⋆ Ψ ⋆
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PYC3701: Social Psychology
OCT/NOV Examination 2026 Preparation
Covers Past Papers: Oct/Nov 2023, Oct/Nov 2024 & Oct/Nov 2025
⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆
Psychology | Human Sciences | UNISA
Ψ Exam Revision Guide
PYC3701
Module Code:
Social Psychology
Module Name:
Oct/Nov 2023, 2024 & 2025
Papers Covered:
Oct/Nov 2026
Target Exam:
70 Multiple-Choice Items (MCQs)
Format:
2 Hours
Duration:
This guide reconstructs and answers exam-style questions drawn from recent
Oct/Nov papers. Each question is followed by a detailed, mark-calibrated answer.
Study for understanding, not memorisation.
Ψ Exam Revision Notes | PYC3701 | 2023–2026
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
How to Use This Guide
This revision document reconstructs exam-representative questions from the PYC3701 Oct/Nov
papers (2023, 2024, and 2025) and provides thorough answers based on the prescribed text-
book: Social Psychology by Branscombe & Baron (14th edition). UNISA’s PYC3701 examina-
tion consists of 70 multiple-choice items drawn from all chapters of the study guide. Each
section below presents a cluster of questions from a core topic area, followed by detailed an-
swers.
Page 2 of 35
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
Section 1: Social Cognition – Thinking About the Social World OCT/NOV
2023, 2024, 2025
(a) Schemas and Social Information Processing Recurring across all three papers
Question: Which statement best describes the concept of priming in social cognition?
A. The tendency for beliefs and schemas to remain unchanged even in the face of contra-
dictory information.
B. A situation that occurs when stimuli or events increase the availability in memory or
consciousness of specific types of information held in memory.
C. Refers to the fact that the effects of schemas persist until they are expressed in thought
or behaviour.
D. Mental frameworks centring on a specific theme that help us to organise social infor-
mation.
Answer: B
Priming is the process by which exposure to a stimulus activates related information in mem-
ory, making it more accessible when we process subsequent information. Think of it as a warm-
up for a specific memory network.
Key Concept
Priming occurs when a stimulus increases the cognitive availability of related concepts,
feelings, or behaviours. This happens outside conscious awareness and shapes how we
interpret later events.
Why the other options are wrong:
• Option A describes belief perseverance, not priming.
• Option C describes schema persistence (perseverance after disconfirmation).
• Option D defines schemas themselves.
Example
You watch a violent film and then interpret an ambiguous shove by a stranger as an
aggressive act. The film has primed aggression-related thoughts.
Page 3 of 35
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
(b) Heuristics and Cognitive Shortcuts Oct/Nov 2024, 2025
Question: Decisions made based on the representativeness heuristic may be flawed
because they tend to ignore information about:
A. The emotional state of the decision maker.
B. Base rates and statistical probability.
C. The recency of events.
D. The person’s prior experiences.
Answer: B
The representativeness heuristic involves judging the likelihood of something by how closely
it resembles a prototype, without taking actual statistical frequency (base rates) into account.
This leads to systematic errors.
Key Concept
The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut where we assess the proba-
bility of an event or category membership based on how typical or representative it
appears, often at the cost of ignoring base-rate information.
Watch Out
Don’t confuse this with the availability heuristic, which judges probability based on
how easily examples come to mind. Representativeness is about resemblance; availabil-
ity is about ease of recall.
(c) The Personal-Social Identity Continuum Oct/Nov 2023, 2025
Question: The personal-social identity continuum recognises that we:
A. Always behave in ways consistent with group norms.
B. Can see ourselves differently, depending on circumstances.
C. Have a single, fixed identity that guides all our behaviour.
D. Rely only on social identity when interacting with strangers.
Answer: B
Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner) holds that our self-concept has two components: per-
sonal identity (individual traits) and social identity (group memberships). Which is more
Page 4 of 35
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
salient at any moment depends on context.
Key Concept
The personal-social identity continuum refers to the idea that our behaviour
ranges between being driven by personal characteristics at one end, and by group mem-
bership at the other. The context determines which end is activated.
