Review sheet for Psych 2310 - first exam
Any of the terms or issues below could appear on the exam. In addition, any other terms in the margins of the text could appear. Make sure you're clear on the DIFFERENCES between similar terms (i.e., self-handicapping vs self-perception vs self-serving bias). Make sure you know the answers to all the sample test questions from class overheads, and why.
Chpt. 1: null and experimental hypotheses, independent and dependent variables, treatment/outcome variable, need for random sampling and random assignment, placebo and demand effects, confounding of variables, meaning of statistical significance, factors which go into computing significance, necessity for scientific studies, hindsight bias
Chpt. 2: Defining the self (mental agent, fiction, or knowledge structure?), looking-glass self, self-reference effect, social comparison, motivational function of self-knowledge, possible selves, actual/ideal self-discrepancies, Wilson's 2 systems view, self-serving bias, false consensus effect, self-efficacy beliefs, learned helplessness, internal vs external locus of control, unrealistic optimism, the question of how important is self-esteem, cross-cultural variations in self-esteem, self-handicapping
Chpt. 3: Control - the basic human motivation? Fundamental attribution error (FAE), actor-observer difference, internal vs external attributions, Kelly's theory of attributions: distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus information, awareness of other's perspectives and the FAE, illusory correlation, gambler's fallacy, availability and representativeness heuristics, confirmation bias, believe perseveration, base-rate fallacy, priming, overconfidence effect
Chpt. 4: Definition of Attitude, attitudes vs social forces as predictors of actions, the 3 factors determining when attitudes DO predict actions, cognitive dissonance theory and results, effort justification and post-decisional dissonance reduction, insufficient justification, foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face & low-balling phenomena, brainwashing, good samaritan study, self-presentation and self-perception theorys' alternative explanations of dissonance phenomena, Intrinsic motivation, the undermining effect, self-determination theory vs self-perception theorys' explanations of undermining.
Sample test questions:
1.Thomas believes that rich people are stuck up. His friend, Elaine, introduces him to several rich people who are not at all stuck up. Thomas still believes rich people are stuck up. This is an example of __________.
a.Confirmation bias b.Belief perseverance
c.Attribution bias d.Representativeness heuristic
2.Janet loves to go skiing. The last two times she's planned a trip, she's gotten sick and couldn't go. Now she thinks that every time she plans a ski trip, she'll get sick. This is an example of _______________.
a.Availability heuristic b.Gamblers' fallacy
c.Confirmation bias d.Illusory correlation
3.Absalom sees a news story on animal abuse. When he leaves for work that morning, he sees the dog next door tied to a post in the yard. Absalom concludes the dog is being abused and calls the Humane Society (to his later embarrassment). This is an example of ______________.
a.Priming effect b.Availability heuristic
c.Representativeness heuristic d.Confirmation bias
4. Self-serving biases __________________.
a.Are generally maladaptive and should be discouraged.
b.Vary in frequency across cultures.
c.Help prevent overly narcissistic self-esteem.
d.Occur more often in people suffering from mental illness.
5.Jane and three of her friends find out their grades for English. Jane hears the scores for all four of them, but the next day she can only remember her own. This illustrates the concept of ________.
a.Social comparison b.The self-reference effect
b.Self-discrepancy d.Looking glass self
6.Jenny failed her last chemistry test. Which conclusion would be most representative of a self-serving bias on Jenny's part?
a."I didn't really study for the test."
b."I lack competence in chemistry."
c."I think the test questions were ambiguous and confusing."
d."I didn't concentrate very hard during the test."
