seems to result from dividing the responsibility to help over the many
people who are present, so each individual feels little personal responsibility for taking action. This is
referred to as diffusion of responsibility.
70. Lucas walks around his busy college campus between classes. He notices smoke coming from the side of
the cafeteria, but assumes that someone inside already has called the fire department. What phenomenon
does this example illustrate?
c. deindividuation
d. groupthink
madness of crowds.
Rationale: In groups, the tendency of members to avoid taking action because they assume that
others will is called diffusion of responsibility.
71. Research suggests that you are more likely to:

a. feel deindividuated in a small town.
b. feel deindividuated when wearing a uniform.
c. feel combative rather than kind when feeling deindividuated.
d. demonstrate mindlessness when feeling deindividuated.
madness of crowds.
Rationale: Deindividuation is more likely to occur when people wear uniforms or other garb that
strips them of their personal identity, because they feel more anonymous and are less likely to be
recognized.
72. When people are in large crowds and anonymous situations:

a. they conform to the situation’s specific norms.
b. they become mindless and no longer conform to any social norms.
c. they become uninhibited and their sexual urges are released.
d. they become combative and their aggressiveness is released.
madness of crowds.
Rationale: When people are in large crowds or anonymous situations, they do not inevitably become
mindless or aggressive. Instead, studies of deindividuation show that a person is more likely to
conform his or her behavior to the norms of the specific situation, which may be either antisocial or
prosocial.
73. Adora, Yvette, and twelve of their closest friends from college plan to go to Key West during spring break.
As members of the anonymous crowd of college students, Adora and Yvette will most likely:
a. conform to the situation’s specific norms and say, “Let’s party!”
b. conform to the local norms of the city of Key West.
c. become uninhibited because mindlessness is increased in a large group.
d. become combative because aggressiveness is released in the large group.
madness of crowds.
Rationale: Studies of deindividuation show that a person is likely to conform his or her behavior to
the norms of the specific situation.
74. During baseball games and soccer matches, the fans scream and cheer from the stands. Sometimes even the
most reserved person who is watching joins in. This situation is an example of ________.
a. the validity effect
b. deindividuation
c. the familiarity effect
d. cognitive dissonance
madness of crowds.
Rationale: The most extreme instances of the diffusion of responsibility occur in large, anonymous
mobs or crowds. The crowds may consist of cheerful sports spectators or angry rioters. Either way,
people often lose awareness of their individuality and seem to hand themselves over to the mood and
actions of the crowd, a state called deindividuation.
75. Eduardo is wearing a silly gorilla suit at a costume party. Although he is normally responsible and
respectful, Eduardo joins in when the party starts getting wild. After the police break up the gathering, he
apologetically tells them that he “forgot himself.” What phenomenon does this illustrate?
c. deindividuation
d. groupthink
madness of crowds.
Rationale: Deindividuation is increased when uniforms or disguises strip a person of her or his
individual identity.
76. Which of the following is a situation that increases the likelihood someone will act altruistically?
a. No one is actually in danger or in need of help.
b. He or she becomes entrapped by previous actions.
c. He or she is the only person willing to act.
d. There are no situational factors that increase altruistic behavior.
LO 8.13: Discuss four situational factors that increase one’s likelihood to offer help to others.
Rationale: After they have taken the initial step of getting involved, most people will increase their
commitment to help.
77. The part of a person’s self-concept that is based on his or her identification with a nation, religious or
political group, occupation, or other social affiliation is called:
a. ethnic identity.
b. a stereotype.
c. ethnocentrism.
d. social identity.
Section: Us Versus Them: Group Identity
LO 8.14: Contrast ethnic identity, acculturation, and ethnocentrism, and offer examples of each
concept.
Rationale: Part of one’s self-concept that is based on identifying with a nation, ethnic group, gender,
religion, or other social affiliation is called one’s social identity.
78. The part of people’s self-concept that is based on their identification with racial or ethnic groups is called
their:
a. ethnic identity.
b. ethnic stereotype.
c. tacit identity.
d. social concept.
concept.
Rationale: An ethnic identity is a close identification with a religious or ethnic group.
79. The belief that one’s own ethnic group, nation, or religion is superior to all others is called:
a. acculturation.
b. the self-serving bias.
c. ethnocentrism.
d. entrapment.
concept.
Rationale: Ethnocentrism is the belief that your own culture or nation is superior to all others.
80. Ethnocentrism can be reduced by:

