Chapter 8

Conformity: Influencing Behavior

Total Assessment Guide (T.A.G.)

Question
Topic Factual Conceptual Application
Type
Multiple Choice 1
Introduction Essay
Conformity: Multiple Choice 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 2, 5
When and Why
Essay

Informational Multiple Choice 21, 28, 36, 45 14, 18, 27, 29, 30, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15,
Social Influence: 32, 35, 37, 40, 41, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22,
The Need to 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31,
Know What’s 50, 52, 54 33, 34, 38, 39, 44,
“Right” 49, 51, 53
Essay 184, 185, 188 180 181, 183
Normative Multiple Choice 57, 61, 65, 72, 74, 54, 55, 56, 60, 64, 58, 59, 62, 63, 66,
Social influence: 77, 82, 83, 89, 99, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 67, 68, 70, 79, 81,
The Need to Be 110, 113, 117 78, 80, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93,
Accepted 90, 94, 96, 101, 106, 95, 97, 98, 100, 102,
107, 108, 109, 116, 103, 104, 105, 111,
118 112, 114, 115
Essay 185, 186, 188, 189, 182 183, 187, 190, 192
191,
Strategies for Multiple Choice 119, 127, 128, 134, 122, 123, 124, 125, 120, 121, 126, 129,
Using Social 136, 139, 140, 143, 131, 137, 141 130, 132, 133, 135,
Influence 144, 146, 147 138, 142, 145
Essay 194 195
Obedience to Multiple Choice 148, 149, 150, 163, 151, 152, 153, 154, 158, 167
Authority 168, 170, 171, 172, 155, 156, 157, 159,
174, 175, 176, 178 160, 161, 162, 164,
165, 166, 169, 173,
177, 179
Essay 193,, 196, 197 198

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 CHAPTER 8 CONFORMITY: INFLUENCING BEHAVIOR
_______________________________________________________________________________

Multiple Choice
1. The authors of your text describe a series of horrible telephone hoaxes that were done a few years ago in which
a caller falsely identified himself as a police officer and had restaurant managers perform unnecessary strip
searches and other degrading acts on subordinates. The fact that the managers he called actually did what he
instructed them to do illustrates that people very readily
a. give up personal freedoms in this post 9/11 world.
b. follow their stereotypes.
c. will obey someone they think is in authority.
d. seek opportunities to exploit those with less power.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 227–228
Topic: Introduction
Skill: CONCEPTUAL

2. Alejandro has changed his behavior because of the real or imagined presence of others. This is known as
a. conformity.
b. obedience.
c. interdependence.
d. cooperation.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 230
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

3. According to your text, our construals of the concept “conformity” are shaped by
a. personality differences.
b. social psychologists.
c. our cultural self-image.
d. situational pressures.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 228
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

4. The United States has celebrated independence and rugged individualism from the time of its inception. This
suggests that American attitudes toward conformity are
a. generally positive.
b. situation-specific.
c. generally negative.
d. interdependent.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 228
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

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5. Bob is from Michigan. He’s familiar with cultural norms that emphasize
a. conformity.
b. cooperation.
c. individuality.
d. obedience to authority.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 228
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

6. There have been great examples of social influence and terrible examples of social influence. As an example,
what do the Heaven’s Gate followers and the “Freedom Riders” in the American civil rights movement have in
common? They
a. fell under the spell of strong, punitive, charismatic leaders.
b. were frustrated, and this frustration caused them to behave aggressively.
c. confronted extreme and confusing situations, and looked to others to decide how to behave.
d. lacked independence, and thus surrendered control to powerful others.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 229
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

7. When “Freedom Riders” conformed with their group of fellow civil rights activists, they conformed by
behaving ________, but when soldiers in the Vietnamese village of My Lai conformed, they behaved
________, illustrating that conformity itself it not always simply good or bad.
a. violently; nonviolently
b. emotionally; logically
c. peacefully; violently
d. as individuals; as a group
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 229–230
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

8. According to the authors of your text, what is the most plausible explanation as to why the U.S. soldiers
followed their lieutenant’s orders to massacre the citizens of the peaceful village of My Lai during the Vietnam
War?
a. They were conforming in a confusing situation.
b. They were bloodthirsty assassins.
c. Soldiers tend to be more aggressive than the average person.
d. They were expressing implicit prejudice.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 230
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

9. The authors of your text suggest that there are two major motivations for people to conform:
a. not knowing what to do in a confusing situation and wishing to avoid ridicule and rejection.
b. not knowing what to do in a confusing situation and seeking clear direction from an authority figure.
c. wishing to avoid ridicule and rejection and hoping to attain power.
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 d. not knowing what to do in a confusing situation and hoping to attain power.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 230
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

10. Wendy’s roommate is laying out her clothes for the first day of classes. Wendy wasn’t sure what to wear but
now has an idea and picks her outfit to be similar. This type of conformity arises from
a. normative social influence.
b. voluntary obedience.
c. unintentional social influence.
d. informational social influence.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

