Ch. 16 Social Psych Review Quiz

Asch is best known for his research on conformity. He conducted the famous Asch conformity experiments in the 1950s, where participants were asked to match the length of lines. The experiments demonstrated the power of social influence and conformity, as many participants conformed to the incorrect answers given by the majority of the group. Asch's research has had a significant impact on our understanding of conformity and social psychology.

Conformity refers to the process of changing one's behavior to match that of others in a group. It involves adopting the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of the majority in order to fit in and be accepted. This can occur due to social pressure, the desire for approval, or the need to avoid conflict or rejection. Conformity is a common social phenomenon that can occur in various settings, such as school, work, or social gatherings.

Solomon Asch's classic experiment aimed to test the limits of conformity. In the experiment, subjects were asked to judge the length of lines, and they were surrounded by confederates who purposely gave incorrect answers. The experiment demonstrated that individuals often conform to the group consensus, even when they know it is incorrect. This highlights the powerful influence of social pressure on individuals' perceptions and behaviors.

When we perform well, we typically attribute our success to internal characteristics because we tend to believe that our personal qualities, skills, and abilities are the main factors that contribute to our achievements. We often attribute our success to factors such as hard work, intelligence, determination, and talent, as these are traits that we believe are inherent to us and within our control. This attribution allows us to feel a sense of control and agency over our accomplishments.

Cognitive dissonance refers to the discomfort or tension that arises when a person holds conflicting thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes. In this case, "clashing thoughts" suggest that the individual is experiencing cognitive dissonance as they are dealing with conflicting or contradictory ideas. This is different from conformity pressure, which involves the influence of others to conform to their beliefs or behaviors, and obedience pressure, which relates to following orders or instructions. Open-ended role conflict refers to conflicts arising from conflicting roles or expectations in a person's life.

The correct answer is that people who marry are highly similar in age, education, race, religion, and ethnic background. This is supported by research that shows individuals tend to choose partners who are similar to themselves in these aspects. This similarity can contribute to better compatibility and understanding between partners, as they share common values, beliefs, and experiences.

The foot-in-the-door effect refers to the phenomenon where a person is more likely to comply with a larger request after they have already agreed to a smaller request. This is because they have already established a sense of commitment and consistency with the smaller request, making it more difficult for them to refuse the larger request. This effect is often used in persuasion techniques to gradually escalate the demands and increase compliance.

Groupthink refers to the tendency of a group to prioritize consensus and harmony over critical thinking and independent decision-making. In the context of the Bay of Pigs failure, Janis suggests that groupthink played a significant role. This means that the members of Kennedy's administration were more focused on maintaining group cohesion and avoiding conflict rather than thoroughly evaluating the potential risks and flaws in their plan. As a result, they failed to consider alternative perspectives and make well-informed decisions, ultimately leading to the failure of the mission.

In Milgram's experiment, subjects who administered large shocks rationalized that they were not personally responsible for their actions. This suggests that they were willing to commit inhumane acts due to their obedience to a legitimate authority figure. The experiment demonstrated the power of authority and how it can influence individuals to go against their own moral judgments. The subjects' willingness to follow the orders of the authority figure highlights the potential for individuals to engage in unethical behavior when they perceive it to be sanctioned by a higher power.

The given scenario demonstrates the fundamental attribution error. This error occurs when we attribute someone's behavior to their internal characteristics or personality traits, rather than considering the situational factors that may have influenced their actions. In this case, the person initially judged the man as a jerk based on his rude behavior, without considering the possibility that there may have been a valid reason for his actions, such as the emergency tracheotomy. This error highlights the tendency to overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the impact of the situation when explaining others' behavior.

The frustration-aggression hypothesis states that frustration tends to lead to aggression. This means that when individuals experience frustration, such as being blocked from achieving a goal, they are more likely to act aggressively. This hypothesis suggests that aggression is a natural response to frustration and that the two are closely linked.

Physical proximity increases attraction because it increases the frequency of contact. When individuals are physically close to each other, they are more likely to interact and have more opportunities to get to know each other. This increased contact can lead to the development of relationships and attraction between individuals.

The presence of a large number of persons can discourage helping behavior in emergency situations because of the diffusion of responsibility. When there are many people present, individuals may assume that someone else will take action and therefore feel less personally responsible to help. This phenomenon is known as the bystander effect.

Prejudice refers to negative attitudes that are influenced by fear, hatred, or suspicion. It involves preconceived notions or judgments about individuals or groups based on their perceived characteristics. Prejudice can lead to discrimination, which involves unfair treatment or actions towards individuals or groups based on their perceived differences. Authoritarianism refers to a belief in strict obedience to authority, while displaced aggression refers to redirecting one's anger or frustration towards a target that is not the source of the problem.

According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, attitudes are changed because clashing thoughts cause discomfort. When individuals hold conflicting beliefs or attitudes, it creates a state of cognitive dissonance, which is uncomfortable and mentally distressing. To reduce this discomfort, individuals are motivated to change their attitudes or beliefs to align with their actions or to find ways to justify their conflicting thoughts. This process of attitude change occurs as a means to restore cognitive consistency and reduce the discomfort caused by the conflicting thoughts.

The correct answer is situation. In this scenario, the student's complaint of a stomach ache is most likely a situational attribution. The student is using the situation of feeling unprepared for the exam as an excuse to avoid taking it. The roommate, by ignoring the complaint, is likely attributing the student's symptoms to the situation rather than a genuine physical ailment.

In this experiment, the inhibition of helping was observed when smaller groups were present. This suggests that the presence of smaller groups leads to diffusion of responsibility, where individuals feel less accountable and responsible for taking action. When there are fewer people present, individuals may feel that someone else will step in to help, leading to a decreased likelihood of helping behavior. This phenomenon can be explained by the diffusion of responsibility theory, which suggests that individuals are less likely to take action in a group setting due to a shared responsibility and a diffusion of accountability.

Attribution theory suggests that when we try to explain our own behavior or the behavior of others, we tend to attribute it to either internal factors (such as personality traits or abilities) or external factors (such as situational circumstances or environmental factors). This means that we make inferences about the causes of behavior based on these internal or external factors. This theory highlights our tendency to consider external causes rather than internal causes when explaining behavior.

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When making the "attribution error," we tend to overestimate the importance of personal factors in judging the behavior of others. This means that we are more likely to attribute someone's behavior to their internal characteristics, such as their personality or disposition, rather than considering external situational factors that may have influenced their behavior. This error can lead to misunderstandings and biases in our judgments of others.

Groupthink refers to a phenomenon where decision makers prioritize maintaining harmony and consensus within a group, often leading to a lack of critical thinking and independent judgment. This compulsion to seek approval from others, even if it means disregarding logical reasoning, can result in poor decision-making. The halo effect, expert power, and social conformity are different concepts that do not specifically describe this behavior.

The halo effect refers to the tendency to assume that people who possess one positive trait also possess other positive traits. In this case, the fact that physically attractive people are also rated more highly on traits such as intelligence and honesty suggests that the halo effect is at play. People may perceive attractive individuals as having a halo of positive qualities, leading them to attribute other positive traits to them as well.

The door-in-the-face effect refers to the phenomenon where a person is more likely to comply with a smaller request after initially refusing a larger request. In this scenario, the individual initially refuses to outline the complete text for their friend but later agrees to outline two chapters. This behavior is consistent with the door-in-the-face effect as the person is more likely to agree to a smaller request (outlining two chapters) after refusing a larger request (outlining the complete text).