a. interdependence in reaching mutual goals.
b. an us-them mentality.
c. competition.
d. acculturation and accommodation.
concept.
Rationale: Ethnocentrism is reduced when two groups must work together to reach mutual goals.
81. The Robbers Cave experiment showed that:

a. playing athletic games, such as football and baseball, reduces us-them hostility.
b. watching movies together, and similar quiet interactions, reduces us-them hostility.
c. engaging in mutually exciting activities, such as tug or war, reduces us-them hostility.
d. interdependence in reaching mutual goals reduces us-them hostility.
concept.
Rationale: Sherif’s strategy of creating interdependence in reaching mutual goals was highly
successful in reducing the boys’ “ethnocentrism,” competitiveness, and hostility at the Robbers Cave
camp.
82. One way in which stereotypes can distort reality is that:

a. they exaggerate differences between groups.
b. they exaggerate differences within stereotyped groups.
c. they increase awareness of evidence that contradicts stereotypes.
d. they make it seem like groups are different, when in reality, most groups are exactly the same.
LO 8.15: Define what a stereotype is, and discuss three ways in which stereotypes distort reality.
Rationale: Although stereotypes reflect real differences among people, they often exaggerate
differences, making the stereotyped group appear odd or even dangerous.
83. Juan believes that all “Anglos” are uptight and cold, and he won’t listen to any evidence that contradicts his
belief. This example illustrates a case of:
a. prejudice.
b. deindividuation.
c. stereotyping.
Section: Group Conflict and Prejudice
LO 8.16: Describe four sources of the origins of prejudice.
Rationale: A prejudice is a strong, unreasonable dislike or hatred of a group, based on a negative
stereotype that is typically immune to evidence.
84. A psychological cause of prejudice is that it:

a. reduces feelings of entrapment.
b. increases self-esteem.
c. increases altruistic behavior.
d. decreases us-them thinking.
Rationale: One result of prejudice is that it increases self-esteem in the prejudiced person. This is a
psychological factor that helps to explain prejudice.
85. A social cause of prejudice comes from pressure to:

a. make dispositional attributions.
b. be altruistic.
c. conform to social norms.
d. be individualistic.
Rationale: Some prejudices are acquired through pressure to conform to the views of friends,
relatives, or associates.
86. An economic cause of prejudice is that it:

a. encourages acculturation.
b. decreases us-them thinking.
c. increases altruistic behavior.
d. makes official forms of discrimination seem legitimate.
Rationale: An economic cause of prejudice is that it makes official forms of discrimination seem
legitimate, by justifying the majority group’s dominance, status, or greater wealth.
87. A cultural cause of prejudice is that it:
a. helps people bond to their own ethnic group.
b. encourages acculturation.
c. increases disobedience.
d. replaces official forms of discrimination.
Rationale: A cultural cause of prejudice is that it helps people to bond to their own ethnic group.
88. ________ reflects a behavioral expression of prejudice: a reluctance to get too close to another group.
a. Personal space
b. Social distance
c. Cultural space
d. Discrimination distance
LO 8.17: Describe five ways of measuring prejudicial attitudes.
Rationale: Social distance reflects a behavioral expression of prejudice: a reluctance to get too close
to another group.
89. The_______________ is a controversial method for measuring prejudice, which pairs positive and negative
words with black or white faces and then measures the participant’s reaction time.
a. Implicit Associations Test (IAT)
b. fMRI Test
c. Social Distance Procedure
d. Mood Awareness Scale
Rationale: This describes the Implicit Associations Test (IAT), which is designed to tap people’s
associations between a stimulus and unconscious feelings of pleasantness or unpleasantness. It
attempts to measure nonconscious prejudice.
90. Based on the information about prejudice in your textbook, what is the most likely outcome of extending
marriage rights to same-sex couples in the long run?
a. It will cause a backlash and lead to more anti-gay prejudice.
b. It will decrease explicit prejudice, but increase implicit prejudice.
c. It will decrease anti-gay prejudice.
d. Nothing, because prejudice is not affected by legal status.
LO 8.18: Describe four situations that can help reduce prejudice and intergroup conflict.
Rationale: Prejudice is generally decreased when both sides have equal legal status, and when the
authorities and community institutions provide moral and legal support to both sides.
91. When Jenny’s parents told her that they were moving to Alabama, she was horrified because she secretly
thought that southerners were mostly poorly educated and racist. After experiencing the foods, traditions,
and people in her new state, she was surprised to realize that southerners weren’t all alike, and that many of
her new friends were just like her. This is an example of:
a. the social distance effect.
b. the contact hypothesis.
c. subconscious isolationism.
d. stereotype bias.
Rationale: According to the contact hypothesis, prejudice declines when people have the chance to
get used to another group’s rules, food, customs, and attitudes, thereby discovering their shared
interests and shared humanity and learning that “those people” aren’t, in fact, “all alike.”
92. According to research discussed in your textbook, prejudice is reduced when:

