CHAPTER 17                        Social Cognition

When you meet someone for the first time, you both usually form impressions of each other fairly

 quickly. This is an example of

The mental processes associated with how people perceive and react to other individuals and groups are

 known as

A psychologist who studies the influence of other people on the way a person perceives, thinks, feels,

 and reacts is probably a ______________ psychologist.

Chandra belongs to a sorority that is full of intelligent, hard-working, and attractive women.  Based on

her evaluation of herself relative to her sorority sisters, she considers herself to be about average.  Chandra is using _______ in her evaluation of herself.

a.         relative deprivation                                b.         social comparison

c.         social referencing                                  d.         a schema

Fifteen-year-old Kim does not care when Laura, her eighteen-year-old sister, goes out on a date but gets

very jealous and unhappy when her best friend, Pauline, who is the same age as Kim, gets to go out. What is one explanation for Kim’s reaction?

a.         Kim uses Laura as a means of objective comparison.

b.         Kim feels deprived compared to Laura.

c.         Pauline is a member of Kim’s reference group.

d.         Laura is more similar to Kim than to Pauline.

During her first year in graduate school, Akisa decided that her depression and anxiety were caused by

 relative deprivation. She most likely reasoned this way because

a.         she was no longer considered the brightest in her class, but was now surrounded by students who were just as smart or smarter than she.

b.         her new job as a research assistant was too demanding and the pay too low.

c.         she wanted to take a variety of courses, but had to elect only those in her area of specialization.

d.         she had to move 400 miles away from her family.

Increased self-esteem can

a.         act as a buffer against anxiety and negative feelings.       b.         lead to social dilemmas.

c.         eliminate attribution errors.                                                        d.         induce compliance.

Kathy Lee has decided to leave Regis, but is afraid the news will leave him highly anxious and

depressed. What should Kathy Lee do before telling Regis that she is leaving to lessen the impact of her decision?

a.         Play an intense game of racquetball with Regis  

b.         Criticize Regis by making fun of his ties

c.         Compliment Regis’s rugged good looks to boost his self-esteem

d.         Distract him by telling him a story about her son Cody

You took one look at Serge and thought he was bright, caring, and understanding. Your behaviors subtly

            brought out those qualities in Serge. How can this best be explained?

a.         Fundamental attribution error                b.         Self-fulfilling prophecy

c.         Confirmation bias                                              d.         Actor-observer bias

Paul is trying to figure out his new boss, Cindy. She is nice to most people in the office, except for

Mike, whom she constantly criticizes and pushes to work harder. Paul decides that Cindy is a nice person, regardless of how she treats Mike, because her behavior toward Mike is high in

a.         consistency.      b.         consensus.        c.         distinctiveness.  d.         aggression.

Among your group of intimate friends, Sebastian is the only one who’s ever late for your weekly game

of Twister. You’ve noticed that Sebastian is late every week, and that he’s not just late for Twister. He’s late for class, church, meetings, parties, dates, movies, dinner, weddings, funerals, sporting events, dental appointments, and haircuts. Because of the ______________ consensus, ______________ consistency, and ______________ distinctiveness of Sebastian’s lateness, you attribute his behavior to an internal cause.

a.         high; high; low                           b.         low; high; high

c.         low; high; low                           d.         high; high; high

Vivian obtained a 22 on the psychology final exam, whereas Zack obtained a 20. Vivian attributes her

low score to the lack of study time and Zack’s low score to basic stupidity. Which of the following attributional biases is Vivian guilty of?

a.         Egocentric bias                                     b.         Ego-defensive bias

c.         Ego-dystonic bias                                             d.         Fundamental attribution error

Zhenya is very promiscuous, and she often has unsafe sex. Her friends tell her that she should worry

about contracting HIV, but Zhenya is certain that it won’t happen to her. Which of the self-protective functions of social cognition is Zhenya exhibiting?

Regina believes she did well in her psychology class because she is smart but blames her poor

 performance in chemistry on her “incompetent instructor.” Regina’s reasoning demonstrates the

Barbara believes that Barney is ridiculous and does nothing to educate children.  When she sees

children watching Barney on TV she feels angry and switches the channel.  What is the cognitive component of Barbara’s attitude toward Barney?

Which of the following is not a component of an attitude?

a.         Cognitive          b.         Biological         c.         Affective           d.         Behavioral

Commercials that use attractive models or celebrities to persuade viewers to buy the products are using

 the ______________ route to attitude change.

When a child is rewarded for stating a particular view, her or his attitude about that object or concept is

 influenced. This shows the importance of ______________ in attitude formation.

A mother of three children wants to change their negative attitude about spinach. She pays the oldest

child $5 to smile and exclaim “Yum-yum” while eating his spinach and to tell the youngest child that it is the best food in the world. The mother instructs the middle child to do the same thing, but she only gives him a quarter. According to cognitive dissonance theory, which child is most likely to change his attitude about spinach?

a.         All three children are equally likely to change their attitude.

b.         The oldest child            c.         The youngest child                    d.         The middle child

Discrimination is the ______________ component of a prejudiced attitude.

a.         cognitive                       b.         behavioral                     c.         affective            d.         evaluative

When Ursula was younger she witnessed her cat being shot and killed by a man wearing a bright orange

coat. Now she cannot stand anyone who wears an orange coat and wishes they would all just disappear! Which theory best explains Ursula’s prejudice?

While driving through a different section of town, Zebulon, who is from the Alpha ethnic group, saw a

group of boys from the Beta ethnic group whistling and catcalling at an attractive female. Zebulon assumes that most, if not all, people from the Beta ethnic group share this “rude” behavior. This is an example of

a.         an illusory correlation.b.            aversive racism.

c.         an authoritarian personality.d.    cognitive dissonance.

______________ theories of stereotyping predict that children who attend integrated schools and who

watch television programs like Sesame Street (which are sensitive to race relations) will have fewer negative racial stereotypes.

a.         motivational      b.         learning c.         psychodynamic d.         cognitive

group of boys from the Beta ethnic group whistling and catcalling at an attractive female. Zebulon assumes that most, if not all, people from the Beta ethnic group share this “rude” behavior. This is an example of

Count Dracula, who is pretty average-looking by our standards, decides to visit Velma’s Video

Vamporium, where he can choose his next vivacious victim via video technology. After viewing volumes of videos, he chooses Vanna because he finds her voluptuous, even though most people think that she is also of average attractiveness. Which of the following provides the best explanation of the count’s attraction to Vanna?

a.         The contact hypothesis              b.         The matching hypothesis

c.         The consistency hypothesis                   d.         The social comparison hypothesis

When Julia and Lyle were dating, their friends thought to themselves, “It will never last. Although he’s

not bad looking, she is much too beautiful for him.” Their friends’ statement suggests that Julia and Lyle’s relationship violated the

Because Karen and Reliford are both affected simultaneously by events in each person’s life, they are

a.         a good example of the contact hypothesis.                                 b.         interdependent.

c.         a good example of the matching hypothesis.

d.         exhibiting reciprocal causality

Forrest and Jenny have just begun marriage counseling. Considering the factors that most influence

marital satisfaction, which of the following complaints would be least likely to account for their dissatisfaction?

a.         “We don’t enjoy the same activities.”    b.         “We don’t communicate well.”

c.         “The relationship isn’t equitable.”                       d.         “All we do is argue.”

High school sweethearts Lindsey and Ryne are very physically and emotionally attracted to each other,

but they are going to different colleges in the fall and decide that they should not commit to their relationship. According to Sternberg’s triangular theory, they have ______ love.

a.         companionate   b.         consummate                 c.         fatuous d.         romantic

Rick and April have been married for twenty years. Although they know each other very well, the

passion has seemed to die in their marriage. According to Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, this is an example of ______ love.

On her first day of kindergarten, Ramona watches some third graders practice arithmetic at recess.

She thinks they are much smarter than she is, and that she will never be able to pass third grade.  Ramona’s thinking demonstrates

Shana is watching TV one day and sees a commercial with Brad, a famous actor endorsing Moo-Moo ice

cream. The next time Shana shops for groceries, she buys Moo-Moo ice cream instead of Freezy-Time, the kind she always buys. Shana’s attitude toward ice cream brands has been changed by which of the following persuasive routes?

Last week, Len took two tests.  He failed the first test, but received an A on the second one. Len claims that

he was sick while taking the first test and that the instructor asked too many unfair questions. However, he claims that he received an A on the second test because he is intelligent and knew the material well. Len is demonstrating

Your new housemate comes home from on-campus registration, throws his coat angrily on the floor, goes

to his room, and slams the door without greeting you. You conclude that your housemate is a hostile, unfriendly person. Your conclusion is the result of

Christine believes she did poorly on her pogo stick exam because she was too busy studying for other

exams to practice enough. However, she believes other people who scored low did so because they just don’t have the skill. Christine’s reasoning demonstrates the

Maya was told that her new roommate, Puja, is a lazy slob who won’t clean up after herself. When Puja

moves in, Maya begins to clean obsessively. While Puja does indeed try to clean up after herself, Maya never really gives her a chance to do so. Eventually, Puja stops trying and simply lets Maya do all the cleaning. This is an example of