Social Psychology: The Science of Everyday Life First Edition Test Bank

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Page 1
1. Briefly define the major new perspectives that have emerged in social psychology in the
past few decades to form an integrative perspective on human behavior. Do you believe
that any one of these perspectives is more valuable or accurate than the others? Or do
you see them as complementary? How so?
2. What are the four core assumptions of social psychology? Apply at least three of these
assumptions to illuminate a recent social event, such as a conflict between two groups, a
famous individual's achievement, or a popular television show.
3. Discuss some of the reasons why people are not very accurate when it comes to
explaining their own behavior, and the behaviors of others, in their day-to-day lives.
Include reference to the ideas of a priori causal theories and confirmation bias. What are
some examples from your own life that support the idea that people often don't
understand the true causes of their behavior?
4. Summarize two studies from the literature on stereotype threat that employed different
methodologies (e.g., correlational, experimental, field research, etc.). What were the
findings of these studies and how did they support stereotype threat theory?
5. Consider the abstract conceptual variable of romantic love. Discuss two ways in which
this conceptual variable could be operationally defined in a study. Then, for one of the
two ways described, indicate a possible confound that might problematize that particular
operational definition.
6. Define and discuss the concepts of internal and external validity. How are we best able
to determine if a study has either or both of these two types of validity? Is there a
trade-off in studies between internal and external validity, or can a study achieve equal
levels of both? Which form of validity do you think is most important?
7. Discuss at least two of the four limitations of science. Do you agree that science truly
has these limits? What is an example of an important phenomenon that science may not
be able to address? Why is science important in spite of these limits?
8. Do you believe that the use of deception is justified in social psychological
experiments? Or do you think that deception is never necessary or justified? Provide
supporting arguments for your position.

Page 2
Answer Key
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2.
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5.
6.
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8.

Page 1
1. What is social psychology?
A) the study of society as a psychological entity (i.e., society as a motivated agent)
B) the study of how individual differences in social-emotional functioning drive a
person's behavior across a variety of situations
C) the study of the causes and consequences of people's thoughts, feelings, and actions
regarding themselves and other people
D) the study of the relationships between and development of different societies
2. The earliest treatments of social psychology (such as the theories of Spencer and
McDougal) tended to emphasize:
A) a view of humans as driven by unconscious motivation.
B) an instinct-based view of human behavior.
C) a view of humans as machinelike information processors.
D) a reinforcement-centered view of humans as learning from experience.
3. The notion that much of human social behavior is driven by the need to keep disturbing
and antisocial bodily drives out of conscious awareness is critical to which perspective?
A) psychoanalysis
B) behaviorism
C) the social cognition perspective
D) the evolutionary perspective
4. Which of the following is true of the earliest versions of social psychology (the
instinct-based and psychoanalytic approaches)?
A) They were inspired by Darwin's ideas.
B) They were not inspired by Darwin's ideas.
C) They were pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt.
D) They were pioneered by William James.
5. Behaviorists emphasized that human behavior is driven primarily by:
A) unconscious motivation.
B) instinct.
C) cognitive processes.
D) learning from past experiences.
6. What phenomena were behaviorists primarily interested in measuring?
A) mental states
B) observable behaviors
C) neurological pathways
D) unconscious drives

Page 2
7. While social psychology in the first half of the 20th century tended to stress _____,
social psychology from the second half of the 20th Century on stresses ______.
A) an instinct-based approach; a behaviorist approach
B) a behaviorist approach; an instinct-based approach
C) specific, topic-based theories; broad views of human sociality
D) broad views of human social behavior; specific, topic-based theories
8. Which of the following events had a major influence on the history of social
psychology?
A) the economic crisis of the 1970s
B) World War II
C) the Cold War
D) the development of institutional care for people with severe personality disorders
9. What is the primary metaphor for the person in the social cognitive perspective?
A) a tumultuous storm of conflicting drives
B) a blank slate
C) an information processor
D) a social animal
10. What is the term for the way an individual understands his or her social world?
A) social cognition
B) existential perspective
C) embodied cognition
D) a priori causal theory
11. Which of the following is NOT one of the following is NOT one of the major
perspectives that provide an integrated view of human social behavior in contemporary
social psychology?
A) the existential perspective
B) the evolutionary perspective
C) the instinct-based perspective
D) the social cognitive perspective