a. groups are asked to pretend that they like each other.
b. an intellectual argument against prejudice is made.
c. members of different groups are made to cooperate with one another to achieve a goal.
d. a moral argument against prejudice is made.
Rationale: When students from different ethnic groups work together on a task that is broken up like
a jigsaw puzzle, they tend to do better, like their classmates better, and become less stereotyped and
prejudiced in their thinking than students in traditional classrooms.
93. The “banality of evil” means that:

a. all people possess inner aggressive drives to commit evil crimes.
b. weak governments become stronger by emphasizing the evilness of other nations.
c. evil is commonplace and occurs in most societies and nations.
d. evil acts are committed by evil people and good people are noble souls.
Section: The Question of Human Nature
LO 8.19: Explain the phrase “the banality of evil,” and discuss how it contributes to otherwise-good
people behaving badly.
Rationale: Social and cultural psychologists believe that all cultures contain the potential for good
and for evil. Violence results from processes such as ethnocentrism, prejudice, deindividuation, and
stereotyping.
True-False Questions
1. When people observe that a social norm has been violated, they are more likely to violate it themselves.
Page(s): 256 Type: Factual Answer: True
govern a culture.
2. Rules that regulate human life, including explicit laws and implicit cultural conventions, are called
situational attributions.
Page(s): 257 Type: Factual Answer: False
govern a culture.
3. A norm is a given social position that is governed by a set of rules for proper behavior.
govern a culture.
4. The purpose of Milgram’s study of obedience was to find out how many people would obey an authority
figure when directly ordered to violate their own ethical standards.
Page(s): 257–258 Type: Factual Answer: True
5. In Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience, the “learners” actually received very significant levels of shock.
6. Before Milgram’s study of obedience began, psychiatrists predicted that only one person in a thousand
would administer the highest voltage.
7. Before Milgram’s study of obedience began, psychiatrists predicted that one person in ten would administer
the highest voltage.
8. In Milgram’s obedience study, 15 percent of the subjects refused to administer any shocks to the “learner.”
9. In Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience, after the “learner” cried out in pain, 85 percent of the participants
refused to deliver any more shocks.
10. In variations of Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience, people were more likely to disobey when the
experimenter left the room.
11. In variations of Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience, people’s behaviors were not influenced by whether
the person giving orders appeared to be “ordinary” or appeared to be a scientist.
12. According to Stanley Milgram, willingness to obey an authority is tied to the personalities of the
participants rather than being tied to situational factors.
13. The social psychologists who conducted the Stanford prison study found dramatic results within a short
period of time.
14. In the Stanford prison study, all the guards became tyrannical, using harsh and abusive methods to interact
with prisoners.
15. Entrapment occurs when someone in authority asks you to do something, and you want to disobey, but
instead you agree to do it.
16. Entrapment is a gradual process in which individuals escalate their commitment to a course of action to
justify their investment of time, money, or effort.
17. Social cognition is an area of social psychology concerned with social influences on thought, memory,
perception, and other cognitive processes.
18. The fundamental attribution error is especially prevalent in collectivist cultures, such as India or Japan.
19. The tendency to take credit for one’s good actions and to let the situation account for one’s bad actions is
called the fundamental attribution error.
20. According to the just-world hypothesis, attributions are affected by the need to believe that the world is
fair, that justice prevails, and that good people are rewarded and bad people are punished.
others.
21. The just-world hypothesis leads to a dispositional attribution called “blaming the victim.”
others.
22. Most people are overly pessimistic about their own abilities, competence, and other good qualities.
others.
23. An attitude is a belief about people, groups, ideas, or activities.

24. Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person’s belief is incongruent with his or her
behavior.
25. Entrapment is a state of tension that occurs when a person’s belief is incongruent with his or her behavior.
26. Simply exposing people repeatedly to a product can make them like that product more.
27. The tendency of people to believe that a statement is true or valid simply because it has been repeated many
times is known as the familiarity effect.
28. The validity effect is the tendency of people to believe that a statement is true simply because it has been
repeated many times.
29. Conservatives tend to prefer the values of progress, rebelliousness, chaos, flexibility, feminism, and
equality.
30. Brainwashing is politically-motivated violence specifically designed to instill feelings of helplessness in a

population.
31. One of the most powerful weapons that groups have to insure their members’ cooperation and to weed out
disruptive members is rejection or permanent banishment.
32. Solomon Asch designed his famous conformity studies in order to see what people would do when a group
unanimously contradicted an obvious fact.
33. In close-knit groups, the tendency for all members to think alike and to suppress disagreement for the sake
of harmony is called the fundamental attribution error.
to illustrate them.
34. Groupthink occurred when NASA officials insulated themselves from the objections of dissenting
engineers and made the fatal decision to launch the space shuttle Challenger.
Page(s): 274 Type: Applied Answer: True
to illustrate them.
35. If you were injured in a public place, you would be more likely to get help if there were several people in
the area rather than only one person.
Page(s): 275 Type: Conceptual Answer: False
madness of crowds.
36. Deindividuation occurs when members of a group lose awareness of their own individuality.
madness of crowds.
37. A way in which organizations actively promote the deindividuation of their members is through the use of
uniforms.
madness of crowds.
38. When people are asked to think of heroes they personally know, they generally name only men.
39. A tourist selflessly dives into an icy river to rescue a drowning stranger. This scenario is an example of
altruism.
Page(s): 277 Type: Applied Answer: True
40. Helping someone you are attracted to with his or her homework so they will go out with you is an example
of altruism.
Page(s): 277 Type: Applied Answer: False
41. Altruism is the willingness to take selfless or dangerous action on behalf of others.
42. In Asch’s conformity experiment, the presence of one other person who gave the correct answer was
enough to overcome agreement with the majority.
43. The belief that one’s own ethnic group, nation, or religion is superior to all others is called the self-serving
bias.
concept.
44. Stereotypes can be energy-saving devices that allow us to make efficient decisions.
Page(s): 281–282 Type: Factual Answer: True
45. A prejudice consists of a negative stereotype and a strong, unreasonable dislike of a group.
46. Benevolent sexism is harmless.

47. From the standpoint of social and cultural psychology, some cultures and individuals are just inherently
evil.
48. In the social-psychological view, the horrifying violence enacted by one group against another is due to
inner aggressive drives that are part of human nature.
Short Answer Questions
1. Before conducting his study of obedience, Stanley Milgram asked a number of psychiatrists, students, and
other adults to predict how many people they thought would deliver shocks at the highest levels. What
predictions did they make?
Section: Roles and Rules Type: Factual Page(s): 258
Answer: A good answer will include the following key points.
• The psychiatrists predicted that most people would refuse to give shocks greater than 150 volts.
• They also predicted that only one in a thousand people would administer the highest level of
shock.
• The predictions of the nonprofessionals were similar to those of the psychiatrists.
2. What criticisms have been raised regarding Milgram’s comparison of his study with the brutality of the
Nazis during World War II?
Section: Roles and Rules Type: Conceptual Page(s): 259
• The people in Milgram’s study obeyed only when the researcher was right there, and even then
they felt very uncomfortable.
• The Nazis acted without direct supervision by authorities, without external pressure, and
without feelings of anguish.
3. When students were held as “prisoners” in the Stanford prison study, how did they respond during the first
days of the experiment? Why did the researchers end the study at Day 6, instead of Day 14 as initially
planned?
• Most of the “prisoners” became distressed and helpless. Some developed emotional symptoms
and physical ailments. One panicked and broke down.
• The “guards” began to enjoy their power and about a third became punitive and harsh.
• The study was ended after six days because of the alarming changes in the students’ behavior.
4. Describe the story of entrapment told by the 25 men who had served in the Greek military during the
authoritarian regime that ended in 1974.
• First the men were ordered to stand guard outside the interrogation and torture cells.
• Then they stood guard inside the detention rooms and observed the torture of prisoners.
• Then they helped beat up prisoners.
• Finally, they became actively involved in the torture.
5. What cultural differences have been found in regard to the fundamental attribution error?
Section: Social Influences on Beliefs and Behavior Type: Factual Page(s): 264
• The fundamental attribution error refers to overestimating the role of dispositional factors and
underestimating the role of situational factors in other people’s behavior.
• The fundamental attribution error is more prevalent in Western nations, where people tend to
believe that individuals are responsible for their own actions.
• The fundamental attribution error is less common in East Asian countries, where people are
more group-oriented and more likely to be aware of situational constraints on behavior.
6. What is an attitude? Give an example of an attitude that would be considered explicit and one that would
be considered implicit.
Section: Social Influences on Beliefs and Behavior Type: Conceptual Page(s): 266
• An attitude is a belief about people, groups, ideas, or activities.
• An explicit attitude is one that we are aware of, such as our belief about whether marijuana
should be legalized.
• An implicit attitude is one we are unaware of but that may still influence our behavior, such as a
subtle prejudice against foreigners.
7. What is cognitive dissonance? List one example of this state of psychological tension.
Section: Social Influences on Beliefs and Behavior Type: Conceptual Page(s): 266
• Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person holds two incongruent
beliefs or when a person’s behavior is incongruent with his or her stated attitude.
• An example is the discomfort that occurs when a person who professes that smoking is bad for
your health nevertheless continues to smoke.
8. Describe the technique that Joseph Goebbels called “The Big Lie.”
Section: Social Influences on Beliefs and Behavior Type: Factual Page(s): 267
• The “Big Lie” refers to the validity effect.
• If something is repeated often enough, even an outright lie, people will begin to believe it is true.
9. Describe the experimental design of the conformity studies conducted by Solomon Asch.
Section: Individuals in Groups Type: Factual Page(s): 273
• Eight people are seated around a table. All act like participants, but only one is an actual
participant; the others are acting in collaboration with the experimenter.
• The group is shown a standard line and three comparison lines. Their task is to choose the
comparison line that matches the standard in length. The correct answer is obvious.
• The first seven “participants” give the same incorrect answer.
• The question is whether the actual participant will give the correct answer or a conforming
answer.
10. Define groupthink and list four common symptoms.

Section: Individuals in Groups Type: Conceptual Page(s): 274
to illustrate them.
• Groupthink is the tendency for members of a group to think alike for the sake of harmony and to
suppress disagreement among their members.
• Common symptoms of groupthink are:
o An illusion of invulnerability—the group believes it can do no wrong and is 100 percent
correct in its decisions.
o Self-censorship—dissenters decide to keep quiet rather than make trouble, offend their
friends, or risk being ridiculed.
o Pressure on dissenters to conform—the leader teases or humiliates dissenters or
otherwise pressures them to go along.
o An illusion of unanimity—by discouraging dissent and failing to consider alternative
courses of action, leaders and group members create an illusion of consensus.
11. Explain the term “deindividuation” and how it affects people. Is the effect on behavior always the same, or
can it vary?
Section: Individuals in Groups Type: Applied Page(s): 276
madness of crowds.
• Deindividuation occurs when people feel anonymous in a large crowd and lose awareness of their
individuality.
• Deindividuated people in crowds “forget themselves” and do not feel accountable for their
actions; they are therefore more likely to violate social norms and laws.
• Deindividuation does not always make people more combative. Sometimes it makes them
friendlier.
12. What is meant by the term ethnocentrism? Give one example to illustrate this term.
Section: Us Versus Them: Group Identity Type: Conceptual Page(s): 280
concept.
• Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture or nation is superior to all others.
• For example, many people consider their particular religion to be superior to others.
13. What important positive role do stereotypes play in human thinking?

