Spring 2006
Psych 360H
Review Questions for Exam 2 (to be administered on Tuesday, May 16)
The test will cover material on Aronson et al. Chapters 8-13, and Cialdini chapters 3-7, and all in
class material associated with these chapters. (I will not ask specific questions about the other
articles in the course packet, although you may want to use information from the articles as
research evidence to support some of your answers.)
The format will be the same as the previous exam. When you define terms or concepts in your
essays, please try to be as precise and specific as possible. Concepts often differ in subtle (but
important) ways. One useful studying strategy is to compare and contrast terms, especially those
that appear to be somewhat similar.
Some questions will ask you to support your answer with empirical evidence; in these cases,
you will need to be able to state clearly the findings of specific research studies (either from the
texts, readings, or from those discussed in class). You need not include a detailed description of
the method or the authors’ names; however, you will need to provide enough information so that
I can determine which study you are describing.
The best way to study is to prepare answers for all of the questions below. A subset of these
questions (or variants of these questions) will appear on the exam.
Chapter 8 & associated material:
Definitions: conformity, public compliance versus private acceptance, informational social
influence, social impact theory, door-in-the-face technique, foot-in-the-door effect, social
influence, obedience
1. Compare and contrast the findings of Sherif’s (1936) study using the autokinetic effect and
Asch’s line judgment studies. In what ways were they similar? In what ways were they
different? (Hint: Be sure to discuss whether the effects can be explained by informational social
influence or normative social influence.)
2. List three conditions under which people are most likely to conform in the Asch paradigm.
(This question is very short answer – just list the conditions.)
3. How did features of the situation influence obedience in Milgram’s studies? Discuss (a)
Milgram’s variations on his original study, noting how specific situational variations altered the
results, and (b) how at least two social influence concepts described by Cialdini might have
played a role in increasing obedience.
4. How are similarity and physical attractiveness related to the persuasiveness of a
communication? Support your answer using findings from at least 1 empirical study for each
concept.
Chapter 13 & associated material:
Definitions: prejudice, stereotype, discrimination, out-group homogeneity, illusory correlation,
ultimate attribution error, stereotype threat, realistic conflict theory, modern prejudice, contact
hypothesis, jigsaw classroom, bogus pipeline
5. Distinguish between old-fashioned (blatant) prejudice/racism and more modern (subtle)
prejudice/racism. Describe the findings of at least two studies demonstrating more subtle forms
of prejudice.
6. Is race a meaningful biological category? Why or why not?
7. What is social identity theory? What were Fein & Spencer’s findings (study with job
applicant who was either Jewish or non-Jewish), and how are they relevant to social identity
theory?
8 Describe six conditions under which direct contact between groups will reduce prejudice. In
what ways did the Robbers Cave study help us to understand these conditions? How are these
conditions incorporated into Eliot Aronson’s jigsaw technique?
9. Define stereotype threat and describe the findings of at least two studies demonstrating this
concept.
10. Even when people do not want to stereotype, be prejudiced, or discriminate, they still may
do so. Why do unwanted stereotypes persist? Support your answer by describing the findings of
two empirical studies that demonstrate the effects of unwanted stereotypes.
11. What is the Implicit Association Task (IAT)? What does it tell us about stereotyping and
prejudice?
12. What mechanisms allow the jigsaw classroom method to effectively reduce prejudice?
Chapter 9 (groups) and associated material:
Definitions: social facilitation, social loafing, deindividuation, groupthink, group polarization
1. What were the general points demonstrated by the Stanford Prison Simulation (Zimbardo)?
For example, how were the participants assigned to be prisoners or guards? How did each group
respond to the study?
2. What consistent findings have emerged across many studies of social facilitation? Why does
the presence of others cause arousal? Discuss explanations involving arousal/alertness,
evaluation apprehension, and distraction.
3. What is deindividuation? Describe two reasons why deindividuation might lead to more
impulsive (and often destructive) actions.
4. What is groupthink? Under what conditions is it most likely to occur? What conditions
reduce its likelihood?
5. What is group polarization? Describe the two main interpretations for the group polarization
effect.
Chapter 10 (interpersonal attraction) and associated materials
Definitions: propinquity, mere exposure effect, social exchange theory, equity theory,
companionate versus passionate love, communal versus exchange relationships
1. Describe at least three determinants of initial interpersonal attraction. For each determinant,
describe at least one research study demonstrating its role. (You may want to incorporate
material from Cialdini, Chapter 5).
