PSYC 340- Applied Social Psychology- Athabasca Questions
With Complete Solutions
________ is defined as a program of shared rules that governs
the behaviour of members of a society and a set of values,
beliefs, and attitudes shared by most members of that
community. Correct Answer Culture
__________ is to attitudes what __________ is to behaviour.
Correct Answer Prejudice; discrimination
*UNIT 1*
What challenges does the application of social psychology face?
Correct Answer *The ultimate goal is to effect positive change
and improve the functioning of people.*
Interventions developed by applied social psychologists are
value-laden in that the psychologists' values play a role in
determining what social and practical problems to address,
including which people should be targeted for change and what
should constitute change. Thus, the goal of control through
intervention is sometimes controversial.
There is also the struggle that all psychology faces in regards to
being recognized as actual science.
Social psychology is the study of how individuals think, feel and
behave in a social context. Social psychology seeks to
understand how people influence and relate to one another.
Studying subjective topics like this is difficult.
,*UNIT 2*
Discuss the various methods of data collection. What are the
pros and cons, and advantages and limitations, of each? Correct
Answer *Self-Report Methods*
Examples of self-report measures include surveys, personality
scales, vocational inventories and single-item rating scales.
*Surveys*
There are three basic question types used in surveys:
*factual questions* are used to collect demographic date (age,
gender, level of education) and info regarding events about
which a person is knowledgeable. They are susceptible to lapses
in memory or conscious withholding of information.
*attitude questions* measure a person's feelings, beliefs, or
views that often can't be easily ascertained from his behaviour or
other sources of info. Responses to attitude questions are often
difficult to interpret. A person may not have an opinion about a
topic, but feel obligated to provide a response. Attitude
questions must be very specific.
*Behaviour questions* tap into specific aspects of current or
past behaviour such as its frequency, intensity, and timing.
Subject to memory gaps and distortions, best asked about recent
behaviour.
*Question Wording*
Questions have to be worded carefully to avoid bias or
misinterpretation.
,*Guidelines*:
1. Wordings should be exact
2. Wording and terminology should be simple
3. Loaded questions should be avoided
4. Questions should be kept short and relatively simple.
5. Questions should not make assumptions about respondents,
such as about their experiences or demographic status.
*Question Sequence*
The sequence of survey questions is important for three reasons:
1. You want to capture respondent's interest from the beginning
and maintain it throughout.
2. One question can affect responses to subsequent questions.
This is called context effect.
3. Questions about sensitive and controversial topics should be
avoided until the end of the survey, when you have established
better rapport with the respondent.
*Internet Resea
*UNIT 3*
Do you believe that opposites attract? Does your opinion fall in
line with the reasoning presented in the textbook? Give
arguments for your opinion based on social psychological facts
that you have studied thus far. Correct Answer Most
relationships begin with physical proximity-being near or
accessible to another person. With proximity comes interaction
and the possibility of a relationship.
*The proximity Effect* is the tendency for physical and
psychological nearness to increase interpersonal liking.
, Mere exposure increases *familiarity*, a quality that most
people find reassuring and pleasant. Familiar people seem
predictable and predictability offers a sense of order and control.
*Familiarity promotes attraction*. Frequent contact also
increases *perceived similarity*
Physical attractiveness may be a form of the *primacy effect*-
the tendency to be especially influenced by information that is
presented first.
People associate good looks with good qualities. The *physical
attractiveness stereotype* is the general expectation that a
physically attractive person has positive qualities while an
unattractive person does not.
Abdullah wishes to maximize his employees' levels of job
satisfaction, so he researches which job characteristics have the
greatest impact on increasing job satisfaction. As a result, the
one change he is most likely to make is to Correct Answer
give employees more opportunities to perform a variety of tasks
Academic Self Concept Correct Answer The feelings,
attitudes and perceptions that students hold about their academic
ability, especially when compared with those of other students.
