Principles of Social Psychology Version 2 0 2nd Stangor Test Bank

Principles of Social Psychology Version 2 0 2nd

Stangor Test Bank

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 Chapter 6
Perceiving Others
True/False Questions

1. You have gained knowledge about your friends by interacting with them. This learning is
obtained though the process of person perception.
True; Moderate

2. Nonverbal behavior refers to any type of communication that does not involve speaking.
True; Easy

3. The positive attributes displayed by an individual are referred to as his or her central traits.
False; Easy

4. A manager concludes that an employee’s good performance is due to his hard work. The
manager is making a situational attribution.
False; Moderate

5. It is easier to make personal attributions if a behavior is expected.

False; Easy

6. We are a making an external attribution when we determine that a behavior is caused

primarily by the situation.
True; Easy

7. A situation will seem to be the cause of a behavior if the situation creates the same behavior
in most people.
True; Easy

8. “I failed because the test was unfair.” This statement attributes failure to a personal and stable
cause.
False; Moderate

9. Morris is the project manager of a software development company. His employee, Marzu, is
unable to complete a project on time. Morris blames Marzu for the failure, even though any
other programmer would also have failed in the task. Morris is making a fundamental
attribution error.
True; Difficult

10. The fundamental attribution error occurs when you make more personal attributions for the
behavior of others than for yourself.
False; Moderate

11. The cognitive accessibility of a given person characteristic refers to the extent to which that
person characteristic quickly and easily comes to mind.
True; Easy

12. Leslie is high on the need for cognition. She will be highly impulsive and impatient.
 False; Moderate

13. Edward is an entity theorist. He is likely to make lot of situational attributions.

False; Moderate

14. Attributional style refers to the type of attributions that we tend to make for the events that
occur to us.
True; Easy

15. Self-handicapping occurs when we make statements or engage in behaviors that help us
create internal attributions for potential failure.
False; Easy

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Every day, you learn about others who interact with you. This process of learning about
others is known as _____.
a. person perception
b. inoculation
c. the fundamental attribution error
d. a self-serving attribution
a; Easy

2. Dennis, a salesperson, is calling on a prospective client. He has had very little associations
with the client and is meeting him for the first time. Which of the following statements is true
of the first impression that Dennis will make of the client?
a. The first impression is likely to reduce Dennis’s self-esteem.
b. The first impression will be very inaccurate.
c. The first impression is likely to be very accurate.
d. The first impression will be contrary to Dennis’s self-belief
c; Moderate

3. Which of the following is a case where a person is describing himself/herself in terms of

social category memberships?
a. I am a tall individual.
b. I am a friendly person.
c. I am a woman
d. I am socially active.
c; Moderate

4. Self perception: oneself

Which of the following is analogous to this relationship?
a. Causal attribution: other people
b. Primacy effect: oneself
c. Personal attribution: external factors
d. Central traits: self-image
a; Difficult

5. A small group of people was asked to judge the ability of a speaker after seeing a 30 second
video of them presenting at a large meeting. Which of the following is a conclusion that we
can derive from this situation based on the studies conducted by Rule & Ambady?
 a. The group’s judgment will be based on previous experiences.
b. The group is likely to fail in making a timely judgment.
c. The group’s judgment will be highly inaccurate.
d. The group’s judgment will be similar to actual audience’s judgment.
d; Moderate

6. The studies by Rule and Ambady conclude that ________.

a. affective decision making is less effective in human beings
b. initial impressions can be highly accurate
c. most judgments are based on previous experiences
d. cognitive decision making is not effective in human beings
b; Moderate

7. Which of the following is a valid observation about nonverbal behaviors?

a. Nonverbal behaviors are used primarily to communicate cognitions.
b. Nonverbal behaviors are an insignificant part of communication.
c. Nonverbal behaviors do not include speaking and facial expressions.
d. Nonverbal behaviors include things such as voice patterns and tone of voice.
d; Easy

A few elements of communication are listed in the following table. Answer questions 8-9
based on the table.

