BAPSY Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Social Psychology Principles Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: While driving, you get cut off by another car. You immediately think, "That person is a reckless, terrible driver!" without considering that they might be in a hurry for a medical emergency. This tendency to overemphasize personality-based explanations for others' behavior while underemphasizing situational factors is a classic example of:
- Self-serving bias
- Fundamental attribution error (Correct answer)
- Confirmation bias
- Actor-observer bias
Correct answer: Fundamental attribution error
The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute another person's behavior to their dispositional qualities (personality, character) rather than to situational factors. In this scenario, the observer defaults to a personality-based explanation ('reckless driver') instead of a potential situational one (medical emergency).
Question 2: A highly cohesive corporate board, under pressure to launch a new product, quickly agrees on a risky marketing plan suggested by their charismatic CEO. During the meeting, several members have private doubts but do not voice them to avoid disrupting the group's apparent consensus. This scenario best illustrates which of the following social psychology phenomena?
- Group polarization
- Social facilitation
- Groupthink (Correct answer)
- Social loafing
Correct answer: Groupthink
Groupthink occurs when the desire for harmony and conformity within a group leads to an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Key symptoms present in this scenario include self-censorship of dissenting opinions and an illusion of unanimity, which override the realistic appraisal of alternatives.
Question 3: An advertisement for a luxury watch features a world-famous, attractive actor but provides no information about the watch's features, accuracy, or craftsmanship. According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion, this ad is attempting to persuade consumers primarily through the:
- Peripheral route (Correct answer)
- Central route
- Heuristic-systematic model
- Cognitive dissonance route
Correct answer: Peripheral route
The peripheral route to persuasion occurs when the listener decides to agree with the message based on superficial cues, such as the source's attractiveness or celebrity status, rather than the strength of the arguments. Since the ad relies on the actor's fame instead of product details, it is using the peripheral route.
Question 4: In a classic series of experiments, Solomon Asch found that participants would often knowingly give an incorrect answer when judging the length of lines after hearing several other people (who were confederates) give the same incorrect answer. This behavior is primarily a demonstration of:
- Obedience to authority
- Informational social influence
- The bystander effect
- Normative social influence (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Normative social influence
Normative social influence is conforming to be liked, to fit in, or to avoid social rejection. In Asch's unambiguous line task, participants knew the correct answer but conformed to the group's wrong answer to avoid the discomfort of standing out, which is a clear example of normative influence.
Question 5: Which of the following describes social loafing?
- The enhancement of performance on simple tasks when in the presence of others.
- The tendency for a group's initial leanings to become more extreme after discussion.
- The exertion of less effort by individuals when they work in a group compared to when they work alone. (Correct answer)
- A loss of self-awareness and personal responsibility that can occur in group situations.
Correct answer: The exertion of less effort by individuals when they work in a group compared to when they work alone.
Social loafing is the phenomenon where individuals tend to put in less effort when working on a collective task where their individual contributions are not easily identifiable, compared to when they are individually accountable.
Question 6: The primary psychological mechanism that explains the bystander effect, where the presence of multiple onlookers reduces the likelihood that any single individual will intervene in an emergency, is known as:
- Pluralistic ignorance
- Evaluation apprehension
- Diffusion of responsibility (Correct answer)
- Normative conformity
Correct answer: Diffusion of responsibility
Diffusion of responsibility is the core concept behind the bystander effect, as demonstrated in studies by Latané and Darley. It posits that when others are present, the responsibility to intervene is shared among all onlookers, making each individual feel less personally responsible to act.
BAPSY Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Social Psychology Principles Questions and Answers
While driving, you get cut off by another car.
You immediately think, "That person is a reckless, terrible driver!" without considering that they might be in a hurry for a medical emergency.
This tendency to overemphasize personality-based explanations for others' behavior while underemphasizing situational factors is a classic example of: