PSY 1001 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026
Social Psychology - Answers Study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by
others.
Social vs. Personality Perspective - Answers Social = power of the situation; Personality = stable traits.
Liberman, Samuels, Ross (2004) Study - Answers Research Design: Students played a game labeled
'Community Game' or 'Wall Street Game.' Findings: Game title influenced behavior more than
personality traits.
Fundamental Attribution Error - Answers Overemphasizing personality, underestimating the situation
in explaining others' behavior.
Inferences about others - Answers Observations + assumptions based on behaviors and context.
Personality shaping perceptions - Answers Personality influences how we interpret ambiguous
situations.
Kurt Lewin's Formula - Answers B = f(P, E) → Behavior = function of Person and Environment.
Construal - Answers Individual's subjective interpretation of the situation.
Social reality - Answers Starts in our minds, based on how we perceive and interpret the world.
Social cognition - Answers How people think about, understand, and make sense of others.
Flawed Scientist - Answers Rational but limited.
Cognitive Miser - Answers Uses mental shortcuts.
Motivated Tactician - Answers Switches strategies based on needs/motives.
Three types of information flawed scientists use - Answers Consistency, distinctiveness, consensus.
One-shot exposure - Answers Making quick judgments from a single exposure.
Actor-Observer Effect - Answers Attributing others' actions to personality, but our own to the
situation.
Perceptual Salience - Answers We notice people more than situational factors, influencing attribution.
Taylor & Fiske (1975) Study - Answers People judged whoever they could see best as more influential.
Two Routes of Information Processing - Answers Central route (logical, careful), Peripheral route
(superficial, quick).
Motivation for information processing - Answers Accuracy or self-esteem motives.
Post-decision dissonance - Answers Tension after making a tough decision, leading to justification.
Justification of effort - Answers Valuing something more after working hard for it.
Indirect Social Influence - Answers Influence without direct pressure (e.g., norms, observation).
Darley & Latané and the Bystander Effect - Answers People are less likely to help when others are
present.
Social Facilitation - Answers Presence of others improves performance on easy tasks, worsens hard
tasks.
Pool Player Study - Answers Good players got better, bad players got worse with an audience.
Direct Influence vs. Indirect Influence - Answers Direct = explicit requests; Indirect = implied norms.
Central vs. Peripheral Route - Answers Central = logical arguments; Peripheral = attractiveness,
emotions.
Persuasion vs. Compliance - Answers Persuasion = changing attitudes; Compliance = changing
behavior without attitude change.
Bob Cialdini's Principles of Influence - Answers Reciprocity, consistency, social proof, liking, authority,
scarcity.
Foot-in-the-door Technique - Answers Start with a small request, then larger.
Door-in-the-face Technique - Answers Start big, then ask for a smaller request.
Consensus Technique - Answers Doing what others are doing; Descriptive norms = what most people
do.
Obedience - Answers Following direct orders from an authority figure.
Milgram Study on Obedience - Answers People obeyed authority figures even when harming others.
Variables that changed obedience rates - Answers Closeness to victim, closeness of authority,
institutional prestige.
Attribution - Answers How people explain causes of behavior.
Internal vs. External Attribution - Answers Internal = due to traits; External = due to the situation.
Situational vs. Dispositional Factors - Answers Situational = external causes; Dispositional = internal
traits.
Self-serving attributions - Answers Taking credit for successes, blaming failures on the situation.
, Cognitive dissonance - Answers Occurs when behavior conflicts with beliefs → real-world effects:
attitude change.
Social norms - Answers Rules about acceptable behavior.
Conformity - Answers Changing behavior to match group norms.
Asch's Conformity Study - Answers People conformed to wrong answers even when they knew they
were wrong.
Variables influencing conformity - Answers Group size, unanimity, importance of group.
Group polarization - Answers Group discussions lead to more extreme positions.
Groupthink - Answers Poor decisions due to pressure for consensus; dominant leaders worsen it.
Best treatment for groupthink - Answers Encourage dissent and critical thinking.
Obedience - Answers Following direct commands.
Obedience vs. Conformity - Answers Obedience = direct order; Conformity = indirect group influence.
Milgram's Obedience Study Findings - Answers High obedience even to harming others.
Factors affecting obedience - Answers Distance from victim, authority figure's presence, institutional
setting.
Percentage administered some shocks in Milgram's study - Answers 100%.
Percentage with complete compliance in Milgram's study - Answers About 65%.
When are people likely to help others? - Answers When alone, feeling responsibility, or recognizing an
emergency.
Pluralistic ignorance - Answers Misreading others' inaction as meaning help isn't needed.
Diffusion of responsibility - Answers Assuming someone else will help.