Element 1 Element 2 Element 3 Element 4

Minutes of a Facial Voice pattern Words spoken
meeting expressions of used by a by a participant
a speaker speaker

8. Identify the elements that are a part of nonverbal communication.

a. Elements 1 and 2
b. Elements 2 and 3
c. Elements 1 and 3
d. Elements 1, 2, and 3
b; Difficult

9. Identify the element(s) that is/are a part of verbal communication.

a. Elements 1 and 4
b. Elements 3 and 4
c. Elements 1, 2, and 4
d. Only element 4
a; Difficult

10. Nonverbal behaviors _____.

a. will communicate the same information as verbal behavior
b. are limited in what they can convey to us about others
c. cannot be informative during the initial stages of person perception
d. are not useful in the process of person perception
b; Easy

11. Which of the following is a valid observation about central traits?

a. Central traits include practicality and determination.
 b. Central traits are positive characteristics of individuals.
c. Central traits do not affect people’s perceptions.
d. Central traits lead us to make inferences about other traits.
d; Easy

12. Which of the following statements describe a person using a central trait?
a. He is determined to achieve his goals.
b. He is a warm individual.
c. He has a practical approach to life.
d. He has a critical personality.
b; Moderate

13. Information that we learn first about a person is weighted more heavily in our impressions
than is information that comes later. This refers to the _____.
a. covariation principle
b. primacy effect
c. incremental effect
d. central traits principle
b; Easy

14. Richard Bird is the CEO of a staffing consulting firm. He believes that the primacy effect has
a crucial role when employees are selected using personal interviews. Which of the following
observations, if true, would strengthen Richard’s belief?
a. Studies have shown that interviewers ask the most important questions at the end of an
interview.
b. Most organizations use structured questions in interviews to avoid possible biases of
interviewers.
c. Studies have shown that interviewers judge a candidate in the first few minutes of an
interview.
d. Most organizations use internal experts to interview candidates for employment with
them.
c; Difficult

15. Jeff is approached by a salesperson. The salesperson fails to make a good first impression and
Jeff decides in the early minutes of the sales presentation itself that he will not buy anything
from the salesperson. Which of the following phenomena is observed here?
a. Central traits principle
b. Incremental effect
c. Primacy effect
d. Covariation principle
c; Moderate

16. Which of the following sayings support the primacy effect?

a. Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
b. First impressions matter.
c. We should think with our minds rather than our hopes or fears.
d. Many hands make light work.
b; Difficult

17. A study revealed that more than 90 percent users of a search engine visited the links that
appeared at the top of the search results page. This study supports the _____.
 a. incremental effect
b. covariation principle
c. primacy effect
d. central traits principle
c; Moderate

18. Which of the following refers to the process of trying to determine the causes of people’s
behavior?
a. Causal attribution
b. Unrealistic optimization
c. Fundamental attribution
d. Internal optimization
a; Easy

19. Alice notices that her colleague Jenny is in a bad mood. Jenny responded passively to her
queries and seemed upset. Alice tries to understand the causes of Jenny’s behavior. Here,
Alice is engaging in _____.
a. fundamental attribution
b. internal optimization
c. causal attribution
d. external optimization
c; Moderate

20. Peter Harrison is the project manager of a mining company. He notices that one of his
subordinates has been coming late to work frequently. Peter concludes that this behavior is
due to the subordinate’s lack of interest in the job. Peter is making a(n) _____ attribution
here.
a. person
b. external
c. situation
d. covariant
a; Difficult

21. Which of the following types of attributions occurs when we decide that a behavior is caused
primarily by the person displaying the behavior?
a. External
b. Positional
c. Situational
d. Internal
d; Easy

Answer questions 22-23 based on the statements listed in the following table.

Statement 1 Statement 2 Statement 3 Statement 4

The employees are unable to Charles lacks self- Carlos has His family
perform to their full motivation to succeeded because background made
potential because of the perform well in of his confidence him a tough
unhealthy work the examination. and hard work. individual.
environment.
22. Identify the statements that are indicative of a person attribution.
a. Statements 1 and 2
b. Statements 2 and 3
c. Statements 1, 2, and 3
d. Statements 1 and 4
b; Difficult

23. Identify the statements that are indicative of a situation attribution.

a. Statements 1 and 4
b. Statements 2 and 3
c. Statements 1, 2, and 4
d. Statements 2, 3, and 4
a; Difficult

24. Which of the following attributions occur when we conclude that a behavior was caused
primarily by the situation?
a. Personal
b. Dispositional
c. Internal
d. External
d; Easy

Answer questions 25-27, based on the behaviors and the possible conclusions of the
behaviors given within the questions.