According to __________ theory, group polarization occurs
when most of the arguments the group members hear favour one
position over another. Correct Answer groupthink
normative influence
*persuasive arguments*
informational influence
With Complete Solutions
________ is defined as a program of shared rules that governs
the behaviour of members of a society and a set of values,
beliefs, and attitudes shared by most members of that
community. Correct Answer Culture
__________ is to attitudes what __________ is to behaviour.
Correct Answer Prejudice; discrimination
*UNIT 1*
What challenges does the application of social psychology face?
Correct Answer *The ultimate goal is to effect positive change
and improve the functioning of people.*
Interventions developed by applied social psychologists are
value-laden in that the psychologists' values play a role in
determining what social and practical problems to address,
including which people should be targeted for change and what
should constitute change. Thus, the goal of control through
intervention is sometimes controversial.
There is also the struggle that all psychology faces in regards to
being recognized as actual science.
Social psychology is the study of how individuals think, feel and
behave in a social context. Social psychology seeks to
understand how people influence and relate to one another.
Studying subjective topics like this is difficult.
,*UNIT 2*
Discuss the various methods of data collection. What are the
pros and cons, and advantages and limitations, of each? Correct
Answer *Self-Report Methods*
Examples of self-report measures include surveys, personality
scales, vocational inventories and single-item rating scales.
*Surveys*
There are three basic question types used in surveys:
*factual questions* are used to collect demographic date (age,
gender, level of education) and info regarding events about
which a person is knowledgeable. They are susceptible to lapses
in memory or conscious withholding of information.
*attitude questions* measure a person's feelings, beliefs, or
views that often can't be easily ascertained from his behaviour or
other sources of info. Responses to attitude questions are often
difficult to interpret. A person may not have an opinion about a
topic, but feel obligated to provide a response. Attitude
questions must be very specific.
*Behaviour questions* tap into specific aspects of current or
past behaviour such as its frequency, intensity, and timing.
Subject to memory gaps and distortions, best asked about recent
behaviour.
*Question Wording*
Questions have to be worded carefully to avoid bias or
misinterpretation.
,*Guidelines*:
1. Wordings should be exact
2. Wording and terminology should be simple
3. Loaded questions should be avoided
4. Questions should be kept short and relatively simple.
5. Questions should not make assumptions about respondents,
such as about their experiences or demographic status.
*Question Sequence*
The sequence of survey questions is important for three reasons:
1. You want to capture respondent's interest from the beginning
and maintain it throughout.
2. One question can affect responses to subsequent questions.
This is called context effect.
3. Questions about sensitive and controversial topics should be
avoided until the end of the survey, when you have established
better rapport with the respondent.
*Internet Resea
*UNIT 3*
Do you believe that opposites attract? Does your opinion fall in
line with the reasoning presented in the textbook? Give
arguments for your opinion based on social psychological facts
that you have studied thus far. Correct Answer Most
relationships begin with physical proximity-being near or
accessible to another person. With proximity comes interaction
and the possibility of a relationship.
*The proximity Effect* is the tendency for physical and
psychological nearness to increase interpersonal liking.
, Mere exposure increases *familiarity*, a quality that most
people find reassuring and pleasant. Familiar people seem
predictable and predictability offers a sense of order and control.
*Familiarity promotes attraction*. Frequent contact also
increases *perceived similarity*
Physical attractiveness may be a form of the *primacy effect*-
the tendency to be especially influenced by information that is
presented first.
People associate good looks with good qualities. The *physical
attractiveness stereotype* is the general expectation that a
physically attractive person has positive qualities while an
unattractive person does not.
Abdullah wishes to maximize his employees' levels of job
satisfaction, so he researches which job characteristics have the
greatest impact on increasing job satisfaction. As a result, the
one change he is most likely to make is to Correct Answer
give employees more opportunities to perform a variety of tasks
Academic Self Concept Correct Answer The feelings,
attitudes and perceptions that students hold about their academic
ability, especially when compared with those of other students.
According to __________ theory, group polarization occurs
when most of the arguments the group members hear favour one
position over another. Correct Answer groupthink
normative influence
*persuasive arguments*
informational influence