Bystander effect - Answers Less likely to help with more people present.
Robbers Cave Study - Answers Intergroup conflict reduced through cooperative goals.
Deindividuation - Answers Loss of self-awareness in groups, leading to impulsive behavior.
Percentage of college freshmen screening positive for a mental health disorder - Answers Around
one-third to one-half.
Difference between 'mentally ill' vs. 'person struggling with mental illness' - Answers 'Mentally ill' =
labels the person. 'Person struggling' = person-first, more respectful and humanizing.
Psychological disorder - Answers A pattern of behavior, emotions, or thoughts that cause significant
distress, disability, or danger.
What makes a behavior abnormal? - Answers Behavior is abnormal if it's unusual, distressing,
dysfunctional, or dangerous.
4-5 Ds - Answers Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction, Danger (sometimes Duration).
Types of professionals who diagnose/treat psychopathology - Answers Clinical Psychologists
(PhD/PsyD): Therapy, diagnosis, no meds. Psychiatrists (MD): Can prescribe meds. Counselors (MA,
MSW): Talk therapy. Social Workers: Therapy + community support. Primary Care Doctors: Sometimes
treat mild mental illness.
DSM-5 - Answers Manual that lists and defines all recognized mental disorders.
How can diagnosis be helpful? - Answers Guides treatment, helps communication, validates
experiences.
How can diagnosis be problematic? - Answers Stigma, labeling, overdiagnosis, ignores individual
differences.
Categorical vs. dimensional models - Answers Categorical = yes/no diagnosis. Dimensional =
symptoms exist on a spectrum.
Internalizing vs. externalizing stress - Answers Internalizing = inward (depression, anxiety).
Externalizing = outward (aggression, substance abuse).
Schizophrenia - Answers A severe disorder with delusions, hallucinations, disorganized
speech/behavior, and negative symptoms.
Positive and negative symptoms - Answers Positive = Added behaviors (hallucinations, delusions).
Negative = Missing normal behaviors (flat affect, lack of speech).
Delusion - Answers A strongly held false belief (e.g., thinking you're being followed).
Disorganized speech and behavior - Answers Speech = incoherent, jumping topics. Behavior = bizarre
or inappropriate actions.
Examples of negative symptoms - Answers Flat affect, alogia (poverty of speech), avolition (lack of
motivation).
Frequency of schizophrenia in the general population - Answers About 1%.
Social Psychology - Answers Study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by
others.
Social vs. Personality Perspective - Answers Social = power of the situation; Personality = stable traits.
Liberman, Samuels, Ross (2004) Study - Answers Research Design: Students played a game labeled
'Community Game' or 'Wall Street Game.' Findings: Game title influenced behavior more than
personality traits.
Fundamental Attribution Error - Answers Overemphasizing personality, underestimating the situation
in explaining others' behavior.
Inferences about others - Answers Observations + assumptions based on behaviors and context.
Personality shaping perceptions - Answers Personality influences how we interpret ambiguous
situations.
Kurt Lewin's Formula - Answers B = f(P, E) → Behavior = function of Person and Environment.
Construal - Answers Individual's subjective interpretation of the situation.
Social reality - Answers Starts in our minds, based on how we perceive and interpret the world.
Social cognition - Answers How people think about, understand, and make sense of others.
Flawed Scientist - Answers Rational but limited.
Cognitive Miser - Answers Uses mental shortcuts.
Motivated Tactician - Answers Switches strategies based on needs/motives.
Three types of information flawed scientists use - Answers Consistency, distinctiveness, consensus.
One-shot exposure - Answers Making quick judgments from a single exposure.
Actor-Observer Effect - Answers Attributing others' actions to personality, but our own to the
situation.
Perceptual Salience - Answers We notice people more than situational factors, influencing attribution.
Taylor & Fiske (1975) Study - Answers People judged whoever they could see best as more influential.
Two Routes of Information Processing - Answers Central route (logical, careful), Peripheral route
(superficial, quick).
Motivation for information processing - Answers Accuracy or self-esteem motives.
Post-decision dissonance - Answers Tension after making a tough decision, leading to justification.
Justification of effort - Answers Valuing something more after working hard for it.
Indirect Social Influence - Answers Influence without direct pressure (e.g., norms, observation).
Darley & Latané and the Bystander Effect - Answers People are less likely to help when others are
present.
Social Facilitation - Answers Presence of others improves performance on easy tasks, worsens hard
tasks.
Pool Player Study - Answers Good players got better, bad players got worse with an audience.
Direct Influence vs. Indirect Influence - Answers Direct = explicit requests; Indirect = implied norms.
Central vs. Peripheral Route - Answers Central = logical arguments; Peripheral = attractiveness,
emotions.