7. Which of the four conclusions above might best illustrate the concept of self-handicapping?
8.Ellen, a 3rd-grader, likes to read books on her own. Then Ellen's teacher starts a program in which the student who reads the most books during the year gets a prize. Ellen wins the prize, but afterwards, she prefers to watch TV in her spare time. This is an example of…
a. The undermining effect b. Self-efficacy beliefs
c. External locus of control d. Self-monitoring
9.Suppose Ellen tells her mom, "I felt like I had to keep reading all those books, and now reading just isn't any fun any more." This fits with the explanation suggested by _____ theory.
a. Cognitive dissonance b.Self-perception
c. Self-determination d. Kelly's covariation
10.Carl asks his dad to buy him a car. Dad says no. Then Carl asks dad to let him use the family car tonite. Dad says yes. This is an example of the ____technique .
a. Door-in-the-face b. Foot-in-the-door
c. Low-balling d. Reprocity
11. In a study of the effects of loud noise on the ability to concentrate, noise is the ___________ and concentration is the ___________.
a. independent variable, dependent variable
b. dependent variable, independent variable
c. control condition, experimental condition
d. placebo condition, null condition
12. Which of the following does NOT help determine whether a finding is statistically significant?
a. How large the effect is (i.e., 3 compared to 4.5 affectionate behaviors, vs. 3 compared to 3.5 behaviors)
b. How practically significant the finding is
c. How large the sample size is
d. How much variability there is within each condition.
13. Social psychology is most concerned with:
a. individual differences and where they come from
b. universals in how social forces impact individuals
c. biological influences upon human behavior
d. helping people to cope with psychological difficulties
Answers: b,d,a,b,b,c,a,a,c,a,a,b,b
Review sheet for Psych 2310 - Second exam
Exam will cover chapters 6-8 (skip chapter 5 for now). Once again, terms covered in class will get the most exam coverage. However you're also responsible for terms in the margins which weren't covered. Below are the most basic concepts, which will see heavy play in the exam.
Chapter 6: definition of conformity, norm; Sherif's autokinetic effect study; Asch's conformity studies, and factors influencing level of conformity in them; compliance vs acceptance; normative vs informational influence; obedience, and how it is different from conformity; Milgram studies, and factors influencing level of obedience in them; the trait of reactance. Other material on the Discovering Psychology video (prison study, eyesight-enhancement study).
Chapter 7: definition of persuasion; central vs peripheral routes to persuasion, and when each route works best; 4 influences on persuasion (source, message, medium, audience), and what characteristics in each category predict the most persuasion; primacy vs recency effect; when acknowledging both sides is best; meaning of main effects and of interactions (recognize a graph of an interaction); how cults persuade new members to join; attitude inoculation -- what it is, how it works.
Chapter 8: definition of a group, social identity theory, how the conflict between needs for differentiation and needs for inclusion are solved, according to optimal distinctiveness theory; social facilitation (both old and new defs.); reasons why task complexity determines how well people will do in the presence of a group; Arousal and evaluation apprehension; social loafing, and when it doesn't occur; de-individuation; group-think; factors which both contribute to, and prevent, groupthink (be sure to be able to list these).
Sample Test questions
Chapter 6
1.Cyndi thinks that her coworkers waste a lot of time during meetings. But that's the way its always been done, and because she fears they will criticize or derogate her if she speaks up, she says nothing about the waste. Her passivity illustrates:
1.Normative social influence 2.Door in the face technique
3.Acceptance 4.Informational social influence
5.Obedience
2. Imagine that while you are taking a test you start smelling smoke. You look up and everyone is calmly taking their test, as if they know something you don't. You decide there must be nothing wrong and continue taking your test. This is __________ influence.
1.Informational 2.Normative 3.Minority 4. Maladaptive
3.A football coach tells a player to injure an opposing team's star. Although the player is opposed to this, he does what he is told. The player's behavior is an example of:
1.Conformity 2.Mindlessness 3.Obedience 5. Destructive
Chapter 7
4.Roger buys only those products advertised by TV commercials that he considers funny. His buying habits suggest that he is:
1. Engaging in a self-perception process.
2. Using an elaboration technique.
3. Influenced by peripheral persuasion routes.
4. Influenced by central persuasion routes.
5. In a show on environmental crises, they first talk about a tanker oil spill that killed over 250,000 animals. At the end they talk about the greenhouse effect and its effect on global warming. Later, you tell a friend that higher fines need to be given to tankers who don't comply with the environmental regulations. You don't really remember much about the greenhouse effect. The _________ best explains your memory.
