18.15 Chapter 15: Social Psychology

show what you know

1. b. Social psychology; sociology
2. debrief
3. Social psychology studies often involve confederates, who are working for the researchers. Playing the role of participants, confederates say what the researchers tell them to say and do what the researchers tell them to do. They are, unknown to the other participants, just part of the researchers’ experimental manipulation. In a double-blind study, neither participants nor researchers administering a treatment know who is getting the real treatment. Participants are told ahead of time that they might receive a placebo, but do not necessarily know about confederates until after the study is complete.

1. a. Attributions
2. d. disposition of the person.
3. Answers will vary, but may be based on the following information. Attitudes are the relatively stable thoughts, feelings, and responses one has toward people, situations, ideas, and things. Attitudes are composed of three elements: cognitive (beliefs or ideas), affective (mood or emotion), and behavioral (response).
4. Answers will vary, but may be based on the following information. The just-world hypothesis is the tendency to believe the world is a fair place and individuals generally get what they deserve. For example, in the story of Cinderella, the doves that help Cinderella prepare for her wedding poke out the eyes of her evil stepsisters afterward.

1. a. social influence; b. persuasion; c. compliance; d. foot-in-the-door technique; e. conformity
2. d. Obedience
3. Answers will vary. Examples may include resisting the urge to eat dessert when others at the table are doing so, saying no to a cigarette when others offer one, and so forth.

1. d. Social loafing
2. deindividuation
3. c. The bystander effect
4. Group members should know that when people hear their own opinions echoed by other members of a group, new information tends to reinforce and strengthen the group members’ original positions. And, as the members of the group listen to each other make arguments, their original positions become more entrenched. Thus, group deliberation may not be helpful when the members of the group are initially in agreement.

1. c. low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin
2. d. prosocial behavior.
3. Males tend to show more direct aggression (physical displays of aggression), whereas females are more likely to engage in relational aggression (gossip, exclusion, ignoring), perhaps because females have a higher risk for physical or bodily harm than males do.
4. Answers will vary, but may be based on the following information. Discrimination is showing favoritism or hostility to others because of their affiliation with a group. Prejudice is holding hostile or negative attitudes toward an individual or group. Stereotypes are conclusions or inferences we make about people who are different from us based on their group membership, such as their race, religion, age, or gender. Discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes involve making assumptions about others we may not know. They often lead to unfair treatment of others.

1. b. proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness
2. mere-exposure effect
3. According to this model, decisions to stay together or part ways are based on how happy people are in their relationship, their notion of what life would be like without it, and their investment in the relationship. People may stay in unsatisfying or unhealthy relationships if they feel there are no better alternatives or believe they have too much to lose. This model helps us understand why people remain in destructive relationships. These principles also apply to friendships, positions at work, or loyalty to institutions.

1. d. Social psychology
2. b. social cognition.
3. a. Cognitive dissonance
4. d. the fundamental attribution error.
5. d. the source, the message, and the audience.
6. c. compliance.
7. a. conformity.
8. c. legitimacy of the authority figure.
9. b. Diffusion of responsibility
10. a. deindividuation.
11. d. stereotypes
12. c. aggression
13. b. expectations
14. a. The mere-exposure effect
15. d. passion, intimacy, and commitment.
16. Answers will vary, but may be based on the following information (see Infographic 15.1). The internal–external dimension refers to the location of the cause. The controllable–uncontrollable dimension refers to whether the outcome can be controlled. The stable–unstable dimension refers to whether the cause is long-lasting. As an example, the reason your colleague has recently been absent is that she is caring for her father (external) who has just been diagnosed with an illness and there is no other family member available to help him (uncontrollable). This set of circumstances, however, has only caused problems this week (unstable).
17. Answers will vary. Obedience occurs when we change our behavior, or act in a way that we might not normally, because we have been ordered to do so by an authority figure. An imbalance of power exists, and the person with more power generally has an advantage over a person with less power. It is important for us to pay attention to how we react when under the influence of an authority figure as we could inflict harm on others. One person can make a difference when he or she stands up for what is right.
18. Answers will vary. When a person is in trouble, bystanders have the tendency to assume that someone else will help—and therefore they stand by and do nothing, a phenomenon that is partly due to the diffusion of responsibility. This bystander effect is particularly common when there are many other people present. Individuals are more likely to aid a person in distress if no one else is present.
19. Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definition. Stereotypes are the conclusions or inferences we make about people who are different from us, based on their group membership (such as race, religion, age, or gender). We tend to see the world in terms of ingroups (the group to which we belong) and outgroups (people who are outside the group to which we belong), which can impact the stereotypes we hold.
20. Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definitions. Proximity means nearness, which may play an important role in the formation of relationships. Similarity has to do with how much you have in common with someone else. We tend to prefer those who share our interests, viewpoints, ethnicity, values, and other characteristics.