PSYC-355 EXAM 2 QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
Attitude - Answers -A positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object, or idea
-Possible to hold conflicting attitudes about the same thing at a conscious and unconscious level
Attitude Formation - Answers Quick/automatic/implicit (not always aware)
The 4 possible reactions to attitude objects - Answers Dimensions: positive reaction and negative
reaction
-Positive attitude (high and low)
-Dual attitudes (high and high)
-Indifference (low and low)
-Negative attitude (low and high)
T/F: Researchers can tell if someone has a positive or negative attitude by measuring physiological
arousal - Answers FALSE -> Can measure degree/intensity of response but not direction
Blood pressure, sweat, etc
How are attitudes measured? - Answers Self-report measures:
-Attitude scale (Likert Scale)
-Bogus pipeline
Covert measures:
-Videotape
-Facial electromyograph (EMG) (some face muscles contract when happy and others contract when sad,
but not all are visible so EMG is used)
-Brain imaging (will reveal true feelings)
Implicit association test
NOTE: Wording, stereotypes, availability heuristic, priming, etc can alter responses
Likert Scale - Answers -Usually 1--6 (odd can have a definitive middle, and even can push people to
one side of either agree or disagree)
,-How much you agree/disagree
-Problem: vague, misleading, lying (for social perception purposes), etc
Implicit Association Test - Answers -Implicit attitude: attitude that one is not aware of having
-Ongoing research at Harvard that works to measure attitudes/implicit feelings that we are unaware
that we hold
-Measures reaction times in the pairing of concepts
-Pairs words related to race, aging, gender, sexuality, stereotypes, etc
The Facial EMG: A Measure of Covert Attitudes? - Answers Can measure joy, sadness, anger, etc (top 6
most recognizable facial emotions)
How are attitudes formed? - Answers -Strong likes and dislikes are rooted in our genetic makeup (AKA
Behavioral Genetics) (Tesser)
Our most cherished attitudes are learned:
-Exposure to attitude objects
-Rewards and punishments
-Attitudes expressed by parents, friends, and enemies
-Our social and cultural context
-Attitudes are formed through basic processes of learning
-People's attitudes about something neutral can be conditioned
-Some have a high need for evaluation in daily lives and tend to be more opinionated
Classical Conditioning vs Evaluative Conditioning - Answers Classical (AKA Pavlovian):
-Pairing things together to change a response
-Ex. Pavlov making dogs salivate by making them associate a bell with food
Evaluative:
-Pairing things together to change an emotion/attitude
-Ex. Pairing a product with a happy/sad face to change previous perceptions
Genetic Influences on Attitudes - Answers Difficult to change more solidified attitudes
,Links Between Attitude and Behavior (3 major people) - Answers Is the assumption that attitudes
influence behavior a valid one?
LaPiere (1934)
-"If we know attitude, can we predict behavior?"
-Provocative study (but very broad) Lots of discrimination against Chinese immigrants, asked 200+
restaurants if they would refuse a Chinese couple and 90% said yes
-Then took a couple to the restaurants and only 2 refused
-Concluded that attitudes do not predict behavior
-Study was obviously very flawed (could have instead used a picture instead of just asking what they
would do)
-Chinese couple wore western/white clothing
Wicker (1969)
-Believed that setting/situational cues were very influential
-Environmentalist (not in the nature way)
Kraus (1995)
-Attitudes significantly predict future behavior
-Says we have been measuring link incorrectly
-Level of correspondence/attitude measure
-The more specific question about the attitude, the more likely there is a correspondence to behavior
(ask her for clarification on the wording here)
-The current problem: asking the wrong questions/framing them badly and making incorrect beliefs
Theory of Planned Behavior - Answers -Can be used in Physical Therapy and therapists can develop
attitudes to improve behavior
Other determinants:
-Attitudes toward a specific behavior combined with subjective norms can influence a person's attitude
, -Have to look at other determinants: Behavior is influenced less by general attitudes than by attitudes to
a specific behavior Behavior is influenced by subjective norms (what are the beliefs about what others
should do?)
