Exam 3 Answer Key 1. What was Hermann Ebbinghaus’s contribution to the study of memory? *A. He was the first to do experiments to measure memory. B. He located the brain areas most important for memory. C. He was the first to distinguish between different types of memory. D. He found ways to uncover hidden or lost memories. % Correct: 89.5652173913043% Comments: Ebbinghaus’s work on memory research was groundbreaking for several reasons. For starters, he was the first psychologists to figure out a way to scientifically study the topic of memory. He is also infamous for the way he studied the topic. Namely, his research on himself by using nonsense syllables in order to study the basic processes of retention and forgetting created the structure and started the conversation for many cognitive psychologists that followed him in his pursuits. 2. If asked to tell your social security number (without looking it up), you are being asked to perform which type of memory test? A. recognition B. implicit *C. free recall D. savings % Correct: 82.6086956521739% Comments: This is a definition question. There are many different ways to test memory. Each has its own characteristics and each tends to indicate varying levels of retention. This example is defined as a free recall test. These tests tend to be much more difficult than other tests. As a result of this, they tend to indicate a lower level of retention in comparison to many other memory tests. 3. One unusual feature of implicit memory is that A. implicit memory grows stronger after the passage of time. *B. people can display implict memory without realizing that they are using memory. C. implicit memory is absent in infancy and begins to develop after about age five. D. brain damage is more likely to impair implicit memory than any other memory type. % Correct: 96.5217391304347% Comments: Answers A, C, and D are completely false. Implicit memory is very complex and indications of implicit memory often overlap with indications of explicit memory. However, there are cases where people can display memories of an experience through physical/emotional reactions without reporting any conscious memory of the experience. This effect suggests that these implicit memories are indeed distinct from explicit memories. 4. Memory of a specific experience such as graduating from high school is known as A. semantic memory. *B. episodic memory. C. procedural memory. D. implicit memory. % Correct: 98.2608695652173% Comments: This was a definition question. This question is referencing a type of explicit memory. The retention of details or facts that have no specific experience tied to it are called semantic memories. Since this example mentions a personally experienced event, it is called an episodic memory. 5. What is distinctive of long-term memory, compared to short-term memory? A. It stores information in terms of sounds instead of meanings. B. Whenever it adds a new item it has to discard an older item. *C. It has greater capacity to store information. D. Its information is always available, regardless of interference. % Correct: 94.7826086956521% Comments: There are many differences between our long-term and short-term memories. Though it is sometimes difficult to tease apart when a memory becomes part of one or the other, we know definitively that long-term memory capacity is much larger than our short-term memory capacity (which is 7 plus or minus 2 items). The other statements listed above are untrue for both types of memory. 6. If you spent the next year or two practicing your ability to memorize numbers and recite them immediately, how would your short-term memory probably change? A. You might be able to memorize as many as 10 digits at a time, but no more than that. B. The capacity of your short-term memory would increase for numbers, letters, and other types of information. C. You would eventually grow so confused that you could not memorize any more numbers. *D. You would learn to use chunking to store larger numbers in short-term memory. % Correct: 85.2173913043478% Comments: Though practice might improve short-term memory slightly, practice has never proven to dramatically improve short-term memory capacity. The only things that appears to improve our ability to retain more short-term information are mnemonic devices (chunking is a type of a mnemonic device). In essence, unless you learn and can successfully apply tricks to temporarily retaining more information, practice will never have much of a dramatic impact on your memory capacity. Fortunately, most people that practice retention improvement do it through developing good mnemonic techniques. 7. The "executive functioning" aspect of working memory is responsible for A. storing visual memories. B. controlling muscle movements. *C. shifting attention. D. rehearsing sounds. % Correct: 86.9565217391304% Comments: The executive function is one of the four different components of our working memory—a concept introduced by Alan Baddelley. The four components of this type of memory are the phonological loop (auditory store), visuospatial sketchpad (visual store), episodic buffer (past information store), and central executive (attention/processing portion of our memory). Executive functioning is a part of the central executive and relates to the ability to shift attention from component of memory to component of memory. 