1. Recency effect 2. Primacy effect
3. Elaboration effect 4. Central effect
6. The study at MU by Petty (1981), concerning what factors persuade students that a comprehensive graduation exam might be a good idea, found that:
1. It took both central and peripheral approaches to persuade students of this
2. students were persuaded by expert opinion (Carnegie foundation report)
3. students were persuaded by good arguments/relevant facts
4. the relative persuasiveness of expert opinion vs good arguments depended on students' stake in the matter (i.e., an interaction effect).
Chapter 8
7.Dolph is on the MU Tigers track team. At the Big 12 conference meet, in front of a stadium full of fans, he sets a new personal best for the 800 meter run. This might be because of…
1.group polarization 2.social facilitation
3.normative forces 4.personal investment
8.Martha finds that when speaking to the group in her foreign language class, she has a hard time recalling the nouns she just memorized. This may be because these are __________responses.
1.counter-intuitive 2.dominant
3.non-dominant 4.homogeneous
9.Kenny remembers, with shame, the time he helped a group of friends torture a frog to death. Although Kenny liked frogs, during this particular incident, he got swept up in the group's excitement. Kenny's behavior can be explained in terms of:
1.de-individuation 2.obedience
3.information influence 4.both a and b
Answers: 1, 1, 3, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 1
Review Sheet for Psych 2310 - Third Exam
The exam will cover chapters 9-11. Again, the exam will focus mostly on lecture material. However, there will be a number of questions concerning terms taken from the text margins that weren't covered in class.
Study hint: Remember, I'm trying to come up with "false alternatives" which will "suck you in." So, don't just focus on the terms and concepts. Also focus on the DIFFERENCES between them. This way, you'll be able to sort out the true alternative from the false alternatives on the test.
An example of what you could say to yourself: "Frustration-aggression theory says people get aggressive when they're thwarted in doing something. This is different from instinct theory, which says we aggress after our aggressive energy has built up too high; different from observational learning theory, which says we aggress because we see others doing it and getting rewarded for it; different from contextual factors theory, which says we aggress because we're hot, drunk, or crowded; and different from de-individuation theory, which says we aggress when we become part of an aggressive mob."
Chapter 9 - Prejudice. Definitions of stereotype, prejudice, discrimination. Modern racism. Possible causes of prejudice: status legitimization, demonization of cultures we're at war with, personality styles, ingroup/outgroup biases, using other racial groups as a "scapegoat," social institutions/norms, sociobiology. Outgroup homogeneity, stereotype-threat, just world phenomonon, conflicts between automatic/controlled processing. Stereotype vulnerability.
Chpt. 10: Aggression. Definition of aggression, including hostile/instrumental. Theories of aggression: Lorenz's instinct theory, his catharsis model of aggression control. Temperament. Frustration-aggression theory, and factors which make the link between one and the other more likely. Observational learning, modelling. The effect of violent TV on aggression (modeling, desensitization), and the size of the effect. Research methodologies used to test the link. Group influences on aggression (social support, de-individuation, conformity). Cultural and national influences on aggression. Proper anger management: responsible expression, not suppression, not displacement. Modelling non-aggressive responses to provocation.
Chapter 11 - Attraction, Liking and Loving. A need to belong/be liked? Factors affecting liking: mere exposure and proximity; attractiveness. Factors influencing attractiveness: facial characteristics, body characteristics (.7 waist/hip ratio?). Facial symmetry - why, from an evolutionary perspective? Birds of a feather flock together, not opposites attract. Factors influencing couple's attraction to each other: matching hypothesis, similarity (not complementarity), smell (why, from an evolutionary perspective?). Sternberg's model of love: 3 facets of love, and types of relationship that arise from each combination of two facets. Making love last: reward theory, disclosure reciprocity, the role of attachment styles, equity theory. Gottman's findings: 5 to 1 ratio, types of couples (volatile, validating, conflict-avoiding).
Sample Test questions: Chapter 9
1.Dennis (a black person) is upset to learn that the asian person he positively identified in a lineup as perpetrator of a crime could not possibly have done the crime. Dennis' mistake likely resulted from ____.