Page 3
12. The concept of adaptation is most central for which influential perspective in
contemporary social psychology?
A) the existential perspective
B) the evolutionary perspective
C) the neuroscience perspective
D) the cultural perspective
13. What does it mean to say that humans are cultural animals?
A) Humans create their own symbolic conception of reality.
B) Humans tend to live socially in groups.
C) Humans in different groups around the world are hostile towards members of other
groups.
D) Humans are actually driven by instincts.
14. Jeremiah has become deeply depressed because he feels like his life has no meaning.
Which of the perspectives in contemporary social psychology is BEST suited to help us
understand Jeremiah's experience?
A) the existential perspective
B) the evolutionary perspective
C) the social cognitive perspective
D) the neuroscience perspective
15. Which of the following techniques of measurement is NOT considered a key part of the
neuroscience perspective in social psychology?
A) brain imaging
B) assessing cardiovascular functioning
C) assessing self-reported mental states
D) measuring brain waves
16. Which of the following occurrences is the best example of the “power of the situation”?
A) U.S. citizens vary in the extent to which they conform to the norms of their culture.
B) Everyone in a library tends to be quiet.
C) More extraverted people are more likely than introverted people to talk at a party.
D) A person tends to have a stable identity that is constant through different
environments.

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Page 4
17. Which of the foundational thinkers of social psychology argued that behavior is a
function of the person and the situation?
A) John Dewey
B) Floyd Allport
C) Sigmund Freud
D) Kurt Lewin
18. Consistent preferences, ways of thinking, and behavioral tendencies that manifest across
different situations and over time are referred to as:
A) dispositions.
B) situational influences.
C) selves.
D) core attitudes.
19. Carlos is a deeply introverted person. However, at a party with several of his friends he
ends up talking more than he normally would. Nevertheless, he still talks less than most
of his friends. What is the primary determinant of Carlos's behavior in this case?
A) his genetic make-up
B) the situation that he is in
C) his dispositions
D) the interaction of the situation and his dispositions
20. Which of the following assumptions is NOT one of the four core assumptions of social
psychology?
A) Behavior is determined exclusively by situations.
B) All human thought is inherently social.
C) Social cognition has a strong influence on social behavior.
D) The scientific method is essential for understanding the roots of social behavior.
21. Which of the following instances is an example of the way we use social comparisons to
self-evaluate?
A) An instructor provides personal feedback on a test.
B) A person shooting rolled-up paper balls into a wastebasket is able to make three
baskets.
C) A child thinks about how tall she is by looking around at the other children in her
classroom.
D) A mother decides that her son is her favorite person in the world.

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Page 5
22. Akira got in a car accident recently. After assessing the situation, he believes that the
accident was his fault. This is causing him to be constantly on the lookout for situations
in which he might make a mistake, making him feel continually nervous. What does this
example BEST demonstrate?
A) the importance of an evolutionary perspective
B) our reliance on social comparison
C) the power of the situation
D) the powerful influence of social cognition
23. What aspect of social psychology MOST distinguishes it from many other ways of
understanding the causes and consequences of people's social behavior, such as
philosophy or general cultural knowledge?
A) the idea that humans are inherently social
B) an emphasis on the scientific method
C) a sense that people's dispositions play a major role in determining their behavior
D) the use of observations from the real world to form assumptions
24. Which theory suggests that people are like “intuitive scientists,” using reasoning and
observation to understand the nature of the social world?
A) social cognition theory
B) social comparison theory
C) behaviorism
D) attribution theory
25. Leleti believes that her friend spilled soda all over her backpack in order to get revenge
for a remark Leleti made a few days ago, even though her friend claims that the incident
was an accident. Leleti is making a:
A) dispositional assumption.
B) causal attribution.
C) third variable assumption.
D) social comparison.
26. What is the definition of cultural knowledge?
A) a store of information accumulated in a culture about how the world works
B) our understanding of a given culture using the scientific method
C) the way in which people understand themselves through comparison with others
D) people's consistent preferences and ways of thinking that are consistent across
situations and time