8. What is true of “flashbulb” memories of highly emotional events? A. They are extremely detailed and accurate. *B. They are extremely detailed but not always accurate. C. They capture only the gist of the event but they are highly accurate. D. They fade rapidly after the event. % Correct: 68.695652173913% Comments: Though people often celebrate the uniqueness of “flashbulb” memories, research on these types of memories has been less glowing. Though people often report a great amount of detail when describing highly emotional events (accidents, marriages, universal tragedies, etc.), many of details reported for these events are eventually shown to be faulty when there is a way to verify them. The only hint that has suggested that there might be something special to increased retention of information during “flashbulb” events revolves around the possibility that these events are accessed more. This increased accessing of the information would provide the person accessing the past memories an easier path to accessing those memories and scripts relating to the information of the event. 9. The tendency to remember the first items on a list is the ____ effect. The tendency to remember the last items is the __________ effect. A. recency...primacy *B. primacy...recency C. retrograde...anterograde D. anterograde...retrograde % Correct: 94.7826086956521% Comments: This question is referencing what memory researchers call the serial position effect. This effect suggests that the location of information when it is presented in a list or series of information is critical to the chances of retaining that information. For information at the beginning of lists, the primacy effect seems to enhance memory. This effect has shown to carry over to long term memory enhancement as well. Memory of information at the end of lists also seems to be enhanced. We call this the recency effect. It is worth noting that research has suggested that the long-term benefits of the recency effect is much smaller than the benefits of the primacy effect. 10. The depth-of-processing principle distinguishes between A. short-term and sensory memory. *B. strengths of various long-term memories. C. the location in the brain in which various memories are stored. D. retroactive and proactive interference. % Correct: 84.3478260869565% Comments: One of the best ways to enhance retention of information relates to the depth-of-processing model. Though it is difficult to pinpoint what exactly makes processing of information “deep”, research has suggested that spending more time to attend to information, relating the new information to other information, and finding ways to make sense of the new information all improve short-term and longterm retention of information. All of these actions would be described as “deep” processing. 11. You read a list of names including Batman and Robin. Later someone asks you which item on the list was the name of a bird, and you fail to think of “robin.” Why? *A. encoding specificity principle B. primacy effect C. hindsight bias D. anterograde amnesia % Correct: 85.9649122807017% Comments: This question relates to both the encoding specificity principle and something called the “fan effect”. This principle, which usually is applied to our ability to retain MORE information, suggests that we can better recall information if we recreate the situation that we were encountering when we experienced the information the first time. The catch to this effect is that in enhancing access to some information, it impedes access to competing unrelated information—like in the example. 12. Mnemonic devices are most useful in helping people to do what? A. recover from brain damage. B. remember how to drive a car. C. improve episodic memory. *D. remember lists of unrelated words. % Correct: 97.391304347826% Comments: Mnemonic devices are defined as techniques that can be used to enhance our ability to temporarily retain pieces of information. They are not capable of improving our overall memory capacity, improving our memory of a vast array of physical skills, or enhancing our memory of a specific event. 13. You are watching Jeopardy with your brother and notice that he seems remarkably intelligent. After Alex Trebeck reads each answer, your brother states, "yep, I knew that". However, when you decide to mute the television during the reading of your answers, your brother has a very difficult time producing the correct answer. Your brother's initial response that he knew the correct answer after he heard it is an example of A. belief perseverance B. retroactive interference *C. hindsight bias D. memory reconstruction % Correct: 90.4347826086956% Comments: This is a definition question embedded within an example. This example describes the essence of the hindsight bias. This bias is considered part of the reconstruction effect. Researchers studying this effect have shown that our memory of events (and in the hindsight bias, our memory of our thoughts and memories) is often skewed based on our expectations and biases. For the hindsight bias, once we’re told a piece of information, our memory of if we already had that information in our mind is often distorted. 