25. Behavior: Marta got a high grade on an exam.

Conclusion 1: Marta prepared well to take the exam.
Conclusion 2: The exam was easier than usual.
a. Conclusion 1 is making an external attribution whereas conclusion 2 is making a personal
attribution.
b. Both the conclusions are situational attributions.
c. Conclusion 1 is making a dispositional attribution whereas conclusion 2 is making a
situational attribution.
d. Both the conclusions are dispositional attributions.
c; Difficult

26. Behavior: Jonathan failed to persuade a prospect to buy his company’s product.
Conclusion 1: The product was not suitable for the customer.
Conclusion 2: The customer had no intention to buy the product although he listened to the
sales presentation.
a. Conclusion 1 is making a personal attribution whereas conclusion 2 is making an external
attribution.
b. Conclusion 1 is making an external attribution whereas conclusion 2 is making a personal
attribution.
c. Both the conclusions are based on dispositional attributions.
d. Both the conclusions are based on situational attributions.
d; Difficult

27. Behavior: Arthur and Selena’s marriage did not last very long.
Conclusion 1: Arthur was rude to Selena’s mother.
Conclusion 2: Selena could not understand Arthur’s feelings.
 a. Both the explanations involve personal attributions.
b. Both the explanations involve situational attributions.
c. Conclusion 1 involves a personal attribution whereas conclusion 2 involves an external
attribution.
d. Conclusion 1 involves an external attribution whereas conclusion 2 involves a personal
attribution.
a; Difficult

28. It is easier to make personal attributions when the behavior is _____.

a. expected
b. unusual
c. routine
d. ordinary
b; Easy

29. Which of the following instances would be more likely to lead you to conclude that one of
your teachers is friendly?
a. The teacher greeted the students when she entered the class.
b. The teacher went out of her way to help you resolve a personal problem.
c. The teacher answered your question in class.
d. The teacher said “Hi” when she saw you in the corridor.
b; Moderate

30. Observation 1: Joseph was expected to pass a test.

Observation 2: Joseph failed in the test.
It is easier to make personal attributions if _____.
a. observation 2 is true and observation 1 is false
b. both the observations are either true or false
c. either of the observations is true
d. observation 1 is true and observation 2 is false
b; Difficult

31. The _____ states that a given behavior is more likely to have been caused by the situation if
that behavior changes across situations.
a. incremental effect
b. primacy effect
c. central traits principle
d. covariation principle
d; Easy

32. Jason behaves rudely to one of his colleagues. You will not consider Jason an unfriendly
person if he maintains good relationships with other colleagues. This describes the principle
of _____.
a. central traits
b. dominance
c. covariation
d. primacy
c; Moderate

33. Identify the situation that best describes the principle of consensus.
a. John was not considered a good performer even though he performed well over time.
 b. Albert and many other people prefer the new version of the iPhone.
c. Andrea’s boss considers her a liar although she has lied only once to him.
d. Jenifer is considered to be an introvert because she stays away from people.
b; Difficult

34. Nora loves the Washington Nationals baseball team. She feels excited whenever she sees
them play. She does not have this response to other baseball teamsWhat kind of covariation
information has caused this conclusion?
a. Consistency information
b. Consensus information
c. Agreement information
d. Distinctiveness information
d; Moderate

35. Albert could not complete a project in time. He tells his boss that he was not given enough
time to complete the project. Which of the following, if true, will strengthen Albert’s
justification through the principle of consensus?
a. Albert had delayed projects earlier when he was working in another department.
b. Albert has delayed most projects that he carried out till date.
c. The delayed project is critical to the company’s business.
d. Many of Albert’s colleagues also have missed the deadlines for their projects.
d; Difficult

36. A situation seems to be the cause of a behavior if the behavior occurs when the situation is
present, but not when it is not present. This describes principle of _____ that causes an
external attribution.
a. consistency
b. consensus
c. distinctiveness
d. continuity
c; Easy