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Page 6
27. Mbongeni has never seen a “germ,” and he also hasn't read any of the medical research
supporting germ theory. Since he doesn't have any medical education, he likely wouldn't
be able to make sense of the literature if he read it. However, Mbongeni believes that if
he catches a cold, it is because of a germ. Mbongeni is relying on _____ to understand
how colds happen.
A) an existential perspective
B) confirmation bias
C) cultural knowledge
D) the scientific method
28. A priori causal theories are:
A) theories for explaining behavior acquired from culture or situationally salient
factors.
B) explanations for behavior constructed from scientific data.
C) correlational associations between two kinds of events.
D) views of life and the universe that imbue them with ultimate meaning.
29. Which of the following is NOT a reason why people are often limited in their ability to
explain their own behavior?
A) People often don't tell the truth.
B) People sometimes repress unpleasant information.
C) People rely on a priori causal theories to explain their behavior.
D) People have private access to their own memories and thoughts.
30. Researchers Nisbett and Wilson found that when shoppers were asked to choose
between different silk stockings, the primary factor influencing their decision was the
positioning of the stockings on the table. However, when asked why they chose the
stockings they chose, the shoppers generated a variety of different reasons. This finding
is evidence that:
A) a behaviorist perspective provides the most insight into psychology.
B) people rely on a priori causal theories to explain their behavior.
C) people are the best sources of information about their own behavior.
D) cultural knowledge is generally accurate.

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Page 7
31. What is one of the ultimate conclusions to be drawn from Nisbett and Wilson's research
demonstrating people's reliance on a priori causal theories to explain their own
behavior?
A) While people have access to the products of their thought processes, they have little
access to those processes themselves.
B) Dispositional factors are more important than situational factors in determining
how people behave.
C) Situational factors are more important than dispositional factors in determining the
explanations people give for their own behavior.
D) People have exceptional powers of introspection.
32. The fact that people tend to seize onto quick and easy answers to questions, rather than
expending cognitive effort, has led researchers to conclude that people are:
A) social cognizers.
B) introspective.
C) cognitive misers.
D) intuitive scientists.
33. Confirmation bias is:
A) the tendency to be more positive than negative when processing social input.
B) the tendency to process information to conform to what we desire and expect.
C) a form of prejudice based on familiarity with outgroup members.
D) an automatically higher level of agreement with everything that is being said to one
at the moment.
34. Lord and colleagues found that, after reading articles with research that both supported
and undermined the value of capital punishment, people with initially favorable attitudes
believed capital punishment to be more effective, while those with initially negative
attitudes believed it to be less so. This finding is evidence of:
A) social comparison.
B) confirmation bias.
C) causal attribution.
D) hypocrisy.

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Page 8
35. Emiliano believes that dogs are better than cats. He decides to search the Internet one
day to see if his opinion is rooted in fact. He reads several articles that consider all sides
of the matter, presenting a rather blurry picture of whether humans should prefer the
company of dogs or cats. What does research suggest Emiliano is most likely to
conclude based on reading all this new information?
A) Dogs are better than cats.
B) Cats are better than dogs.
C) Both animals should be loved equally.
D) There is no way to answer the question definitively.
36. In a famous study, participants were told they were “teachers” in an experiment who
were going to give instructions to a “learner.” When the learner failed to do well, the
participants were ordered to give the learner electric shocks. The learner was actually an
actor working for the study, and not a real participant. The learner in this study was
what is called:
A) a confederate.
B) a research assistant.
C) an experimenter.
D) an ersatz-participant.
37. Which of the following reasons is NOT a reason why people are often limited in their
ability to explain the causes of others' behavior?
A) The act of observing the behavior might change it.
B) People are biased to try to confirm what they already believe and expect.
C) People's observations come from a limited, idiosyncratic perspective.
D) People spend as much cognitive energy as possible trying to uncover why a given
situation happened.
38. A study demonstrated that if a participant is being interviewed by a person who taps her
feet, the participant is also more likely to tap his feet; and if he is being interviewed by a
person who scratches her head, the participant is also more likely to scratch his head.
Which principle does this finding BEST demonstrate?
A) People are biased to confirm what they already know.
B) The act of observing behavior can change that behavior.
C) People develop a priori causal theories to explain their behavior.
D) People are cognitive misers.