Page 5 of 35
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
Section 2: Social Perception and Attribution OCT/NOV 2023, 2024, 2025
(a) Attribution Theory and the Fundamental Attribution Error
Question: Last week Zain was stopped by traffic police for driving above the speed limit,
which he strongly denied. His colleagues, who heard about the incident, immediately con-
cluded that Zain is a reckless person. This is an example of:
A. The actor-observer effect.
B. The fundamental attribution error.
C. Self-serving bias.
D. The false consensus effect.
Answer: B
The fundamental attribution error (FAE) is the tendency for observers to overestimate
dispositional (internal) causes and underestimate situational causes when explaining another
person’s behaviour. Zain’s colleagues jumped to a character conclusion (“reckless person”)
without considering situational factors (e.g., an emergency, unclear speed sign).
Key Concept
The fundamental attribution error is the pervasive tendency to attribute others’
behaviour to their stable traits or character, while neglecting the situational pressures
that may have caused it.
Exam Tip
If the observer makes a dispositional attribution and ignores situation, that is the FAE.
If the actor attributes their own behaviour to situation but others’ to disposition, that
is the actor-observer effect. These are related but different.
(b) Kelley’s Covariation Model Oct/Nov 2024, 2025
Question: According to Kelley’s covariation model, when a person’s behaviour shows
high distinctiveness, high consensus, and high consistency, we are most likely to
make a:
A. Dispositional attribution.
Page 6 of 35
, PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
B. Situational attribution.
C. Person-entity attribution.
D. No attribution is possible.
Answer: B (Situational/External attribution)
Kelley’s model suggests we attribute behaviour to whatever co-varies with it.
Cue High Value Means Low Value Means
Distinctiveness Person responds this way Responds this way to
only to this stimulus many stimuli
Consensus Most people respond this Few people respond this
way way
Consistency Always responds this way Responds inconsistently
High D + High C (onsensus) + High C (onsistency) = Situational Attribution
Low D + Low C (onsensus) + High C (onsistency) = Dispositional Attribution
(c) Self-serving Bias Oct/Nov 2023, 2024
Question: A student who passes an exam attributes her success to her hard work, but
when she fails, she blames the unfair questions. This illustrates:
A. The fundamental attribution error.
B. The false consensus effect.
C. Self-serving attribution bias.
D. Defensive attribution.
Answer: C
Self-serving bias refers to the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal factors
(ability, effort) and negative outcomes to external factors (bad luck, unfair tests). It protects
and maintains self-esteem.
Page 7 of 35
]]
PYC3701: Social Psychology
OCT/NOV Examination 2026 Preparation
Covers Past Papers: Oct/Nov 2023, Oct/Nov 2024 & Oct/Nov 2025
⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆
Psychology | Human Sciences | UNISA
Ψ Exam Revision Guide
PYC3701
Module Code:
Social Psychology
Module Name:
Oct/Nov 2023, 2024 & 2025
Papers Covered:
Oct/Nov 2026
Target Exam:
70 Multiple-Choice Items (MCQs)
Format:
2 Hours
Duration:
This guide reconstructs and answers exam-style questions drawn from recent
Oct/Nov papers. Each question is followed by a detailed, mark-calibrated answer.
Study for understanding, not memorisation.
Ψ Exam Revision Notes | PYC3701 | 2023–2026
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
How to Use This Guide
This revision document reconstructs exam-representative questions from the PYC3701 Oct/Nov
papers (2023, 2024, and 2025) and provides thorough answers based on the prescribed text-
book: Social Psychology by Branscombe & Baron (14th edition). UNISA’s PYC3701 examina-
tion consists of 70 multiple-choice items drawn from all chapters of the study guide. Each
section below presents a cluster of questions from a core topic area, followed by detailed an-
swers.
Page 2 of 35
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
Section 1: Social Cognition – Thinking About the Social World OCT/NOV
2023, 2024, 2025
(a) Schemas and Social Information Processing Recurring across all three papers
Question: Which statement best describes the concept of priming in social cognition?
A. The tendency for beliefs and schemas to remain unchanged even in the face of contra-
dictory information.
B. A situation that occurs when stimuli or events increase the availability in memory or
consciousness of specific types of information held in memory.
C. Refers to the fact that the effects of schemas persist until they are expressed in thought
or behaviour.
D. Mental frameworks centring on a specific theme that help us to organise social infor-
mation.
Answer: B
Priming is the process by which exposure to a stimulus activates related information in mem-
ory, making it more accessible when we process subsequent information. Think of it as a warm-
up for a specific memory network.
Key Concept
Priming occurs when a stimulus increases the cognitive availability of related concepts,
feelings, or behaviours. This happens outside conscious awareness and shapes how we
interpret later events.
