Social Psychology
Study Guide # 3
1) Define self-handicapping "strategies" and the attributional
functions that they serve.
2) Describe how the process of misattribution functioned in the study to
reduce speech anxiety.
3) Describe the actor-observer effect and some reasons why it may occur?
4) Discuss the power of social roles and how this can affect the
accuracy of the perceptions of and others (e.g., ability).
5) Explain how extrinsic rewards can affect (reduce) the motivation of
people who intrinsically enjoy a task.
6) Explain the availability heuristic and the consequences it
can have.
7) Discuss how schemas can influence how we remember, perceive,
and behave (e.g., effects of occupational labels, use of
words ["smashed" vs. "hit"] in car crash research, phone
conversation and physical attractiveness study).
8) Differentiate between internal, external, stable, and
unstable attributions.
9) Describe the theories of interpersonal attraction of Byrne
(attitude similarity) and Rosenbaum ("repulsion hypothesis").
10) Discuss the findings of the "bridge" study and the
implications it has for how we label emotional states.
11) Summarize the findings of the study on gender differences
in attributions for friendly behavior.
12) Give some reasons as to why attitude similarity can lead to increased
interpersonal attraction.
13) Explain how Kelley’s dimensions of consistency, consensus,
and distinctiveness can affect attributions.
14) State the benefits of being physically attractive and the
"matching" hypothesis.
15) Discuss the social exchange theory of relationships (e.g.,
costs, benefits, comparison level).
16) Explain some of the more recent approaches to understanding
interpersonal relationships (e.g., thoughts about
interactions, search/detection process, use of narratives).
17) Explain how people communicate differently when speaking to
a casual versus an intimate friend.
18) Describe the stages of the "life cycle" of relationships.
19) State the 6 basic (universal) emotions.
20) Describe the various types (e.g., emblems, adaptors) and
functions of non-verbal behavior. and the gender, status, and
cultural differences that exist in their usage.
21) Discuss the literature on the accuracy of detecting
deception, why it is important to study, and the factors
(cues) that relate to detecting deception.
22) Explain the various types of love as described by Sternberg.
23) State the gender differences in mate preferences and self-reported sexual behavior.
24) Describe (and state the effects of) the Death Qualification Procedure.
25) Explain some of the issues realted to identifying people through a lineup.
26) State the various issues related to eyewitness testimony.
27) Describe Rape Shield Laws and the effects of admitting a female's past sexual history on jury decision-making.
28) Discuss the effectiveness of various jury selection procedures, pre-trial publicity, and "inadmissible" evidence.