PSY 120 Exam #4 Questions With Complete Solutions

What is social cognition? correct answer: How people process, store and apply information about other people and social situations Focuses on role that cognitive processes play in our social interactions Is physical appearance an important determinant of first impressions? Why or why not? correct answer: Yes, because it gives us subtle, subconscious information about who it is we are interacting with What is a schema? Specifically, what is a social schema? correct answer: Concept that informs a person about what to expect from a variety of experiences and situations What is stereotyping vs prejudice vs discrimination? correct answer: Stereotype - generalized belief (knowledge structure) about traits/characteristics of members of a group Prejudice - generalized attitude toward members of a group or evaluation of a group Discrimination - behaviors directed toward people on the basis of their group membership How is the confirmation bias an important cognitive source of prejudice? Why does the confirmation bias make it hard to get rid of prejudice? correct answer: We are attuned to the information that supports our biases, and blinded to the information that contradicts it What is social identity theory? How/why does social identity theory provide an explanation of a motivational source of prejudice? correct answer: 1. We want to feel good about ourselves 2. Much of our identity comes from the groups to which we belong 3. Just as individual social comparison can boost self-esteem, comparing our group with other groups that are less well off can raise our self-esteem What is meant by institutional support as a social source of prejudice? correct answer: Social institutions (schools, government, media) can reinforce biased beliefs What is a self-fulfilling prophecy? What are the results of the Snyder telephone study and how did the women's conversational styles demonstrate a self-fulfilling prophecy effect? correct answer: Believing the desired result is the case, then interpreting the results to align with the desired results Thought the woman was pretty, she was somehow 'nicer' Thought she was average, she wasn't 'as nice' What is meant by implicit vs. explicit prejudice? Why do dual attitudes make it difficult to get rid of all our prejudices? correct answer: Implicit - feeling you are not aware of Explicit - feelings you're aware of People have explicit (conscious) and implicit (automatic) attitudes toward social groups What does IAT stand for? What does it test for? How does it work? What do the results of the test mean? correct answer: Implicit Association Test, attempts to measure implicit responses Labels presented on screen Words or pictures quickly flashed What is the basic difference between how a social psychologist would measure an explicit attitude vs an implicit attitude? correct answer: Implicit Attitudes Test to test for implicit attitudes Explicit through survey, observation, etc. Do explicit or implicit attitudes usually tend to be more negative? Why? What kind of behavior does an explicit attitude best predict and what kind of behavior does an implicit attitude best predict? correct answer: Implicit tend to be more negative; based partially on associations rather than prejudice Explicit attitudes are too positive because are subject to self-report bias Explicit - conscious, self-directed behavior Implicit - uncontrollable behavior What is an attribution? correct answer: Causes/explanations for behavior According to the covariation model of attribution, what are the 3 pieces of information that help us make the appropriate inference or attribution of someone else's behavior? correct answer: Consistency - covariation of behavior across time Distinctiveness - degree of uniqueness of behavior to particular situation Consensus - covariation of behavior across different people What is an internal vs. external attribution? What has to be true of distinctiveness, consistency and consensus in order for someone to make an internal vs an external attribution? correct answer: External - circumstantial Internal - characteristic trait What is meant by the fundamental attribution error? correct answer: Overestimate internal attributes in others and underestimate external ones What is the actor-observer effect? correct answer: Tendency to attribute one's own actions to external causes, while attributing other people's behaviors to internal causes What is the self-serving bias? correct answer: We attribute our failures to external causes and our successes to internal causes What is an attitude? correct answer: Favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something or someone What are the 3 main components of an attitude? correct answer: A - affective; feelings/emmotions about the attitude object B - behavioral; the way the attitude we have influences how we act or behave C - cognitive; involves a person's belief/knowledge about an attitude object What is the elaboration likelihood model, the central route to persuasion, and the peripheral route to persuasion? correct answer: Dual process theory describing the change of attitudes form Explains different ways of processing stimuli, why they are used, and their outcomes on attitude change What is cognitive dissonance? correct answer: Unpleasant state that occurs whenever an individual simultaneously holds two or more cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent When is strong cognitive dissonance most likely to occur? correct answer: People who feel the most unpleasant arousal with the lowest reward and thus the greatest need to reconcile the situation What are the details of the "studying and being bought a car" example? How does it demonstrate cognitive dissonance at work? Did buying a car to get kids to study make them start to study more often? Did buying a car make them feel like they liked studying more than they had before? Why would buying a car to encourage studying make kids start to study more often, but also make them feel like they like studying less? correct answer: Hate studying, being offered a car to