37. Anthony owns a poodle. According to the principle of distinctiveness, we will conclude that
Anthony’s liking is limited to poodles if he _____.
a. grooms his dog properly
b. plays only with his own dog
c. dislikes other dog breeds
d. takes good care of his dog
c; Moderate

38. Anderson maintains good relationships with most of his colleagues. However, he fights often
with Ruth. Because of his good behavior with them, Anderson’s colleagues do not believe
that Anderson is responsible for his conflicts with Ruth. What kind of covariation information
has caused this belief?
a. Consistency information
b. Distinctiveness information
c. Consensus information
d. Agreement information
b; Moderate

39. A situation seems to be the cause of a behavior if _____.

 a. the situation intermittently produces the behavior
b. behavior occurs in the absence of the situation also
c. the situation occurred after the behavior has occurred
d. the situation creates the same behavior in most people
d; Easy

Answer questions 40-41, based on the conclusion and the observations given within the
questions.

40. Conclusion: Jonathan’s tendency to smoke is due to wedding ceremonies.

Observation 1: Jonathan smokes every time he attends a wedding.
Observation 2: Jonathan smokes only when he attends weddings.
Observation 3: Most attendees abstain from smoking during weddings.
a. Observations 1 and 2 strengthen the conclusion
b. Observations 1 and 3 strengthen the conclusion
c. Observations 1 and 3 weaken the conclusion
d. Observations 2 and 3 weaken the conclusion
a; Difficult

41. Conclusion: People drive faster on straight roads.

Observation 1: Albert drives faster only when he drives on straight roads.
Observation 2: Albert drives faster than other drivers on most roads.
Observation 3: Most drivers drive faster on straight roads.
a. Observations 1 and 2 strengthen the conclusion
b. Observations 1 and 3 strengthen the conclusion
c. Observations 1 and 2 weaken the conclusion
d. Observations 2 and 3 weaken the conclusion
b; Difficult

42. Frances drives too fast only on interstate highways but never on any other types of highways.
Which of the following is a valid conclusion that we can derive from this observation?
a. This situation shows the lack of consensus in Frances’s behavior and is likely to cause a
person attribution.
b. This situation shows the consistency of Frances’s behavior and is likely to cause a person
attribution.
c. This situation shows the consensus in Frances’s behavior and is likely to cause a situation
attribution.
d. This situation shows the distinctiveness of Frances’s behavior and is likely to cause a
situation attribution.
d; Moderate

43. Choose the correct answer based on the following observations.

Observation 1: Thomas fails to solve a puzzle.
Observation 2: Most of Thomas’s friends also failed to solve the puzzle.
a. A situation attribution is likely if both the observations are true.
b. A person attribution is likely if both the observations are true.
c. An External attribution is likely if observation 1 is true and observation 2 is false.
d. An Internal attribution is likely if both the observations are false.
a; Difficult
44. You are planning to watch a movie. One of your friends tells you that a movie that he
recently watched was good. Which of the following, if true, would tempt you to believe that it
is your friend’s personal opinion and the movie may not be good?
a. Most of your other friends also liked the movie.
b. You liked another movie that your friend liked.
c. Your friend likes most of the movies that he watches.
d. Your friend shared the same opinion with his other friends also.
c; Difficult

45. Angelina fails an exam. She thinks that she failed because of an external factor that is less
likely to change over time. Which of the following is a likely justification that Angelina will
have?
a. I did not prepare well for the examination.
b. I failed because of my bad luck.
c. It is very difficult to pass the examination.
d. Passing the exam will not benefit me.
c; Moderate

46. Newly elected Senator Joan Martin considers herself lucky to have won the election. Joan
thinks that she succeeded because of a(n) _____.
a. stable external factor
b. unstable external factor
c. stable internal factor
d. unstable internal factor
b; Moderate

47. Martha believes that successful individuals are dedicated toward their work. Martha is
attributing success to a(n) _____.
a. stable external factor
b. unstable external factor
c. stable internal factor
d. unstable internal factor
d; Moderate

48. Which of the following is a stable internal attribution for success or failure?
a. Ability
b. Motivation
c. Luck
d. Task difficulty
a; Easy

49. Which of the following is personal and unstable reason for success or failure?
a. Ability
b. Motivation
c. Luck
d. Task difficulty
b; Easy

The following table provides the justifications that four students had for their failures.
Answer questions 50-53 based on this table.
 Adrian Betty Stephen Margaret
I want to be a I am not skilled I had written all the The questions were
musician. So, I enough to solve answers correctly. I really difficult. I
don’t really care complex math have no idea why I don’t think many
about my grades. problems. failed. passed the exam.

