Psychology Degree Social and Group Behavior 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which phenomenon describes the tendency for people to perform better on simple tasks but worse on complex tasks when others are watching?
- Social loafing
- Social facilitation (Correct answer)
- Deindividuation
- Groupthink
Correct answer: Social facilitation
Social facilitation refers to the enhancement of dominant responses in the presence of others, improving simple task performance but impairing complex task performance.
Question 2: The 'bystander effect' is best explained by which two psychological processes?
- Conformity and obedience
- Diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance (Correct answer)
- Social loafing and deindividuation
- Ingroup bias and outgroup homogeneity
Correct answer: Diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance
The bystander effect occurs because diffusion of responsibility makes each person feel less accountable, while pluralistic ignorance leads people to assume others have assessed the situation as non-emergency.
Question 3: In Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave experiment, intergroup conflict was most effectively reduced through:
- Forced contact between groups
- Superordinate goals requiring cooperation (Correct answer)
- Increasing competition for rewards
- Separating the groups permanently
Correct answer: Superordinate goals requiring cooperation
Sherif found that superordinate goals—shared objectives requiring intergroup cooperation—were the most effective method for reducing intergroup hostility.
Question 4: Which theory proposes that people are motivated to maintain consistency between their attitudes and behaviors, and will change one to match the other?
- Social comparison theory
- Cognitive dissonance theory (Correct answer)
- Self-perception theory
- Balance theory
Correct answer: Cognitive dissonance theory
Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory states that inconsistency between cognitions creates psychological discomfort that motivates attitude or behavior change.
Question 5: The foot-in-the-door technique works primarily because of:
- Reciprocity norms
- Commitment and consistency principles (Correct answer)
- Social proof
- Scarcity effects
Correct answer: Commitment and consistency principles
Once people agree to a small request, they are motivated by commitment and consistency to agree to a larger related request to remain self-consistent.
Question 6: Basking in reflected glory (BIRGing) is a phenomenon in which people:
- Take credit for others' failures to protect self-esteem
- Associate themselves publicly with successful others to boost self-image (Correct answer)
- Conform to group norms under pressure
- Attribute others' success to situational factors
Correct answer: Associate themselves publicly with successful others to boost self-image
BIRGing involves publicly associating oneself with successful others (e.g., wearing a winning team's jersey) to enhance one's own social identity.
Question 7: Which concept explains why minority group members are sometimes judged more harshly for the same behavior exhibited by majority group members?
- The black sheep effect
- The contrast effect
- The ultimate attribution error (Correct answer)
- The social double standard
Correct answer: The ultimate attribution error
The ultimate attribution error describes the tendency to make dispositional attributions for minority group members' negative behavior while attributing their positive behavior to luck or special circumstances.
Psychology Degree Social and Group Behavior 2
Which phenomenon describes the tendency for people to perform better on simple tasks but worse on complex tasks when others are watching?