GRE EXAM |ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
ANSWERS|BRAND NEW 2026-2027
UPDATE|GRADED A+
Question 1
Which of the following situations involving two people, P and O, and an object X, will NOT
be balanced according to Heider's balance theory?
(a) P likes O, and they both like X
(b) P likes O, and they both dislike X
(c) P dislikes O, and they both dislike X
(d) P dislikes O, P likes X, and O dislikes X
(e) P dislikes O, P dislikes X, and O dislikes X
CORRECT ANSWER
C
Question 2
According to inoculation theory, a person's belief can be inoculated against a persuasive
attack by
(a) providing arguments to support the initial belief prior to the attack
(b) providing arguments to support the initial belief subsequent to the attack
(c) warning the individual that there will be an attack
(d) anticipating the attacker's arguments and discrediting those arguments
(e) refuting the persuasive attack subsequent to its presentation
CORRECT ANSWER
D
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,Question 3
The admonition that "you shouldn't take more love than you give" is most directly
supported by
(a) equity theory
(b) the halo effect
(c) the mere exposure effect
(d) social comparison theory
(e) the Romeo and Juliet effect
CORRECT ANSWER
A
Question 4
An experiment is staged so that on three occasions a subject overheard a confederate
evaluate him. Which sequence of evaluations would lead the subject to be most attracted
to the confederate, as predicted by Aronson's gain-loss principle?
(a) negative, negative, negative
(b) negative, negative, positive
(c) positive, negative, negative
(d) positive, positive, negative
(e) positive, positive, positive
CORRECT ANSWER
B
Question 5
A student is waiting for her first meeting with her faculty adviser. From inside the office,
the student hears someone saying "Stop it...get your hands off me..."; and then heard the
sound of furniture crashing. The student is a subject in a staged experiment, and she is
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@THE STUDY VAULT
,waiting in one of four conditions; alone; with two naive subjects. If the results of this
experiment follow the pattern of the Darley and Latane bystander intervention research,
then which of the following sequences would correspond to decreasing frequency of
helping behavior by students?
(a) four passive confederates, alone, two passive confederates, two naive subjects
(b) 4 passive confederates, 2 passive confederates, 2 naive subjects, alone
(c) 2 naive subjects, 2 passive confederates, alone, 4 passive confederates
(d) alone, 4 passive confederates, 2 passive confederates, alone, 2 naive subjects
(e) alone, 2 naive subjects, 2 passive confederate
CORRECT ANSWER
E
Question 6
Which of the following best illustrates an attempt to use the foot-in-the-door effect?
(a) a salesperson tries to sell a radio to a customer for $75; the customer resists, and the
salesperson lowers the price to $65
(b) a telephone solicitor calls a home and asks a person several questions about his reading
habits; the solicitor then describes the benefits of subscribing to a newspaper he is selling
(c) an advertisement indicates that anyone who buys two CDs for $11.95 will be given a third
CD "absolutely free"
(d) a woman asks a friend for a loan of $1000; the friend refuses; the woman then asks the
friend for a loan of $250
(e) a salesperson tells a customer that if she does not buy a necklace at that moment,
"somebody else probably will"
CORRECT ANSWER
B
Question 7
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, The performance of which of the following activities is LEAST likely to be facilitated by the
presence of an audience?
(a) speed of winding a fishing reel
(b) memorizing a script
(c) running
(d) adding numbers
(e) taking a final examination
CORRECT ANSWER
B
Question 8
In an experiment that used threatened punishment to inhibit behavior, children were told
not to play with very appealing toys after the experimenter left the room. Two levels of
threat were involved: mild and severe. None of the children played with the toys.
According to cognitive dissonance theory, how would you predict the children rated the
attractiveness of the toys in the two different conditions after the experiment?
(a) equally unattractive
(b) toys in the severe-threat conditions were considerably less attractive than in the mild-
threat condition
(c) toys in the mild-threat condition were considerably less attractive than in the severe-
threat condition
(d) equally attractive
(e) there was a slight significant difference toward the severe-threat condition toys being
less attractive
CORRECT ANSWER
C
Question 9
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@THE STUDY VAULT
ANSWERS|BRAND NEW 2026-2027
UPDATE|GRADED A+
Question 1
Which of the following situations involving two people, P and O, and an object X, will NOT
be balanced according to Heider's balance theory?