study, then deciding they like studying Sometimes need external source of motivation to initiate activity What were the methods and findings of Festinger's 1959 dissonance study? How do they illustrate the principles of cognitive dissonance theory? correct answer: Over-rewarding behavior makes people think they actually like doing what they did Tedious task, turning pegs, offer no reward for telling people they enjoyed it, $1 for telling people they enjoyed it, $20 for telling people they enjoyed it - $20 made people happier than $1 What were the bars on the results graph? What happened in the no pay, $1, and $20 condition? Who said they enjoyed the experience the most? correct answer: $20 made people enjoy the study the most, $1 made them enjoy it slightly more than $0 What are the 3 main ways one can eliminate dissonance? correct answer: - Change one of the cognitions by changing a belief, opinion, attitude or behavior - Acquire new information or add cognitions to reduce the dissonance - Make one of the dissonant cognitions less important than the others What is self-perception theory? How does it provide an alternative explanation for the results of Festinger's cognitive dissonance study? correct answer: - It's hard to know our own attitudes; we gain insight into our own attitudes by observing our own behavior We see what we did (told people we enjoyed something) so we tell ourselves that our attitude was that we enjoyed it What is meant by social facilitation? correct answer: People perform differently when in presence of others than when alone What is meant by social interference? correct answer: Presence of other people sometimes impair performance What is altruism? correct answer: Belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others What is the story of the Kitty Genovese incident and what is meant by the bystander effect? What is meant by diffusion of responsibility and how does it contribute to the bystander effect? correct answer: The more people present during an emergency, the more time it takes for someone to call for help - Someone else will do it! - We don't take upon ourselves the responsibility because we figure it isn't ours but rather someone else's What is social loafing? correct answer: People are prone to exert less effort on a task if they are in a group versus when they work alone What is deindividuation? correct answer: Loss of self-awareness in groups What did the Zimbardo prison study demonstrate? correct answer: Roles have profound effect on our behavior, thoughts and feelings Role - social position that has set of rules for proper behavior What are the 3 main types of social influence? correct answer: Conformity - tendency to change one's belief or behaviors in ways that are consistent with social norms Compliance - change in behavior due to the intentional influence of others Obedience - change in a behavior that is in response to someone who is in authority or someone who has power over you What is meant by societal norms? correct answer: Acceptable ways of behaving and thinking in order to maintain positive social status What are the results of the Asch line study, and how does it demonstrate conformity at work? correct answer: When people in a group setting say something that is false, we change our answer to fit the group instead of basing it off of what we knew was right What are Cialdini's 6 principles of compliance? correct answer: 1. Social validation 2. Authority 3. Scarcity 4. Consistency/commitment - foot in the door 5. Reciprocity 6. Liking What are the methods and results of Milgram's obedience study? correct answer: 75% continued to shock 'student' after he begged for release, and then became silent Over 60% went all the way What is meant by group polarization and groupthink? correct answer: Group Polarization - group's dominant view become stronger with time Groupthink - Group members become interested in finding consensus, and start to suppress any dissenting viewpoint What is attraction? correct answer: Anything that draws two or more people together, making them want to be together and possibly to form a lasting relationship What are the 5 big predictors of attraction? correct answer: 1. Proximity 2. Physical attractiveness 3. Similarity vs. complementarity 4. Liking those who do things for us to make us feel good 5. Liking those who like us (reciprocity) What did the Westgate West floorplan study demonstrate? correct answer: How proximity increases attraction or predicts the likelihood of becoming friends with people What is the mere exposure effect and how does it help explain the impact of proximity? correct answer: What is familiar is good; occurs without our awareness; influences our own perceptions What is the physical attractiveness stereotype? correct answer: Assumption that attractive people possess other positive qualities - more kind, outgoing, intelligent, and successful - women were rated kinder and more sensitive after plastic surgery Why do people prefer composite faces? correct answer: Attractive features do not tend to differ too much from average; attractive faces are symmetrical Which wins in predicting attraction - similarity or complimentarity? correct answer: We like those similar to us Research doesn't support complimentarity, but it might evolve as relationship progresses What is the reward theory of attraction? correct answer: We like those who reward us or who we associate with rewarding events People who do us favors People who give us praise What were the methods and findings of the Lewicki study? correct answer: Reward theory of attraction can also work by association What is one reason we might tend to like people who like us? correct answer: Social reciprocity norm What is meant by passion, intimacy, and commitment? Do each of these increase or decrease over time? correct answer: Passion - physiological arousal, longing, sexual attraction Intimacy - close bond, sharing, support Commitment - willing to define as love, long term What is passionate love and companionate love? correct answer: Passion and intimacy without commitment According to Rusbult, what are 3 components that keep people together? correct answer: Intimacy and commitment without passion What are the four main proposed criteria for defining abnormal behavior? correct answer: Statistical deviance - Cultural deviance - Emotional distress - Dysfunction - Are 'normal' vs. 