Section: Us Versus Them: Group Identity Type: Factual Page(s): 281–282
• Stereotypes can be useful tools to help us make efficient decisions.
• They can help us quickly process new information and retrieve memories.
• They allow us to organize experience, make sense of differences among individuals and groups,
and predict how people will behave.
14. The philosopher Hannah Arendt, when covering the trial of Adolf Eichmann, used the phrase “the banality
of evil” to explain how so many people in Nazi Germany supervised the deportation and death of millions
of Jews. What does this phrase mean?
Section: The Question of Human Nature Type: Conceptual Page(s): 293
• Banality means “commonplace” or “unoriginal.”
• All people and all cultures contain the potential for both good and evil.
• Evil deeds can be done by otherwise good people who are caught in situations where normal
processes like ethnocentrism, obedience to authority, and conformity can make horrific acts
seem ordinary.
Essay Questions
1. The obedience study conducted by Stanley Milgram has become world famous. Explain, in detail, the
procedures that Milgram used in his study and then evaluate his results. What conclusions did Milgram
reach? How have critics reacted to his research?
Section: Roles and Rules Type: Factual Page(s): 257–259
• Each subject was assigned the role of “teacher” and was to use punishment in the form of
electric shock when the “learner” (actually a confederate of the researcher) made an error.
• Shock level was increased by 15 volts after each error up to a maximum of 450 volts.
• Every subject administered some shock and about two-thirds went all the way to 450 volts.
• There was no difference between males and females, between different age groups, or people
from different walks of life.
• Many protested, but continued after the researcher encouraged them to continue.
• Milgram concluded that obedience was a function of the situation rather than of the personalities
of the subjects.
• Critics consider the study unethical because subjects were deceived, many subjects suffered
emotional pain, and the situation was not realistic.
• Critics also objected to the parallel Milgram drew between his subjects and the Nazis.
2. Describe the two general types of attributions people use to explain the behavior of themselves and others,
and discuss key concepts in attribution theory, such as the fundamental attribution error, the self-serving
bias, and the just-world hypothesis.
Section: Social Influences on Beliefs and Behavior Type: Factual Page(s): 263–265
• Attributions are either situational or dispositional.
• An example of a situational attribution is “Joe stole the money because his family is starving.”
• An example of a dispositional attribution is “Joe stole the money because he is a born thief.”
• Two common errors in attribution are the fundamental attribution error and the self-serving
bias.
• The fundamental attribution error is the tendency, in explaining other people’s behavior, to
overestimate personality factors and underestimate the influence of the situation.
• The self-serving bias involves making favorable attributions for our own actions. If we have done
something good, we use a dispositional attribution; if we have done something wrong, we use a
situational attribution.
• The just-world hypothesis states that many people need to believe that the world is fair and that
justice is served, that bad people are punished and good people are rewarded.
• Unfortunately, one common way of restoring the belief in a just world is to call upon a
dispositional attribution called blaming the victim, in which the misfortune of individuals is
attributed to their personal (dispositional) failings.
3. What is cognitive dissonance? Provide an example that illustrates how cognitive dissonance can lead
people to change their attitudes. Make sure to explain the cause of the cognitive dissonance in your
example.
Section: Social Influences on Beliefs and Behavior Type: Conceptual Page(s): 266–267
Answer: A good answer will include the following key points. Examples will vary.
• Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two
cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent or when a person’s belief is incongruent with his
or her behavior.
• For example, if someone voted for a politician, but later heard evidence that the politician was
corrupt, they would experience cognitive dissonance because their behavior (voting for the
politician) conflicts with the idea that they are corrupt.
• Because you cannot “un-vote” for a candidate, the only way to reduce the cognitive dissonance
would be to hold a belief that is not in conflict with the behavior.
• Paradoxically, therefore, a person may become a more ardent supporter of a politician they
voted for after evidence of corruption emerges.
4. Solomon Asch, in his experiments testing conformity, wanted to know what people would do when a group
unanimously contradicted an obvious fact. What was found in Asch’s studies and in the many replications
of his work?
Section: Individuals in Groups Type: Factual Page(s): 273
• Asch found that only 20 percent of the participants remained independent on all trials.
• One-third conformed to the group’s incorrect answer more than half the time, and the rest
conformed at least some of the time.
• Whether they conformed or not, the participants felt uncertain and uncomfortable.
5. Dissent and altruism are a matter of personal conviction, but situational factors are involved also. Analyze
four situational factors that are involved when a person decides to “rock the boat” and choose conscience
over conformity.
Section: Individuals in Groups Type: Conceptual Page(s): 277–278
Answer: A good answer will include five of the following key points.
• A person perceives the need for intervention or help.
• Cultural norms encourage taking action.
• A person has an ally who is also willing to get involved.
• You become entrapped into action.
6. Discuss the following causes or origins of prejudice and provide examples to illustrate your points:
psychological, social, cultural, and economic.
Section: Group Conflict and Prejudice Type: Conceptual Page(s): 284–287
• Psychological: Prejudice serves to ward off emotions of fear and doubt; prejudice allows people
to use the target group as a scapegoat; prejudice toward a scapegoat may be a way for people to
displace feelings of anger and cope with feelings of powerlessness.
• Social: Some prejudices are acquired through a pressure to conform to the views of friends,
relatives, or associates.
• Economic: Prejudice makes official forms of discrimination seem legitimate by justifying the
majority group’s dominance, status, or greater wealth.
• Cultural and national causes: Prejudice increases the bonding of individuals within their own
ethnic group.
7. Discuss why it is difficult to measure prejudice today by directly asking individuals if they are prejudiced,
and distinguish between explicit and implicit prejudice. Then, discuss five clever ways psychologists have
for measuring implicit forms of prejudice.
Section: Group Conflict and Prejudice Type: Conceptual Page(s): 288–290
• Most people will not openly admit that they hold any prejudices, which would illustrate a
conscious, explicit prejudice.
• Implicit prejudice is defined as an unconscious, negative emotional feeling toward a particular
group that is manifested in one’s thoughts and actions in subtle ways.
• Possible ways to measure implicit prejudice:
o Social distance: How reluctant is a person to get close to another group?
o Measures of unequal treatment: Signs of discrimination in the ways certain groups are
treated.
o What people do when they are stressed or angry: Prejudice may appear when people are
angry, frustrated, or otherwise not in a normal state.
o Brain activity in regions associated with disgust, anger, and anxiety: fMRIs may reveal
activity associated with prejudice.
o The Implicit Association Test (IAT): A controversial measure of prejudice that is based
on the reaction time of participants to various pairings of words and faces.
Integrative Essay Questions: Linking the Chapters
1. In the textbook’s first chapter, we read about the critical thinking principles “Don’t Oversimplify” and
“Consider Other Interpretations.” How do these guidelines relate to social psychology with regard to
attribution, especially when encounters occur with those from other cultures?
Chapter 1 Page(s): 12
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively About Psychology
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to
the science of psychology.
Chapter 8 Page(s): 263–264
Type: Conceptual
• Using a dispositional attribution to explain another’s behavior may be an oversimplified
explanation.
• Considering other interpretations means that we should look at situational and cultural factors
that may influence a person’s behavior before rushing to judgment.
• Behavior often has more than one cause. To make a single attribution, whether dispositional or
situational, may be oversimplifying the situation.
2. One common form of oversimplification is argument by anecdote. Anecdotes are often a source of
stereotyping as well. Explain how an anecdote might be a source of stereotyping. Illustrate your
explanation with an example that could show how a stereotype could develop.
Chapter 1 Page(s): 12
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively About Psychology
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to
the science of psychology.
Chapter 8 Page(s): 281–282
Type: Conceptual
• Anecdotes are stories of a personal experience.
• An anecdote can give us information about a member of a particular group and we might then
assume that all members of the group are like that one individual.
• Example: You might read a story in the newspaper about a group of irresponsible teenagers who
vandalize a school and decide that all teenagers are irresponsible and engage in malicious
mischief.
Quick Quiz – textbook page 262
1. About what proportion of the people in Milgram’s obedience study administered the highest level of shock?
a. two-thirds
b. one-half
c. one-third
d. one-tenth
2. Which of the following actions by the “learner” reduced the likelihood of being shocked by the “teacher” in
Milgram’s study?
a. protesting noisily
b. screaming in pain
c. complaining of having a heart ailment
d. nothing he did made a difference
3. A friend of yours, who is moving, asks you to bring over a few boxes. Because you are there anyway, he
asks you to fill them with books. Before you know it, you have packed up his kitchen, living room, and
bedroom. What social-psychological process is at work here?
Answer Key
1. a
2. d
3. entrapment
1. What kind of attribution is being made in each case, situational or dispositional?