2. How can we define what is attractive? What arguments and evidence support the idea that we
have objective standards for beauty? What arguments and evidence support the idea that
standards for beauty are subjective (i.e., in the eye of the beholder?
3. Explain the concept of mere exposure (Zajonc). Describe the findings of study by Zajonc and
colleagues (lecture) in which women read a passage outloud while listening to novel melodies
that were played below conscious awareness.
4. Compare and contrast social exchange theory and equity theory.
5. In lecture, we discussed a study (Major et al., 1984) in which attractive and unattractive
people wrote an essay while they were either seen or not seen by an evaluator. What were the
findings of this study? What does this study add to our knowledge of the effects of physical
attractiveness? (Hint: For example, what does this work tell us about physical attractiveness that
we might not know from work supporting the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype?)
6. Define excitation transfer (from class). How is this concept relevant to the study (Dutton &
Aron, 1974) in which men crossed a scary suspension bridge or a more standard bridge? What
were the findings of this study, and how might they be relevant to understanding initial
attraction? What was a major limitation of this study?
7. In a study of arranged marriages and love marriages (Gupta & Singh, 1982) in India, how did
love change over time in each group? What are some possible reasons for these different
patterns?
8. What did the video on the “Love Lab” (John Gottman’s lab at University of Washington)
suggest about the role of conflict in marriage? What kinds of measures do the researchers collect
when assessing the couples? How well can Gottman predict who will stay together and who will
divorce?
9. Define psychological reactance and briefly explain (a) how the concept might explain the
strong attraction between Romeo and Juliet and (b) how it is related to the scarcity principle.
(Cialdini, Chapter 7)
10. According to the chocolate chip cookies study by Worchel, Lee, and Adewole (Cialdini,
Chp. 7), what two conditions enhance the effect of the scarcity principle?
11. What are the characteristics of communal versus exchange relationships?
12. Define the what-is-beautiful is good stereotype. How is it relevant to the idea of selffulfilling prophecy? Briefly describe the findings of one study that demonstrates this point.
Chapter 11 (prosocial behavior) & associated material
Definitions: prosocial behavior, altruism, empathy, norm of reciprocity, bystander effect,
negative state relief hypothesis, pluralistic ignorance, diffusion of responsibility.
1. Compare and contrast the 3 theories of why people help (evolutionary, social exchange,
empathy-altruism).
2. Describe how the presence of bystanders affects helping. Be sure to mention the five
decision-making steps that can influence the choice to help. Then, describe briefly the findings
of two research studies that demonstrate the bystander effect.
3. Describe the principle of social proof. Under what two conditions is social proof most likely
to be influential? (Cialdini, Chapter 4)
Chapter 12 (aggression) & associated material
Definitions: aggression, amygdala, serotonin, testosterone, social learning theory, catharsis
1. Why are instinct theories (i.e., Freud or Lorenz’s theories) of aggression not widely accepted?
(Discuss their limitations.)
2. What norms characterize a “culture of honor?” What are the findings of research by Richard
Nisbett , Dov Cohen and colleagues on homicide rates between Southerners and Northerners?
What is the role of insults in this research? Describe the general design of the experiments
conducted by Nisbett, Cohen, and others (described in your text and in class). What were the
main findings?
3. Discuss two neural and/or chemical influences on aggression and describe at least one
research study relevant to each influence.
4. Does exposure to violence in the media increase aggression in children? In adults? Support
your answer with the findings of at least 2 research studies.
5. What is catharsis? Although people often believe that we should “vent” our aggression, what
does the research suggest about the success of this practice? (Describe the findings of at least
one specific research study.)
6. What is the difference between identical and fraternal twins? Why are they used in research
that tries to address genetic issues? What are the findings of twin studies on aggression/criminal
behavior? What are the limitations of this research?
7. What general point(s) were made in the video about the “Mind of a Killer” (discussed serial
killer Joel Rifkin)? That is, what region of the brain seemed to be different in killers? What role
might environmental factors have played? Did the video point to any specific environmental
factors in the life of the man featured in the video that might have led to Rifkin’s violent
behavior?
8. Longitudinal work by Eron & Huesmann (to be discussed in class) examined the association
between watching TV violence and aggression. Boys were studied at ages 8, and again at ages 19
and 30. What were the main findings of this research?
9. How does watching pornography affect men’s beliefs and behavior toward women? Support
your answer by briefly describing the findings of at least two empirical studies.
10. Does exposure to violence in the media lead people to become more violent? Why or why
not? Support your answer with empirical (research) evidence from your text, Cialdini, and/or
lecture.