'abnormal' rigid categories, such that human behavior fits into one or the other? correct answer: No, they are not What is meant by the legal concept of insanity, and how is it different from psychological disorder? correct answer: 1. A person's ability to tell right from wrong (not guilty by reason of insanity) 2. A person's ability to understand the legal proceedings (competency to stand trial) 3. Whether the person is a direct danger to self or others (involuntary commitment to a mental hospital) There is a lack of ability; they are not just weird and messed up What is the medical model of diagnosis when it comes to psychological disorders? correct answer: Abnormal behavior is caused by an underlying disease that could be cured with appropriate therapy Describes symptoms and typical age of onset or other characteristics of the disorder What are some criticisms of the medical model? correct answer: Over-diagnosis Labeling Serious problems vs. 'normal' problems Subjective nature of determining a disorder What is meant by diagnostic labeling effects? What were the results of the Rosenhan study? correct answer: We focus so much on how to label people that we can't appropriately diagnose them We can't distinguish the sane from the insane in psychiatric hospitals; the dangers of dehumanization and labeling in psychiatric institutions was highlighted What is the DSM? correct answer: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders What is an anxiety disorder? Examples correct answer: Excessive levels of negative emotions, such as nervousness, tension, worry, fright and anxiety Generalized anxiety disorder: vague, uneasy sense of general tension and apprehension that lasts for years Panic disorder: pattern of anxiety in which long periods of calm are broken by intensely uncomfortable attacks of anxiety Phobic disorder: intense, irrational fear Specific phobia: fear of one specific thing Social anxiety disorder: fear of social interactions, particularly those with strangers or those in which the person might be viewed negatively Agoraphobia: fear of leaving one's home rooted in fear that further panic attacks will occur - associated with panic disorder PTSD: experiencing anxiety, irritability, upsetting memories, dream, and realistic flashbacks of a traumatic event What is obsessive compulsive disorder? What is meant by obsessions and compulsions? correct answer: Obsessions: intrusive anxiety provoking thoughts Compulsions: irresistible urges to engage in specific irrational behaviors What is meant by a somatic symptom disorder? What is a conversion disorder? correct answer: Form of mental illness that causes one or more bodily symptoms, including pain Person has blindness, paralysis or other nervous system (neurologic) symptoms that cannot be explained by medical evaluation What is meant by a dissociative disorder? Examples correct answer: Conditions involving sudden cognitive changes, such as changes in memory, perception or identity; separation of conscious awareness from previous thoughts or memories Dissociative amnesia Dissociative fugue: accompanied by escape or flight Dissociative identity disorder: individual appears to shift abruptly and repeatedly from one 'personality' to another What is meant by depressive/bipolar disorder? correct answer: Psychological disorders involving prolonged/disabling disruption to emotional state What is a major depressive episode? What are the symptoms and what are examples of people suffering from it? What is meant when major depression is described as recurrent vs Dysthymic disorder? correct answer: Characterized by episodes of deep unhappiness, loss of interest in life, and other symptoms Recurrent: has occurred more than once, separated by period of more than 2 months Dysthymic: relatively continuous depressed mood lasting for at least 2 years but with milder symptoms What is a bipolar disorder? What is meant by a manic episode and a depressive episode and how are these both present? correct answer: Periods of mania that alternate with periods of severe depression Mania: disturbance in mood in which the individual experiences a euphoria characterized by unrealistic optimism and heightened sensory pleasure (dangerous because leads to risky behavior and loss of sleep and sometimes loss of touch with reality) What are the major risk factors associated with suicide? correct answer: Family history of suicide Family history of child maltreatment Previous suicide attempts History of mental disorders, particularly clinical depression History of alcohol and substance abuse Feelings of hopelessness Impulsive or aggressive tendencies What is schizophrenia? What are the positive symptoms, the negative symptoms, and the cognitive symptoms correct answer: Positive: Delusions, delusion of grandeur, delusion of persecution, hallucinations, disorganized speech, catatonia Negative: Flat affect Cognitive Symptoms: disorganized thinking, emotions and behavior; fragmented thoughts, incoherent speech, inappropriate behavior What is meant by personality disorders? correct answer: Believed to result from personalities that developed improperly during childhood What are symptoms and examples of people suffering from the following personality disorders? correct answer: Antisocial personality disorder: lack of guilt about violating social rules and laws and taking advantage of others (formerly 'psychopath' or 'sociopath') Narcissistic personality disorder: unrealistic sense of self-importance, preoccupied with fantasies of future success, required constant attention and praise, reacts very negatively and aggressively to criticism, lacks genuine concern for others Borderline personality disorder: impulsive and unpredictable behavior, unstable relationships, anger, constant need to be with others and a lack of identity (frequent suicidal