Social Psychology Assessment

As a field, social psychology focuses on ________ in predicting human behavior.

• personality traits

• genetic predispositions

• biological forces

• situational factors

Answer explanation

Social psychologists focus on the power of the situation in predicting human behaviors.

A(n) ________ is a set of group expectations for appropriate thoughts and behaviors of its members.

• social role

• social norm

• script

• attribution

Attitudes describe our ________ of people, objects, and ideas.

Prejudice is to ________ as discrimination is to ________.

• feelings; behavior

• thoughts; feelings

• feelings; thoughts

• behavior; feelings

The bystander effect likely occurs due to ________.

• desensitization to violence

• people not noticing the emergency

• diffusion of responsibility

• emotional insensitivity

Determine whether the following is an example of the fundamental attribution error or self-serving attribution.

Peter’s instructor was rather short-tempered the first day of class. Peter assumed the instructor was a rude woman. He did not know that she had woken up late, had a car accident on the way to work, and had been locked out of her office.

• Self-serving bias

• Fundamental attribution error

Answer explanation

This is an example of the fundamental attribution error because Peter is assuming that his instructor’s behavior was due to internal, dispositional factors and is not considering situational factors that may have explained her behavior.

Determine whether the following is an example of the fundamental attribution error or self-serving attribution.

Jeremy earned an A in his philosophy class and concluded that he had quite a talent for writing coherently and thinking logically. When he earned a C in his sociology class, he expressed dissatisfaction with the course content, the teaching ability of the professor, and the quality and clarity of the exams.

• Self-serving bias

• Fundamental attribution error

Answer explanation

This is an example of a self-serving attribution because Jeremy is attributing his high grade in philosophy to his own talents and abilities, but attributing his C in sociology to external factors (the professor).

Provide a personal example of an experience in which your behavior was influenced by the power of the situation.

Compare and contrast situational influences and dispositional influences and give an example of each. Explain how situational influences and dispositional influences might explain inappropriate behavior.

Provide an example of how people from individualistic and collectivistic cultures would differ in explaining why they won an important sporting event.