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Page 9
39. The process whereby scientists observe events, look for patterns, and evaluate theories
proposed to explain those patterns is referred to as:
A) research.
B) a priori causal theory.
C) intuitive knowledge.
D) causal attribution.
40. Within the scientific method, a theory is:
A) a narrative about the origin of some psychological trait.
B) an explanation (potentially false) that people give for their own behavior.
C) an explanation for how and why variables are related to each other.
D) a prediction about what will occur given certain specified conditions.
41. In the scientific method, _____ are derived from _____ in order to test the accuracy of
the latter.
A) hypotheses; theories
B) theories; hypotheses
C) experiments; hypotheses
D) hypotheses; experiments
42. Scientists propose that the evolution of species occurs through the process of natural
selection. If this is correct, then it should follow that members of a particular species of
fruit fly will tend to differ genetically across generations from other members of that
species if the two sets are kept in radically different environments. In this example, the
statement about how members of the fruit fly species will begin to differ can be referred
to as:
A) a theory.
B) an a priori causal theory.
C) a hypothesis.
D) research.
43. An if-then statement which specifies what the relationships between variables should be
like if a theory is correct is called a _____.
A) correlation coefficient
B) hypothesis
C) research question
D) causal attribution

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Page 10
44. Which of the following sequences BEST demonstrates the cycle of theory and research
in science?
A) Research Outcome ® Hypothesis ® Theory ® Research Outcome
B) Theory ® Hypothesis ® Research Outcome
C) Hypothesis ® Theory ® Research Outcome
D) Theory ® Hypothesis ® Research Outcome ® Theory
45. Which of the following statements is most accurate?
A) A given theory should generate multiple hypotheses.
B) A given hypothesis should only generate one theory.
C) If a hypothesis derived from a theory is disproven, then the theory itself should be
discarded.
D) Theories cannot be revised once they have been used.
46. In science, _____ are the content of the observations that have been made and replicated
by scientists, while _____ are the explanations given by scientists for that content.
A) studies; hypotheses
B) hypotheses; studies
C) facts; theories
D) theories; facts
47. According to stereotype threat theory, why will a member of a group that is negatively
stereotyped for performance on a task feel threatened when he or she is performing that
task?
A) The group member will feel like their performance might reflect on the whole
group.
B) The group member will be desirous of confirming the stereotype.
C) The group member will encounter direct stereotypes from members of other groups
while performing the task.
D) It is objectively more difficult for members of that group to perform well on such a
task.
48. Jacob is a male blue collar worker attending a group therapy session. He knows that
people from his background are thought of as not being in touch with their feelings and
having quick tempers. During the session, he worries about how he will appear, and
ends up getting angry and losing his temper as a result of this anxiety. Jacob's case is an
example of:
A) a cognitive miser.
B) stereotype threat.
C) demand characteristics.
D) confirmation bias.