1. outgroup homogeneity bias 2.self-serving bias
3.the misinformation effect 4.racial prejudice
2.Aaron is a new second-grade teacher in an inner-city school with both white and minority students, who is anxious not to fall prey to prejudice. During the first 6 weeks of school, he does not allow the white children in his class to do the desirable chore of going outside to clean the erasers. This is an example of:
1.a stereotype 2.discrimination
3.outgroup homogeneity 4.a self-fulfilling prophecy
3.A sociobiological explanation of prejudice suggests that prejudice evolved because humans survived better when they were biased to favor ___ over ___.
1.outgroups, ingroups 2.minorities, majorities
3.ingroups, outgroups 4.cooperators, competitors
4.Andrew blames his lack of promotions on affirmative action, and badmouths minorities within the firm. This is best explained by the _____ theory of prejudice.
1.scapegoat 2.relative deprivation 3.outgroup 4.self-esteem enhancement
Sample Test Questions: Chpt. 10
1.While reading about the latest mass-murderer, Michael says "that's human nature for you, you can't change it." Michael appears to subscribe to a(n) _______________ theory of aggression
1.frustration-aggression 2.modelling
4.instinct-based 4.relative deprivation
2. Suzanne gives her daughter a smack when she sees her taking candy from a baby, saying "I didn't want to have to do that, but you need to learn not to take from others." Apparently, this was an act of ____ aggression on Suzanne's part.
1.instrumental 2.hostile 3.hypocritical 4.innate
Sample Test Questions: Chpt. 11
3.Ellen is a large woman. However, most men consider her attractive. Research discussed in class suggests this may be because of her:
1. winning personality 2. personal wealth
3. waist-to-hip ratio of .7 4. friend Sue, who is beautiful.
4.Imagine that you are paired with another person, on a blind date. Research suggests that the most important predictor of how much you will like and want to date him/her again is:
1.the similarity of their values to yours
2.whether you grew up in a similar-sized family
3.your mood at the time of the date
4.their looks
Answers: 1,2,3,1,3,1,3,4
Review sheet for Psych 2310 - fourth exam
Exam will cover chapter 5, 12, 13, and Modules B and C, Social psychology in the courts, and the social psychology of sustainability.
Important Terms:
Chpt. 5: Natural selection, Evolutionary psychology, cross-cultural psychology, how the latter two differ in their assumptions from traditional social psychology (and from each other), gender differences (or the lack of them), socialization vs evolutionary explanations of gender differences, social roles, Buss' studies of mating preferences, parental investment theory, inherited mental mechanisms vs general learner perspectives.
Chpt. 12: Definition of altruism, social exchange theory, empathy, Batson's model of "genuine" altruism, reciprocity and social responsibility norms, kin selection and reciprocal altruism. Bystander effect, Latane & Darley's 3-stage model of helping and what can go wrong at each stage, effects of positive and negative mood, ways of increasing helping behavior, normative vs informational influence explanations of non-helping, personality traits that influence helping, cheater-detection mechanism.
Chpt. 13: Definition of conflict, zero vs nonzero sum games, prisoner's dilemma, give-some and take-some games, tragedy of the commons, fear and greed as instigators of competitive choices in social dilemmas, ways of inducing cooperation in social dilemmas, tit-for-tat strategy, social value orientations (cooperator, individualist, competitor), mirror-image misperceptions, Sherif's study of boys at camp, jigsaw technique, bargaining vs mediation vs arbitration, GRIT strategy.
Module B - problems with eyewitness testimony (witness's mis-encoding due to stress/wrong focus of attention/outgroup homogeneity, witness's mis-retrieval due to leading questions, jurors' inability to judge witnesses' accuracy or lying, problems and biases in line-up identifications). Problems in having accused face the jury (attractiveness and similarity), problems occuring after jury is sequestered (groupthink, normative influence).
Module C - Issue of whether our economy and way of life is sustainable. "The pursuit of happiness" as part of the problem? Happiness prevalence rates. Defining and measuring happiness: high positive mood and life-satisfaction plus low negative mood? Happines and money, both within and between countries. Reducing unhappiness: Attributional re-training, Social skills training. Can happiness be increased? The genetic determinism problem: lottery/paraplegia examples. Reaction range and the set-point. Myers' recommendations for happiness increase, p. 592.