14. As opposed to a preattentive process, an attentive or “top-down” process is necessary for A. detecting the one tilted object among a set of straight ones. B. finding the one green apple among many red ones. *C. finding a misspelled word on a printed page, among many others spelled correctly. D. noticing something that starts to move, among many stationary objects. % Correct: 83.4782608695652% Comments: “Top-down” processing involves using past information or small pieces of information in order to fill in the blanks of incomplete information. The answer listed above that links to that is answer C. Interestingly, recent research has suggested that top-down processing can allow you to clear up much more garbled sentences that have more than just one or two misspelled words. Here’s an example of this: “it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae”. 15. Which of the following is an example of the framing effect? A. When you view words in different colors, it is hard to say just the colors. B. After paying attention to one stimulus, you might ignore something just after it. *C. People take more risk to prevent loss of lives than to save lives. D. You assume that if something looks and sounds like a duck, it probably is a duck. % Correct: 86.0869565217391% Comments: The framing effect is linked to the decision making topic explored by cognitive psychologists. This effect suggests that the focus of attention of an individual while they make a decision that has risks, gains, and consequence impacts the person’s willingness to accept higher risks. In essence, if we’re asked to focus on losses, we tend to prefer risks over sure things. If we’re asked to focus on gains, we tend to prefer sure things over risks. 16. What basic conclusion follows from the research on change blindness? A. Our attention is automatically drawn to anything that changes. B. We are evolutionarily prepared to detect sameness, not change. *C. We notice only the gist of a scene and a few details we attended to. D. Attention wanders randomly and unpredictably from one item to another. % Correct: 82.6086956521739% Comments: Change blindness is a very interesting phenomenon that has been explored by cognitive psychologists. By definition, change blindness involves our inability to detect subtle (or not-too-subtle) changes in our environment. This finding has been tied to the topics of attention and memory—with the effect suggesting that both are more imperfect than we tend to think. 17. People can often decide whether something is a "vehicle" even though they cannot clearly define the category "vehicles". The fact that they do so tends to support the concept of A. semantic priming. B. the availability heuristic. *C. prototypes. D. the word-superiority effect. % Correct: 80.8695652173913% Comments: This question addressed the topics of categorization. Categorization has primarily been explored by theory based models that have been generated by cognitive psychologists. This question references the debate between prototypes and exemplars. If we could identify category membership based on specific features or a specific item, we’re using what’s called an exemplar. Since this example involves us identifying category membership without being able to clearly define a set of qualifying rules, we’re probably using a prototype in this example. 18. Strategies for simplifying a problem or for guiding an investigation are known as *A. heuristics. B. algorithms. C. prototypes. D. cognitive maps. % Correct: 79.1304347826086% Comments: This question relates to the problem solving/decision making line of research in cognitive psychology. In this question, we are referencing general strategies for solving problems. In particular, we are looking at a reference to the difference between the two general ways to approach these problems/decision—heuristic and algorithms. This example is the justification for engaging in a heuristic. With that being said, it is also worth noting that heuristics do not guarantee a correct response or the best response possible. 19. In decision making, searching until you find something that is good enough is called *A. satisficing. B. the availability heuristic. C. the representativeness heuristic. D. maximizing. % Correct: 90.4347826086956% Comments: This is a definition question. Satisficing decisions are indeed decisions that allow the decision maker to at least solve the problem at hand—even if it’s not the best solution. Maximizing decisions are those that allow the decision maker to make the best decision in a decision making situation. Individuals that often rely on satisficing decision are called satisficers. Individuals that often rely on maximizing decisions are called maximizers. 20. The tendency to assume that if an item is similar to members of a particular category, it is probably a member of that category itself, is known as the A. Stroop effect. B. base-rate effect. *C. representativeness heuristic. D. availability heuristic. % Correct: 92.1739130434782% Comments: When using heuristics to judge the likelihood of an event, or the best option of out a set, they can often be of value. However, several heuristics have been identified as a trick that sometimes leads you to an incorrect response/guess. Though the representative heuristic can let you guess about the probability of something being a member of a group by using your own sense of how familiar something feels; this heuristic has also proven to sometimes make us overestimate the likelihood of an event or group membership when this heuristic is improperly used. 21. A radar operator is trying to determine whether something on the screen is a hawk or a missile. Before deciding, the operator should consider which of the two is more common. In other words, the operator should consider A. heuristics. *B. base-rate information. C. the prototype. D. the cognitive map. % Correct: 77.391304347826% Comments: This question relates to the previous one. One of the common errors that lead people to use the representative heuristic incorrectly is that they do not consider base-rate information. Knowing the percentage of different possible occurrences for an event can greatly help you determine which occurrence is most likely to occur/be occurring. 22. The system for converting a deep structure into a surface structure in language is called *A. transformational grammar. B. language acquisition device. C. word superiority effect. D. base rate information. % Correct: 94.7826086956521% Comments: The deep structure of a sentence is the meaning/message of that sentence. The surface structure is the organization of the sentence. Many ideas can have multiple surface structures, even though their deep structures are the same (i.e. “the cat jumped at the sound”, and “the sound made the cat jump”). The act of creating a new sentence from an old one that has the same meaning is called transformational grammar. 23. Which of these sentences has the same deep structure as "John is easy to please"? A. John is not easy to please. B. John is greasy with fleas. *C. It is easy to please John. D. I need to go to the john, please. % Correct: 92.1739130434782% Comments: As was mentioned in the previous question, the deep structure of a sentence is the meaning of that sentence. If another sentence is phrased differently, but means the same thing, we say that this new sentence has the same deep structure. The answer on the list that matches this requirement is answer C. “It is easy to please John” means the same thing as “John is easy to please”. 24. What does the “language acquisition device” do? A. It translates sentences from one language to another. *B. It helps children learn language. C. It helps brain-damaged people communicate. D. It measures brain activity while people are speaking. % Correct: 94.7826086956521% Comments: When studying the process of language learning, Noam Chomsky proposed that our ability to pick up such a vast language with so many different grammatical rules in such a short time could only be explained through some biological predisposition for learning language. He called this tool the “language acquisition device”. Many have questioned the uniqueness of this device, but it does still amaze many researchers and parents alike when they see how quickly children begin picking up language when they reach a certain age. 25. Which of the following explanations have been given as one possible explanation for the “g factor” described by Spearman in his intelligence research? *A. Different abilities develop together because all depend on health, nutrition, etc. B. People in different cultures are exposed to different types of information. C. Special education can help many children overcome early limitations. D. Boys tend to have different interests from girls, and thus develop different skills. % Correct: 73.0434782608695% Comments: Charles Spearman was an advocate for the notion that there was really only one level of intelligence for each of us. He contended that this level of intelligence would carry-over to a multitude of different intelligence related skills, causing us to perform in a similar fashion on a variety of different intelligence tests. He struggled to determine what separated one individual from another in their overall intelligence levels, but he did suggest that early childhood environments and biological predispositions were probably the biggest players in the individual differences that emerged. 26. The WAIS-III and the WISC-IV are tests of A. creativity. B. personality. *C. intelligence. D. interests. % Correct: 98.2608695652173% Comments: These are two acronyms for the Wechsler tests of intelligence. WAIS stands for the “Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale”. WISC stands for the “Wechsler intelligence Scale for Children”. These two tests that were devised by David Wechsler are often considered some of the more diverse and culture/language unbound overall intelligence tests that exist. Moreover, performance on this test can be measured across a variety of different dimensions—even if an overall intelligence score is also tabulated. 27. What does it mean to say that Raven's Progressive Matrices is a "culture-reduced" test? A. Performance on this test has been declining over the years in our culture. B. It measures abilities that are taught in some cultures and not in others. *C. It calls for little factual information or use of language. D. It was prepared by representatives of all the world's major cultures. % Correct: 84.3478260869565% Comments: One of the major complaints that has been raised about the prominent intelligence tests that have been developed is that they require a) fluent comprehension of the language that the test is being conducted in, and b) familiarity with the culture and norms of the culture that the test is being conducted in. Since most of these tests have been devised by a very small subset of the population, detractors for these tests have argued that there is an inherent bias in almost all intelligence tests that favors that subset. To counter these issues, tests like the Raven’s Progressive Matrices have been devised—though they are admittedly narrow in the skills that they are testing in order to avoid the cultural issues. 