PSYC 1F90 (2nd Semester 2026) UPDATED ACTUAL Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Question: Social Psychology
Correct Answer: The study of how people behave in social situations. Social sychology is responsible for
the best and worst things humanity has done.
Question: Social Groups
Correct Answer: • They are groups that help us define who we are • They give us roles to take on, and
rules to follow • One social group we are a part of is the fact that we're Brock students • Other social groups
include your gender, race, age, religion, mental health status, etc.
Question: Ingroups
Correct Answer: • They are groups that you personally identify with
Question: Outgroups
Correct Answer: • Groups that you do not identify with • People tend to see the negativity with groups
they do not identify with
Question: Social Roles
Correct Answer: • Expectations for how people who hold certain positions in a group ought to behave
Question: Social Norms
Correct Answer: • A widely accepted standard of conduct for appropriate behavior, unspoken agreements
Question: Flyers Experiment
Correct Answer: • 1, 2, 4, and 8 pieces of litter on the ground • The more litter on the ground, the more
likely they were to throw their flyer on the ground • This proves how norms are so important to shaping our
behavior • We are a social species
Question: Social Cognition
Correct Answer: • It is the process of thinking about ourselves and other people in social contexts
Question: Social Comparison
Correct Answer: • The process of evaluating our abilities, achievements, and attitudes by comparing
ourselves to other people
Question: Downward comparison
Correct Answer: • Comparing yourself with a person who ranks lower than you on some dimension • It
protects our self-esteem
Question: Upward comparison
Correct Answer: • Comparing yourself with a person who ranks higher than you on some dimension • It
lowers our self-esteem and is motivating to do better • It can be bad for your mental health, especially if you
compare yourself to someone who is essentially out of reach • Reasearch shows that role models are most
motivating when the level of achievement they have feels attainable • The happiest people will compare
themselves to their own internal standards rather than looking to others
,Question: Attribution
Correct Answer: • A theory describing how we assign attributions for other people's behavior
Question: Dispositional Attribution
Correct Answer: Explaining a persons behavior as a products of their personality
Question: Situational Attribution
Correct Answer: Explaining a persons behavior as being the product of their situation
Question: Fundamental Attribution Error
Correct Answer: • The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional causes, without regard
for situational influences • We tend to explain other people's behaviors by their personality more than their
situation • Humans are more dispositionalist • The assumptions we make are not always correct
Question: Actor Observer Bias
Correct Answer: • The tendency to make dispositional attributions for the behaviour of others and
situational attributions for our own behavior
Question: Self-Serving Attributions
Correct Answer: • Positive outcome for self: Ë Explain it in terms of dispositional factors • Negative
outcome for self: Ë Explain it in terms of situational factors
Question: Self-Handicapping
Correct Answer: • Placing obstacles in the way of your success to protect your self-esteem from possible
future failure • Like partying the night before a test
Question: Self-justification
Correct Answer: • We make stories to make us seem like a good person in relation to our own behavior
Question: Cognitive dissonance theory
Correct Answer: • The idea that people have a distaste for perceiving inconsistency between their thoughts
and behaviours • Cognitive dissonance occurs when we hold two cognitions that are psychologically
inconsistent • Dissonant thoughts cause psychological discomfort • We try to reduce dissonance by making
our cognitions more compatible
Question: Reducing dissonance
Correct Answer: • Change behaviour —> Stop smoking • Change the cognition —> Smoking doesn't
cause cancer • Add consonant thoughts —> Smoking reduces stress • Changing the importance of the
dissonant thoughts —> Smoking is cool • We are skilled at psychological distortion to convince ourselves
that what we do is acceptable • We are very hypocritical as a species
Question: Social Facilitation
Correct Answer: • The tendency to perform better in the presence of other people
Question: Tripplett's social facilitation study
Correct Answer: • He told children to reel in a fishing rod as fast as they could • Some were alone, some
were competing against other children He found that the children reeled faster when they were competing
with other children than when they did it alone
,Question: Social Loafing
Correct Answer: • When a person exerts less effort knowing that their individual performance will be
hidden in the group product
Question: Tug of war study
Correct Answer: • Participants told they would pull on a rope as individuals and as part of a team •
Participants were blindfolded • Participants led to believe they had teammates exerted less effort
Question: Conformity
Correct Answer: • When we change our behaviour or opinions to be in agreement with other people •
Solomon Asch's (1956) study of conformity • Four lines, the answer is C but everybody else says A • So
you say A as well 75% of participants conformed and gave the ground answer at least once in the
experiment
Question: Compliance
Correct Answer: • Bending to the requests of another person who has little or no authority over them
Question: Compliance techniques
Correct Answer: • Foot in the door: A person who complies with a small request is more likely to comply
with a larger demand later (sign on the lawn experiment) • Low balling: You get a person committed to act
then, once they are committed, make the terms less desirable • Door in the face: People are more likely to
comply with a moderate request after they have first refused a much larger request
Question: Obedience
Correct Answer: • When you comply with the requests of someone in a position of authority • The
Milgram studies
Question: Coercion
Correct Answer: • Forced to change beliefs of behavior against your will
Question: Brainwashing techniques
Correct Answer: • Create a feeling of entrapment • Introduce new beliefs Offer friendship, sympathy, and
promises of leniency
Question: Group Cohesiveness
Correct Answer: Refers to the extent to which groups members want to remain in the group - Members of
cohesive groups often stick together, and their behavior tends to be closely coordinated.
