Chapter 5
The Role of Perception in Human Relations
Test Bank
1. Because we have to process information quickly, our brains use ____________ that help us
draw quick conclusions in a variety of situations.
a. mental shortcuts
b. logistic regression
c. brain wave evaluation
d. systematic assessment
2. In order to avoid the errors associated with mental shortcuts
a. we should avoid using them altogether.
b. we need to recognize how they influence our own judgments.
c. we should gain more experience using mental shortcuts to reduce errors.
d. we should have others monitor our use of mental shortcuts.
3. Paying more attention to initial information about a person or situation than to later
information is also known as the __________ effect.
a. focus
b. recency
c. primacy
d. moderating
4. Darren set his friend Mike up on a blind date. When Mike asked Darren to describe her, he
said, “She’s attractive, intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, and stubborn.” Mike
replied, “I like attractive and intelligent women.” Mike’s focus on the first words in the list
is an example of the ________ effect.
a. focus
b. recency
c. primacy
d. moderating
5. Solomon Asch (1946) gave participants in his study a list of characteristics about a person
they never met. One group read a list indicating the person was intelligent, industrious,
impulsive, critical, stubborn, and envious. The second group read the same list in reverse
order (i.e., envious, stubborn, critical, etc.). What was the outcome of this study?
a. Both groups formed positive impressions of the person.
b. Both groups formed negative impressions of the person.
c. The group who read the list starting with positive characteristics (i.e., intelligent,
industrious, etc.) rated their person more positively than the group who read the list
starting with the negative characteristics.
d. The group who read the list starting with positive characteristics (i.e., intelligent,
industrious, etc.) rated their person more negatively than the group who read the list
starting with the negative characteristics.
6. Why do we form impressions of people based on the first time we meet?
a. Because we usually meet people only one time.
b. As humans, we take multiple meetings to make impressions.
c. Because later impressions are more important we ignore early impressions
d. When we don’t know someone, we are motivated to gather information about the person
quickly.
7. One way to diminish the influence of primacy effect is to
a. rely instead on the recency effect.
b. be mindful of its existence and its power over our judgment.
c. only be influenced by positive information.
d. let the target person know that his or her first impression will be most influential on
you.
8. Ross was excited about attending a protest march in Washington, D.C., supporting abortion
rights for women. When he asked his girlfriend, Jane, to go, she remarked, “But, Ross, I am
pro-life.” Which cognitive bias contributed to Ross’ perception that Jane believed the same
way he did?
a. Primacy effect
b. False consensus bias
c. Confirmation bias
d. Fundamental attribution error
9. Assuming that other people perceive and interpret things the same way we do is also known
as
a. fundamental attribution error.
b. confirmation bias.
c. false consensus bias.
d. primacy effect.
10. Russ, Greene, and House (1977) asked college students to wear a sandwich-board sign that
said “Repent” and walk around campus for 30 minutes. Although only 50 percent of the total
number of students volunteering for the study agreed to wear the sign, those who did wear
the sign estimated 77 percent of the other participants would do it. Which cognitive bias
explains this difference?
a. Confirmation bias
b. False consensus bias
c. Primacy effect
d. Fundamental attribution error
11. When considering our talents, abilities, or positive qualities, we tend to see ourselves as
more unique than we actually are. This is known as the
a. false consensus bias.
b. false individual effect.
c. false uniqueness bias.
d. self-perception effect.
12. Although she has only been working out regularly for a month, Sandra underestimates the
likelihood her colleagues work out. Focusing on her positive behavior while underestimating
the likelihood others engage in the same activity is also known as
a. false consensus bias.
b. false uniqueness bias.
c. false individual effect.
d. self-perception effect.
13. The ________________involves our tendency to seek out and pay attention to information
that supports our preexisting notions, and also to ignore contradictory information.
a. primacy effect
b. false consensus bias
c. false uniqueness bias
d. confirmation bias
14. After meeting Jeff, Karyn thought she had found the man of her dreams. Although he began
to treat her badly, she ignored his negative behavior and interpreted his positive behaviors in
a way that was consistent with her preexisting notions. Karyn’s inability to see Jeff for who
he was is related to
a. the primacy effect.
b. false consensus bias.
c. false uniqueness bias.
d. confirmation bias.
15. The confirmation bias has two key components: The first is to look for evidence to confirm
our existing beliefs, and the second is to
a. interpret ambiguous information in a manner consistent with our own beliefs.
b. pay greater attention to the first information we get about a person or situation.
c. assume other people’s behavior is a result of their personality.
d. make sure you aren’t substituting your interpretation for the facts.
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16. Often we assume other people’s behavior is due to their personality, and we underestimate
the influence of the situation. This cognitive bias is also known as
a. confirmation bias.
b. false consensus bias.
c. false uniqueness bias.
d. fundamental attribution error.
17. Dr. Beasley noticed one of her students kept falling asleep during class. “He must be lazy
and unmotivated,” she thought. What she didn’t know was that her student, Pat, was
working the night shift before class. Dr. Beasley’s assumption that Pat’s sleeping was due to
laziness rather than his working situation is also known as
a. confirmation bias.
b. false consensus bias.
c. false uniqueness bias.
d. fundamental attribution error.
