Chapter 10. Social Perception and Social Cognition
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Chapter 10. Social Perception and Social Cognition
10.1. Multiple choice questions (key terms)
1. How do psychologists call psychological tensions caused by the perceived mismatch between attitudes and behavior?
a. attribution
b. cognitive power
c. frustration
d. stereotype
e. cognitive dissonance
Answer: e
2. The tendency to be closed-minded, rigid, and inflexible in one's opinions and subsequent behavior is called “______.”
a. dogmatism
b. attitude
c. cognitive dissonance
d. egalitarianism
e. skepticism
Answer: a
3. The generalized belief that the control of one's reinforcements rests either on controllable internal factors or on uncontrollable external factors is called:
a. power
b.locus of control
c. cognitive dissonance
d. dogmatism
e. value
Answer: b
4. “______” refers to the tendency to take credit for our successes and avoid responsibility for our failures.
a. Unassuming bias
b. Power to judge
c. Cognitive dissonance
d.Self-serving bias
e. Cognitive style of lying
Answer: d
5. What do psychologists call the process through which we seek to explain and identify the causes of the behavior of others and our own actions?
a. Self-serving bias
b. Unassuming bias
c. Social attribution
d. Locus of control
e. Stereotype
Answer: c
6. Traits or characteristics generally attributed to all members of specific groups are called ______.
a. unassuming bias
b. cognitive dissonance
c. locus of control
d. cognitive power
e. stereotypes
Answer: e
7. The tendency to explain one’s own success as a result of external factors and one’s failure as a result of personal mistakes or weaknesses is called ______.
a. unassuming bias
b. locus of control
c. cognitive dissonance
d. dogmatism
e. value
Answer: a
8. What do psychologists call a complex belief that reflects a principle, standard, or quality considered by the individual as the most desirable or appropriate?
a. Self-serving bias
b. Value
c.Social attribution
d. Locus of control
e. Stereotype
Answer: b
9. ______is the process through which we interpret, remember, and then use information about the social world.
a. Social attribution
b. Social cognition
c. Social value
d. Unassuming bias
e. Dogmatism
Answer: b
10. Perceived predominant behavioral and psychological features and traits common in most people of a nation are labeled as “______.”
a. psychological profile
b. general personality trait
c. national character
d. specific personality trait
e. social profile
Answer: c
10.2.Multiple choice questions (comprehension and application)
1. What type of values is associated with exercising control over society and exploiting its natural resources?
a. Mastery values
b. Democratic values
c. Liberal values
d. Conservative values
e. Harmony values
Answer: a Section: Values
2. Individuals who believe in the status quo, advocate self-discipline, and care about social order and tradition share what type of values?
a. Democratic
b. Liberal
c. Conservative
d. Socialist
e. Reactionary
Answer: c Section: Values
3. In the debate about Western and non-Western values, it is argued that, in general, Western values are based on the fundamental beliefs that the nature of human beings is selfish, scarcity is a primary condition of nature and ______.
a. progress means gradual conquest of weaker groups and territories
b. happiness is impossible to achieve without knowledge
c. happiness is understood as a movement toward a goal
d. progress means growth, complexity, competition, and freedom
e. suffering is unnecessary and people have to learn how to live without fear
Answer: d Section: Western and non-Western values
4. If a researcher observed that most of the individuals from a given sample displayed an unassuming bias, what does this mean?
a. The people in this group believe their behavior is the result of their own effort, talents, and skills.
b. The people in this group believe their behavior is the result of external factors, such as luck and help from other people.
c. The people in this group refused to talk about their own success, but insisted on talking about own mistakes.
d. The people in this group said that they had no idea about why they were successful.
e. The people in this group did not believe that they were successful at all.
Answer: b Section: Attribution of Success and Failure
5. Social stereotypes are most likely rooted in______because they are more salient and notable.
a. age characteristics
b. educational opportunities
c. weather patterns
d. ethnic and racial attributes
e. quantity and quality of food
Answer: d Section: Stereotypes and Power of Generalizations
6. Which of the following statements can be best associated the frustration-aggression theory of prejudice?
a. Prejudice weakens if people are frustrated about their own safety.
b. Prejudice weakens when people are scared of an external threat.
c. Frustration is not connected to aggression and prejudice is not based on frustration.
d. People commit violent acts and then face criticism
e. Prejudice is a form of displayed aggression caused by frustration.
Answer: e Section: Prejudice
7. Across cultures, when people explain why they succeed or fail, three explanations are commonly given. These explanations include individual ability, effort and ______.
a. task difficulty
b. absence of money
c. magical powers such as “evil eye”
d. presence or absence of other people
e. good or bad move during task performance
Answer: a Section: Attribution of Success and Failure
8. Which of the following statements is not necessarily areflection of a stereotype?
a. All Italians like pizza and spaghetti.
b. All men are aggressive.
c. All Chinese politicians are corrupt.
d. All US presidents were men.
e. All Korean performing artists like their ancestors.
