APA Social Psychology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which persuasion route in the Elaboration Likelihood Model involves deep processing of message content?
- Peripheral route
- Heuristic route
- Central route (Correct answer)
- Automatic route
Correct answer: Central route
The central route of the ELM involves careful, thoughtful evaluation of message arguments, leading to more enduring attitude change.
Question 2: Asch's conformity experiments demonstrated that participants would give obviously wrong answers under social pressure approximately what percentage of the time?
- 5%
- 37% (Correct answer)
- 75%
- 20%
Correct answer: 37%
Across Asch's trials, participants gave incorrect answers about 37% of the time when confederates unanimously gave wrong answers, demonstrating strong normative influence.
Question 3: What is 'deindividuation' in social psychology?
- Increased self-awareness in crowds
- Loss of self-awareness and personal responsibility in groups, often leading to impulsive behavior (Correct answer)
- Formation of a unique individual identity
- Conformity to group norms over time
Correct answer: Loss of self-awareness and personal responsibility in groups, often leading to impulsive behavior
Deindividuation occurs when anonymity and group immersion reduce self-monitoring and personal accountability, increasing the likelihood of norm-violating behavior.
Question 4: The 'mere exposure effect' states that:
- Familiarity with a stimulus increases liking for it (Correct answer)
- People prefer novel stimuli over familiar ones
- Repeated exposure causes habituation and reduced interest
- Social norms are internalized through repeated exposure
Correct answer: Familiarity with a stimulus increases liking for it
Zajonc's mere exposure effect shows that simply being exposed to a stimulus repeatedly tends to increase positive feelings toward it.
Question 5: Which factor is most strongly associated with interpersonal attraction, according to social psychology research?
- Opposite personalities
- Physical proximity (propinquity) (Correct answer)
- High socioeconomic status
- Extraverted temperament
Correct answer: Physical proximity (propinquity)
Propinquity (physical or functional proximity) is one of the strongest predictors of attraction and friendship formation because repeated contact increases familiarity.
Question 6: Group polarization refers to the phenomenon where group discussion tends to:
- Moderate extreme views toward the average
- Strengthen and amplify members' initial leanings (Correct answer)
- Produce decisions midway between the most extreme positions
- Lead to groupthink and poor decision-making
Correct answer: Strengthen and amplify members' initial leanings
Group polarization is the finding that deliberating with like-minded others tends to push group members toward more extreme versions of their pre-discussion views.
APA Social Psychology 2
Which persuasion route in the Elaboration Likelihood Model involves deep processing of message content?