Test Item File- Practice Test - Social Psychology,Gilovich,2e

CHAPTER 1: An Invitation to Social Psychology




MULTIPLE CHOICE



1. Social psychology can be defined as the ____________ study of the ____________ of individuals in
social situations.

a. intuitive; behaviors

b. scientific; behaviors

c. scientific; feelings, thoughts, and behaviors

d. behavioral; thoughts and feelings

e. intuitive; thoughts and feelings



ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Factual



2. Which of the following Supreme Court rulings was heavily influenced by social
psychological research?
a. Rowe v. Wade ruling c. Marbury v. Madison ruling

b. Brown v. Board of Education ruling d. Miranda v. Arizona ruling



ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Factual



3. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” and “out of sight, out of mind” are both common
sayings. A(n) ____________ is most likely to conduct an experiment to identify the conditions
under which each of these assertions is accurate.
a. personality psychologist c. sociologist

b. social psychologist d. anthropologist

, ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Factual



4. The major difference between social psychology and other social sciences, such as
anthropology and political science, is that social psychology relies most heavily on
____________ to derive knowledge about human behavior.
a. experimental research c. logical principles

b. observational research d. evolutionary principles



ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Factual



5. Sandra thinks that smiling a lot during a job interview increases a person’s chances of
getting a job offer. The main difference between Sandra’s folk theory and social
psychological theories is that social psychological theories are
a. always more complicated. c. based on logic.

b. almost always counterintuitive. d. put to the test.



ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Factual

,6. Social psychologists differ from personality psychologists because social psychologists tend
to
a. rely primarily on correlational research.

b. argue that genetics do not exert causal effects on social behavior.

c. examine how individuals react “on average” in social situations.

d. stress individual differences in behavior.



ANS: C DIF: Medium REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Factual



7. Which of the following questions involves a distal factor?
a. Relative to unpleasant odors, how do pleasant odors influence a person’s mood?

b. Are people more likely to obey someone in a lab coat than someone in street clothes?

c. Do unconscious processes govern behavior?

d. Do individualist cultures value financial success more than collectivist cultures?



ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Conceptual



8. Which of the following is LEAST characteristic of the goals of social psychology?
a. understanding how people in different cultures think, feel, and behave

b. understanding how people control each others’ behaviors

c. evaluating the accuracy of folk theories about how situations influence behavior

d. understanding how personality traits predispose people to respond to social
situations



ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Conceptual

, 9. Jacquie and Karen are both interested in the topic of divorce. Jacquie is a social psychologist
and Karen is a sociologist. Compared to Karen, which of the following questions is Jacquie
most likely to ask?
a. Do different divorce laws influence divorce rates?

b. Are divorce rates higher among people who are more educated?

c. Why does infidelity lead to divorce?

d. Is divorce more prevalent in Northern states relative to Southern states?



ANS: C DIF: Medium REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Conceptual



10. Which of the following would be an example of a proximal influence on behavior?
a. the influence that societal norms and values have on gender roles in doing house
chores

b. the influence that an authority figure has over a subordinate

c. the evolved ability to recognize that other people have thought and feelings

d. the evolved difference in mating strategies between the two sexes



ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Characterizing Social Psychology

OBJ: Conceptual



11. Which of the following phenomena best illustrates the relationship between social influence
and behavior?
a. acting more cooperative when you are in a good mood (as opposed to a bad mood)

b. preferring to drive with the car radio on (as opposed to off)

c. cycling faster when people are watching you (as opposed to when you are alone)

d. getting into more arguments when the temperature is above 80 degrees (as opposed
to under 80 degrees)