Question: Group Structure
Correct Answer: Consists of the network of roles, communication pathways, and power in a group. - Some
groups have more structure than others. For example, a sports team has a lot more structure than a friend
group
Question: Role Conflict
Correct Answer: Trying to occupy two or more roles that make conflicting demands on behavior.
Question: Social comparison
Correct Answer: Making judgments about ourselves through comparison with others.
, Question: Attitude
Correct Answer: Positive or negative perception of people, objects, or issues.
Question: Open-ended interview
Correct Answer: An interview in which persons are allowed to freely state their views.
Question: Social status
Correct Answer: The degree of prestige, admiration, and respect accorded to a member of a group.
Question: Social power
Correct Answer: The degree to which a group member can control, alter, or influence the behavior of
another group member.
Question: Social cognition
Correct Answer: The process of thinking about ourselves and others in a social context.
Question: Social Distance Scale
Correct Answer: A rating of the degree to which a person would be willing to have contact with a member
of another group.
Question: Attitude Scale
Correct Answer: A collection of attitudinal statements with which respondents indicate agreement or
disagreement.
Question: Reference Group
Correct Answer: Any group that an individual uses as a standard for social comparison.
Question: Social Interference
Correct Answer: Tendency to perform more poorly when in the presence of others.
Question: Mere Presence
Correct Answer: The tendency for people to change their behavior just because of the presence of other
people.
Question: Group Sanctions
Correct Answer: Rewards and punishments (such as approval or disapproval) administered by groups to
enforce conformity among members.
Question: Groupthink
Correct Answer: Rewards and punishments (such as approval or disapproval) administered by groups to
enforce conformity among members.
Question: Persuasion
Correct Answer: Rewards and punishments (such as approval or disapproval) administered by groups to
enforce conformity among members.
Question: Cult
Correct Answer: A group that professes great devotion to some person and follows that person almost
without question; cult members are typically victimized by their leaders in various ways.
CORRECT Answers
Question: Social Psychology
Correct Answer: The study of how people behave in social situations. Social sychology is responsible for
the best and worst things humanity has done.
Question: Social Groups
Correct Answer: • They are groups that help us define who we are • They give us roles to take on, and
rules to follow • One social group we are a part of is the fact that we're Brock students • Other social groups
include your gender, race, age, religion, mental health status, etc.
Question: Ingroups
Correct Answer: • They are groups that you personally identify with
Question: Outgroups
Correct Answer: • Groups that you do not identify with • People tend to see the negativity with groups
they do not identify with
Question: Social Roles
Correct Answer: • Expectations for how people who hold certain positions in a group ought to behave
Question: Social Norms
Correct Answer: • A widely accepted standard of conduct for appropriate behavior, unspoken agreements
Question: Flyers Experiment
Correct Answer: • 1, 2, 4, and 8 pieces of litter on the ground • The more litter on the ground, the more
likely they were to throw their flyer on the ground • This proves how norms are so important to shaping our
behavior • We are a social species
Question: Social Cognition
Correct Answer: • It is the process of thinking about ourselves and other people in social contexts
Question: Social Comparison
Correct Answer: • The process of evaluating our abilities, achievements, and attitudes by comparing
ourselves to other people
Question: Downward comparison
Correct Answer: • Comparing yourself with a person who ranks lower than you on some dimension • It
protects our self-esteem
Question: Upward comparison
Correct Answer: • Comparing yourself with a person who ranks higher than you on some dimension • It
lowers our self-esteem and is motivating to do better • It can be bad for your mental health, especially if you
compare yourself to someone who is essentially out of reach • Reasearch shows that role models are most
motivating when the level of achievement they have feels attainable • The happiest people will compare
themselves to their own internal standards rather than looking to others
,Question: Attribution
Correct Answer: • A theory describing how we assign attributions for other people's behavior
Question: Dispositional Attribution
Correct Answer: Explaining a persons behavior as a products of their personality
Question: Situational Attribution
Correct Answer: Explaining a persons behavior as being the product of their situation
Question: Fundamental Attribution Error
Correct Answer: • The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional causes, without regard
for situational influences • We tend to explain other people's behaviors by their personality more than their
situation • Humans are more dispositionalist • The assumptions we make are not always correct
Question: Actor Observer Bias
Correct Answer: • The tendency to make dispositional attributions for the behaviour of others and
situational attributions for our own behavior
Question: Self-Serving Attributions
Correct Answer: • Positive outcome for self: Ë Explain it in terms of dispositional factors • Negative
outcome for self: Ë Explain it in terms of situational factors
Question: Self-Handicapping
