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PSY325: Practice Test #2
1. Research on the influence of individuals on groups suggests that those in the minority (i.e. minority
opinions, not ethnic minority) are most influential when they
A) make use of two-sided rather than one-sided appeals.
B) consistently and unswervingly stick to their position.
C) argue positions that are greatly discrepant from the majority position.
D) show respect for the majority position.
2. The buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies is called
A) private territory.
B) protective covering.
C) personal space.
D) intimacy quotient.
3. Going along with the crowd because they appear to know more about the situation than you do is called
A) pluralistic influence.
B) normative influence.
C) cohesion-based influence.
D) informational influence.
4. From the results of Milgram's studies that manipulated the distance between teacher and learner, one could
conclude that
A) it would be more disturbing to ignore many people starving in a foreign land than a single neighbor
who needs food.
B) it would be more disturbing to kill another with one's bare hands than with a gun.
C) ironically it may be more difficult to dehumanize a stranger than a close friend.
D) group cohesiveness breeds aggression.
5. Compared to happy people, unhappy people ruminate more before reacting to a persuasive message and
thus are
A) more vulnerable to emotional appeals.
B) less easily swayed by weak arguments.
C) less involved in judging persuasive messages.
D) more vulnerable to one-sided messages.
6. The term gender role refers to
A) enduring behaviors, attitudes, and traditions transmitted from one generation to the next.
B) a set of behavior expectations for males or females.
C) a rule for accepted and expected behavior.
D) the personality characteristics by which people define male and female.
7. Which of the following statements about the recency effect is true?
A) Recency effects are more common than primacy effects.
B) It is more likely to occur when a delay occurs before the audience is asked to commit to a choice.
C) It probably occurs because early arguments have faded from memory.
D) All of the above.
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8. The fact that all human societies engage in communal sharing, rank people by authority and status, and
have ideas about economic justice would be emphasized by the _____________ perspective.
A) psychoanalytic
B) communitarian
C) evolutionary
D) cultural
9. Sincere inward conformity is to _________ as insincere outward conformity is to _____.
A) acceptance; reactance
B) reactance; submission
C) obedience; compliance
D) acceptance; compliance
10. Communicators with little credibility are most effective in changing the opinions of other people when they
advocate positions that
A) arouse the emotions of the audience.
B) arouse intense dissonance in the audience.
C) differ only moderately from the positions of the audience.
D) differ markedly from the positions of the audience.
11. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that males are sexually assertive while females are more selective of
sexual partners because
A) worldwide, males outnumber females.
B) each strategy is likely to promote gene survival.
C) males and females are socialized differently.
D) of differences in brain chemistry.
12. Individuals who believe that physician-assisted suicide should be legalized meet to discuss the issue.
Research on group interaction suggests that after discussion the individuals will be
A) more likely to question the wisdom of legalizing physician-assisted suicide.
B) even more convinced that physician-assisted suicide should be legalized.
C) sharply divided over whether physician-assisted suicide should be legalized.
D) opposed to the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.
13. With respect to the “two-step flow” of communication, which of the following most accurately describes
the influence of media on public attitudes, opinions, and behaviors?
A) media influences have little effect on people's attitudes.
B) media influences only have an effect on opinion leaders, but the influence stops there.
C) media influences may have a big indirect effect on the culture.
D) None of the above.
14. A local charity is recruiting college sorority members to help them canvass to raise money. Of the
following individuals, who are equally well-known and popular on campus, who should be the most
persuasive in raising funds for the charity?
A) Marcie, well known for her stinginess when it comes to money
B) Jennifer, well known for her outgoing and fun-loving personality
C) Mary, well known for her generosity and compassion
D) Beth, well known for her leadership abilities
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15. In a study at the University of Georgia regarding anonymity and aggression, women who donned white
nurses' uniforms and were made anonymous became _____ than when their names and personal identities
were emphasized.
