Practice Questions for Final Exam:
1. Darwin found it difficult to explain altruistic behavior. From an evolutionary viewpoint, it would seem that over centuries and generations, altruistic behavior would ____ because _____.
a) increase; most unfit offspring would survive
b) disappear; only the fittest, most selfish offspring would survive
c) disappear; self-sacrifice would produce fewer offspring
d) remain unchanged; the gene pool would become more variable
2. Social exchange theory would have the most trouble explaining which of the following situations?
a) David drops off some notes for a classmate on the way home from work
b) Jim, a wealthy businessman, makes a hefty donation to his congressman.
c) Theo walks into traffic to rescue a stranger who has collapsed in the crosswalk
d) Anna visits people with AIDS to satisfy a requirement of her health course.
3. “Put yourself in my position,” says Janice. “Can’t you spare an hour to help me out?” Janice is attempting to evoke ____ when trying to persuade you to help her.
a) the reciprocity norm
b) kin selection
c) social exchange pressure
d) empathy
4. A woman has just been in a car accident and needs assistance getting out of her car. A man has AIDS and needs help getting to the hospital for regular treatments. According to the research on gender differences in prosocial behavior, which of the following is most likely to be true?
a) John is more likely to help the woman; Karen is more likely to help the man.
b) John and Karen are equally likely to help the man and the woman.
c) John is more likely to help the man and the woman.
d) John is more likely to help the man; Karen is more likely to help the woman.
5. A number of studies have shown that doing well on a test or listening to pleasant music can increase helping. These consistent findings across studies suggest that there is a ____ relation between ____ and helping.
a) negative; self-attention
b) positive; rewards
c) positive; positive mood
d) negative; positive mood
6. Timothy got into a big fight with his girlfriend and, as a result, is in a bad mood. When Kate asks him to contribute to her charity organization, he readily agrees which makes him feel better. Timothy’s behavior can best be explained by the
a) norm of reciprocity
b) negative-state relief hypothesis
c) emotional inconsistency effect
d) empathy-altruism hypothesis
7. According to your text, people who live in the same place for a longer time tend to feel
a) a greater attachment to the community
b) greater disdain for run-down areas in the town
c) guilty when they don’t volunteer for locally
d) isolated from their neightbors
8. According to the bystander effect, if you just witnessed a mugging, you would be most likely to help if you
a) perceive yourself to be similar to the victim
b) are in a good mood prior to the mugging
c) are the sole witness
d) are one of seven witnesses
9. Pluralistic ignorance is most likely to discourage helping in an emergency when
a) experts show the appropriate form of assistance
b) the situation is ambiguous
c) an emergency occurs in an urban setting
d) victims are dissimilar to the witness
10. On her first day of work in a new job, Amy would be most likely to feel resentful were a coworker to say to her
a) “You look a little stressed out. Can I help?”
b) “I thought you learned that in training. Let me help you out.”
c) “Hey, I remember my first day. Le me help you out.”
d) “I wish I caught on to things as quickly as you. Looks like there’s a problem here, though.”
11. Hostile aggression differs from instrumental aggression in that instrumental aggression
a) involves inflicting pain as a means to an end
b) is more destructive than hostile aggression
c) often follows from anger or frustration
d) is more likely to result in retaliation
12. Most social psychologists regard aggressive behavior as
a) modifiable and flexible
b) completely due to culture
c) completely due to biology
d) fixed by early childhood experiences
13. Which of the following statements is false?
a) When women commit acts of overt aggression, they are more likely to feel guilt or anxiety than men do
b) Cross-cultural comparisons show that men tend to be more aggressive than women in virtually every culture examined
c) The gender difference in aggression tends to show up in everyday situations
d) Although men are generally more aggressive than women, women are as likely to murder than husbands as men are to murder their wives
14. A prison guard has to transport four violent prisoners by bus. Based on aggression research, who would be most likely to cause the guard problems by behaving aggressively in this situation?