Sample test questions - chapter 5
1. Men and women differ markedly in the trait of…
a. Materialism
b. Empathy
c. Assertiveness
d. Both 2 and 3
2. evolutionary psychology says that people…
a. evolved as all-purpose learners, with little pre-programming
b. evolved to be competitive - survival of the fittest
c. evolved with a willingness to sacrifice themselves for no return
d. evolved with many specific mental mechanisms for solving adaptive problems
3. Women prefer older, high-status mates worldwide. A social role perspective upon this says it is due to…
a. natural selection pressures
b. gender inqualities in every culture around the world, ultimately based on strength differences
c. the fact that women are social climbers
d. radical differences between different cultures
Sample test questions - chapter 12
1.Albert was raised to believe that he should help those less fortunate than himself. It appears he has been strongly socialized to the _______________.
a.good samaritan norm
b.norm of reciprocity
c.social responsibility norm
d.reciprocity norm
2.Paul drives right by a man standing by the side of the highway, who is signalling for someone to stop. "Everybody else is driving by, he must just be a nut," he thinks. This is an example of:
1.normative influence
b.social loafing
c.informational influence
d.social facilitation
3.Harry is at a Cardinals game. During the 7th inning, he moans and slumps down into his seat, having suffered a massive heart attack. Although others can see, nobody does anything until after the game is over. This is called the _____ effect.
a."safety in numbers"
b."learned helplessness"
c."bystander"
d."social loafing"
4.John wants his roommate Bill to help him with his homework. So, he first asks Bill if he can borrow his car for the whole weekend. Bill says no, but is then happy to help with the homework. John used:
a.reciprocity norm
b.social responsibility norm
c.door-in-the-face technique
d.reciprocal altruism
Sample test questions -chapter 13.
1.Which of the following is NOT a way of resolving social dilemmas, discussed in class and in the book?
a.Put laws into effect which prevent people from being greedy
b.Give people a potential threat to use as they negotiate
c.Limit group sizes
d.Make appeals to altruistic norms
2.When she finds herself in a social dilemma, Margaret typically tries to get as much for herself as possible, compared to what others get. According to the measure of Social Value Orientation given in class (in which one chooses between 3 different allotments of points to self and other), she'd be considered a(n):
a.competitor
b.individualist
c.cooperator
d.none of the above
3.Tom catches more fish than he's supposed to, saying "it won't matter, there's plenty of fish out there." According to ideas discussed class, which term below best explains Tom's choice to "defect" in this social dilemma?
a.Fear
b.Greed
c.Egoism
d.Social Exchange Theory
Sample test questions: module B
1.Jack is on the witness stand, describing a robbery he witnessed. He seems nervous and unsure of himself. Research recommends that:
a.jurors should give Jack's testimony greater weight compared to other witnesses.
b.jurors should give Jack's testimony less weight compared to other witnesses.
c.jurors should give Jack's testimony the same weight compared to other witnesses.
d.jurors should suspect Jack's motives.
2.Jurors are more likely to convict a defendant if the defendant is:
a.unlike them
b.more attractive than them
c.younger than them
d.both b and c
3. Suppose a judge orders damaging testimony stricken from the record, as inadmissable. Evidence suggests that the jurors…
a. will be able to ignore the evidence
b. will be influenced by the evidence
c. will feel greater sympathy for the defendant in this case
c. both a and c
Sample test questions: Module C
1. It is well established that wealthier people are ___________ than less wealthy people.
a. much happier
b. slightly happier
c. slightly less happy
d. much less happy
2. Allison and John are about equally happy. Then, Allison wins 20 million in the lottery. On that same day, John has an automobile accident that leaves him paralyzed from the waist down. Research suggests that one year later,
a. Allison will be happier than John
b. John will be happier than Allison
c. There will be little if any difference between them.
d. None of the above
Answers: chpt 5: 1-d, 2-d, 3-b. Chpt 12: 1-c, 2-c, 3-c, 4-c. Chpt 13: 1-b, 2-a, 3-b Module B: 1-c, 2-a, 3-b Module C: 1-b, 2-c
Final Exam Review Sheet:
The final exam will cover the whole semester. Many of the questions will be familiar, and questions will only concern more "basic" issues. The best way to review is to go over the review sheets from the prior 4 exams.