18. Attributing a person’s behavior to something about the person, his character, or personality
is called a(n) _______________ attribution.
a. situational
b. external
c. internal
d. motivational
19. Dee attributes Stan’s negative behavior to his general moodiness. She is making a(n)
____________ attribution.
a. internal
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b. external
c. situational
d. motivational
20. ___________ attributions are to the person whereas _____________ attributions are to the
situation.
a. External; internal
b. Situational; personal
c. Internal; external
d. Personal; situational
21. Cody is surprised when his wife, Jessica, snaps at him for no reason. Then he remembers
that she had a big presentation at work and was up the night before. If he assumes her
behavior is related to lack of sleep and stress at work, he is making a(n) _____________
attribution.
a. internal
b. external
c. personal
d. motivational
22. In considering why someone behaves the way he or she does, we can examine whether the
particular behavior typically occurs in that situation. This is also called ____________ in
Kelley’s (1967) model.
a. consistency
b. consensus
c. distinctiveness
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d. commitment
23. Marco is angry that his friend Anthony is late. Their movie starts in 15 minutes. One of the
pieces of information Marco uses to evaluate why his friend is late is whether Anthony has
been late other times they have plans. Which factor of Kelley’s (1967) model is Marco
considering?
a. Consistency
b. Consensus
c. Distinctiveness
d. Commitment
24. According to Kelley (1967), one way we can determine why a person behaves the way he or
she does is to examine whether the behavior of interest also occurs in other situations. This
component of the model is called
a. consistency.
b. consensus.
c. distinctiveness.
d. commitment.
25. Derek realized his girlfriend, Sherry, seemed particularly stressed out when it was exam
time, but not during other times. According to Kelley’s attributional model, Sherry’s
stressed-out behavior is
a. consistent.
b. distinctive.
c. similar to other’s.
d. committed.
26. Kelley’s (1967) attributional model suggests that determining whether other people typically
exhibit the same behavior in the same situation shows the presence or absence of
a. consistency.
b. consensus.
c. distinctiveness.
d. commitment.
27. After having lunch with her friend, Jean became very ill. She called her friend to determine
whether she was sick as well. According to Kelley (1967), Jean is looking for __________
to determine whether she has food poisoning.
a. consistency
b. consensus
c. distinctiveness
d. commitment
28. ____________ factors can influence our perception of a situation because individuals with
different levels of vision and hearing do not perceive the environment similarly to those with
normal vision and hearing.
a. Physiological
b. Cultural
c. Memory
d. Situational
29. Being tired, overwhelmed by stress, or busy at work can all influence our perceptions of
others. These three factors are examples of
a. physical senses.
b. physical states.
c. physical attributes.
d. cultural differences.
30. Research on beauty suggests people respond more favorably to others they find
a. unattractive.
b. physically attractive.
c. less attractive than them.
d. friendly.
31. Sophia, an attractive Italian model, has been diagnosed with depression as many times as
Eva, a less attractive college student majoring in accounting. Which of the following
statements best explains this?
a. Neither Sophia nor Eva earn very much money, and money is related to happiness.
b. Although Sophia is attractive, she may not think she’s attractive. This is the reason there
is no relation between attractiveness and happiness.
c. Both have been misdiagnosed.
d. Both are assumed by others to be attractive.
32. Jade has been somewhat down lately, and her friends are getting concerned. They suggest a
night on the town scoping out good-looking guys. According to Kenrick, Montello,
Gutierres, and Trost (1993), why might this work?
a. Drinking is a positive way to elevate her mood.
b. When we see attractive people of the opposite sex, our mood is more positive.
c. When we see attractive people of the same sex, our mood is elevated.
d. Being exposed to beauty rarely influences our mood.
33. One concern about the pursuit of thinness in Western culture is that
a. teenage girls are gaining too much weight.
b. 56% of teenage girls tried to lose weight because they perceived themselves as too
heavy.
c. as females pursue realistic weight goals, males are becoming more overweight.
d. most girls pursuing weight loss were truly overweight.
34. ___________ is the comfortable amount of distance between people in conversation.
a. Personal zone
b. Conversational zone
c. Conversational bubble
d. Personal space
35. At a recent party, Claire suddenly became uncomfortable when a person she didn’t know
well began talking with her only inches from her face. This stranger violated the rules of
which zone of Claire’s personal space?
a. Intimate
b. Personal
c. Social
d. Business
36. The intimate zone of personal space spans
a. 0-18 inches.
b. 18 inches to 4 feet.
c. 4-12 feet.
d. 12-20 feet.
37. The “intimate zone” of personal space applies to the distance we feel comfortable interacting
with
a. friends, acquaintances, and familiar coworkers.
b. closest friends and loved ones.
c. professional people we don’t know well.
d. individuals we don’t know at all.
38. The “personal zone” is the amount of space where we feel comfortable interacting with
a. friends, acquaintances, and familiar coworkers.
b. closest friends and loved ones.
c. professional people we don’t know well.
d. strangers.
39. Jason thought it was odd that his close friend Zach kept a greater distance from him than he
expected. Instead of 0-18 inches, Zach had suddenly kept his distance at least 4 or more feet
from Jason when they talked. This greater distance in personal space is usually referred to as
the
a. intimate zone.
b. personal zone.
c. social zone.
d. adversarial zone.
40. According to research on personal space, our urge to back up when another comes too close
allows us to
a. establish power during an interaction.
b. reestablish a comfortable distance.
c. reduce warmth between those talking.
d. diminish personal space boundaries between acquaintances.