Social Psychology Flashcards

A student performs exceptionally well on their midterm exam and credits their success to their own intelligence and dedicated study habits. However, when they perform poorly on the final exam, they blame the professor for creating an unfairly difficult test. This is a classic example of:

Answer: Self-serving bias

The self-serving bias is the tendency for individuals to attribute their successes to internal, personal factors (like intelligence) and their failures to external, situational factors (like an unfair test). This cognitive bias serves to protect and enhance one's self-esteem.

In a crowded public park, a man suddenly collapses. Dozens of people see the incident, but no one immediately steps forward to help or call for an ambulance, as each person assumes someone else will take action. This phenomenon is best described as:

Answer: The bystander effect

The bystander effect is a social psychological theory stating that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. A primary cause is the diffusion of responsibility, where the presence of others makes each individual feel less personally responsible for intervening.

According to Leon Festinger's theory, which of the following situations would create the most significant cognitive dissonance?

Answer: A student who values academic integrity cheats on an important exam.

Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced when holding two or more contradictory beliefs, or when one's behavior contradicts one's beliefs. Cheating on an exam directly and significantly contradicts the strongly held value of academic integrity, creating a powerful state of dissonance that the individual will be motivated to resolve.

Which of the following best illustrates the fundamental attribution error?

Answer: Assuming a person who is quiet in a meeting is shy, without considering they might be feeling unwell.

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overemphasize personality-based explanations for an individual's behavior while under-emphasizing the role of situational influences. Assuming the quiet person is shy (a dispositional trait) instead of considering a situational factor (being unwell) is a prime example of this error.

A corporate board of directors is known for its high level of cohesiveness and respect for its charismatic CEO. During a critical meeting, several members have private doubts about a risky merger but refrain from voicing their concerns to avoid disrupting the group's apparent consensus. This scenario is indicative of:

Answer: Groupthink

Groupthink occurs when the desire for harmony or conformity in a group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Key symptoms identified by Irving Janis include self-censorship (doubts are not expressed) and an illusion of unanimity, which are present in this scenario.

In Solomon Asch's classic experiments on conformity, participants were asked to judge the length of lines after hearing several other people (who were confederates) give an obviously incorrect answer. What was the primary finding of these studies?

Answer: A significant number of participants conformed to the group's incorrect answer, even though they knew it was wrong.

Asch's experiments famously demonstrated the power of normative social influence. He found that a significant percentage of participants (around one-third of responses on critical trials) would conform to a majority view that was clearly incorrect, often to avoid social disapproval or to fit in.