a. A man says, “My wife has sure become a grouchy person.”
b. The same man says, “I’m grouchy because I had a bad day at the office.”
c. A woman reads about high unemployment in poor communities and says, “Well, if those people
weren’t so lazy, they would find work.”
2. What principles of attribution theory are suggested by the items in the preceding question?
Answer Key
1. a. dispositional
b. situational
c. dispositional
2. Item (a) illustrates the fundamental attribution error; (b), the bias to choose a flattering or forgiving
explanation of our own lapses; and (c), blaming the victim, possibly because of the just-world hypothesis.
1. Candidate Carson spends $3 million to make sure his name is seen and heard frequently and to repeat
unverified charges that his opponent is a thief. What psychological processes is he relying on to win?
2. Which of the following has a significant heritable component?

a. religious affiliation
b. political affiliation
c. attitudes that favor stability and order versus those favoring equality and change
d. attitudes toward modern art
e. political conservatism
3. A friend urges you to join a “life-renewal” group called “The Feeling Life.” Your friend has been spending
increasing amounts of time with her fellow Feelies, and has already contributed more than $2,000 to their
cause. You have some doubts about them. What questions would you want to have answered before joining
up?
Answers Key
1. The familiarity effect and the validity effect
2. c, e
3. A few things to consider: Is there an autocratic leader who suppresses dissent and criticism, while
rationalizing this practice as a benefit for members? (“Doubt and disbelief are signs that your feeling side is
being repressed.”) Have long-standing members given up their friends, families, interests, and ambitions
for this group? Does the leader offer simple but unrealistic promises to repair your life and all your
troubles? Are members required to make sacrifices by donating large amounts of time and money?
A. Which phenomenon is illustrated in each of the following situations?

