Ch01
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. According to the text, social psychology is defined as the scientific study of how people
A. motivate, persuade and hurt one another.
B. think about, influence and relate to one another.
C. manipulate, use and betray one another.
D. conform, help and form attitudes about one another.
2. The attributions a person makes for his or her spouse's acid remark depends upon the happiness of the
marriage. What concept does this portray?
A. Social behavior is a function of what we believe.
B. Social behavior is a function of the objective situation.
C. Social behavior is a function of how a situation is construed.
D. Social behavior is a function of both the objective situation and how it is construed.
3. Imagine you are approached by a large dog. You assume the dog is unfriendly, so you start screaming at
it to go away. The dog assumes you want to hurt it, so it defends itself by biting your ankle. This is an
example of a
A. self-fulfilling belief.
B. self-aggrandizing belief.
C. self-debilitating belief.
D. self-worth belief.
4. Which of the following topics was NOT listed in the text as an example of what social psychologists study?
A. love
B. conformity
C. intelligence
D. attitudes
5. According to the text, social psychology is a(n) _____ science, and one that only began to emerge as a
vibrant field after _____.
A. young; the 1960s
B. young; World War II
C. old; the 1930s
D. old; the turn of the century
6. According to Myers' discussion of intuition, which statement is TRUE?
A. Our intuitions about ourselves are usually true.
B. Intuitions are carefully considered beliefs.
C. Intuition is both powerful and perilous.
D. None of these statements are true.
,7. Which of the following is an example of how our attitudes and behaviors are shaped by external social
forces?
A. Your personality disposition affects your choices.
B. Our inherited human nature predisposes us to react in certain ways.
C. Our political attitudes influence our voting behavior.
D. Our standards regarding promptness, beauty, and equality vary with our culture.
8. Myers suggests that he can make a confident guess about your attitude toward the 2003 U.S. war with Iraq
if he knows your educational level and what media you watch and read. This is an example of
A. how intellectual pursuits alter our political views.
B. the power of the situation.
C. the power of intuition.
D. a self-fulfilling prophecy.
9. When explaining topics such as dating and mating, evolutionary psychologists consider how natural
selection might
A. predispose our attitudes.
B. change our attitudes.
C. account for similarities in our attitudes.
D. reinforce our attitudes.
10. Those who consider under-the-skin (i.e., biological) and between the skins (i.e., social) influences on topics
such as love and hate are referred to as
A. social biologists.
B. social neuroscientists.
C. social sociologists.
D. social anthropologists.
11. Myers points out that our social behavior is shaped by
A. our intelligence and learning.
B. our personal preferences.
C. how we were nurtured by our parents.
D. other people, our attitudes and personality, and our biology.
12. A researcher is interested in studying how attitudes toward homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals are a
function of one's geographical location in the United States. This researcher is likely a
A. social psychologist.
B. personality psychologist.
C. sociologist.
D. anthropologist.
13. A(n) _____ is most likely to rely upon experiments to investigate a topic.
A. social psychologist
B. sociobiologist
C. sociologist
D. anthropologist
,14. Social representations are
A. value commitments within a culture.
B. intuitive ideas that prove to be true.
C. socially shared beliefs, including our assumptions and cultural ideologies.
D. stereotypes that are rooted in racism rather than in reality.
15. According to the text, values enter the work of social psychology when researchers
A. collect data for their studies.
B. present the results of their studies.
C. summarize their studies.
D. choose the topics of their studies.
16. Hastrof & Cantrol (1954) found that Princeton students identified twice as many Dartmouth violations as
Dartmouth students did when each watched the game. This emphasizes
A. humans' tendency to prejudge reality based on expectations.
B. humans' inability to be objective when watching sports.
C. football players' brutality.
D. None of these.
17. The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted
from one generation to the next is referred to as
A. nationality.
B. race.
C. social representations.
D. culture.
18. Socially shared beliefs are widely held ideas and values, which include our assumptions and cultural
ideologies. This is a definition of
A. nationality.
B. race.
C. social representations.
D. culture.
19. Myers discusses how Maslow's description of "self-actualized" people was based on a sample he personally
selected. Had he selected other people to describe, his ensuing list of self-actualization characterizations
may have been different. This is an example of how values can influence
A. data.
B. results.
C. concepts.
D. methodology.
20. You ask your academic advisor what to major in, as you can't seem to decide. She suggests psychology,
however it is important to remember that this answer likely reflects her
A. training.
B. education.
C. belief that you would make a good psychologist.
D. values.
, 21. Whether we label a woman as "ambitious" or "aggressive" is a reflection of our
A. gender.
B. values.
C. culture.
D. age.
22. Your decision to call someone a "terrorist" rather than a "freedom fighter" depends on your view of the
cause. This is an example of how values can influence not only social psychology, but also
A. emotions.
B. actions.
C. intuitions.
D. everyday language.
23. Another name for the "I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon" is the
A. retrospective bias.
B. information bias.
C. prediction bias.
D. hindsight bias.
24. When asked who you think will win the next presidential election, you reply that you do not know.
However, after the election results are reported, you claim that it was obvious all along. This is an example
of the
A. retrospective bias.
B. information bias.
C. prediction bias.
D. hindsight bias.
25. Theories help social psychologists _____ their observations and _____ their hypotheses.
A. test; organize
B. organize; test
C. objectify; refute
D. refute; objectify
26. A theory
A. is an agreed-upon statement.
B. summarizes and explains facts.
C. cannot be tested.
D. is less than fact.
27. A _____ is an integrated set of principles that can explain and predict observed events.
A. theory
B. hypothesis
C. fact
D. correlation
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. According to the text, social psychology is defined as the scientific study of how people
A. motivate, persuade and hurt one another.
B. think about, influence and relate to one another.
C. manipulate, use and betray one another.
D. conform, help and form attitudes about one another.
2. The attributions a person makes for his or her spouse's acid remark depends upon the happiness of the
marriage. What concept does this portray?