50. Betty is attributing her failure to a(n) _____.

a. unstable internal factor
b. stable external factor
c. unstable external factor
d. stable internal factor
d; Moderate

51. Who attributes his/her failure to an unstable internal factor?

a. Adrian
b. Betty
c. Stephen
d. Margaret
a; Difficult

52. Who attributes his/her failure to a stable external factor?

a. Adrian
b. Betty
c. Stephen
d. Margaret
d; Difficult

53. Who is blaming his/her luck for the failure?

a. Adrian
b. Betty
c. Stephen
d. Margaret
c; Moderate

54. We tend to overestimate the role of person factors and overlook the impact of situations. This
is referred to as the _____.
a. fundamental attribution error
b. self-fulfilling prophecy
c. actor-observer difference
d. self-serving attribution
a; Easy

55. Roger wanted to join the US army. He was only 58 inches tall and was rejected during the
selection as the minimum height to enlist in us army is 60 inches. After this incident, Roger
started thinking that he is a person of little worth. Identify the mistake that Roger is making.
a. Correspondence bias
b. Self-serving bias
c. Actor-observer difference
a. Incremental attribution
a; Difficult
56. Carolyn is a bright student, but she is afraid of failing an important test that is coming up. She
stays out late the night before the exam and doesn’t prepare well for it. If she does poorly on
the test, she will blame her failure on her lack of preparation. Carolyn’s behavior displays
which of the following?
a. An internal attribution.
b. Self-monitoring.
c. Self-handicapping.
d. The fundamental attribution error.
c; Difficult

57. Which of the following could be an example of self-handicapping?

a. I always come first in the relay race.
b. I failed because I didn’t feel well that day
c. I fail in everything that I do
d. I succeeded because of my hard work
b; Moderate

58. We tend to make more personal attributions for the behavior of others than we do for
ourselves and to make more situational attributions for our own behaviors than for the
behavior of others. This is referred to as _____.
a. self-fulfilling prophecy
b. actor-observer difference
c. fundamental attribution error
d. internal attribution error
b; Easy

59. Howard, a tennis player, is playing outside on a windy day. Howard identifies such mistakes
when his partner makes them as the partner’s lack of skill, but attributes his own mistakes to
the unfavorable wind. Identify the error that Howard is making.
a. Biased internal attribution
b. Self-fulfilling prophecy
c. Internal attribution error
d. Actor-observer difference
d; Moderate

60. The actor-observer difference reflects our tendency to _____.

a. overweight person explanations for the behavior of other people
b. overweight person explanations for our own behavior
c. underestimate situation explanations for our own behavior
d. underestimate person explanations for the behavior of other people
a; Easy

61. Which of the following is a reason why people make person attributions?
a. People have a tendency to be more critical toward themselves than others.
b. Person errors cause most of the mistakes that people make.
c. Person attributions are easier to make than situational attributions.
d. Making external attributions will diminish chances of improvement.
c; Easy

62. David was extremely nervous when he gave a public presentation because making public
presentations creates anxiety. Later, David saw his friend Leo becoming nervous when
 singing at a concert. It seemed to David that Leo was underprepared. This situation
exemplifies _____.
a. actor-observer difference
b. need for cognition
c. self-fulfilling prophecy
d. internal attribution error
a; Difficult

63. Attributions that help us meet our desires to see ourselves positively are called _____.
a. fundamental attributions
b. self-serving attributions
c. actor-observer attributions
d. incremental attributions
b; Easy

64. Self-serving attributions are driven by _____.

a. the tendency to make internal attributions for the self
b. an accurate judgment of one’s own abilities
c. the tendency to ignore distinctiveness information
d. a fundamental desire to enhance the self
d; Easy

65. Brian heads a team of 16 electrical engineers in an infrastructure company. Brian takes credit
for his team’s performance if the team performs well and blames the employees if the team
performs poorly. Brian’s behavior exemplifies _____.
a. fundamental attribution
b. self-serving attribution
c. primacy attribution
d. incremental attribution
b; Moderate

Answer questions 66-67 based on the events described in the following table.