Answer: d Section: Stereotypes and Power of Generalizations
9. Upon what assumption do the learning theories of prejudice rest?
a. People don’t learn their lessons. They commit the same mistakes over and over again.
b. People learn prejudice the way they learn other attitudes.
c. People learn how to love but they don’t learn how to hate.
d. Some people learn to make decisions slowly. Other people make them quickly and this causes prejudice.
e. Some people learn to make decisions quickly. Other make them slowly and this causes prejudice
Answer: b Section: Prejudice
10. Cultures measured high on hierarchy and low on egalitarianism tend to emphasize ______among people.
a. cooperation
b. ethnic and other cultural differences
c. power and status differences
d. similarities
e. differences in achievement motivation
Answer: c Section: Values
11. Research has shown that bodily symmetry, which is considered a cross-culturally accepted feature of a beautiful body or face, is one of the strongest predictors of ______.
a. stronger immune systems
b. aggressive behavior in uncertain situations
c. anti-social personality disorder
d. unkind and greedy behavior
e. high achievement motivation
Answer: a Section: Social Norms and Perception of Own Body
10.3.True/false questions
1. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that values allow human groups to adjust to their environments. They become embedded in cultures and passed on to new generations.
Answer: T Section: Values
2. The term collectivist refers to a pattern by which a country scores low on the measure of power distance and high on the measure of individualism.
Answer: F Section: Values
3. Anthropological studies show that, in Western countries, wealth and thinness are positively correlated.
Answer: T Section: Do Social Norms Affect the Way W See Our Own Body?
4. Individuals from Western countries are expected to demonstrate a stronger internal locus of control than individuals from non-Western countries.
Answer: T Section: Attribution as Locus of Control
5. Experimental research shows that the principle of cognitive balance does not work outside the psychological laboratories of major European and American universities.
Answer: F Section: Striving for Consistency
6. Across cultures, people with scars on their faces are evaluated as being more attractive, sociable, and honest than people with no scars on their faces.
Answer: F Section: Social Attribution
7. Persistent gambling may be a behavioral pattern typical for individuals with an external locus of control.
Answer: T Section: Attribution as Locus of Control
8. It is a universal tendency for men to underestimate their own IQ’s when asked to make a guess about their own intelligence.
Answer: F Section: Self-Perception
9. Negative emotions tend to make stereotypes more accessible from memory.
Answer: T Section: Stereotypes and Power of Generalizations
10. According to the deprivation theories of prejudice, people develop a prejudice against other groups when those groups are believed to be frightening or possess something they are not entitled to possess.
Answer: T Section: Prejudice
11. Most myths and fairy tales from all continents show a consistent pattern: “good” characters are those who obtained their success due to their effort and “bad” individuals are those who enrich themselves by harming others or doing nothing.
Answer: T Section: Duty and Fairness
12. People in the United States and Australia perceived stories about initially rich and subsequently poor individuals as more competent and likeablethan individuals initially poorand subsequently rich.
Answer: F Section: Duty and Fairness
10.4. Short-answer questions
1. Imagine that a store-owner is experiencing an unpleasant state of emotions caused by a mismatch (disparity) between his belief that anger is inappropriate and his angry reaction to the rude behavior of a foreign tourist. What is the psychological term for this state?
Answer: cognitive dissonance
Section: Avoiding Inconsistency
2. The Collectivist pattern of high Power Distance and low Individualism is believed to be common in which countries?
Answer: non-Western countries
Section: Values
3. If a person has a deep-seated belief that all individuals are equals and must share basic interests and receive similar treatment, he/she holds a(n) ______value system?
Answer: egalitarian
Section: Values
4. Name the two basic views of morality and justice mentioned in the text.
Answer: justice-based and duty-based
Section: Duty and Fairness in Individualist and Collectivist Cultures
5. A dogmatic person would likely respond to new information in a ______manner.
Answer: cautious, negative
Section: Psychological Dogmatism
6. Studies suggest that individuals from ______countries are more likely to employ an unassuming bias in explanations of success and failure.
Answer: Asian and East Asian
Section: Attribution of Success and Failure
7. What kinds of emotional experiences are commonly associated with cognitive dissonance?
Answer: unpleasant feelings, frustration, displeasure
Section: Avoiding Inconsistency
8. If a person has a fundamental belief in the legitimacy of an unequal distribution of power, resources, and social roles, they are supporting the notion of a(n)______.
Answer: hierarchy
Section: Values
9. Describe two cognitive mistakes related to the perception of similarities and differences between groups that may cause stereotypical judgments.
Answer: exaggerating similarities and overlooking differences
Section: Stereotypes and Power of Generalizations
10. Imagine you come across an interview in which a United Nations consultant suggests that both Israelis and Palestinians should find either an “internal” or “external” enemy through which to vent (discharge) their unconscious frustration. This advice reflects the assumptions of which psychological theory?
Answer: Psychoanalysis
Section: Prejudice
11. International surveys show that Americans, for the most part, are described as______.
Answer: assertive and open-minded,but antagonistic
Section: National Character
12. One of the most comprehensive international studies across 49 countries comparing various personality traits showed that______.
Answer: that national character stereotypes have only little basis in reality
Section: National Character
10.5. Essay questions
1. Explain and give examples of micro-aggressions.
2. What is the unassuming bias? Give examples.
3. Describe the differences between “private” and “public” self.
4. Describe the similarities and differences between Western and non-Western values.
5. Why do individuals from Western countries, as a group, tend to display a somewhat stronger internal locus of control?
6. Describe the distinctions between conservative values and values of autonomy.
7. Discuss potential effects of “soft power.”
8. Discuss the “national character” concept. Does it have at least some practical validity?
9. Describe the sources of perceptions and stereotypes related to “national characters.”
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