PYC3701 Papers
and answers 2022
LATEST UPDATE
,Exam- May/June 2017
QUESTION 1
Which of the following individuals is most likely to experience information overload?
1) A person who is talking on a cell phone while driving a car
2) A person who is eating dinner while watching the TV.
3) A person who is singing in the shower
4) A person who is dancing and talking at a party
Answer: Alternative (1) is correct
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 57
Reasoning: Psychologists have recognised for many years that humans have a limited capacity to process
information. Information overload occurs when we receive more information (that demands our attention)
than can be processed.
QUESTION 2
One way to manage information overload is to make use of .
1) the complexity schema
2) mental shortcut, such as heuristics
3) the planning fallacy
4) cognitive framing
Answer: The correct alternative is 2
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pp. 57-58
,280 PYC3701 Social Psychology
Reasoning: To deal with such situations (as information overload), people adopt various strategies
designed to “stretch” their cognitive resources. While many strategies exist, the most useful
tactics involve heuristics – simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences in a
rapid and efficient manner.
QUESTION 3
One of the primary reasons why heuristics are employed as a strategy to process incoming
information is that they can be executed .
1) rapidly
2) with considerable self-reflection
3) slowly
4) with considerable effort
Answer: The correct alternative is 1
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pp. 57-58
Reasoning: Heuristics is simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences in a
rapid and efficient manner.
QUESTION 4
Decisions made on the basis of the representativeness heuristic may be flawed because they tend to
ignore information about .
1) base rates
2) schemas
3) rational processing schemes
4) the availability heuristic
Answer: The correct alternative is 1
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 58
Reasoning: Decisions or judgements made on the basis of the representative heuristic tend to
ignore base rates, the frequency with which given events or categories occur in the total
population.
QUESTION 5
The tendency to use a particular number or value as a starting point to which changes are made is
known as .
1) the rating and sliding heuristic
2) the anchoring and adjustment heuristic
3) the priming heuristic
4) the availability heuristic
Answer: The correct alternative is 2
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 62
Reasoning: This heuristic (anchoring and adjustment) involves the tendency to deal with
uncertainty in many situations by using something we do know as the starting point (the
“anchor”) and then making adjustments to it. An example is the bargaining and negotiation that
takes place when selling a house.
QUESTION 6
The relatively effortful and conscious processing of social information is known as .
1) subliminal processing
2) heuristic processing
3) controlled processing
4) irrational thought
Answer: The correct alternative is 3
, 281 PYC3701 Social Psychology
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 70
Reasoning: Social thought can occur in two distinctly different ways; in a systematic, logical, and
highly effortful manner known as controlled processing, or in a fast, relatively effortless, and
intuitive manner known as automatic processing. Therefore, automatic processing is unconscious,
while controlled processing is conscious.
The relatively effortless and conscious processing of social information is known as
1) automatic processing
2) heuristic processing
3) controlled processing
4) perseverance processing
Answer: The correct alternative is 1
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 70
Reasoning: Social thought can occur in two distinctly different ways; in a systematic, logical, and
highly effortful manner known as controlled processing, or in a fast, relatively effortless, and
intuitive manner known as automatic processing. Therefore, automatic processing is unconscious,
while controlled processing is conscious.
QUESTION 7
The tendency displayed by many people to expect things to turn out well in the long run
is known as .
1) logical positivism
2) the negativity bias
3) optimism bias
4) the positivism predisposition
Answer: The correct alternative is 3
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 74
Reasoning: Optimistic bias refers to our predisposition to expect things to turn out well overall.
QUESTION 8
There are basic emotions that are represented on the human face
1) seven
2) five
3) three
4) eight
Answer: The correct alternative is 2
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 92
Reasoning: These are: anger, fear, happiness, sadness and disgust.
QUESTION 9
Emblems convey .
1) that the person is ill-at-ease
2) a specific meaning within a given culture
3) a specific meaning across different cultures
4) a low level of emotional arousal
Answer: The correct alternative is 2
Refer: South African supplement to Social Psychology, pg. 9
Reasoning: A gesture we use in place of words such as nodding for yes is called an emblem.
Gestures (as part of nonverbal communication) falls into different categories, the most important
of which are emblems: these are body movements which carry specific meanings within different
cultures.
and answers 2022
LATEST UPDATE
,Exam- May/June 2017
QUESTION 1
Which of the following individuals is most likely to experience information overload?