Correct Answer: • Placing obstacles in the way of your success to protect your self-esteem from possible
future failure • Like partying the night before a test
Question: Self-justification
Correct Answer: • We make stories to make us seem like a good person in relation to our own behavior
Question: Cognitive dissonance theory
Correct Answer: • The idea that people have a distaste for perceiving inconsistency between their thoughts
and behaviours • Cognitive dissonance occurs when we hold two cognitions that are psychologically
inconsistent • Dissonant thoughts cause psychological discomfort • We try to reduce dissonance by making
our cognitions more compatible
Question: Reducing dissonance
Correct Answer: • Change behaviour —> Stop smoking • Change the cognition —> Smoking doesn't
cause cancer • Add consonant thoughts —> Smoking reduces stress • Changing the importance of the
dissonant thoughts —> Smoking is cool • We are skilled at psychological distortion to convince ourselves
that what we do is acceptable • We are very hypocritical as a species
Question: Social Facilitation
Correct Answer: • The tendency to perform better in the presence of other people
Question: Tripplett's social facilitation study
Correct Answer: • He told children to reel in a fishing rod as fast as they could • Some were alone, some
were competing against other children He found that the children reeled faster when they were competing
with other children than when they did it alone
,Question: Social Loafing
Correct Answer: • When a person exerts less effort knowing that their individual performance will be
hidden in the group product
Question: Tug of war study
Correct Answer: • Participants told they would pull on a rope as individuals and as part of a team •
Participants were blindfolded • Participants led to believe they had teammates exerted less effort
Question: Conformity
Correct Answer: • When we change our behaviour or opinions to be in agreement with other people •
Solomon Asch's (1956) study of conformity • Four lines, the answer is C but everybody else says A • So
you say A as well 75% of participants conformed and gave the ground answer at least once in the
experiment
Question: Compliance
Correct Answer: • Bending to the requests of another person who has little or no authority over them
Question: Compliance techniques
Correct Answer: • Foot in the door: A person who complies with a small request is more likely to comply
with a larger demand later (sign on the lawn experiment) • Low balling: You get a person committed to act
then, once they are committed, make the terms less desirable • Door in the face: People are more likely to
comply with a moderate request after they have first refused a much larger request
Question: Obedience
Correct Answer: • When you comply with the requests of someone in a position of authority • The
Milgram studies
Question: Coercion
Correct Answer: • Forced to change beliefs of behavior against your will
Question: Brainwashing techniques
Correct Answer: • Create a feeling of entrapment • Introduce new beliefs Offer friendship, sympathy, and
promises of leniency
Question: Group Cohesiveness
Correct Answer: Refers to the extent to which groups members want to remain in the group - Members of
cohesive groups often stick together, and their behavior tends to be closely coordinated.
Question: Group Structure
Correct Answer: Consists of the network of roles, communication pathways, and power in a group. - Some
groups have more structure than others. For example, a sports team has a lot more structure than a friend
group
Question: Role Conflict
Correct Answer: Trying to occupy two or more roles that make conflicting demands on behavior.
Question: Social comparison
Correct Answer: Making judgments about ourselves through comparison with others.
, Question: Attitude
Correct Answer: Positive or negative perception of people, objects, or issues.
Question: Open-ended interview
Correct Answer: An interview in which persons are allowed to freely state their views.
Question: Social status
Correct Answer: The degree of prestige, admiration, and respect accorded to a member of a group.
Question: Social power
Correct Answer: The degree to which a group member can control, alter, or influence the behavior of
another group member.
Question: Social cognition
Correct Answer: The process of thinking about ourselves and others in a social context.
Question: Social Distance Scale
Correct Answer: A rating of the degree to which a person would be willing to have contact with a member
of another group.
Question: Attitude Scale
Correct Answer: A collection of attitudinal statements with which respondents indicate agreement or
disagreement.
Question: Reference Group
Correct Answer: Any group that an individual uses as a standard for social comparison.
Question: Social Interference
Correct Answer: Tendency to perform more poorly when in the presence of others.
Question: Mere Presence
Correct Answer: The tendency for people to change their behavior just because of the presence of other
people.
Question: Group Sanctions
Correct Answer: Rewards and punishments (such as approval or disapproval) administered by groups to
enforce conformity among members.
Question: Groupthink
Correct Answer: Rewards and punishments (such as approval or disapproval) administered by groups to
enforce conformity among members.
Question: Persuasion
Correct Answer: Rewards and punishments (such as approval or disapproval) administered by groups to
enforce conformity among members.
Question: Cult
Correct Answer: A group that professes great devotion to some person and follows that person almost
without question; cult members are typically victimized by their leaders in various ways.
