Chapter 7: Behavioral Influences on Attitudes

1. In Regan and Fazio (1977)’s “puzzle” experiment, it was found that participants who had formed attitudes based on ______ predictors of the actual amount of time that they played with the puzzles.

  1. direct experience with the objects subsequently reported attitudes that were good
  2. written information subsequently reported attitudes that were strong
  3. direct experience with the objects subsequently reported attitudes that were weak
  4. none of these

Answer: A

2. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

  1. Attitudes based on direct experience are stronger predictors of subsequent behavior than attitudes based on indirect experience.
  2. We may incorporate negative experiences into our attitudes more quickly and strongly than positive experiences.
  3. Avoidance behavior causes us to learn less about an attitude object than approach behavior.
  4. Avoidance behavior yields more information since it is associated with self-preservation.

Answer: D

3. According to self-perception theory (Bem, 1965, 1972), ______.

  1. when internal cues are weak or ambiguous, the person deduces his/her attitude by observing their own behavior and the situation that produced it
  2. the favorability of which a person perceives themselves impact their moods, hence their attitude
  3. whenever a person pays attention to their own beliefs, their attitude is stronger
  4. whenever a person makes their self-worth salient, attitude strength is diminished

Answer: A

4. According to Albarracín and Wyer (2000), ______.

  1. the mere belief in having performed a behavior is not sufficient to shape attitudes
  2. the mere belief in having performed a behavior is sufficient to shape attitudes
  3. subsequent behavior was not consistent with the alleged prior action
  4. participants reported attitudes that were inconsistent with the alleged past behavior

Answer: B

5. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

  1. Self-perception theory indicates that we use our actions and the environment in which the actions occur to “guess” our attitudes.
  2. Self-perception is more likely for weaker attitudes, even when we merely believe that we have performed a particular behavior.
  3. Self-perception explains the effective use of small commitments to elicit greater compliance with requests.
  4. Self-perception does not explain the over-justification effect (Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973).

Answer: D

6. Effort justification considers how ______.

  1. hardship can influence attitudes
  2. new members’ performance of embarrassing rituals as a precursor to joining actually increases their liking for a group and helps the group’s long-term success
  3. cognitive dissonance makes new members more amenable to group demands and more committed to the group
  4. all of these

Answer: D

7. Axsom and Cooper’s (1985) experiment on effort justification for overweight participants showed that ______.

  1. neuropsychological arousal was associated with greater weight loss
  2. emotional sensitivity was associated with greater weight loss
  3. people may not only adjust their attitudes to justify their behavior – the behavior related to the attitude also changes
  4. participants dieted and exercised less effectively, because the cognitive tasks had nothing to do with losing weight

Answer: C

8. Post-decision spread occurs when ______.

  1. over time, participants grew to like a chosen item much less than the unchosen item
  2. the difference in preference grow larger after one item had been selected over the other
  3. there is no effect of dissonance
  4. all of these

Answer: B

9. The spreading apart of choice alternatives depends on a number of moderators, NOT including ______.

  1. reversibility of the decision
  2. behavioral approach sensitivity
  3. need for affect
  4. body posture

Answer: C

10. Counter-attitudinal advocacy depicts that ______.

  1. larger rewards help to explain participants’ dissonant cognitions about their behavior than smaller rewards
  2. the presence of higher justification for an unfavorable behavior leads to more favorable attitudes
  3. participants wish to look like people who act differently from how they feel
  4. we can ignore the social consequences of attitude expression when explaining the effects of counter-attitudinal behavior

Answer: A

11. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. Subjective reports of anger following a hypocrisy induction predict the amount of behavior change.
  2. Behavior change is increased after people are given an opportunity to misattribute their arousal to another variable.
  3. Contemplating our own hypocrisy can cause subsequent behavior or attitude change.
  4. all of these

Answer: C

12. What is the most prevalent explanation for the weighting bias in use of positive and negative information in attitude formation?

  1. Avoiding negative events protects us better from exposure to dangerous situations.
  2. Avoiding positive events protects us better from inflated expectations
  3. Approaching negative events enables us to better develop resilience
  4. Approaching positive events stimulates the brain’s reward centres.

Answer: A