28. What does it mean to say that a test has been standardized? A. People who get a high score the first time they take the test will probably get a high score the second time also. *B. Psychologists have established rules for administering the test and interpreting its scores. C. Scores on this test correlate positively with performance on some other task. D. The content of this test is a good representation of the field the test is supposed to deal with. % Correct: 79.1304347826086% Comments: Standardization of tests can occur for a wide range of tests that can be administered— though the most commonly discussed form of standardized tests relate to testing intelligence. When a test is standardized, it means that the means of administration and scoring have been established. It also means that the norms for performance on the test have already been determined. By doing this, researchers and testers can more easily compare the test performances of those that have taken the test. 29. According to the James-Lange theory, what is the order of events in an emotion? A. action...appraisal of the situation...feeling *B. appraisal of the situation...action...feeling C. appraisal of the situation...feeling...action D. feeling...appraisal of the situation...action % Correct: 52.1739130434782% Comments: The James-Lange theory of emotions was one of the first theories ever proposed (at least by psychologists) for how our emotions come about. Though many had assumed that our emotions dictated our actions, James and Lange argued that it was actually our actions that allowed us to determine our emotions. When pushed to clarify how the same actions can be used to signify different emotions, they added the wrinkle of situation appraisals into the beginning of the emotion equation. 30. Psychological researchers who believe we have a few basic emotions generally list six. Which of these is one of those six? A. confusion B. humor C. gratitude *D. surprise % Correct: 93.9130434782608% Comments: The six basic emotions are fear, sadness, happiness, anger, disgust, and surprise. These six emotions are described as “basic” because a) they emerge at a very young age, b) they seem to automatically trigger a set of physiological responses (the face has been strongly tied to this idea), and c) they appear to be universal across different cultures/languages. Other emotions appear to develop universally in individuals as they age, but the 6 basic emotions do seem to be the ones that emerge first without any learning required. 31. Which of the following correlates most strongly with reported happiness or well-being? A. Young people tend to be happier than older people. B. People in warm climates report more happiness than those in cold climates. C. Single people tend to be happier than married people. *D. People who report being happy now tend also to report being happy much later. % Correct: 71.9298245614035% Comments: This question relates to research discussed in the emotions chapter. Though we have explored many illusory correlations between happiness and different concepts, happiness has only been related to a few effects. One of the big things that has been discovered about happiness levels is that it seems to be an enduring characteristic. In other words, each of us seem to have a happiness set point, with events just temporarily raising or lowering our happiness levels. 32. What does a polygraph measure? A. differences in activity between the two hemispheres of the brain. B. changes in the tone of voice. *C. activity of the sympathetic nervous system. D. activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. % Correct: 82.6086956521739% Comments: Polygraphs have been most commonly linked to lie detection. To detect deceit, these polygraphs measure changes in different functions of the body. Most of the bodily functions measured relate to activity of our nervous system. In particular, they look for changes to the body activated by a sympathetic nervous system response. This response is also known as the flight or fight response. It’s thought to be activated in stressful moments—or for these purposes, when we’re trying to tell a lie. 33. In Maslow’s hierarchy, the first need is A. for social interaction. *B. for physiological needs like food and air. C. safety. D. self-actualization. % Correct: 84.3478260869565% Comments: Abraham Maslow paired with Carl Rogers to introduce us to something called the humanistic perspective in psychology. Their ideas were applied to both personality and clinical psychology. Maslow’s biggest contribution to this area was in his introduction of what is called the “hierarchy of needs”. This hierarchy supposes that our daily pursuits and individual differences come from our moment to moment desire to meet various needs. The first need on his list is called physiological needs. These needs included the need for air, food, and bodily functions. According to Maslow, if one of these needs were not met at some point, they became the primary focus of the individual. 34. Which of the following is the clearest example of a homeostatic motivation? A. pursuing self-actualization B. avoiding a fear of failure *C. getting enough sleep D. the desire to succeed % Correct: 93.859649122807% Comments: Homeostatic motivation involves a drive to maintain some type of status quo. This regulation can be for biological, social, or other concepts where we have some sense of what we “should” experience on a regular basis. The one example above that relates to the drive to regulate some type of consistency that we have decided upon is answer C. 35. According to research on the topic of motivation, which statement about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is FALSE? A. Extrinsic motivators can sometimes undermine intrinsic ones B. Extrinsic motivators can sometimes enhance intrinsic ones C. How much you care about a task impacts the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators *D. Motivators can still be extrinsic without there being any promise or prospect of reward % Correct: 64.9122807017543% Comments: Though many researchers have contended that there is an inherent conflict between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, research has shown that they can occasionally be applied to a situation and enhance each other. There is also considerable research that suggests that our actions and expression of desires can greatly impact the strength of both our intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. The only answer above that is false by definition is answer D. Extrinsic motivators are defined as such because of the existence of some type of tangible reward. 36. How would Sigmund Freud explain why someone eats, drinks, or smokes too much? A. The person has a strong id and a weak superego. B. The person has a very high level of libido. C. The person is engaging in projection and rationalization. *D. The person had a fixation during the oral stage. % Correct: 73.9130434782608% Comments: Freud’s psychodynamic theory of personality focuses on the inner conflicts and desires of the individual that pushes them to exhibit a plethora of different behaviors. To explain impulsive behavior displayed by the individual, Freud often incorporated the different drives into his explanation. Namely, he would discuss the internal pushes of the id and superego. When examining the cause of negative, self-motivated drives, Freud would often relate these drives to the id. 37. Which personality theorist introduced the concept of “inferiority complex”? A. Sigmund Freud B. Carl Jung C. Karen Horney *D. Alfred Adler % Correct: 77.391304347826% Comments: Alfred Adler was a former student of Sigmund Freud’s. He decided to break with Freud when Freud’s focus turned to the topics of sex, the unconscious, and clinical applications. Adler assumed that much of our personality came from desires that we could identify on the surface. For Adler, many of our less desirable actions didn’t come from the id, but instead an inferiority complex—a concern that we might be perceived by others as inferior. This complex was said to encourage individuals to pursue activities that made them look more competent, and avoid those that might make them look less impressive. 38. Humanistic psychologists reject which of these concepts? A. People's beliefs and values guide their behavior. *B. Behavior can be reduced to its component parts. C. People should relate to one another with unconditional positive regard. D. The self-concept can be different from the ideal self. % Correct: 76.3157894736842% Comments: The humanistic perspective of psychology has been around for a number of decades. Introduced by Carl Rogers and his colleague Abraham Maslow, this approach assumes that individuals are inherently good, trying to accomplish some level of greatness in their life. Though tied with concepts of spirituality, Rogers never insinuated that spirituality was a necessary component of this approach. The only statement above that does not align with the philosophy of this theory is statement B. 39. A personality trait is a __________; a personality state is a __________. A. temporary activation of a behavior...consistent behavioral tendency *B. consistent behavioral tendency...temporary activation of a behavior C. behavioral tendency found in only certain people...behavioral tendency found in everyone D. behavioral tendency found in everyone...behavioral tendency found in only certain people % Correct: 93.0434782608695% Comments: The state-trait distinction is a critical topic of discussion for personality psychologists. This distinction is critical in the attempts to explain the cause of a person’s actions. If the action can be attributed to the situation, we attribute the behavior to a state—a temporary state of mind or emotion. If the action can be attributed to the person’s enduring dispositions, we attribute the behavior to a trait. 40. The big five personality dimensions A. each apply to a few very specific situations. B. are all highly related to each other. C. are the first five traits to develop in a child, although many more important traits develop later in life. *D. can describe most of the usual variation in human personality. % Correct: 95.6521739130434% Comments: Though several theories of traits have been proposed over the years, the most prominent theory in today’s field of personality psychology is the “big five”. This theory suggests that we can measures everyone along 5 different personality dimensions. These dimensions are said to be unique from each other, but in combination, be able to explain a vast array of behaviors that we display in various situations. It is probably critical to note that many have displayed skepticism over the consistent predictive power of the “big five” in various situations/individuals. 41. Conscientiousness is the tendency to A. be compassionate toward others. B. enjoy new experiences, especially intellectual experiences. C. enjoy the company of other people. *D. show self-discipline and strive for achievement. % Correct: 89.5652173913043% Comments: Conscientiousness is one of the “big five” traits. Each of the “big five” traits are said to have 6 different facets that break down the traits even further. Though each of the different facets of the trait of conscientiousness are considered somewhat unique, they tend to overlap each other to some extent in each individual. One concept that relates to many of the different facets of the conscientiousness trait is described in answer D. 42. How did psychologists choose items for the MMPI personality test? A. They noted points of agreement among major theories of personality. *B. They took questions that were answered differently by people with disorders. C. The surveyed psychologists about what items they thought the test should include. D. They began by observing children’s behavior in six cultures. % Correct: 75.6521739130434% Comments: The MMPI is a personality test that is primarily aimed at exploring individual differences. It has primarily been used in recent years to detect abnormal behavior and personality tendencies in individuals. It is a very long survey with true/false questions that cover a vast array of topics related to personality and clinical psychology. The design of the MMPI was derived through work with individuals that had been diagnosed with a vast array of different mental disorders in order to find questions that could be used to identify individuals that overlapped with those in the clinical population. 43. People in a group (especially a group of strangers) are less likely to offer help to a person in need than is a single individual. Of the following, which is the term used by social psychologists that best explains this tendency? A. cognitive dissonance *B. diffusion of responsibility C. group polarization D. prisoner's dilemma % Correct: 91.3043478260869% Comments: This situation is often called the bystander effect. The classic case that was tied to this event was the tragic attack on a woman named Kitty Genovese. To explain the cause of this effect, many concepts have been introduced. The notion that people feel less responsible in situations like this when others are around—something that has definitely been used to explain many bystander effect situations—is called diffusion of responsibility. 44. What does the research say about our first impressions of people? *A. They correlate positively with our opinions later. B. They correlate close to zero with our opinions later. C. They correlate negatively with our opinions later. D. They prevent us from considering other information later. % Correct: 61.7391304347826% Comments: Much like our memory of information, the things that we learn first about a person tend to stay with us. We actually describe both of these concepts with the same term—we call them the primacy effect. Research has consistently shown that not only do we often remember the first pieces of information that we learn about someone, but it has also shown that we tend to put more weight on this information than other information that we learn later. This effect causes us to often have a high correlation with our first impressions and later impressions that we hold for an individual. 45. How is “stereotype” defined? *A. a belief or attitude about a group of people B. a false belief or attitude about a group of people C. an unfavorable belief or attitude about a group of people D. unequal treatment of different groups of people % Correct: 92.1739130434782% Comments: Stereotypes are defined as generalizations that we hold about a group of individuals. Though we often focus on the negative stereotypes that people can hold, stereotypes can technically be positive beliefs as well. It’s also important to note that stereotypes are not always inaccurate nor are they always accurate. They’re simply generalizations that people hold. 46. Clyde is asked whose behavior depends on consistent personality traits and whose behavior depends on the situation. He is most likely to say "depends on the situation" for the behavior of A. his closest friends and relatives. B. people he has never met (such as television performers). *C. himself. D. people he has met a few times. % Correct: 60.8695652173913% Comments: This question is referencing two different topics related to attribution research in social psychology. Attributions are explanations for the cause of behaviors that individuals observe/display. Some explanations