(a) P likes O, and they both like X
(b) P likes O, and they both dislike X
(c) P dislikes O, and they both dislike X
(d) P dislikes O, P likes X, and O dislikes X
(e) P dislikes O, P dislikes X, and O dislikes X
CORRECT ANSWER
C
Question 2
According to inoculation theory, a person's belief can be inoculated against a persuasive
attack by
(a) providing arguments to support the initial belief prior to the attack
(b) providing arguments to support the initial belief subsequent to the attack
(c) warning the individual that there will be an attack
(d) anticipating the attacker's arguments and discrediting those arguments
(e) refuting the persuasive attack subsequent to its presentation
CORRECT ANSWER
D
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@THE STUDY VAULT
,Question 3
The admonition that "you shouldn't take more love than you give" is most directly
supported by
(a) equity theory
(b) the halo effect
(c) the mere exposure effect
(d) social comparison theory
(e) the Romeo and Juliet effect
CORRECT ANSWER
A
Question 4
An experiment is staged so that on three occasions a subject overheard a confederate
evaluate him. Which sequence of evaluations would lead the subject to be most attracted
to the confederate, as predicted by Aronson's gain-loss principle?
(a) negative, negative, negative
(b) negative, negative, positive
(c) positive, negative, negative
(d) positive, positive, negative
(e) positive, positive, positive
CORRECT ANSWER
B
Question 5
A student is waiting for her first meeting with her faculty adviser. From inside the office,
the student hears someone saying "Stop it...get your hands off me..."; and then heard the
sound of furniture crashing. The student is a subject in a staged experiment, and she is
2
@THE STUDY VAULT
,waiting in one of four conditions; alone; with two naive subjects. If the results of this
experiment follow the pattern of the Darley and Latane bystander intervention research,
then which of the following sequences would correspond to decreasing frequency of
helping behavior by students?
(a) four passive confederates, alone, two passive confederates, two naive subjects
(b) 4 passive confederates, 2 passive confederates, 2 naive subjects, alone
(c) 2 naive subjects, 2 passive confederates, alone, 4 passive confederates
(d) alone, 4 passive confederates, 2 passive confederates, alone, 2 naive subjects
(e) alone, 2 naive subjects, 2 passive confederate
CORRECT ANSWER
E
Question 6
Which of the following best illustrates an attempt to use the foot-in-the-door effect?
(a) a salesperson tries to sell a radio to a customer for $75; the customer resists, and the
salesperson lowers the price to $65
(b) a telephone solicitor calls a home and asks a person several questions about his reading
habits; the solicitor then describes the benefits of subscribing to a newspaper he is selling
(c) an advertisement indicates that anyone who buys two CDs for $11.95 will be given a third
CD "absolutely free"
(d) a woman asks a friend for a loan of $1000; the friend refuses; the woman then asks the
friend for a loan of $250
(e) a salesperson tells a customer that if she does not buy a necklace at that moment,
"somebody else probably will"
CORRECT ANSWER
B
Question 7
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@THE STUDY VAULT
, The performance of which of the following activities is LEAST likely to be facilitated by the
presence of an audience?
(a) speed of winding a fishing reel
(b) memorizing a script
(c) running
(d) adding numbers
(e) taking a final examination
CORRECT ANSWER
B
Question 8
In an experiment that used threatened punishment to inhibit behavior, children were told
not to play with very appealing toys after the experimenter left the room. Two levels of
threat were involved: mild and severe. None of the children played with the toys.
According to cognitive dissonance theory, how would you predict the children rated the
attractiveness of the toys in the two different conditions after the experiment?
(a) equally unattractive
(b) toys in the severe-threat conditions were considerably less attractive than in the mild-
threat condition
(c) toys in the mild-threat condition were considerably less attractive than in the severe-
threat condition
(d) equally attractive
(e) there was a slight significant difference toward the severe-threat condition toys being
less attractive
CORRECT ANSWER
C
Question 9
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@THE STUDY VAULT
