APA Social Psychology 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to:
- Overestimate situational factors and underestimate dispositional factors when explaining others' behavior
- Underestimate situational factors and overestimate dispositional factors when explaining others' behavior (Correct answer)
- Attribute one's own failures to external causes
- Assume others share our attitudes
Correct answer: Underestimate situational factors and overestimate dispositional factors when explaining others' behavior
The fundamental attribution error is the bias of overweighting personal traits and underweighting situational influences when explaining other people's behavior.
Question 2: In Milgram's obedience studies, the majority of participants delivered shocks up to what voltage level?
- 150 volts
- 300 volts
- 450 volts (Correct answer)
- 200 volts
Correct answer: 450 volts
About 65% of Milgram's participants continued to the maximum 450-volt level when instructed by an authority figure, despite the learner's apparent distress.
Question 3: Which concept describes the tendency for people to conform to the behavior of others in ambiguous situations?
- Normative social influence
- Informational social influence (Correct answer)
- Group polarization
- Social loafing
Correct answer: Informational social influence
Informational social influence occurs when people look to others for guidance about correct behavior when they are uncertain about what to do.
Question 4: Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory predicts that when attitudes and behaviors conflict, people will:
- Always change their behavior
- Experience tension and seek to reduce it by aligning attitudes or behaviors (Correct answer)
- Ignore the inconsistency
- Seek social approval for their behavior
Correct answer: Experience tension and seek to reduce it by aligning attitudes or behaviors
Cognitive dissonance creates psychological discomfort when cognitions conflict, motivating people to reduce the inconsistency by changing attitudes, behaviors, or perceptions.
Question 5: What is 'social loafing'?
- Increased effort when being evaluated by others
- Reduced individual effort when working in a group compared to working alone (Correct answer)
- Conforming to group pressure against one's own beliefs
- Aggression triggered by frustration in social settings
Correct answer: Reduced individual effort when working in a group compared to working alone
Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to exert less effort on collective tasks when their individual contributions cannot be identified.
Question 6: The 'bystander effect' was famously studied after which real-world event?
- The murder of Kitty Genovese (Correct answer)
- The Stanford Prison Experiment
- The Milgram obedience study
- The Asch conformity experiments
Correct answer: The murder of Kitty Genovese
Darley and Latané developed the bystander effect concept partly in response to the 1964 Kitty Genovese murder, where multiple witnesses allegedly failed to intervene.
APA Social Psychology 1
The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to: