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QUIZ 1 ANSWERS SUMMER 2002
NAME: DATE:
CHOICE: Choose either Question #1, Question #2, or
Question #3 and follow the directions for providing an accurate and complete
answer.
1. Social
psychology like other social science disciplines is concerned with how social
factors influence human behavior. The level at which this analysis of influence
occurs is what differentiates the social science disciplines from one another.
Choose one of the following
broad topics and provide a specific
example of what a social psychologist would be more interested in
studying compared to a sociologist. Your choice of topics include: a) gang violence, b) education and
socio-economic-status, c) prejudice and career opportunities, d) STD rates and
age.
Possible answer for a) gang violence.
A
sociologist would be most interested in studying why gangs exist in the
form they do in various societies and ethnic groups. Higher poverty rates among
some groups of ppl may contribute to gang formation. Greater access to weapons
may also contribute to gang formation. Are there prominent social movement or
social policies that can explain why gangs are overwhelmingly associated with
violence and other criminal acts? What is it about societal structure
(i.e., distribution of power, wealth, & status) that contribute to
conflict and tension among groups of ppl?
A social
psychologist would be most interested in studying why certain individuals
are more likely to join gangs and others aren't. Who rises to positions of
"leader" within a gang. Are some individuals
more at risk for being recruited into gangs than others—are they
"weak-minded" or vulnerable in other aspects? How can our knowledge
of these characteristics help prevent ppl from being attracted to or pulled
into gangs? What are some characteristics and processes of groups that predisposes them to violent beh rather than altruistic beh?
2. Based on
what you have learned in class and in the reading materials, are social
psychologists scientists? Why or why not? Be accurate and specific. Hint: Think
about the scientific method.
Possible
answer: Psychology is a science, a social science to be
more exact.
Yes, social psychologists are scientists because
we use the scientific method in obtaining answers to our research questions. Soc psychologists apply the scientific method of systematic
observation, description, and measurement to the study of human experiences. The seven main points of the scientific method include:
(a) defining the problem so that it can lend itself to careful
investigation,
(b) stating the problem in a manner such that it can be tied in
with existing theory and known empirical fact,
(c) formulate testable hypotheses,
(d) determine investigative procedures,
(e) gather data,
(f) analyze data, and
(g) modify the existing body of scientific knowledge to
accommodate new findings (Reber, 1985).
Additional Info:
Def of Psychology: The scientific study of behavior and mental
processes.
Def of Soc Psych:
The scientific study of how ppl think about, influence, and relate to one
another (real or imagined) by examining mental processes and behavior.
Def of Science:
˙
A body of knowledge, particularly tt
which has resulted from the systematic application of the scientific method.
˙
A branch of study or a discipline
focused on the derivation of basic principles & general laws.
˙
A system of methods & procedures
for the investigation of natural phenomena based upon scientific principles.
Reber,
A. S. (1985). Dictionary of
psychology.
3. What is
the hindsight bias? Provide one specific example that relates to social
psychological issues.
Possible
answer: Hindsight Bias: the tendency,
after an event has occurred, to believe that one could have foreseen the
outcome. The HB is one explanation for why research results seem more like
common sense than they really are. For example, it may seem quite plausible
that ppl work harder on a task when they are in a group compared to when they
work on tasks alone. Perhaps ppl are more worried abt how they are being
perceived by their coworkers, so they work harder. Research shows that
"social loafing" (slacking behavior) actually increases as group size
increases. After learning this new info, we may convince ourselves that we
"knew that all along." [We'll discuss the social loafing concept more
in the Group Processes chp]
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4. Natasha
wants to collect data on whether women or men have a more effective leadership
style within a managerial context. She has limited time and limited funding.
She also wants to generalize her results to as large a population as possible.
Which one of the following research methods should you recommend that Natasha
utilize?
a.
naturalistic observation b. survey c. laboratory observation d. case study
5. Provide
one example of EITHER a negative correlation OR a positive correlation. Specify
which type of correlation your example represents.
Possible
Answer: Negative
Correlation: Children of parents with a
consistent and relentless authoritarian parenting style (i.e., rigid,
controlling, strict, lack of warmth, low interactive communication—ch should be
seen & not heard) are less likely to regulate their own behavior and
control their impulses throughout their lifespan.
Positive
Correlation: Children of parents with a consistent and relentless authoritarian
parenting style are more likely to abuse substances and engage in delinquent
beh throughout their lifespan.
