Essential Psychology
Student Resources
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An attribution refers to the behaviour of
- a conclusion made about someone’s disposition
- attributing someone’s behaviour to situational factors
- attributing a cause to an event
- attributing someone’s behaviour to their disposition
Answer: C
2. An evaluation of a target where we decide what we think and feel towards an object is
- a belief
- an attitude
- a prejudice
- an opinion
Answer: B
3. The tendency to attribute the actions of a person we are observing to their disposition, rather than to situational variables, is termed
- attribution bias
- dispositional attribution error
- fundamental attribution error
- dispositional bias
Answer: C
4. The actor–observer effect refers to the tendency of explaining other people’s behaviour in terms of
- dispositional factors
- situational factors
- both dispositional and situational factors
- neither dispositional nor situational factors
Answer: A
5. The phrase ‘ultimate attribution error’ refers to
- attributing positive behaviour of people in a liked group to their inherent goodness
- subconsciously attributing positive characteristics to a member of a disliked group
- the last social misjudgement a person will ever make
- maintaining prejudice and finding ways to explain away positive behaviour by a member of a disliked group
Answer: D
6. Correspondent inference theory (CIT) proposes a number of factors that determine the extent to which we attribute observed actions to a disposition or the situation. Which of the following is NOT one of those factors?
- desirability
- attractiveness
- hedonic relevance
- personalism
Answer: B
7. In his covariation model, Harold Kelley suggests there are three dimensions that we use to make our judgements of cause. Which of the following is NOT one of those dimensions?
- distinctiveness
- consistency
- desirability
- consensus
Answer: C
8. One of the main criticisms of the correspondent inference theory is that it
- underestimates the extent of our analyses of others’ behaviour
- does not explain unintentional behaviour
- does not consider internal factors
- ignores intentional actions
Answer: B
9. The term ‘motivated tactician’ refers to the idea that
- people make decisions based on different resource-intense and cost-saving strategies depending on the intended outcomes
- people make decisions based on flawed and simplistic knee-jerk reactions
- people make decisions after careful analysis of all the available data
- people make decisions by ignoring much of the available data and using only heuristics that save time and mental effort
Answer: A
10. Persons who attribute much of the cause of what happens to them to control from within themselves are said to have
- an internal locus of control
- an external locus of control
- an internal locum of control
- an external locum of control
Answer: A
11. The cognitive miser model proposes that
- we seek rational answers
- we use heuristics to make quick judgements
- we are influenced by others in making our judgements
- we are naïve scientists
Answer: B
12. The fundamental attribution error refers to
- the tendency to attribute the actions of others we are observing to their disposition
- the tendency to attribute our successes to our internal dispositions and our failures to external situational factors
- the tendency to explain others’ behaviour in terms of dispositional factors and our own behaviour in terms of situational factors
- the tendency to attribute the actions of others to situational factors
Answer: A
13. Fundamental attribution errors were initially identified by
- Ross (1977) and Jones (1979)
- Jones and Harris (1967)
- Jones and Davis (1965)
- Harris (1977) and Jones (1979)
Answer: B
14. The group attribution error refers to
- the tendency to assign an individual to a particular group based on their behaviour
- the tendency to make general inferences about a group from a single group member, or to assume that group behaviour reflects individual attitudes
- the tendency to attribute negative behaviour by an individual to the perceived characteristics of a group to which the individual belongs
- the tendency to assume that an individual only identifies with a single group rather than a set of overlapping or unrelated groups
Answer: B
15. The actor–observer effect was first observed by
- Jones and Nelson (1972)
- Jones and Norman (1972)
- Jones and Nisbett (1972)
- Jones and Nesbitt (1972)
Answer: C
16. According to the social learning theory, attitudes can be formed through
- observing our own behaviour
- our own experiences
- observing others
- innate drives
Answer: C
17. Social learning theories are based on the work of
- Bandura (1972)
- Heider (1958)
- Tajfel (1959)
- Kelley (1967)
Answer: A
18. The theory of planned behaviour was designed by
- Zajonc (1968)
- Azjen (1991)
- Fishbein (1975)
- Strack (1988)
Answer: B
19. Which of the following is NOT one of the three factors in the theory of planned behaviour?
- attitudes
- attributions
- subjective norms
- perceived control
Answer: B
20. The just-world hypothesis refers to
- a belief that people are basically honest and law abiding
- a belief that people generally get what they deserve and deserve what they get
- a belief that people should be socially responsible
- a belief that people should unite to create a just world
Answer: B
21. Which one of the following is NOT a step put forward by Latané and Darley (1969) under their bystander intervention model?
- noticing
- approaching
- interpreting
- provision of help
Answer: B
22. When examining the relationship between real-world and online altruistic behaviour, it was found that
- people commonly show a different level of altruism online compared to real-world situations
- people commonly show the same level of altruism online as they do in real-world situations
- people are commonly more aggressive and less altruistic online
- people are commonly less aggressive and more altruistic online
Answer: B
23. Which of the following is NOT one of the four different types of behaviour that Stevens, Cushman and Hauser (2005) suggest can be used to explain evolutionary prosociality?
- kin selection
- reciprocity
- mutualism
- empathy
Answer: D
24. Benson, Karabenick and Lerner (1976) found that their participants were more likely to help a person they considered
- to be an in-group member
- to be similar to them
- to have an attractive personality
- to be in a situation outside of their control
Answer: B
25. The act of helping out another person is referred to as
- social aiding
- prosocial behaviour
- social assistance
- social behaviour
Answer: B
26. In an evolutionary context, the term mutualism can be defined as
- the closer the relationship, the more the individual is willing to sacrifice
- one helps somebody else in the hope of future cooperation and repayment
- by punishing an individual for past behaviour, the punisher hopes to gain a future reward
- helping each other out is beneficial to everyone involved, and anybody who fails to cooperate will be worse off
Answer: D
27. In an evolutionary context, the term reciprocity can be defined as
- the closer the relationship, the more the individual is willing to sacrifice
- one helps somebody else in the hope of future cooperation and repayment
- by punishing an individual for past behaviour, the punisher hopes to gain a future reward
- helping each other out is beneficial to everyone involved, and anybody who fails to cooperate will be worse off
Answer: D
28. According to Wansik and Sobal, on average how many food-related decisions do people take each day?
- 20
- 50
- 100
- 200
Answer: D
29. The LaPiere study on the relationship between prejudiced attitudes and behaviour found that
- restaurants and hotels expressed few prejudiced attitudes but behaved with a lot of discrimination
- restaurants and hotels expressed a lot of prejudiced attitudes but behaved with little discrimination
- restaurants and hotels expressed a lot of prejudiced attitudes and behaved with a lot of discrimination
- restaurants and hotels expressed few prejudiced attitudes and behaved with little discrimination
Answer: B
30. The norm of social responsibility refers to
- the idea that we are all responsible for the creation of the society in which we live
- the idea that we should help people who are in need because they will likely help us in turn
- the idea that we should help people who are in need without expecting anything in return
- the idea that everyone has an obligation to engage in social activity
Answer: C