gestures and very likely to seek treatment) What is meant by the following different contributors to mental illness: biology, cognitive, environmental correct answer: Biology: neurotransmitter imbalances, structural problems, genetic contributions Cognitive factors: maladaptive attributions, learned helplessness Environmental factors: rule of culture, conditioning What is meant by psychotherapy? correct answer: Specialized process in which a trained professional uses psychological methods to help a person with psychological problems What is a biomedical therapy? Examples correct answer: Using medicine to attack biological causes for psychological disorders Drug therapy, ECT, Pyschosugery What is drug therapy? Specifically, what do antidepressants treat and what neurotransmitters do they typically work on? What do anti-anxiety drugs treat? What do antipsychotic drugs treat? correct answer: Most widely used medical treatment for psychological disorders Antidepressants: treat depressive disorders, elevate levels of serotonin and norepinephrine Anti-anxiety: mild anxiety, not to be used for long time periods Antipsychotic: inhibits dopamine, reduces delusions, hallucinations, thought disorganization What is ECT? correct answer: Electroconvulsive therapy People are shocked, which produces a convulsive brain seizure; used with severely depressed or psychotic individuals What is psychosurgery? Is it common? correct answer: Surgically cutting the neural fibers that connect the frontal lobes with the limbic system Thought it would prevent disturbing thoughts and perceptions from reaching the brain and prevent emotional outbursts Who was the father of psychoanalysis? How is psychoanalysis rooted in the resolution of unconscious conflicts? correct answer: Freud Tries to bring unconscious conflicts to awareness What is meant by free association, dream analysis, transference, and resistance? correct answer: Free Association: talked about whatever comes to mind (uncensored) Dream Analysis: 'royal road to unconscious' Transference: client transfers emotions from inner life onto therapist Resistance: any unconscious attempt to subvert the therapy process How does psychodynamic therapy (modern day psychoanalysis) differ from Freud's original psychoanalysis? correct answer: Therapist, in early stages, offers their own interpretations to help patients find insight Therapists encourage transference by having the patient role play More attention given to improving interpersonal and social skills, less given to sexual and aggressive drives What is a cognitive therapy? What is rational-emotive therapy? correct answer: Teaches individuals new cognitions (thoughts), adaptive beliefs, expectations, and ways of thinking in order to eliminate abnormal emotions and behavior What is a humanistic therapy approach? What is client-centered therapy and what is meant by unconditioned positive regard? correct answer: Treat human spirit and gain insight into self-worth CCT: Carl Rogers, emphasizes relationship between therapist and client (warmth, empathy) Unconditioned Positive Regard: therapist must always respect and like the client What is Family Therapy? correct answer: Emphasizes an understanding of the roles of each family member and how the family functions as a system (usually conducted with all members of the family, but it can be practiced individually) What is a behavioral therapy? What is systematic desensitization? What is meant by graduated exposure and flooding? correct answer: Behavioral Therapy: helping clients unlearn self-defeating behaviors Systemic Desensitization: complex procedure involving progressive relaxation and graded exposure to phobic stimuli Graduated Exposure: exposing mildly fearful stimuli and then gradually exposing more and more fearful stimuli Flooding: confronting the client with high levels of fearful stimuli until the fear response is extinguished What is social skills training? What is role playing? correct answer: Skills training: teach skills that someone may be lacking Role playing: therapeutic technique in which the therapist and client act out different scenarios that might be problematic to the client What is the definition of stress? correct answer: State of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances What is the alarm, resistance and exhaustion phases of the general adaptation syndrome? correct answer: Alarm: provides burst of energy Resistance: Body tries to resist or adapt to stressor Exhaustion: stressor or stressors continue beyond body's capacity, resources become exhausted and the body is susceptible to disease and death What is meant by cognitive appraisal and how do stress reactions depend on cognitive appraisal? correct answer: Cognitive appraisal: personal interpretation of situation; how individual views situation If individual doesn't interpret great deal of stress, won't respond strongly to situation What are the implications of stress for susceptibility to illness (how does stress affect the immune response), and susceptibility to cardiovascular disease? correct answer: Immune Response: stress hormone corticosteroid can suppress effectiveness of immune system by lowing number of lymphocytes Cardiovascular disease: increases heart rate and blood pressure; body is exposed to unhealthy levels of stress hormones; stress changes how blood clots which can cause heart attacks What is meant by social support? How does it help with stress reduction? What did Pennebaker's studies show? correct answer: Social support: perception and actuality that one is cared for, has assistance available from other people, and that one is part of a supportive social network Social support promotes adaptive appraisal that leads to increased coping ability Low-level words can give clues to large-scale behaviors What is meant by reappraising the situation and how can the reappraisal help with stress management? correct answer: Rethinking how the situation could be interpreted to change the emotional response By rethinking (reappraising), we can soberly look at a situation that was a stressor and reduce our stress levels