A) less sympathetic to patients' needs
B) more sympathetic to patients' needs
C) less aggressive in administering shock
D) more aggressive in administering shock
16. Knowing that someone is trying to coerce you may prompt you to do the opposite of that person's wishes.
This response is predicted by
A) reactance theory.
B) the theory of normative social influence.
C) Milgram's theory of obedience.
D) social norms theory.
17. Fletch is excellent at organizing his employees, setting goals and focusing on achieving those goals for the
company. Fletch appears to excel in
A) social leadership.
B) laissez faire leadership.
C) task leadership.
D) masculine leadership.
18. As children, girls are more likely than boys to
A) play in groups.
B) display conflict.
C) display sharing.
D) All of the above.
19. A person who is both ____________________ would be considered androgynous.
A) assertive and nurturing
B) intelligent and athletic
C) moral and competent
D) good and evil
20. Making group members' performance individually identifiable seems to be one effective strategy for
reducing
A) social facilitation.
B) social loafing.
C) minority influence.
D) group polarization.
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
You have been hired by the Red Cross to help increase blood donations. Having previously studied persuasion
techniques, use your knowledge of the following techniques to increase blood donations (explain and use
specific examples for each technique).
Door in the Face
Lowball Technique
That’s Not All Technique

Discuss the issue of Eugenics. Historically, how has it been linked to intelligence testing?
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Answers (don’t cheat – do the test first)
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Short Answers
#1:
Door in the Face:
Start with a very large request that will be denied. Then you give a smaller (your real) request (has to be done
quickly and by same requester). They are more likely to give in to your second request because of reciprocity (you
made a concession to them by coming down and so they reciprocate by coming up in their behavior by doing what
you request)
e.g. you could ask people to donate $5000 to the Red Cross. When they say no, you immediately (and it has to be
the same person asking both requests) ask them if they would donate a pint of blood.
Lowball
Get people to agree to a small initial request and then hit them with hidden costs. The key here is that you don’t
really make it a second request but try to make it sound like a requirement. Has to be done pretty quickly and by
same requester. This works because of consistency and impression management. People don’t want to appear
wishy washy and back out of a deal and have the other person think negative things about them.
e.g. Get them to sign a petition to increase federal funding to blood banks. Then you tell them that they now have
to go over to the donation tables and give a pint of blood and sign their contract to be a regular bi-monthly donator.
When initially signing the petition, they are now more likely to just go along and give blood and sign the blood
donation contract (2 hidden costs) because they are reluctant to back out of what they see as a “deal”.
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That’s Not All Technique
You present a request and before the person can make a decision you “sweeten” a deal with someone by adding
incentives. The key is, though, that the incentives are things that were already part of the real request. You just
make it look like they are getting extra things. They are more likely to say yes because of reciprocity, in that you
have made concessions to them and given them more than your original request so the reciprocate by giving you
what you want.
e.g. stop someone and ask if they would like to donate blood – and before they give an answer, you tell them that
you will give them an “I give blood” pin, and free juice. Then you tell them that there’s more… they will also get
some cookies and coupons from local businesses and will be entered into a draw for $100.
#2:
Eugenics is the idea that positive behaviors or characteristics can be increased in the human population (and that
negative behaviors or characteristics can be decreased) through “selective breeding”. The world will be better if we
promote the “passing on” of the best genes. This can take two forms:
Positive Eugenics is the rewarding of the “desired” population for reproducing (such as land, objects, merchandise,
jobs, money). Negative Eugenics is the prevention of “undesired” population for reproducing (such as castration,
removal of privileges, segregation).
It has been linked to the intelligence movement in that there have been people who believe that intelligence is a
single thing and that it can be passed down (biologically or genetically) generationally. For some there have been
concerns that the world intelligence has been declining because less intelligent people have been overpopulating.
For example, US immigration policies have historically limited immigration of Central European and African
immigrants from entering the country (a negative eugenic policy) because they were deemed biologically inferior
and would “dumb down” the US overall intelligence if they bred here. There are still those that advocate the idea
that the dumb are overpopulating North America and we should limit immigration to those from “smarter” nations.
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