6. ANSWER BOTH PART A AND PART B FOR CREDIT!
For years there has
been substantial controversy about whether or not subliminal advertising
messages such as "Drink Coca Cola" and "Eat popcorn"
imbedded in movie films actually influence people to buy these products.
Researchers, DeFleur and Petranoff (1959), worked in conjunction with an
The results: sales
increased 1% w/ subliminal ad alone.
sales increased 282% w/ both subliminal ad &
supraliminal ad
sales increased 2,509% w/ supraliminal ad alone.
Conclusion: DeFleur
& Petranoff (1959) stated, "There was absolutely no evidence whatever
that the subliminal messages broadcast in the present study had the slightest
effect in persuading the mass audience."
Part A.
The Independent variable in this
example is?
a. the measurement of how much sales increased
b. the type of group
(i.e., subliminal only, supraliminal only, combination of both supraliminal and
subliminal)
c. type of food product
d. the difference from week 1 to week 3
Part B.
The Dependent variable in this
example is?
a. the measurement of
how much sales increased
b. the type of group (i.e., subliminal only, supraliminal
only, combination of both supraliminal and subliminal)
c. type of food product
d. the difference from week 1 to week 3
7. Social activist
Cathy Calhoun wanted to conduct a study to determine whether her new
sensitivity training workshop would help reduce prejudicial attitudes toward
people with non-heterosexual orientations. She wanted to compare her workshop
with workshops that are currently being used. In order to determine whether her
sensitivity workshop caused a
significant decrease in prejudicial attitudes she needs to address a very
important component of all experimental research, which is?
a. generalization of subjects to particular groups on the
basis of stereotypical characteristics
b. verifying the original results of an experiment by
reproducing the procedure in subsequent experiments
c. amalgamation*
of dependent variables in order to assess statistical strength
d. randomization in
order to make sure that everyone in the population has an equal chance of being
selected for the sample
*
Definition of amalgamation: the result of mixing, blending, uniting, merging
8. Can a
theory ever be proven? a. Yes b. No
9. There is NO
significant difference in perceptions of sexual harassment condition based on
being female or male. This statement is an example of how researchers state the
?
a. alternative hypothesis b.
correlational hypothesis
c. null hypothesis d.
negative hypothesis
10. Provide a
specific example that illustrates memory
reconstruction using a personal example. Again, remember to create your
own original example!
Possible Answer: My friend, Jennifer, says she always leaves her sunglasses on her
dashboard in her car. We were about to head out to the beach on a Friday
afternoon when she couldn't find her sunglasses and she threw a fit. She
remembered that her sister borrowed them and must have forgotten to replace
them. She called her sister to chew her out and as she was on the phone, she
suddenly saw her reflection in a picture and saw that her sunglasses were on
her head. Her self-schema of being a very consistent person interfered with her
recall accuracy
for her actions.
The external
environment is not stored in your mem in exact form. Your mem doesn't reflect
reality.
There are many things going on in the neural
structure in your brain that's going to interact with past experience and the
result will be mem construction.
Several factors alter mem. LTMs (unlike SM) aren't
exact duplicates of info. As we try to catalog & store mems in LTM:
- we often rearrange
facts
- leave out details
- add info to allow it to be stored w/ related
info
We have unique ways of perceiving the world and we
try to make things and people fit into our preconceived ideas, which develop
based on our unique experiences.
Our mems are distorted by schemas—ways in which we
organize experience.
-growing
up rich or poor
-growing
up w/ bigoted parents
-growing
up as a female or male
-ethnicity
and blends of ethnicities will shape our life experiences
-learning
& adapting or rejecting values associated with various religions or absence
of……..Catholic, Mormon, Islam, Southern Baptist, Wiccan,
Atheist,
Lutheran, Hindu, Buddist, Native American spiritual beliefs
Def of reconstructive mem: the process whereby
mems for an event become distorted by info encountered after the event has
occurred
11. Identify one
problem and one solution of eyewitness testimony.
Possible Answer:
Problem:
By manipulating language usage we organize our
knowledge about the crash in different ways. For example: "Leading Questions" used by lawyers, investigators, detectives, medical
personnel, etc. to phrase questions can significantly influence how you
reconstruct your mem for ppl and events.
Solution:
By increasing ppl's awareness of leading questions and
loaded language, we empower ourselves to resist being influenced by others' direct
and indirect attempts to manipulate/affect/change our memories for ppl and
events.
12. Research has
shown that people with Southern accents (i.e.,
a. Priming b. Accessibility
c. Rosy Retrospection d. Self-fulfilling Prophecy
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