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Activity 2.2 Social Psychology and Common Sense
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True or False?

Are some psychological findings counterintuitive? Try your hand at answering each of the following questions. You'll find that evidence supporting each answer will be provided in the text's modules as indicated at the end of the quiz.



1

Most of us have quite accurate insight into the factors that influence our moods.
A)True
B)False
2

Most people rate themselves as worse-than-average socially desirable characteristics.
A)True
B)False
3

Memory is like a storage chest in the brain, into which we deposit material and from which we can withdraw it later if needed. Occasionally, something gets lost from the "chest" and then we say we have forgotten.
A)True
B)False
4

People's behavior is best predicted in terms of their personalities or inner dispositions.
A)True
B)False
5

To alter the way people act, one needs first to change their hearts and minds.
A)True
B)False
6

People who are made self-conscious by looking into a mirror act more in line with their attitudes.
A)True
B)False
7

The greater the reward promised for an activity, the more one will come to enjoy the activity.
A)True
B)False
8

In overall vocabulary, happiness, and intelligence, males and females are not noticeably different.
A)True
B)False
9

In countries everywhere, girls spend more time helping with housework and child-care, while boys spend more time in unsupervised play.
A)True
B)False
10

Most people would disobey an authority who orders them to hurt a stranger.
A)True
B)False
11

Persuaders will always be more effective if they focus on sound logic and argumentation.
A)True
B)False
12

Messages from sources with little credibility often grow in their ability to influence us as time passes.
A)True
B)False
13

People pull harder in a tug-of-war when part of a team than when pulling by themselves.
A)True
B)False
14

The greater the cohesiveness or "we feeling" in a group, the more likely the group will make a good decision.
A)True
B)False
15

When White and Black students are shown faces of a few White and Black individuals and then asked to pick these individuals out of a photographic lineup, both White and Black students more accurately recognize the White faces than the Black.
A)True
B)False
16

In a recent national survey, only a minority of Americans indicated that they would be willing to see a homosexual doctor.
A)True
B)False
17

To be mentally healthy, people need an opportunity to act out, and thus to vent, their aggression.
A)True
B)False
18

The more often we see something -- even if we don't like it at first -- the more we grow to like it.
A)True
B)False
19

As suggested by the dumb-blond idea, physically attractive men and women tend to be looked on by others as colder, dumber, and less moral than the plainer people.
A)True
B)False
20

Opposites attract.
A)True
B)False
21

One of the best predictors of whether any two people are friends is their sheer proximity, or geographical nearness, to one another.
A)True
B)False
22

When we feel guilty, we are more likely to help those around us.
A)True
B)False
23

If you want to buy a new car at the best price, it is best to adopt a tough bargaining stance by opening with a very low offer rather than with a sincere, "good faith" offer.
A)True
B)False
24

Depressed persons tend to be unrealistic in their perceptions of themselves.
A)True
B)False
25

Despite conventional wisdom, people's desire to develop a meaningful philosophy of life has not changed over the past 30 years or so.
A)True
B)False
26

Million-dollar lottery winners and people who are paralyzed report roughly similar levels of happiness.
A)True
B)False







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