Why the other options are wrong:
• Option A describes belief perseverance, not priming.
• Option C describes schema persistence (perseverance after disconfirmation).
• Option D defines schemas themselves.
Example
You watch a violent film and then interpret an ambiguous shove by a stranger as an
aggressive act. The film has primed aggression-related thoughts.
Page 3 of 35
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
(b) Heuristics and Cognitive Shortcuts Oct/Nov 2024, 2025
Question: Decisions made based on the representativeness heuristic may be flawed
because they tend to ignore information about:
A. The emotional state of the decision maker.
B. Base rates and statistical probability.
C. The recency of events.
D. The person’s prior experiences.
Answer: B
The representativeness heuristic involves judging the likelihood of something by how closely
it resembles a prototype, without taking actual statistical frequency (base rates) into account.
This leads to systematic errors.
Key Concept
The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut where we assess the proba-
bility of an event or category membership based on how typical or representative it
appears, often at the cost of ignoring base-rate information.
Watch Out
Don’t confuse this with the availability heuristic, which judges probability based on
how easily examples come to mind. Representativeness is about resemblance; availabil-
ity is about ease of recall.
(c) The Personal-Social Identity Continuum Oct/Nov 2023, 2025
Question: The personal-social identity continuum recognises that we:
A. Always behave in ways consistent with group norms.
B. Can see ourselves differently, depending on circumstances.
C. Have a single, fixed identity that guides all our behaviour.
D. Rely only on social identity when interacting with strangers.
Answer: B
Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner) holds that our self-concept has two components: per-
sonal identity (individual traits) and social identity (group memberships). Which is more
Page 4 of 35
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
salient at any moment depends on context.
Key Concept
The personal-social identity continuum refers to the idea that our behaviour
ranges between being driven by personal characteristics at one end, and by group mem-
bership at the other. The context determines which end is activated.
Page 5 of 35
,PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
Section 2: Social Perception and Attribution OCT/NOV 2023, 2024, 2025
(a) Attribution Theory and the Fundamental Attribution Error
Question: Last week Zain was stopped by traffic police for driving above the speed limit,
which he strongly denied. His colleagues, who heard about the incident, immediately con-
cluded that Zain is a reckless person. This is an example of:
A. The actor-observer effect.
B. The fundamental attribution error.
C. Self-serving bias.
D. The false consensus effect.
Answer: B
The fundamental attribution error (FAE) is the tendency for observers to overestimate
dispositional (internal) causes and underestimate situational causes when explaining another
person’s behaviour. Zain’s colleagues jumped to a character conclusion (“reckless person”)
without considering situational factors (e.g., an emergency, unclear speed sign).
Key Concept
The fundamental attribution error is the pervasive tendency to attribute others’
behaviour to their stable traits or character, while neglecting the situational pressures
that may have caused it.
Exam Tip
If the observer makes a dispositional attribution and ignores situation, that is the FAE.
If the actor attributes their own behaviour to situation but others’ to disposition, that
is the actor-observer effect. These are related but different.
(b) Kelley’s Covariation Model Oct/Nov 2024, 2025
Question: According to Kelley’s covariation model, when a person’s behaviour shows
high distinctiveness, high consensus, and high consistency, we are most likely to
make a:
A. Dispositional attribution.
Page 6 of 35
, PYC3701 | Exam Revision Social Psychology | Oct/Nov 2023–2025
B. Situational attribution.
C. Person-entity attribution.
D. No attribution is possible.
Answer: B (Situational/External attribution)
Kelley’s model suggests we attribute behaviour to whatever co-varies with it.
Cue High Value Means Low Value Means
Distinctiveness Person responds this way Responds this way to
only to this stimulus many stimuli
Consensus Most people respond this Few people respond this
way way
Consistency Always responds this way Responds inconsistently
High D + High C (onsensus) + High C (onsistency) = Situational Attribution
Low D + Low C (onsensus) + High C (onsistency) = Dispositional Attribution
(c) Self-serving Bias Oct/Nov 2023, 2024
Question: A student who passes an exam attributes her success to her hard work, but
when she fails, she blames the unfair questions. This illustrates:
A. The fundamental attribution error.
B. The false consensus effect.
C. Self-serving attribution bias.
D. Defensive attribution.
Answer: C
Self-serving bias refers to the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal factors
(ability, effort) and negative outcomes to external factors (bad luck, unfair tests). It protects
and maintains self-esteem.
Page 7 of 35