Event 1 Event 2 Event 3 Event 4

Overestimating Attributing Making more personal Making situational
one’s abilities one’s attributions for the attributions for one’s
failures to behavior of others own behaviors than for
external than for oneself the behavior of others
causes

66. Identify the events that refer to self-serving attributions.

a. Events 1 and 2
b. Events 3 and 4
c. Events 1 and 3
d. Events 2 and 4
a; Difficult

67. Identify the events that refer to the actor-observer difference.

a. Events 1 and 2
b. Events 1 and 3
c. Events 2 and 4
 d. Events 3 and 4
d; Difficult

68. Which of the following terms refers to the extent to which a person characteristic quickly and
easily comes to a perceiver’s mind?
a. Person perceptibility
b. Actor-observer consistency
c. Cognitive accessibility
d. Behavioral consistency
c; Easy

69. Darren is the mayor of a city in the United States. He analyzes social situations vigilantly and
fully before making decisions. This tendency to think carefully and fully about social
situations is called _____.
a. cognitive accessibility
b. need for cognition
c. correspondence bias
d. social attribution
b; Moderate

70. Rachel is a politician. She believes that she has high need for cognition. Which of the
following, if true, would strengthen Rachel’s belief?
a. Rachel does not admire or blame others without careful thought.
b. Most decisions that Rachel makes are impulsive in nature.
c. Rachel judges strangers within minutes of meeting them.
d. Rachel makes quick purchases even when she buys high-value items.
a; Difficult

71. Entity theorists _____.

a. tend to make situational attributions
b. believe that people’s traits are unstable
c. focus on individuals’ self-control
d. tend to focus on the traits of other people
d; Easy

Mia Drake is the CEO of an accident management company. She finds that one of her
teams, led by Margaret Chappell, is not performing well. Answer questions 72-73 based on
this situation.

72. Which of the following responses is likely if Mia is an entity theorist?

a. Mia investigates the issue to identify the real cause of underperformance.
b. Mia quickly concludes that Margaret in not managing the team well.
c. Mia allocates more funds to Margaret’s team.
d. Mia quickly concludes that the team lacks adequate resources to perform.
b; Difficult

73. Which of the following, if occurred, would indicate that Mia is an incremental theorist?
a. Mia quickly concluded that Margaret in not managing the team well.
b. Mia immediately suspended Margaret and other key members of the team.
c. Mia transferred Margaret to another team and appointed a more aggressive leader.
d. Mia investigated the issue to identify if the team has access to essential resources.
 d; Difficult

74. Incremental theorists are those who _____.

a. believe that personalities change a lot over time
b. tend to make impulsive decisions
c. focus on the traits of other people
d. believe that people fail due to internal reasons
a; Easy

75. Morgan is an incremental theorist. Which of the following will be a valid observation of
Morgan?
a. He will believe that personalities do not change over time.
b. He is more likely to make situational attributions for events.
c. He is likely to blame individuals for poor performance.
d. He will not focus on the dynamic psychological processes.
b; Moderate

76. An attitude test identifies Charles to be an entity theorist. Which of the following is a view
that Charles is likely to agree with?
a. Continuous improvements are essential for growth.
b. Employee performance improves with experience.
c. People cannot alter their level of intelligence.
d. A person can change his intelligence through hard work.
c; Difficult

77. An attitude test identifies Robert to be an incremental theorist. Which of the following is a
view that Charles is likely to agree with?
a. Organizations should not spend money on training people.
b. People can greatly change how intelligent they are.
c. People cannot alter their level of intelligence.
d. Employee performance does not improve with experience.
b; Difficult

78. Attributional style refers to _____.

a. the ability to make internal and external attributions simultaneously
b. the manner in which an individual makes internal attributions about the self
c. the ability to make full attributions of observed behaviors
d. the type of attributions that we tend to make for the events that occur to us
d; Easy

79. Which of the following is an example of a stable attribution?

a. I always come first in the running race.
b. I failed because I did not have the needed resources.
c. I fail in everything that I do
d. I succeeded because of my hard work
a; Moderate

80. Which of the following is an example of an unstable attribution?

a. I will not be able to perform this task
b. Anyone can perform this task.
c. I am not in the mood to perform this task
 d. She always fails to perform this task.
c; Moderate

81. Which type of attributions apply most broadly?

a. Stable
b. Unstable
c. Negative
d. Global
d; Easy

82. Which of the following refers to the tendency to continually make external, stable, and global
attributions for one’s behavior?
a. Attributional styling
b. Correspondence bias
c. Learned helplessness
d. Unrealistic Optimism
c; Easy

83. Which of the following occurs when we make statements or engage in behaviors that help us
create a convenient external attribution for potential failure?
a. Self-handicapping
b. Attributional styling
c. Learned helplessness
d. Correspondence bias
a; Easy

84. _____ refers to the tendency to be overly positive about the likelihood that negative things
will occur to us and that we will be able to effectively cope with them if they do.
a. Attributional styling
b. Correspondence bias
c. Learned helplessness
a. Unrealistic Optimism
c; Easy

Short Answer Questions

1. What is person perception?

The process of learning about other people is referred to as person perception.
Easy

2. Explain nonverbal behavior and give at least two examples.

Nonverbal behavior refers to any type of communication that does not involve speaking,
including facial expressions, body language, touching, voice patterns, and interpersonal
distance. Nonverbal behaviors are used to reinforce spoken words, but also include such
things as interpersonal distance, tone of voice, facial expression, eye gaze, touch, and hand
gestures and body positions.
Moderate

3. How is positive and negative information used differently in person perception?

In comparison to positive information, negative information about people tends to elicit more
physiological arousal, to draw greater attention, and to exert greater impact on our judgments
 and impressions of the person. Researchers have found that different parts of the brain react
to positive and negative images, and that the response to negative images is greater overall.
Moderate

4. Explain the importance of central traits in determining how we perceive others.

A particular dimension, warm versus cold, makes a big difference in how we perceive people
-- much bigger than do other dimensions. As a result warm and cold are known as central
traits. The powerful influence of central traits is due to two things. For one, they lead us to
make inferences about other traits that might not have been mentioned. Secondly, the
important central traits also color our perceptions of the other traits that surround them.
Moderate

5. Critically analyze the saying: “First impression is the best impression.”

This saying refers to the primacy effect. Information that we learn first about a person is
weighted more heavily than on our impressions of that person than is information that comes
later. People are likely to base their judgments of others on the first impressions.
Difficult

6. What is causal attribution?

Because behavior is determined by both the person and the situation, we must attempt to
determine which of these two causes actually determined the behavior. The process of trying
to determine the causes of people’s behavior is known as causal attribution.
Easy

7. When do people make external and internal attributions?

People make an internal attribution when they decide that the behavior was caused primarily
by the person. At other times, people may determine that the behavior was caused primarily
by the situation. This is called external attribution. Sometimes people may decide that the
behavior was caused by both the person and the situation.
Moderate

8. Critically analyze the relationship between expectations and attribution.

We will make personal attributions when others behave in ways that are inconsistent with our
expectations. Unusual behaviors are attributed to the person rather than the situation. For
example, you expect a person to be friendly with you. If he turns unfriendly, you are likely to
think that there is something wrong with the person.
Difficult

9. Explain the covariation principle.

The covariation principle states that a given behavior is more likely to have been caused by
the situation if that behavior changes across situations, but that the situation is less likely to
be a cause of a given behavior if that behavior does not change across situations.
Easy

10. Explain the types of covariation information used to make causal attributions.
Consistency information: A situation seems to be the cause of a behavior if the situation
always produces the behavior. For instance, if I always start to cry at weddings, then it seems
like the wedding is the cause of my crying.
Distinctiveness information: A situation seems to be the cause of a behavior if the behavior
occurs when the situation is present, but not when it is not present. For instance, if I only cry
at weddings, but not any other time, then it seems like the wedding is the cause of my crying.
 Consensus information -A situation seems to be the cause of a behavior if the situation
creates the same behavior in most people. For instance, if many people cry at weddings, then
it seems like the wedding is the cause of my crying.
Moderate