11. It’s Libby’s first day in college. When she approaches the professor to have an “add” form signed, she listens to
other students to see if they address the professor as “Professor,” “Dr.,” “Mrs.,” or by her first name, and then
she does the same. This is an example of
a. situational uncertainty.
b. informational social influence.
c. normative social influence.
d. situational interdependence.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

12. Victor goes to a fancy French restaurant. There are utensils on the table that he’s never even seen before, and
more spoons and forks than he’s ever seen on one table. Eager to dine in an appropriate and sophisticated way,
Victor secretly watches other diners to see what they do. This is an example of
a. normative social influence.
b. situational interdependence.
c. informational social influence.
d. normative conformity.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

13. Khadija has conformed to others’ behaviors or attitudes because she believes that their interpretations of an
ambiguous situation are more accurate than hers. ________ has occurred.
a. Educated conformity
b. Normative social influence
c. Unintended social influence
d. Informational social influence
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
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 Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

14. Informational social influence occurs because

a. individuals have a need to belong and be liked.
b. social norms encourage cooperation.
c. others’ behaviors serve as cues in ambiguous situations.
d. others can reward or punish us for nonconformity.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

15. You are a little confused about how to address your new boss. Even though you are told that your new
supervisor’s name is Charlie Rose, you have noticed that everyone at work calls him “Boss.” You, too, decide
to start calling your supervisor “Boss.” This decision is a product of
a. compliance with authority.
b. normative social influence.
c. informational social influence.
d. private acceptance.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

16. Your niece Caitlin is deathly afraid of glass elevators. You have just read Chapter 8, and have decided to use
informational social influence to convince Caitlin that there is no need to be afraid to ride in glass elevators.
How would you apply the concept of informational social influence in this situation?
a. Give Caitlin a big hug every time she is willing to approach a glass elevator.
b. Tell Caitlin that her friends will call her “scaredy-cat” if she doesn’t get in the elevator.
c. Get Caitlin’s friends to ride a glass elevator, and ask them to smile and wave to you both as they ascend.
d. Shove Caitlin into a glass elevator, push the “penthouse” button, and tell her not to cry.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

17. Reynald is participating in a research study where he is watching a dot of light in a dark room. In time it
appears to move. Later, he finds out that it was really stationary. This phenomenon is
a. proof that people can start seeing things if left alone for too long.
b. known as the autokinetic effect.
c. also a test for schizophrenia.
d. widely used to make people conform.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231–232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

18. An important feature of informational social influence is that it often leads to

a. obedience.
b. private acceptance.
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 c. normative pressures.
d. public compliance.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

19. In which of the following cases is conformity due to information social influence LEAST likely to occur?
a. A new camper arrives at camp and needs to figure out procedures in the cafeteria.
b. A person on the street is stumbling and it is not clear if he is hurt or drunk.
c. A repairman falls off a ladder and breaks his leg while working in the hospital.
d. An airplane hits major turbulence and it is a few minutes until the captain gets on the speaker to reassure
the passengers.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

20. Rachel is attending Catholic mass for the first time with her best friend Maria. Rachel is unfamiliar with when
to sit, when to kneel, or when to stand, and doesn’t know when to respond to what the priest says and when to
remain silent. When it is time for parishioners to receive Communion, Rachel looks quizzically to Maria, who
silently shakes her head. Rachel remains seated while the rest of the congregation files toward the altar. This
situation best exemplifies
a. a crisis of conversion.
b. normative social influence.
c. informational social influence.
d. the power of cultural norms.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

21. Which of the following phenomena is most likely to result in private acceptance of an idea or behavior?
a. normative social influence
b. contagion
c. informational social influence
d. propaganda
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

22. In the nineteenth century, audience members who knew the opera intimately served as “claques,” or experts
who signaled others in the audience when to applaud, or as “bisseurs,” who signaled when to call for encores.
These experts served as a source of ________ for less sophisticated audience members.
a. informational social influence
b. contagion
c. normative social influence
d. public compliance
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
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 Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

23. All of the following are examples of informational social influence EXCEPT:
a. You are running a race, and you wait to check which of two roads the other runners follow.
b. You’ve just started work at a new job, and a fire alarm goes off. You watch your coworkers to see what to
do.
c. You ask your advisor which classes you should take next semester.
d. You decide to lose weight, because the people you see on the covers of popular magazines are thinner than
you are and you want people to like you more.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

24. Taking into account research on factors that increase informational social influence, which game contestant is
most likely to yield to the informational social influence provided by teammates or the audience?
a. Joaquin, playing a television game show, who answers a question whose answer he is uncertain of
b. Tatsuo, playing a television game show, who answers a question whose answer seems obvious to him
c. Marcus, playing a game with his younger cousins, when he is unsure of the answer
d. Yuriko, playing a game with her family, who answers a question whose answer she knows
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

25. In the past ten years, the popular American holiday, Halloween, was “imported” to France by retailers hoping to
increase revenues. Essentially, the French learned the traditions such as trick-or-treating and wearing costumes
from Americans. This is an example of ________ on an international scale.
a. normative social influence
b. the autokinetic effect
c. informational social influence
d. injunctive norms
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