Persuasion vs. Compliance - Answers Persuasion = changing attitudes; Compliance = changing
behavior without attitude change.
Bob Cialdini's Principles of Influence - Answers Reciprocity, consistency, social proof, liking, authority,
scarcity.
Foot-in-the-door Technique - Answers Start with a small request, then larger.
Door-in-the-face Technique - Answers Start big, then ask for a smaller request.
Consensus Technique - Answers Doing what others are doing; Descriptive norms = what most people
do.
Obedience - Answers Following direct orders from an authority figure.
Milgram Study on Obedience - Answers People obeyed authority figures even when harming others.
Variables that changed obedience rates - Answers Closeness to victim, closeness of authority,
institutional prestige.
Attribution - Answers How people explain causes of behavior.
Internal vs. External Attribution - Answers Internal = due to traits; External = due to the situation.
Situational vs. Dispositional Factors - Answers Situational = external causes; Dispositional = internal
traits.
Self-serving attributions - Answers Taking credit for successes, blaming failures on the situation.
, Cognitive dissonance - Answers Occurs when behavior conflicts with beliefs → real-world effects:
attitude change.
Social norms - Answers Rules about acceptable behavior.
Conformity - Answers Changing behavior to match group norms.
Asch's Conformity Study - Answers People conformed to wrong answers even when they knew they
were wrong.
Variables influencing conformity - Answers Group size, unanimity, importance of group.
Group polarization - Answers Group discussions lead to more extreme positions.
Groupthink - Answers Poor decisions due to pressure for consensus; dominant leaders worsen it.
Best treatment for groupthink - Answers Encourage dissent and critical thinking.
Obedience - Answers Following direct commands.
Obedience vs. Conformity - Answers Obedience = direct order; Conformity = indirect group influence.
Milgram's Obedience Study Findings - Answers High obedience even to harming others.
Factors affecting obedience - Answers Distance from victim, authority figure's presence, institutional
setting.
Percentage administered some shocks in Milgram's study - Answers 100%.
Percentage with complete compliance in Milgram's study - Answers About 65%.
When are people likely to help others? - Answers When alone, feeling responsibility, or recognizing an
emergency.
Pluralistic ignorance - Answers Misreading others' inaction as meaning help isn't needed.
Diffusion of responsibility - Answers Assuming someone else will help.
Bystander effect - Answers Less likely to help with more people present.
Robbers Cave Study - Answers Intergroup conflict reduced through cooperative goals.
Deindividuation - Answers Loss of self-awareness in groups, leading to impulsive behavior.
Percentage of college freshmen screening positive for a mental health disorder - Answers Around
one-third to one-half.
Difference between 'mentally ill' vs. 'person struggling with mental illness' - Answers 'Mentally ill' =
labels the person. 'Person struggling' = person-first, more respectful and humanizing.
Psychological disorder - Answers A pattern of behavior, emotions, or thoughts that cause significant
distress, disability, or danger.
What makes a behavior abnormal? - Answers Behavior is abnormal if it's unusual, distressing,
dysfunctional, or dangerous.
4-5 Ds - Answers Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction, Danger (sometimes Duration).
Types of professionals who diagnose/treat psychopathology - Answers Clinical Psychologists
(PhD/PsyD): Therapy, diagnosis, no meds. Psychiatrists (MD): Can prescribe meds. Counselors (MA,
MSW): Talk therapy. Social Workers: Therapy + community support. Primary Care Doctors: Sometimes
treat mild mental illness.
DSM-5 - Answers Manual that lists and defines all recognized mental disorders.
How can diagnosis be helpful? - Answers Guides treatment, helps communication, validates
experiences.
How can diagnosis be problematic? - Answers Stigma, labeling, overdiagnosis, ignores individual
differences.
Categorical vs. dimensional models - Answers Categorical = yes/no diagnosis. Dimensional =
symptoms exist on a spectrum.
Internalizing vs. externalizing stress - Answers Internalizing = inward (depression, anxiety).
Externalizing = outward (aggression, substance abuse).
Schizophrenia - Answers A severe disorder with delusions, hallucinations, disorganized
speech/behavior, and negative symptoms.
Positive and negative symptoms - Answers Positive = Added behaviors (hallucinations, delusions).
Negative = Missing normal behaviors (flat affect, lack of speech).
Delusion - Answers A strongly held false belief (e.g., thinking you're being followed).
Disorganized speech and behavior - Answers Speech = incoherent, jumping topics. Behavior = bizarre
or inappropriate actions.
Examples of negative symptoms - Answers Flat affect, alogia (poverty of speech), avolition (lack of
motivation).
Frequency of schizophrenia in the general population - Answers About 1%.
