EPPP: Part 1, Knowledge Quiz: Social Cognition Models

During a performance review, a manager observes that an employee, Alex, submitted a report with several errors. The manager concludes, 'Alex must be careless and lacks attention to detail.' Later that week, the manager submits their own report to a supervisor with several errors. When asked about it, the manager states, 'I was under an immense amount of pressure this week and had three other urgent deadlines to meet simultaneously.'

The manager's differing explanations for the same type of behavior BEST illustrates which social-cognitive phenomenon?

Two groups of campers at a summer camp initially have neutral attitudes toward each other. In the first week, the camp director introduces a week-long tournament where the groups must compete for a single, highly desirable prize. By the end of the week, the groups are openly hostile, calling each other names and refusing to interact.

Which theory of intergroup conflict provides the most direct explanation for the development of hostility in this scenario?

A researcher administers a difficult spatial reasoning test to a group of male and female participants who are all talented engineering students. In one condition, participants are told the test is simply a problem-solving exercise. In a second condition, participants are told the test is known to show gender differences in spatial ability. The researcher finds that women in the second condition perform significantly worse than women in the first condition, while men's scores are unaffected.

The impaired performance of the women in the second condition is the clearest example of:

An observer watches a person, Jamie, donate a large sum of money to a local charity at a public event. The observer concludes that Jamie is a genuinely generous person.

According to Jones and Davis's Correspondent Inference Theory, which of the following discoveries would MOST weaken the observer's internal attribution about Jamie's generosity?

A department head consistently praises his female subordinate for her 'nurturing' and 'supportive' nature, which he says 'holds the team together.' However, when a management position requiring 'assertive leadership' becomes available, he promotes a male colleague, stating that the female subordinate is 'too nice' for such a demanding role.

The department head's attitudes and behavior are best conceptualized as an example of:

A clinical psychology doctoral student receives a very high grade on their assessment practicum final evaluation. They attribute this success to their strong clinical skills and hard work. The following semester, they receive a mediocre grade on their statistics final exam and attribute this outcome to the professor's unfair grading and overly difficult questions.

This pattern of attributions most clearly demonstrates the:

A psychologist is leading a group therapy session for individuals who have experienced significant financial loss due to a Ponzi scheme. One group member repeatedly states, 'The other victims must have been greedy and foolish. I know I should have seen the signs; it's my own fault for being so careless.'

This group member's tendency to blame both themself and other victims for their misfortune is most consistent with which social-cognitive principle?

After seeing several dramatic news reports about a recent, highly unusual shark attack, a family decides to cancel their beach vacation, stating that swimming in the ocean is far too dangerous. They plan to drive to a mountain resort instead, despite statistical data showing that the risk of a fatal car accident is many thousands of times greater than the risk of a shark attack.

The family's biased risk assessment is most directly explained by the operation of the:

A school psychologist holds an initial belief that a student's academic difficulties are due to a conduct disorder. During the assessment, the psychologist focuses heavily on asking the student and their parents about instances of rule-breaking and aggression. The psychologist pays little attention to information suggesting the student has severe anxiety and reading difficulties that might better explain their classroom avoidance.

The psychologist's assessment strategy is being unduly influenced by:

A student from University X believes that the students at her school have a wide variety of interests, backgrounds, and personalities. After attending a conference with students from a rival school, University Y, she remarks to a friend, 'All the students from University Y seem the same; they're all preppy business majors.' This perception that 'they are all alike, but we are diverse' is known as the:

A hiring committee is reviewing applications for a job. The first candidate's file they review has a cover letter with a noticeable grammatical error. Despite the candidate having a stellar resume and glowing letters of recommendation, several committee members form a negative initial impression and continue to interpret the rest of the application materials in a more critical light than they do for subsequent candidates.

The committee's judgment is most likely being biased by:

Research using computer simulations where participants must quickly decide whether to 'shoot' targets who are holding either a weapon or a harmless object (e.g., a phone) has consistently found that participants are more likely to mistakenly shoot an unarmed Black target than an unarmed White target. This phenomenon is referred to as:

A politician is asked about racial inequality. They respond, 'I believe everyone should be treated the same, regardless of race. That's why I oppose affirmative action and other race-based policies; they just give an unfair advantage to minorities and discriminate against the majority. Racism isn't a major problem anymore.' This perspective is a classic example of:

A white psychologist, who prides himself on his egalitarian beliefs and commitment to social justice, is conducting intake interviews. When interviewing a white client, he is warm, makes good eye contact, and asks many open-ended follow-up questions. When interviewing a Black client with a similar presenting problem, he is professionally polite but more reserved, sits slightly further away, and concludes the interview five minutes earlier. He is unaware of these behavioral differences.

This psychologist's behavior is most characteristic of:

A client tells their psychologist that they are upset with a coworker, Pat, who was late for a crucial meeting. The client says, 'Pat is just an irresponsible person.' The psychologist inquires further and learns that Pat is almost never late for anything else (work, deadlines, social events) and that everyone else on the team was also late for the same meeting due to a massive, unexpected traffic jam.

According to Kelley's Covariation Model of attribution, the information provided suggests that the client's internal attribution for Pat's behavior is likely an error. Which set of factors from the model best explains why an external attribution is more appropriate?

A Black university professor submits a manuscript to a prestigious academic journal and receives a rejection with several harsh and somewhat ambiguous criticisms from an anonymous reviewer. The professor finds himself wondering, 'Was my paper rejected because it truly lacked merit, or was the reviewer biased against me because of my race?'

The professor's state of uncertainty about the cause of the negative feedback is best described as:

A psychologist is studying societal attitudes toward two different outgroups. Group A is perceived as having low socioeconomic status and being non-competitive with the mainstream population (e.g., the elderly). Group B is perceived as having high socioeconomic status and being highly competitive with the mainstream (e.g., wealthy immigrants).

According to Fiske's Stereotype Content Model, what types of prejudice are MOST likely directed toward Group A and Group B, respectively?

A large corporation implements a diversity initiative by creating mixed-race teams to work on various projects. However, after six months, a survey reveals that racial tensions and stereotyping have actually increased. A review of the program finds that the teams were given competitive goals, team leaders were not trained in facilitating intergroup contact, and upper management rarely acknowledged the initiative or its goals.

According to Allport's contact hypothesis, the failure of this initiative is BEST explained by the absence of which critical condition?

A person holds a strong stereotype that people who are homeless are lazy. They meet an individual who is homeless but who works two part-time jobs and spends evenings trying to learn a new skill. To maintain their original stereotype, the person thinks, 'Well, this person is a rare exception; they are not like the others at all.'

This cognitive strategy for dealing with information that disconfirms a stereotype is best described as: