UVA PSYCHOLOGY SELECTION MOCK
EXAM EXAM SCRIPT 2026
COMPREHENSIVE QUESTIONS WITH 100%
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
⩥ Social Influence. Answer: the effect that the words, actions, or mere
presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or
behavior
⩥ Behaviorism. Answer: a school of psychology maintaining that to
understand human behavior, one needs to only
consider the reinforcing properties of the environment (i.e. rewards or
punishments)
⩥ Construal. Answer: the way in which people perceive, comprehend,
and interpret the social world (based on accuracy and self-esteem)
⩥ Parents' Gender-Science Stereotypes
Construals. Answer: families at a science museum were monitored to see
how many parents initiated scientific conversations with their young
children
Results: from ages 1-3, 4-5, and 6-8, parents initiated scientific
conversations with boys significantly more than girls (parents behaved
differently as a result of child gender)
,⩥ The Halo Effect. Answer: the tendency for an impression created in
one area to influence opinion in another area
⩥ Nisbett and Wilson (1977)
Warm/Cold Lectures
The Halo Effect. Answer: College students rated two lectures with the
same professor (one where he was warm/engaging and one where he
was cold/distant) on how much they liked him
Results: Warm Condition: accent was appealing
Cold Condition: accent was irritating
⩥ Kelley (1950)
Warm/Cold Guest Lectures
First Impressions. Answer: two groups of students were given identical
20 minute guest lectures from the same person but received different
bios on the lecturer (one cold and one warm)
(more internal validity than Nisbett and Wilson's study(more things were
controlled))
⩥ Naive Realism. Answer: the conviction that we perceive things "as
they really are"
,⩥ Gestalt Psychology. Answer: a school of psychology stressing the
importance of studying the subjective way in which an object appears in
people's minds rather than the objective, physical attributes of the object
⩥ Self-Esteem. Answer: people's evaluations of their own self-worth
⩥ Self-Worth. Answer: the extent to which people view themselves as
good, competent, and decent people
⩥ Hindsight Bias. Answer: the tendency for people to exaggerate, after
knowing that something has occurred, how much they could have
predicted it before it happened
⩥ Diffusion of Responsibility. Answer: assuming someone else will step
in and do the right thing so we don't have to
⩥ Latane and Darley (1968)
Diffusion of Responsibility. Answer: subjects were put in rooms alone
(and were told they were either one of two subjects or one of six
subjects) and an emergency situation was staged to see if they would
intervene (confederate faked an epileptic seizure)
Results:
- indicated that the way the subjects were asked for help mattered
- 6 subject group: 31% of people responded to calls for help
, - 2 subject group: 85% of people responded to calls for help
⩥ The Basic Dilemma of the Social Psychologist. Answer: the trade off
between internal and external validity in conducting research
⩥ Observational Research Method. Answer: the technique whereby a
researcher observes people and systematically records measurements or
impressions of their behavior
⩥ Ethnography. Answer: the method by which researchers attempt to
understand a group or culture by observing it from the inside, without
imposing any preconceived notions they might have
⩥ Interjudge Reliability. Answer: the level of agreement between two or
more people who independently observe and code a set of data (by
showing that two or more judges independently came up with the same
observations, researchers ensure that the observations are not the
subjective, distorted impressions of one individual)
⩥ Archival Analysis. Answer: when the researcher examines the
accumulated documents (archives) of a culture
⩥ Correlational Research Method. Answer: the technique whereby two
or more variables are systematically measured and the relationship
EXAM EXAM SCRIPT 2026
COMPREHENSIVE QUESTIONS WITH 100%
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
⩥ Social Influence. Answer: the effect that the words, actions, or mere
presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or
behavior
⩥ Behaviorism. Answer: a school of psychology maintaining that to
understand human behavior, one needs to only
consider the reinforcing properties of the environment (i.e. rewards or
punishments)
⩥ Construal. Answer: the way in which people perceive, comprehend,
and interpret the social world (based on accuracy and self-esteem)
⩥ Parents' Gender-Science Stereotypes
Construals. Answer: families at a science museum were monitored to see
how many parents initiated scientific conversations with their young
children
Results: from ages 1-3, 4-5, and 6-8, parents initiated scientific
conversations with boys significantly more than girls (parents behaved
differently as a result of child gender)
,⩥ The Halo Effect. Answer: the tendency for an impression created in
one area to influence opinion in another area
⩥ Nisbett and Wilson (1977)
Warm/Cold Lectures
The Halo Effect. Answer: College students rated two lectures with the
same professor (one where he was warm/engaging and one where he
was cold/distant) on how much they liked him
Results: Warm Condition: accent was appealing
Cold Condition: accent was irritating
⩥ Kelley (1950)
Warm/Cold Guest Lectures
First Impressions. Answer: two groups of students were given identical
20 minute guest lectures from the same person but received different
bios on the lecturer (one cold and one warm)
(more internal validity than Nisbett and Wilson's study(more things were
controlled))
⩥ Naive Realism. Answer: the conviction that we perceive things "as
they really are"
,⩥ Gestalt Psychology. Answer: a school of psychology stressing the
importance of studying the subjective way in which an object appears in
people's minds rather than the objective, physical attributes of the object
⩥ Self-Esteem. Answer: people's evaluations of their own self-worth
⩥ Self-Worth. Answer: the extent to which people view themselves as
good, competent, and decent people
⩥ Hindsight Bias. Answer: the tendency for people to exaggerate, after
knowing that something has occurred, how much they could have
predicted it before it happened
⩥ Diffusion of Responsibility. Answer: assuming someone else will step
in and do the right thing so we don't have to
⩥ Latane and Darley (1968)
Diffusion of Responsibility. Answer: subjects were put in rooms alone
(and were told they were either one of two subjects or one of six
subjects) and an emergency situation was staged to see if they would
intervene (confederate faked an epileptic seizure)
Results:
- indicated that the way the subjects were asked for help mattered
- 6 subject group: 31% of people responded to calls for help
, - 2 subject group: 85% of people responded to calls for help
⩥ The Basic Dilemma of the Social Psychologist. Answer: the trade off
between internal and external validity in conducting research
⩥ Observational Research Method. Answer: the technique whereby a
researcher observes people and systematically records measurements or
impressions of their behavior
⩥ Ethnography. Answer: the method by which researchers attempt to
understand a group or culture by observing it from the inside, without
imposing any preconceived notions they might have
⩥ Interjudge Reliability. Answer: the level of agreement between two or
more people who independently observe and code a set of data (by
showing that two or more judges independently came up with the same
observations, researchers ensure that the observations are not the
subjective, distorted impressions of one individual)
⩥ Archival Analysis. Answer: when the researcher examines the
accumulated documents (archives) of a culture
⩥ Correlational Research Method. Answer: the technique whereby two
or more variables are systematically measured and the relationship