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Page 11
49. What is a reason posited by stereotype threat theory for gaps in performance among
members of stigmatized groups?
A) Members of stigmatized groups are threatening to members of majority groups,
who then stereotype the stigmatized group members.
B) Because of constant exposure to stereotypes, members of stigmatized groups have
stopped caring about their performance.
C) Members of stigmatized groups experience more threats on a day-to-day basis.
D) Situations that remind stigmatized group members of negative stereotypes about
their group causes them anxiety.
50. A researcher believes that the more neurotic a person is, the more that person will tend
to experience negative emotion. This is an example of a:
A) third variable problem.
B) experimental/causal hypothesis.
C) correlational hypothesis.
D) theory.
51. What is the most general term for the type of research in which two or more variables
are measured and compared to determine the extent to which they are associated?
A) experimental approach
B) correlational approach
C) quasi-experimental design
D) random assignment
52. A researcher finds a substantial negative correlation between a measure of anxiety and a
measure of life satisfaction. How should we interpret the relationship between these
variables?
A) There is no relationship between anxiety and life satisfaction.
B) The higher a person scores on anxiety, the higher they score on life satisfaction.
C) The higher a person scores on anxiety, the lower they score on life satisfaction.
D) Anxiety and life satisfaction are probably the same variable.
53. A positive or negative value that shows the strength and direction of the association
between two variables is referred to as:
A) a point estimate.
B) a dependent variable.
C) a conceptual replication.
D) a correlation coefficient.

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Page 12
54. If two psychological variables are correlated at r = +1.0, this probably means that:
A) the two variables are measuring the same underlying construct.
B) the two variables are completely independent of one another.
C) the two variables are moderately related.
D) the higher you score on one variable, the lower you score on the other.
55. In their research on stereotype threat, Pinel and colleagues found a negative correlation
among stigmatized group members between stigma consciousness and GPA. This study
was designed as a test of which of the following hypotheses?
A) The more a person is conscious of the negative stereotype of his or her group, the
worse that person will perform in areas related to the stereotype.
B) Situations that make a negative stereotype of a person's group prominent in the
person's mind will lead to worse performance than situations that do not.
C) People who belong to a stereotyped group will be more likely than those who don't
to have a low GPA.
D) Being aware of stigmatization of one's group generally leads to an inflated sense of
GPA.
56. Which of the following statements is true regarding the finding that there is a negative
correlation among stigmatized group members between stigma consciousness and GPA?
A) It allows us to conclude that stigma consciousness and GPA are completely
unrelated variables.
B) It is consistent with a hypothesis that can be derived from the theory of stereotype
threat.
C) It strongly suggests that a person's level of stigma consciousness causally
determines their GPA.
D) It suggests that if we know a person's level of stigma consciousness, we can predict
with near-perfect accuracy what their GPA will be.
57. Which one of the following statements is FALSE?
A) Some hypotheses can be effectively tested using a correlational approach.
B) A correlation between two variables may be primarily driven by a third variable
that is associated with both.
C) Correlation does not imply causation.
D) Two variables do not need to be correlated with each other for one to have a causal
influence on the other.

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Page 13
58. The reverse causality problem refers to what phenomenon?
A) The fact that, when a correlation is found between two variables, it is impossible to
determine which variable causes the other.
B) People's thoughts about the future can influence their present behaviors.
C) The fact that people will explain their own behavior by relying on culturally
common theories or factors that happen to be salient at the moment.
D) There are many situations in which variables influence each other in a reciprocal
fashion.
59. A researcher finds that self-esteem is positively correlated with academic performance.
What can the researcher conclude from these data about the causal relationship between
these variables?
A) High self-esteem causes people to perform better academically.
B) People who perform better academically have higher self-esteem as a result.
C) High self-esteem and academic performance both have causal influence on each
other.
D) It is impossible to conclude anything about the causal relationship between these
variables based on these data.
60. The third variable problem refers to the fact that:
A) experiments allow researchers to assess relationships between independent
variables, dependent variables, and third variables.
B) almost all phenomena in social psychology are driven by the interaction between
three identifiable variables.
C) a correlation between two variables may be driven by their mutual association with
another variable.
D) researchers in social psychology tend to statistically investigate the relationships
between only three variables at a time.
61. A researcher finds that the number of murders committed during a summer is correlated
with the number of ice cream cones consumed. However, they realize that there is a
third variable problem related to this finding. What might this problem be?
A) It's possible that people eat more ice cream to console themselves about news that
murder is being committed, rather than murder being committed as a result of ice
cream sales.
B) High temperatures might be causing both greater ice cream sales and more
aggressive acts of violence.
C) Victims of murder cannot be randomly assigned to a condition.
D) The number of murders committed in an area might not only be causing more ice
cream sales, but also more toy sales.

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