-Attitudes give rise to behavior only when we perceive the behavior to be within our control
-Even though all 3 can be present, we only act if we intend to (we often can't or just don't, "practical
restraints"/condom use example)
Why/how are some attitudes stronger than others? - Answers Behavioral genetics, psychological factors,
how information was acquired (informational overload), can attack others' attitudes, availability/recall
of information/priming, etc
3 major physiological factors:
(1) it directly affects personal outcomes/self-interest
(2) deeply held philosophical/religious values
(2) concern of friends/family/social groups
T/F: In reacting to persuasive communications, people are influenced more by superficial images than by
logical arguments - Answers FALSE -> Could be true but not necessarily/always
Think of advertising: goal is to influence and persuade
Persuasion - Answers -Process by which attitudes are changed
-Communication by images are made by individuals, institutions, media
Dual-Process Model of Persuasion - Answers Assumes that we do not always process communications
the same way (proposed by Petty and Cacioppo)
Central Route
-Can be swayed by logic and thinking hard about the message
-Influenced by strength and quality of the message
Peripheral Route
-Focus on cues, heuristics, superficial images
Not all receivers are the same
Attitude - Answers -A positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object, or idea
-Possible to hold conflicting attitudes about the same thing at a conscious and unconscious level
Attitude Formation - Answers Quick/automatic/implicit (not always aware)
The 4 possible reactions to attitude objects - Answers Dimensions: positive reaction and negative
reaction
-Positive attitude (high and low)
-Dual attitudes (high and high)
-Indifference (low and low)
-Negative attitude (low and high)
T/F: Researchers can tell if someone has a positive or negative attitude by measuring physiological
arousal - Answers FALSE -> Can measure degree/intensity of response but not direction
Blood pressure, sweat, etc
How are attitudes measured? - Answers Self-report measures:
-Attitude scale (Likert Scale)
-Bogus pipeline
Covert measures:
-Videotape
-Facial electromyograph (EMG) (some face muscles contract when happy and others contract when sad,
but not all are visible so EMG is used)
-Brain imaging (will reveal true feelings)
Implicit association test
NOTE: Wording, stereotypes, availability heuristic, priming, etc can alter responses
Likert Scale - Answers -Usually 1--6 (odd can have a definitive middle, and even can push people to
one side of either agree or disagree)
,-How much you agree/disagree
-Problem: vague, misleading, lying (for social perception purposes), etc
Implicit Association Test - Answers -Implicit attitude: attitude that one is not aware of having
-Ongoing research at Harvard that works to measure attitudes/implicit feelings that we are unaware
that we hold
-Measures reaction times in the pairing of concepts
-Pairs words related to race, aging, gender, sexuality, stereotypes, etc
The Facial EMG: A Measure of Covert Attitudes? - Answers Can measure joy, sadness, anger, etc (top 6
most recognizable facial emotions)
How are attitudes formed? - Answers -Strong likes and dislikes are rooted in our genetic makeup (AKA
Behavioral Genetics) (Tesser)
Our most cherished attitudes are learned:
-Exposure to attitude objects
-Rewards and punishments
-Attitudes expressed by parents, friends, and enemies
-Our social and cultural context
-Attitudes are formed through basic processes of learning
-People's attitudes about something neutral can be conditioned
-Some have a high need for evaluation in daily lives and tend to be more opinionated
Classical Conditioning vs Evaluative Conditioning - Answers Classical (AKA Pavlovian):
-Pairing things together to change a response
-Ex. Pavlov making dogs salivate by making them associate a bell with food
Evaluative:
-Pairing things together to change an emotion/attitude
-Ex. Pairing a product with a happy/sad face to change previous perceptions
Genetic Influences on Attitudes - Answers Difficult to change more solidified attitudes
,Links Between Attitude and Behavior (3 major people) - Answers Is the assumption that attitudes
influence behavior a valid one?
LaPiere (1934)
-"If we know attitude, can we predict behavior?"
-Provocative study (but very broad) Lots of discrimination against Chinese immigrants, asked 200+
restaurants if they would refuse a Chinese couple and 90% said yes
-Then took a couple to the restaurants and only 2 refused
-Concluded that attitudes do not predict behavior
-Study was obviously very flawed (could have instead used a picture instead of just asking what they
would do)
-Chinese couple wore western/white clothing
Wicker (1969)
-Believed that setting/situational cues were very influential
-Environmentalist (not in the nature way)
Kraus (1995)
-Attitudes significantly predict future behavior
-Says we have been measuring link incorrectly
-Level of correspondence/attitude measure
-The more specific question about the attitude, the more likely there is a correspondence to behavior
(ask her for clarification on the wording here)
-The current problem: asking the wrong questions/framing them badly and making incorrect beliefs
Theory of Planned Behavior - Answers -Can be used in Physical Therapy and therapists can develop
attitudes to improve behavior
Other determinants:
-Attitudes toward a specific behavior combined with subjective norms can influence a person's attitude
, -Have to look at other determinants: Behavior is influenced less by general attitudes than by attitudes to
a specific behavior Behavior is influenced by subjective norms (what are the beliefs about what others
should do?)
-Attitudes give rise to behavior only when we perceive the behavior to be within our control
-Even though all 3 can be present, we only act if we intend to (we often can't or just don't, "practical
restraints"/condom use example)
Why/how are some attitudes stronger than others? - Answers Behavioral genetics, psychological factors,
how information was acquired (informational overload), can attack others' attitudes, availability/recall
of information/priming, etc
3 major physiological factors:
(1) it directly affects personal outcomes/self-interest
(2) deeply held philosophical/religious values
(2) concern of friends/family/social groups
T/F: In reacting to persuasive communications, people are influenced more by superficial images than by
logical arguments - Answers FALSE -> Could be true but not necessarily/always
Think of advertising: goal is to influence and persuade
Persuasion - Answers -Process by which attitudes are changed
-Communication by images are made by individuals, institutions, media
Dual-Process Model of Persuasion - Answers Assumes that we do not always process communications
the same way (proposed by Petty and Cacioppo)
Central Route
-Can be swayed by logic and thinking hard about the message
-Influenced by strength and quality of the message
Peripheral Route
-Focus on cues, heuristics, superficial images
Not all receivers are the same
