EXAMPLE QUESTIONS for Social Psychology

ABOUT THE EXAMS

General tips:

You do need to know the specific names for all the concepts we are learning. I understand this can be challenging (we social psychologists like to name things). Do your best.
Be sure you can explain the concept in your own words, and that you can generate your own example for the concept.
Except for those studies we read in their entirety as supplemental readings and/or the "big" studies covered in depth in class or in your text (e.g., Milgram's obedience research) I will not be asking you to spit back author names, dates, or super-specific details of the numerous studies you'll be reading about. I may, however, describe the basic outline of a study in a question then ask you to predict the results. So, you need to understand the studies you read about as examples of/demonstrations of the concepts we are learning.

Example Questions

Below are several multiple choice questions that represent the type of questions you will encounter on the exams in this course. You should note that these are example questions with random content. These are NOT meant to review the material. Remember, information from the textbook, supplemental readings AND the lecture material may be included in the exam.

Feel free to come to my office hours (or set up a time to meet with me) to go over any questions you have, or to double check your understanding of any concepts.

Which of the following research questions is a social psychologist most likely to pursue?

a) To what extent does extraversion influence a person's tendency to obey authority figures?
b) The greatest voter participation in the last election came from members of which socioeconomic class?
c) To what extent does the attractiveness of a speaker influence the persuasiveness of that speaker's message?

(Answer: C. Answer A would be researched by a personality psychologist most likely, and B sounds more like something a sociologist would study.)

Charles has just seen a play in which Troy portrayed the villain. Troy's performance was brilliant and quite convincing. Despite knowing that Troy was just acting, Charles insists that Troy must have a mean, devious, and villainous side to his personality. This belief is being influenced by

a) the fundamental attribution error.
b) automatic processing.
c) channel factors.

(Answer: A - although automatic processing is involved, A provides a more specific and direct answer. Channel factors are not relevant to the information provided in the question stem.)

Joey meets Monica for the first time in the hallway outside of their respective apartments. They flirt with each other for a few minutes, and then Monica invites Joey in for a glass of lemonade. While she is making the lemonade in the kitchen, Joey takes off all his clothes and prepares for a romantic encounter. Monica arrives with the lemonade and is shocked!! A social psychologist would say that Joey and Monica have very different ____________ regarding this situation.

a) construals
b) theories of mind
c) stereotypes

(Answer: A - Theories of mind is an entirely different concept. Stereotypes are more specifically defined as generalizations about a person based on his or her group membership. That leaves A which also has the advantages of being correct, relevant and the concept we discussed in class for this example.)

Greenwald, McGhee, and Schwartz (1998) found that some of their participants denied being prejudiced toward blacks in a survey, but that these same participants were slower to identify pleasant words when they were paired with a black versus a white face in a computer task. Denying prejudice in a survey is a consequence of a(n) ____________ process, while slower identification of words reflects a(n) _______________ process.

a) automatic; controlled
b) controlled; automatic
c) universal; stereotyped

(Answer: B - Answer C is a foil, there is no "universal process." This is an example in which remembering the specific study is not necessary. What you do need to remember is that surveys would involve conscious, self-reported answers which are provided by controlled processes. Reaction time tasks would involve behavioral responses which are difficult to consciously change and, thus, provide an indication of the automatically generated beliefs of the subject.)