11. What is fundamental attribution error? Explain with an example.

When we explain the behavior of others, we tend to overestimate the role of personal factors
and overlook the impact of situations. This tendency is known as fundamental attribution
error.
Managers sometimes ignore the impact of external factors when employees make mistakes
and blame the employees alone. This is an example of fundamental attribution error.
Moderate

12. What is actor-observer difference?

We tend to make more personal attributions for the behavior of others than we do for
ourselves and to make more situational attributions for our own behaviors than for the
behavior of others. This is known as the actor-observer difference.
Easy

13. Explain the concept of cognitive accessibility.

Cognitive accessibility of a given person characteristic is the extent to which a person
characteristic quickly and easily comes to mind for the perceiver. It is a perceiver factor that
influences how we perceive others. Differences in accessibility will lead different people to
attend to different aspects of the other person.
Moderate

14. Explain the need for cognition in people. How do people differ in terms of their needs for
cognition?
Need for cognition refers to the tendency to think carefully and fully about social situation.
People high on need for cognition tend to process all information more thoughtfully and
therefore may make more causal attributions overall. In contrast, people low on need for
cognition tend to be more impulsive and impatient, and may make attributions more quickly
and spontaneously.
Moderate

15. Compare and contrast entity theorists and incremental theorists.

Some people tend to believe that people’s traits are fundamentally stable and incapable of
change. We call these people entity theorists. Entity theorists tend to focus on the traits of
other people, and tend to make a lot of personal attributions. On the other hand, incremental
theorists are those who believe that personalities change a lot over time, and who therefore
are more likely to make situational attributions for events. Incremental theorists are more
focused on the dynamic psychological processes that arise from individuals’ changing mental
states in different situations.
Difficult

16. What is an attributional style? What are the different types of attributional styles?
Attributional style refers to the type of attributions that we tend to make for the events that
occur to us. These attributions can be to ourselves (internal) or to the situation (external), but
attributions can also be made on other dimensions, including stable versus unstable, and
global versus specific. Stable attributions are those that we think will be relatively permanent,
whereas unstable attributions are expected to change over time. Global attributions are those
Principles of Social Psychology Version 2 0 2nd Stangor Test Bank

that we feel apply broadly, whereas specific attributions are those causes that we see as more
unique to specific events.
Moderate

17. Compare and contrast stable and unstable attributions with examples.
Stable attributions are those that we think will be relatively permanent, whereas unstable
attributions are expected to change over time.
When a student says “I always fail,” he is making a stable attribution.
If he says “I will do better next time,” it is an unstable attribution.
Difficult

18. When do people experience learned helplessness?

People who have extremely negative attributional styles, in which they continually make
external, stable, and global attributions for their behavior, are said to be experiencing learned
helplessness.
Moderate

19. When does self-handicapping occur?

Self-handicapping occurs when we make statements or engage in behaviors that help us
create a convenient external attribution for potential failure.
Easy

20. What is unrealistic optimism? What are the drawbacks of being unrealistically optimistic?
Unrealistically optimism is the tendency to be overly positive about the likelihood that
negative things will occur to us and that we will be able to effectively cope with them if they
do. When we are too optimistic we may set ourselves up for failure and depression when
things do not work out as we had hoped. We may think that we are immune to the potential
negative outcomes of driving while intoxicated or practicing unsafe sex, but these optimistic
beliefs are not healthy.
Moderate

Fill in the Blanks

1. _____ refers to the process of learning about other people.

Person perception; Easy

2. The process of trying to determine the causes of people’s behavior is called _____.
Causal attribution; Easy

3. Attributions that help us meet our desires to see ourselves positively are known as _____.
self-serving attributions; Easy

4. The tendency to continually make external, stable, and global attributions for one’s behavior
is known as _____.
learned helplessness; Easy

5. _____ refers to the tendency to be overly positive about the likelihood that negative things
will occur to us and that we will be able to effectively cope with them if they do.
Unrealistic optimism; Easy

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