Ch01
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. 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-defacing belief.
C. self-defense belief.
D. self-worth belief.
4. Which of the following topics is NOT 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. The best statement about objective reality is
A. that it exists.
B. that it does not exist.
C. that we can all agree on an objective reality.
D. that reality is filtered by our values and beliefs.
7. 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. Intuition is not important.
8. Which of the following is an example of how our attitudes and behaviors are shaped by external social
forces?
A. Our personality disposition affects our 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.
,9. Which of the following is FALSE?
A. Social psychologists use experimentation more than sociologists.
B. Social psychologists focus less on individual differences than personality psychologists.
C. Sociologists focus more on groups than social psychologists.
D. Personality psychologists use experimentation more than social psychologists.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. What is NOT true about how values affect social psychology?
A. Values influence the topics that are researched.
B. The values that people hold influence those entering the field of study.
C. Social psychology research shows us what to value.
D. Social psychologists are very interested in studying values.
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. Hastorf and Cantril (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. that humans are objective when watching sports.
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. The difficult 2008 world financial crisis due to lack of regulations and safeguards seems obvious now.
This is an example of
A. information bias.
B. hindsight bias.
C. prediction bias.
D. retrospective bias.
, 26. Theories help social psychologists _____ their observations and _____ their hypotheses.
A. test; organize
B. organize; test
C. objectify; refute
D. refute; objectify
27. A theory
A. is an agreed-upon statement.
B. summarizes and explains facts.
C. cannot be tested.
D. is less than fact.
28. A _____ is an integrated set of principles that can explain and predict observed events.
A. theory
B. hypothesis
C. fact
D. correlation
29. The difference between facts and theories is that
A. facts explain theories.
B. theories explain facts.
C. facts are ideas.
D. theories are statements.
30. A testable proposition that describes a relationship which may exist between events is a
A. statement.
B. bias.
C. correlation.
D. hypothesis.
31. Which one of the following is one of the purposes of a hypothesis according to the text?
A. Hypotheses allow us to test a theory.
B. Hypotheses provide explanations for research results.
C. Hypotheses prove theories.
D. Hypotheses communicate the results of research studies.
32. The analogy used in the text to describe what happens when old theories are discarded employs a
discussion of how
A. old cars are kept as antiques.
B. old cars are replaced by newer and better models.
C. new cars are often not built as well as older models.
D. new cars are frequently more fuel efficient than older models.
33. Research done in natural, real-life settings outside the laboratory is referred to as
A. correlational research.
B. experimental research.
C. laboratory research.
D. field research.
34. Asking students to come to a laboratory at 3 p.m. in order to participate in a study on university students'
usage of cellular phones is an example of what type of research?
A. correlational research
B. experimental research
C. laboratory research
D. field research
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. 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-defacing belief.
C. self-defense belief.
D. self-worth belief.
4. Which of the following topics is NOT 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. The best statement about objective reality is
A. that it exists.
B. that it does not exist.
C. that we can all agree on an objective reality.
D. that reality is filtered by our values and beliefs.
7. 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. Intuition is not important.
8. Which of the following is an example of how our attitudes and behaviors are shaped by external social
forces?
A. Our personality disposition affects our 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.
,9. Which of the following is FALSE?
A. Social psychologists use experimentation more than sociologists.
B. Social psychologists focus less on individual differences than personality psychologists.
C. Sociologists focus more on groups than social psychologists.
D. Personality psychologists use experimentation more than social psychologists.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. What is NOT true about how values affect social psychology?
A. Values influence the topics that are researched.
B. The values that people hold influence those entering the field of study.
C. Social psychology research shows us what to value.
D. Social psychologists are very interested in studying values.
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. Hastorf and Cantril (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. that humans are objective when watching sports.
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. The difficult 2008 world financial crisis due to lack of regulations and safeguards seems obvious now.
This is an example of
A. information bias.
B. hindsight bias.
C. prediction bias.
D. retrospective bias.
, 26. Theories help social psychologists _____ their observations and _____ their hypotheses.
A. test; organize
B. organize; test
C. objectify; refute
D. refute; objectify
27. A theory
A. is an agreed-upon statement.
B. summarizes and explains facts.
C. cannot be tested.
D. is less than fact.
28. A _____ is an integrated set of principles that can explain and predict observed events.
A. theory
B. hypothesis
C. fact
D. correlation
29. The difference between facts and theories is that
A. facts explain theories.
B. theories explain facts.
C. facts are ideas.
D. theories are statements.
30. A testable proposition that describes a relationship which may exist between events is a
A. statement.
B. bias.
C. correlation.
D. hypothesis.
31. Which one of the following is one of the purposes of a hypothesis according to the text?
A. Hypotheses allow us to test a theory.
B. Hypotheses provide explanations for research results.
C. Hypotheses prove theories.
D. Hypotheses communicate the results of research studies.
32. The analogy used in the text to describe what happens when old theories are discarded employs a
discussion of how
A. old cars are kept as antiques.
B. old cars are replaced by newer and better models.
C. new cars are often not built as well as older models.
D. new cars are frequently more fuel efficient than older models.
33. Research done in natural, real-life settings outside the laboratory is referred to as
A. correlational research.
B. experimental research.
C. laboratory research.
D. field research.
34. Asking students to come to a laboratory at 3 p.m. in order to participate in a study on university students'
usage of cellular phones is an example of what type of research?
A. correlational research
B. experimental research
C. laboratory research
D. field research