1. The president’s closest advisers are afraid to disagree with his views on energy policy.
2. You are at a costume party wearing a silly gorilla suit. When you see a chance to play a practical
joke on the host, you do it.
3. Walking down a busy street, you see that fire has broken out in a store window. “Someone must
already have called the fire department,” you say.
B. Imagine you are chief executive officer of a new electric-car company. You want your employees to feel
free to offer their suggestions and criticisms to improve productivity and satisfaction. You also want them
to inform managers if they find any evidence that the cars are unsafe, even if that means delaying
production. What concepts from this chapter could you use in setting company policy?
Answer Key
A. 1. groupthink
2. deindividuation
3. bystander apathy brought on by diffusion of responsibility
B. Some possibilities: You could encourage, or even require, dissenting views; avoid deindividuation by
rewarding innovative suggestions and implementing the best ones; stimulate employees’ commitment to
the task (building a car that will help solve the world’s pollution problem); and establish a written policy to
protect whistleblowers. What else can you think of?
Surveys find that African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos often hold prejudices about other minorities.
What are some reasons that people who have themselves been victims of stereotyping and prejudice would hold the
same attitudes toward others?
Answer Key
Their own ethnocentrism; low self-esteem, anxiety, or feelings of threat; conformity with relatives and friends who
share their prejudices; parental lessons; and economic competition for jobs and resources.

1. Frank, an African-American college student, has to decide between living in a dorm with mostly white
students who share his interest in science, or living in a dorm with other black students who are studying
the history and contributions of African culture. The first choice values __________, whereas the second
values __________.
2. John knows and likes the Chicano minority in his town, but he privately believes that Anglo culture is
superior to all others. His belief is evidence of his __________.
3. What strategy does the Robbers Cave study suggest for reducing “us-them” thinking and hostility between
groups?
4. What are three ways in which stereotypes can distort reality?
Answer Key
1. acculturation, ethnic identity
2. ethnocentrism
3. interdependence in reaching mutual goals
4. They exaggerate differences between groups; they produce selective perception; and they underestimate
differences within the stereotyped group.

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Psychology 11th Edition Wade Test

Chapter 8 – Pop Quiz 1

9. A cultural cause of prejudice is that it:

Chapter 8 – Pop Quiz 2

3. The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to:

5. Which of the following is a symptom of groupthink?

7. Which of the following is the most common explanation of bystander apathy?

9. The Robbers Cave experiment showed that:

10. One way in which stereotypes can distort reality is that:

6. Research on social roles suggests that:

19. Results of Stanley Milgram’s study on obedience showed that:

23. Critics of the Stanford prison study argue that:

27. Which of the following is an example of entrapment as it relates to obedience?

30. Attribution theory examines:

42. According to the just-world hypothesis, people tend to believe that:

43. A belief about people, groups, ideas, or activities is called a(n):

44. Cognitive dissonance is:

47. The familiarity effect is the tendency of people to:

57. Which of the following is a symptom of groupthink?

59. When close-knit group members experience groupthink, it means that:

64. Which of the following is a sign of groupthink?

66. Groupthink can be counteracted by creating conditions that:

67. Resistance to groupthink can be fostered by:

69. Bystander apathy results from:

71. Research suggests that you are more likely to:

72. When people are in large crowds and anonymous situations:

80. Ethnocentrism can be reduced by:

81. The Robbers Cave experiment showed that:

82. One way in which stereotypes can distort reality is that:

84. A psychological cause of prejudice is that it:

85. A social cause of prejudice comes from pressure to:

86. An economic cause of prejudice is that it:

92. According to research discussed in your textbook, prejudice is reduced when:

93. The “banality of evil” means that:

23. An attitude is a belief about people, groups, ideas, or activities.

30. Brainwashing is politically-motivated violence specifically designed to instill feelings of helplessness in a

46. Benevolent sexism is harmless.

10. Define groupthink and list four common symptoms.

13. What important positive role do stereotypes play in human thinking?

Quick Quiz – textbook page 266

1. What kind of attribution is being made in each case, situational or dispositional?

Quick Quiz – textbook page 271

2. Which of the following has a significant heritable component?

1. The familiarity effect and the validity effect

Quick Quiz – textbook page 278

A. Which phenomenon is illustrated in each of the following situations?

Quick Quiz – textbook page 292

Quick Quiz – textbook page 283

4. What are three ways in which stereotypes can distort reality?

1. acculturation, ethnic identity

3. interdependence in reaching mutual goals

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