Social Science Homework Help

At a meeting of the American Association of Knitting Enthusiasts, five people are elected to a committee to create

a mission statement. Devin spends the entire committee meeting looking at her cell phone and texting and contributes nothing to the work. She is sure the other four will get the work done fine without her. Devin’s behavior is most likely the result of

A. social facilitation.

B. in-group bias.

C. social loafing.

D. deindividuation.

Austin and Hallie just witnessed a serious accident where a cyclist crashed while riding through the park. The couple was shocked that none of the nearby people in the crowded park rushed over to help. According to the psychologists who first described the phenomenon of bystander apathy, which factor should increase the chances of the victim receiving help from others?

A. If the victim is female, she is more likely to receive help from bystanders.

B. If there are fewer bystanders, someone is more likely to help the victim.

C. If the members of the crowd are able to remain anonymous, they are more likely to try to help the victim.

D. If the victim is a priest or a nun, he or she is more likely to receive help from bystanders.

Bowen has been stuck in traffic all morning, and she’s late for an important appointment. Then a man in a blue car has the nerve to cut her off. Bowen honks her horn, pounds her steering wheel, and yells out the window. Which of these explains why Bowen has begun to display road rage?

A. frustration-aggression hypothesis

B. social and cultural factors

C. door in the face strategy

D. normative influence

Casey is jealous of his sister Yvette, who seems to get special treatment because she is very physically attractive. Yvette always breezes through airport security, and whenever she gets pulled over for speeding, she is able to talk her way out of getting a ticket. From which stereotype does Yvette benefit?

A. birds of a feather

B. reciprocal helping

C. What is beautiful is good.

D. eye of the beholder

Cedric walks into his boss’s office and says, “I have a conflict next Thursday. Can I please have the day off?” His boss thinks it over for a minute and then agrees to give Cedric the day off. The boss’s willingness to agree to a specific request is an example of

A. compliance.

B. conformity.

C. obedience.

D. attribution.

Craig said he had forgiven Josh for a past disagreement, but whenever Josh goes out with the group, Craig seems to stay at home. Which of Craig’s attitudes toward Josh likely remains negative?

A. simple

B. complex

C. implicit

D. explicit

Danielle is placed into a remedial mathematics class in her school even though she is sure that her skills should have qualified her for a regular math course. Her new remedial math teacher communicates that he does not expect Danielle to perform well in class. As a result, she does not try very hard and gets very low grades in the class. Danielle’s performance in her math class most likely has been affected by a(n)

A. in-group bias.

B. self-fulfilling prophecy.

C. fundamental attribution error.

D. actor/observer bias.

Donna is madly in love with Harry. Whenever they are together she has a very strong sexual yearning for him, and when they’re apart she longs to be with him. Brain imaging studies show that this sort of passionate love is associated with activity in the __________ reward system.

A. norepinephrine

B. acetylcholine

C. serotonin

D. dopamine

Dr. Barker is an experienced medical professional, but he is also a smoker. In order to reduce the inevitable __________, he probably needs to change his behavior and quit smoking, because it will be very difficult for him to change his attitude and stop believing that smoking is bad for his health.

A. social exposure

B. justification of effort

C. postdecisional dissonance

D. cognitive dissonance

During the election for a new city mayor, Sheila, one of the candidates, held several news conferences to explain in detail how she would address the important issues that the city was facing. Another candidate, Novia, bought TV advertisements that showed local celebrities supporting her for mayor. According to the elaboration likelihood model, Sheila was attempting to use persuasion by the ________ route and Novia was using persuasion by the ________ route.

A. secondary; primary

B. central; peripheral

C. primary; secondary

D. peripheral; central

Group leaders should refrain from expressing strong opinions at the beginning of discussions. Leaders should also encourage their teams to consider alternative ideas and treat dissenters respectfully. In this way, leaders can prevent which of the following from happening?

A. conformity

B. groupthink

C. risky-shift effect

D. deindividuation

Jamie wants to persuade her parents to let her go to Europe with her school choir. Which statement about persuasion is most accurate?

A. Jamie will be more persuasive if she delivers a strictly one-sided argument.

B. Jamie will be more persuasive if she addresses her parents when they are unable to pay attention to her arguments.

C. Jamie will be more successful if her arguments are memorable.

D. Jamie will be more successful if she prevents her parents from thinking too deeply about her arguments.

Janelle’s college adviser discouraged her from taking computer science because those classes tend to be difficult. Even though Janelle had an interest in programming, she began to doubt herself and worried that she would be unable to succeed in difficult, analytical courses. Her adviser’s expectations had the potential to turn into which type of outcome?

A. self-fulfilling prophecy

B. discrimination

C. prejudice

D. subtyping

Jenna knows that Johnny doesn’t treat her right. She also knows she can find someone who will treat her better. But for some reason, she keeps dating Johnny anyway. Which of these is true about Jenna?

A. Her attitude toward Johnny is simple.

B. Her attitude toward Johnny is complex.

C. Her attitude toward Johnny is accessible.

D. Her attitude toward Johnny is inaccessible.

Michelle is the department head of an African studies program at a local college. When Carmen, a Latina student, wants to enroll in the program, Michelle refuses to let her and tells her it was designed for African American students. Michelle’s unwillingness to admit Carmen to the program is most likely the result of

A. a self-fulfilling prophecy.

B. making snap judgments.

C. prejudice.

D. discrimination.

Neil and Gretchen recently started dating, and they feel an overwhelming urge to be together all the time and to have sex as often as possible. Armando and Jenny have been married for several years, and they each feel lucky to be married to their best friend. Neil and Gretchen are experiencing __________ love, while Armando and Jenny’s relationship has evolved into __________ love.

A. companionate; passionate

B. passionate; companionate

C. egotistic; altruistic

D. altruistic; egotistic

Researcher Stanley Milgram wanted to understand why normal citizens would follow orders to injure or kill innocent people during World War II. He wanted to know what factors influence people to follow orders given by an authority figure. In other words, he wanted to understand which phenomenon?

A. discrimination

B. prejudice

C. obedience

D. situational attributions

Sarah was shocked by the news of her neighbor being sexually assaulted. She was even more shocked, though, that so many people, including Sarah’s own mother, assumed her neighbor had provoked the attack somehow. According to this perspective, Sarah’s mother is making an attribution that seems to make the world seem safer and saner.

A. fundamental attribution error

B. actor/observer bias

C. just world hypothesis

D. self-fulfilling prophecy

The Sandersons have been married for over 40 years. They are a happy couple, and they tend to overlook each other’s bad behavior or respond constructively. What is this process called?

A. attribution

B. persuasion

C. altruism

D. accommodation

The more specific an attitude is, the more predictive of a behavior it is. Which scenario best exemplifies this?

A. Sean’s attitude toward spanking is more predictive of whether he will spank his children than his attitude toward parenthood in general.

B. Sean’s attitude toward parenthood in general predicts whether he will spank his children more accurately than does any specific attitude.

C. Sean’s attitude toward spanking will not be very meaningful until Sean has his own children.

D. Sean’s past experience with being spanked as a child is more predictive of whether he will spank his own children than his own attitudes toward spanking.

Using only a few seconds of security camera footage, Detective Mata observes thin slices of __________ and uses them as powerful cues for forming impressions of suspects.

A. expressions

B. behavior

C. judgments

D. attitudes

When Cody arrived at the gym, it was relatively empty. She started riding a stationary bike at a leisurely pace. After a few other people sat down on nearby bikes, however, she began to speed up her pace and push herself a bit more. What is this phenomenon called?

A. social facilitation

B. social loafing

C. deindividuation

D. group decision making

When he falls on the sidewalk during the winter, Jeremiah thinks, “This ice is brutal!” When he sees his friend Ed fall on the same icy sidewalk a few hours later, he laughs and says, “You are really clumsy!” Ed’s attitudes in these cases reflect the impact of the

A. actor/observer bias.

B. out-group bias.

C. in-group bias.

D. fundamental attribution error.

When walking home from work, Eric noticed a group of men standing near the intersection. Eric decided to take a different route home either instinctively or because of which of the following?

A. prejudice

B. snap judgment

C. observer bias

D. situational attribution

Which of the following is NOT one of the top five qualities that college students rate as the most positive characteristic in people they would want to be friends or romantically involved with?

A. intelligent

B. loyal

C. sincere

D. honest

Which of the following is an example of a complex attitude?

A. Ricardo tells people that he believes in being honest, yet he regularly steals small things from the grocery store.

B. Samuel believes that the government should have less say in people’s lives and tells others to vote for candidates who believe in a smaller government.

C. Tito’s opinions of rock bands tends to be very consistent with those of his friends, and he enjoys knowing that they have something in common.

D. Victoria dresses in conservative outfits even though her sister likes to dress in skimpy and revealing clothing.

Which of the following traits is considered attractive across all cultures?

A. good hygiene

B. slim body

C. tan skin

D. tall height

Which of these scenarios is an example of normative influence on behavior?

A. Emily noticed a number of cars slowing down and pulling over to the side of the road, so she pulled over too, in case an emergency vehicle needed to pass.

B. Outside her window, people walking on the street were all wearing coats and hats, so Emily made sure to dress warmly too.

C. Nobody at Emily’s new office wore sandals or denim, so she decided not to either.

D. Emily pulled up to the mall parking lot late in the evening and saw a lot of people headed out of the doors. She assumed the mall was already closed, so she headed home.

Which phenomenon may explain why some people want to join a fraternity or sorority badly enough that they will endure weeks of humiliation and physical discomfort to gain membership?

A. cognitive dissonance

B. insufficient justification

C. conditioning

D. justification of effort

Which researcher identified four interpersonal styles that lead to difficulties and, often, breakups between couples who are romantically involved?

A. Sternberg

B. Hatfield

C. Berscheid

D. Gottman