1) A person who is talking on a cell phone while driving a car
2) A person who is eating dinner while watching the TV.
3) A person who is singing in the shower
4) A person who is dancing and talking at a party
Answer: Alternative (1) is correct
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 57
Reasoning: Psychologists have recognised for many years that humans have a limited capacity to process
information. Information overload occurs when we receive more information (that demands our attention)
than can be processed.
QUESTION 2
One way to manage information overload is to make use of .
1) the complexity schema
2) mental shortcut, such as heuristics
3) the planning fallacy
4) cognitive framing
Answer: The correct alternative is 2
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pp. 57-58
,280 PYC3701 Social Psychology
Reasoning: To deal with such situations (as information overload), people adopt various strategies
designed to “stretch” their cognitive resources. While many strategies exist, the most useful
tactics involve heuristics – simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences in a
rapid and efficient manner.
QUESTION 3
One of the primary reasons why heuristics are employed as a strategy to process incoming
information is that they can be executed .
1) rapidly
2) with considerable self-reflection
3) slowly
4) with considerable effort
Answer: The correct alternative is 1
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pp. 57-58
Reasoning: Heuristics is simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences in a
rapid and efficient manner.
QUESTION 4
Decisions made on the basis of the representativeness heuristic may be flawed because they tend to
ignore information about .
1) base rates
2) schemas
3) rational processing schemes
4) the availability heuristic
Answer: The correct alternative is 1
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 58
Reasoning: Decisions or judgements made on the basis of the representative heuristic tend to
ignore base rates, the frequency with which given events or categories occur in the total
population.
QUESTION 5
The tendency to use a particular number or value as a starting point to which changes are made is
known as .
1) the rating and sliding heuristic
2) the anchoring and adjustment heuristic
3) the priming heuristic
4) the availability heuristic
Answer: The correct alternative is 2
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 62
Reasoning: This heuristic (anchoring and adjustment) involves the tendency to deal with
uncertainty in many situations by using something we do know as the starting point (the
“anchor”) and then making adjustments to it. An example is the bargaining and negotiation that
takes place when selling a house.
QUESTION 6
The relatively effortful and conscious processing of social information is known as .
1) subliminal processing
2) heuristic processing
3) controlled processing
4) irrational thought
Answer: The correct alternative is 3
, 281 PYC3701 Social Psychology
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 70
Reasoning: Social thought can occur in two distinctly different ways; in a systematic, logical, and
highly effortful manner known as controlled processing, or in a fast, relatively effortless, and
intuitive manner known as automatic processing. Therefore, automatic processing is unconscious,
while controlled processing is conscious.
The relatively effortless and conscious processing of social information is known as
1) automatic processing
2) heuristic processing
3) controlled processing
4) perseverance processing
Answer: The correct alternative is 1
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 70
Reasoning: Social thought can occur in two distinctly different ways; in a systematic, logical, and
highly effortful manner known as controlled processing, or in a fast, relatively effortless, and
intuitive manner known as automatic processing. Therefore, automatic processing is unconscious,
while controlled processing is conscious.
QUESTION 7
The tendency displayed by many people to expect things to turn out well in the long run
is known as .
1) logical positivism
2) the negativity bias
3) optimism bias
4) the positivism predisposition
Answer: The correct alternative is 3
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 74
Reasoning: Optimistic bias refers to our predisposition to expect things to turn out well overall.
QUESTION 8
There are basic emotions that are represented on the human face
1) seven
2) five
3) three
4) eight
Answer: The correct alternative is 2
Refer: Prescribed textbook, pg. 92
Reasoning: These are: anger, fear, happiness, sadness and disgust.
QUESTION 9
Emblems convey .
1) that the person is ill-at-ease
2) a specific meaning within a given culture
3) a specific meaning across different cultures
4) a low level of emotional arousal
Answer: The correct alternative is 2
Refer: South African supplement to Social Psychology, pg. 9
Reasoning: A gesture we use in place of words such as nodding for yes is called an emblem.
Gestures (as part of nonverbal communication) falls into different categories, the most important
of which are emblems: these are body movements which carry specific meanings within different
cultures.