A. Social behavior is a function of what we believe.
B. Social behavior is a function of the objective situation.
C. Social behavior is a function of how a situation is construed.
D. Social behavior is a function of both the objective situation and how it is construed.
3. Imagine you are approached by a large dog. You assume the dog is unfriendly, so you start screaming at
it to go away. The dog assumes you want to hurt it, so it defends itself by biting your ankle. This is an
example of a
A. self-fulfilling belief.
B. self-aggrandizing belief.
C. self-debilitating belief.
D. self-worth belief.
4. Which of the following topics was NOT listed in the text as an example of what social psychologists study?
A. love
B. conformity
C. intelligence
D. attitudes
5. According to the text, social psychology is a(n) _____ science, and one that only began to emerge as a
vibrant field after _____.
A. young; the 1960s
B. young; World War II
C. old; the 1930s
D. old; the turn of the century
6. According to Myers' discussion of intuition, which statement is TRUE?
A. Our intuitions about ourselves are usually true.
B. Intuitions are carefully considered beliefs.
C. Intuition is both powerful and perilous.
D. None of these statements are true.
,7. Which of the following is an example of how our attitudes and behaviors are shaped by external social
forces?
A. Your personality disposition affects your choices.
B. Our inherited human nature predisposes us to react in certain ways.
C. Our political attitudes influence our voting behavior.
D. Our standards regarding promptness, beauty, and equality vary with our culture.
8. Myers suggests that he can make a confident guess about your attitude toward the 2003 U.S. war with Iraq
if he knows your educational level and what media you watch and read. This is an example of
A. how intellectual pursuits alter our political views.
B. the power of the situation.
C. the power of intuition.
D. a self-fulfilling prophecy.
9. When explaining topics such as dating and mating, evolutionary psychologists consider how natural
selection might
A. predispose our attitudes.
B. change our attitudes.
C. account for similarities in our attitudes.
D. reinforce our attitudes.
10. Those who consider under-the-skin (i.e., biological) and between the skins (i.e., social) influences on topics
such as love and hate are referred to as
A. social biologists.
B. social neuroscientists.
C. social sociologists.
D. social anthropologists.
11. Myers points out that our social behavior is shaped by
A. our intelligence and learning.
B. our personal preferences.
C. how we were nurtured by our parents.
D. other people, our attitudes and personality, and our biology.
12. A researcher is interested in studying how attitudes toward homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals are a
function of one's geographical location in the United States. This researcher is likely a
A. social psychologist.
B. personality psychologist.
C. sociologist.
D. anthropologist.
13. A(n) _____ is most likely to rely upon experiments to investigate a topic.
A. social psychologist
B. sociobiologist
C. sociologist
D. anthropologist
,14. Social representations are
A. value commitments within a culture.
B. intuitive ideas that prove to be true.
C. socially shared beliefs, including our assumptions and cultural ideologies.
D. stereotypes that are rooted in racism rather than in reality.
15. According to the text, values enter the work of social psychology when researchers
A. collect data for their studies.
B. present the results of their studies.
C. summarize their studies.
D. choose the topics of their studies.
16. Hastrof & Cantrol (1954) found that Princeton students identified twice as many Dartmouth violations as
Dartmouth students did when each watched the game. This emphasizes
A. humans' tendency to prejudge reality based on expectations.
B. humans' inability to be objective when watching sports.
C. football players' brutality.
D. None of these.
17. The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted
from one generation to the next is referred to as
A. nationality.
B. race.
C. social representations.
D. culture.
18. Socially shared beliefs are widely held ideas and values, which include our assumptions and cultural
ideologies. This is a definition of
A. nationality.
B. race.
C. social representations.
D. culture.
19. Myers discusses how Maslow's description of "self-actualized" people was based on a sample he personally
selected. Had he selected other people to describe, his ensuing list of self-actualization characterizations
may have been different. This is an example of how values can influence
A. data.
B. results.
C. concepts.
D. methodology.
20. You ask your academic advisor what to major in, as you can't seem to decide. She suggests psychology,
however it is important to remember that this answer likely reflects her
A. training.
B. education.
C. belief that you would make a good psychologist.
D. values.
, 21. Whether we label a woman as "ambitious" or "aggressive" is a reflection of our
A. gender.
B. values.
C. culture.
D. age.
22. Your decision to call someone a "terrorist" rather than a "freedom fighter" depends on your view of the
cause. This is an example of how values can influence not only social psychology, but also
A. emotions.
B. actions.
C. intuitions.
D. everyday language.
23. Another name for the "I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon" is the
A. retrospective bias.
B. information bias.
C. prediction bias.
D. hindsight bias.
24. When asked who you think will win the next presidential election, you reply that you do not know.
However, after the election results are reported, you claim that it was obvious all along. This is an example
of the
A. retrospective bias.
B. information bias.
C. prediction bias.
D. hindsight bias.
25. Theories help social psychologists _____ their observations and _____ their hypotheses.
A. test; organize
B. organize; test
C. objectify; refute
D. refute; objectify
26. A theory
A. is an agreed-upon statement.
B. summarizes and explains facts.
C. cannot be tested.
D. is less than fact.
27. A _____ is an integrated set of principles that can explain and predict observed events.
A. theory
B. hypothesis
C. fact
D. correlation