a) Bold Bob, who is squeezed between a lot of luggage and the smelly bus bathroom
b) Rough Robbie, who has a double seat to himself
c) Tough Tony who is sitting next to an open window
d) Gunshot George who is sitting in the backseat of the bus
15. According to the frustration-aggression hypothesis, who is most likely to get into an argument with someone who cuts in line in front of him or her?
a) Hector, who is last in line for movie tickets
b) Alicia, who has only one item to buy
c) Tim, who has been waiting for two hours to buy concert tickets and still has at least an hour to wait
d) Tom, who is next in line at the grocery store check-out counter
16. Research on the effects of excitatory cues (or aggressive stimuli) shows that
a) When frustrated or provoked, the presence of guns increases the likelihood of aggression.
b) People only aggress when in the presence of aggressive stimuli
c) The mere presence of guns is sufficient to elicit aggression
d) Aggressive stimuli inhibit aggression by reminding people of the painful consequences of aggression
17. Research on the effects of media violence on aggression demonstrate
a) a significant causal and correlational relationship between exposure to media violence and aggression
b) a significant correlation between exposure to media violence and aggression among the poor but not among the wealthy
c) a significant correlational, but not a causal, relationship between exposure to media violence and aggression
d) a significant causal relationship between exposure to media violence and aggression but only among children with a history of violence
18. Terry watches a lot of TV everyday. Based on research discussed in class and in the text, how is Terry most likely to view the world?
a) She probably is overly fearful of being attacked.
b) She views the world accurately.
c) She views the world as a relatively safe place because she gets out so seldom.
d) She probably lives in a fantasy world.
19. Shane believes that women are more dependent, more nurturing, and less rational than men. These are examples of his ______women.
a) stereotypes about
b) negative affect toward
c) discrimination against
d) prejudice toward
20. In an experiment discussed in class and in the text, Stone and his colleagues had subjects listen to an audiotape of a basketball game. They focused on the performance of Mark Flick who was described as either African-American or Caucasian. When subjects rated Flick’s performance,
a) they did not the “black” Flick differently from the “white” Flick
b) subjects rated Flick as more athletic when his race matched theirs.
c) they rated the “white” Flick as more athletic
d) they rated the “black” Flick as more athletic
21. Research on gender stereotypes has shown that success at problem solving is attributed to ____ for girls and to ____ for boys.
a) ability; effort
b) effort; ability
c) ability; luck
d) effort; luck
22. Which of the following is an example of discrimination?
a) Ryan feels mistrustful of Jews.
b) Luke thinks all women are manipulative.
c) Jenny believes that all Hispanics can cook terrific Tex-Mex food.
d) Laura moves over a few feet when an Arab sits next to her in class.
23. One reason why logical arguments often fail to change stereotypes is that
a) stereotypes are usually learned at a critical young age
b) stereotypes can only be changed by first-hand experiences
c) schema-consistent information is given more attention than schema-inconsistent information
d) prejudiced people are generally low in intelligence and don’t understand logical arguments
24. Suppose you don’t know many people with visible tattoos, but you happen to observe that when fights break out, they seem to involve people with tattoos. You conclude that there is an association between tattoos and aggression. This conclusion reflects a(n)
a) illusory correlation
b) subliminal prime
c) automatic activation of stereotype
d) priming of stereotype
25. One of your friends holds very negative stereotypes about Ugandans. Based on social psychological research, which of the following is the best way to change his/her stereotypes?
a) Give your friend many examples of typical, average Ugandans who are good people.
b) Tell your friend that he/she is narrow-minded and immoral.
c) Present statistics indicating that the crime rate in Uganda is lower than that of the U.S.
d) Point out a couple examples of prominent Ugandans who are well-respected.
26. In the U.S., when times are economically hard and jobs are scarce, realistic conflict theory would predict that
a) there will be less prejudice against minorities
b) there will be more prejudice against minorities
c) there will be more cooperation among minorities and the majority group
d) there will be more cooperation among minorities but more competition with the majority group
Answers:
1 C
2 A
3 D
4 A
5 D
6 A
7 A
8 A
9 A
10 D
11 B
12 D
13 C
14 A
15 A
16 B
17 C
18 D
19 A
20 C
21 B
22 A
23 C
24 B
25 B
26 A