can be attributed to the situation (we call these external attributions), and others can be attributed to the person (we call these internal attributions). There is a term called the fundamental attribution error that suggests that people tend to make internal attributions for the actions of others. There is also a term called the actor-observer effect that suggests that we actually reverse this trend of making internal attributions for behaviors when we start to make attributions for our own behaviors. This second effect explains why the correct answer to this question is C. 47. Research on cognitive dissonance suggests that in many cases *A. you can change people's attitudes by first changing their behavior. B. people with major differences in personality find each other attractive. C. a group that discusses some issue moves toward a more extreme opinion. D. prejudiced people fail to recognize their own prejudices. % Correct: 73.0434782608695% Comments: Cognitive dissonance is an internal experience that results from moments when the behaviors of an individual does not match the attitude/cognitions of that individual. When this is experienced, individuals tend to feel compelled to reduce this dissonance. They can quickly do this by changing their behaviors. However, if there is no way to alter the behavior of an individual because the behavior has already occurred, the only way to then reduce dissonance is to either a) justify the behavior, or b) change the attitude/cognitions of the individual. Though it might seem odd, research has shown that when people cannot justify their behaviors, many opted to change their cognitions/attitudes when this dissonance is experienced. 48. Under what condition is the peripheral route to persuasion most likely to be effective? A. when the listener is paying attention B. when the issue is highly controversial *C. when the listener has little interest in the issue D. when the listener already knows much about the issue % Correct: 78.2608695652174% Comments: In attitude research, the topic of persuasion has been explored from many different perspectives. When trying to persuade someone to form an attitude or commit a behavior, researchers have argued that this persuasion can come in two forms. The first form is called a central route to persuasion. These central routes consist of logic based arguments relating to the topic at hand. The other argument form is called a peripheral route to persuasion. These routes consist of emotion based arguments that often have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Research has consistently shown that peripheral routes are most effective when the person receiving the message has no interest in the topic at hand. 49. In a classic study, Solomon Asch measured conformity by testing A. how much the opinions of jurors in a courtroom trial changed after the jury discussed a case. *B. whether someone would agree with a majority that gave wrong answers in a visual-judgment experiment. C. how much an address by the president of the United States changed public opinion as measured by a survey. D. how much the smoking and drinking habits of high-school students differed from those of their parents. % Correct: 94.7826086956521% Comments: Solomon Asch’s research on conformity was considered a game-changer in the debate on what caused conformity. At the time of his research, many studying conformity had suggested that the ambiguity of what should be done was at the heart of many people’s conformity based actions. In his study, Asch presented individuals with the chance to conform to a grou, when the group was obviously behaving in an incorrect manner. Namely, he had people judge the length of lines while paired up with individuals that intentionally gave very incorrect responses on occasion in order to see if the true participants would conform to the group. To the surprise of many, Asch did show that many conformed to the group in Asch’s famous line study. 50. In Stanley Milgram's research on obedience *A. participants thought they were shocking someone else, although they really weren't. B. participants did not think they were administering shock to someone else, although they actually were. C. the "learner" was a real participant, while the "teacher" was a confederate of the experimenter. D. teachers who refused to shock learners were threatened with shock themselves. % Correct: 85.9649122807017% Comments: Stanley Milgram’s research on conformity focused on how individuals conform to authority figures—hence the reason why many people frame his research as a study on obedience. In his controversial research, Milgram had individuals pair up with another person—who was actually a confederate of Milgram’s—in a teacher/learner word pair experiment. Through the process of the experiment, the true participants of the study were pushed by the researcher to inflict increasing degrees of shock to the experimenter’s confederate. Over time, the shocks got to what would be considered either excruciating or even life-threatening levels—though the confederate never was actually given these shocks. The level of shock that many of the participants (called the “teachers”) in this experiment went to before refusing to continue was very high—with many going all the way to the end of the shock board that they were using.