Social Psychology Concepts Quiz

Liam sees a classmate trip and drop all her books. He mutters, “Wow, she’s so clumsy,” without considering that the hallway floor was wet. What concept is Liam demonstrating?

• Self-serving bias

• Stereotyping

• Fundamental Attribution Error

• Cognitive dissonance

Two students fail a driving test. One says, “This test was just super hard, but I’ll get it next time.” The other says, “I’m terrible at driving; I’ll never pass.” Which student has an optimistic attributional style?

• Student A (Test was hard, but they’ll pass next time)

• Student B (They’re terrible at driving)

• Neither student

• Both students

Jaden didn’t really like matcha at first, but after seeing it on TikTok and being around friends who order it, he started liking it too. What explains Jaden’s new preference?

• Classical conditioning

• Normative influence

• Social comparison

• Mere Exposure Effect

When Sam forgets his homework, he says, “I had a crazy night; my brother was sick.” But when his friend forgets theirs, Sam says, “They’re just lazy.” What bias is Sam showing?

• In-group bias

• Actor-observer bias

• Social loafing

• Availability heuristic

When Ella scrolls through Instagram, she often evaluates how stylish or successful she is compared to her peers. What theory explains her behavior?

• Social Identity Theory

• Social Comparison Theory

• Self-determination theory

• Attribution Theory

Zara starts the school year thinking she’s bad at science. She doesn’t try as hard, avoids asking questions, and eventually fails the class. Which concept does this represent?

• Self-handicapping

• Fixed mindset

• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

• Attribution bias

Diego sees a classmate get into a top college and starts feeling insecure about his own college plans. What kind of social comparison is Diego making?

• Peer pressure

• Downward social comparison

• Self-serving bias

• Upward social comparison

Even though Marcus has a part-time job and a nice phone, he feels poor compared to classmates who drive luxury cars to school. What concept explains how Marcus feels?

• Self-serving bias

• Relative Deprivation

• Social Identity Theory

• Stereotype threat

Lena bombed her chem test, but feels a bit better when she hears her lab partner failed even worse. What type of comparison is this?

• Fundamental Attribution Error

• Downward Social Comparison

• Optimistic Bias

• Groupthink

Abigail noticed that her friend Sophia often assumes that all engineers are introverted. This generalized assumption about a group is called a:

• ethnocentrism

• stereotype

• discrimination

• self-fulfilling prophecy