26. Elise is participating in research and is placed in a dark room and asked to estimate the movement of a dot of
light projected on a screen. This is similar to research by Sherif that demonstrated the power of
a. normative social influence.
b. conversion.
c. informational social influence.
d. obedience to authority.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231–232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

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27. Why would Muzafer Sherif, a social psychologist, choose the autokinetic effect (a perceptual illusion) to study
social conformity? He wanted
a. to construct a situation that was ambiguous.
b. participants to feel pressure to obey his instructions.
c. to use a dark room to foster a sense of cohesion in the group.
d. to study the influence of perceptions on social behavior.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231–232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

28. It could be argued that participants in Muzafer Sherif’s (1936) study converged in their estimates of the amount
of movement of a point of light because they were avoiding public embarrassment or social censure from other
participants. Sherif demonstrated that this was unlikely when he found similar results
a. when participants completed the task with their friends.
b. two years later.
c. when participants later completed the task alone.
d. when participants completed an auditory task in groups.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231–232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

29. When participants were first placed in a dark room alone and asked to estimate the apparent movement of a
point of light, individuals were consistent in their own estimates, and these estimates differed greatly from
participant to participant. When participants made the same estimates in a group setting, their estimates
converged. According to Muzafer Sherif (1936), why did this happen? Conformity occurs when people
a. feel anonymous in a group.
b. feel uncomfortable and insecure.
c. can use others’ behaviors as cues for what’s right.
d. can use anonymity to control others.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231–232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

30. Believing that others are right is to ________ as conforming without believing is to ________.
a. public compliance; private acceptance
b. private acceptance; autokinetic effect
c. private acceptance: public compliance
d. public compliance; autokinetic effect
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

31. Even though Gerald isn’t religious, when he attends church on Christmas with his family, he donates money
when ushers pass around a collection basket because everyone else puts something in. It is likely that Gerald is
a. experiencing a high level of cognitive dissonance.
b. privately accepting religion.
c. being persuaded via the peripheral route.
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 d. publicly complying.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

32. In a recent study about how to promote energy conservation, Nolan and colleagues (2008) found that simply
telling people that their neighbors conserve energy was a more effective means of reducing energy consumption
than telling them other reasons why they should conserve. Why did this message work the best?
a. Participants experienced cognitive dissonance.
b. Participants engaged in counterfactual thinking.
c. Participants were affected by informational social influence.
d. Participants were persuaded by fear-appeals.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

33. You have been hired to help design a campaign to get people to conserve energy. Based on the research by
Nolan and colleagues (2008), what is the most effective way to convince people to conserve?
a. emphasize the money they would save
b. explain the benefits to society
c. explain that they are protecting the environment
d. tell them that their neighbors are doing it
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

34. Based on research by Goldstein and colleagues (2008), which of the following techniques would be most
effective in getting hotel guests to reuse their bath towels?
a. putting a sign in every room stating “Help Save the Environment” with a cute endangered animal on it
b. having hotel clerks ask guests face-to-face to reuse towels
c. offering a free breakfast to guests who reused their towels two nights in a row
d. putting a sign in the room stating that that majority of guests in this room reuse the towel
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

35. Based on the studies conducted by Nolan and colleagues (2008) and Goldstein and colleagues (2008), which
approach seems to be most effective at motivating people to behave in ways that are more environmentally
friendly?
a. operant conditioning
b. informational social influence
c. cognitive dissonance
d. guilt and fear appeals
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
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 Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

36. According to research presented in the text (Baron et al., 1996), participants were asked to select perpetrators
after a lineup in conditions of high ambiguity; the perpetrator wore different clothing in the lineup than in the
original photo, and the slides were shown very quickly. Recall also that some participants were told that the
task was one that was being designed for use by the police department and were offered $20 if they were the
most accurate, while others were told that it was just a laboratory task under development. This study
demonstrated that
a. the more important it was to the participants to be accurate, the more they conformed to other group
members’ answers.
b. the more important it was to participants to be accurate, the less they conformed to other group members’
answers.
c. when the task was more important, people conformed more but their self-esteem decreased.
d. people were more resistant to influence in this study than in the Sherif study because of the greater degree
of mundane realism.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 233
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

37. When it is important to provide a correct answer and the stakes are high, people are more likely to
a. rely on informational social influence.
b. use their independent judgment.
c. think quietly to themselves, and not seek other peoples’ opinions.
d. want to decide alone.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 233
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

38. Noor is in a study similar to Baron et al. (1996). She has been asked to select the person she saw in a series of
photos. If she’s told that her decision is not very important, she will
a. conform more than when the decision is very important.
b. not conform at all.
c. conform less than when the decision is very important.
d. conform about as much as when the decision is important.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 233
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

39. Informational social influence is most likely to play a significant role in which of the following situations?
a. members of a jury trying to reach a verdict in a murder trial
b. family members sitting around the living room trying to guess answers to a TV game show
c. fraternity members encouraging each other to “chug-a-lug”
d. two art students viewing a museum exhibit and discussing their preferences for different works
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 233
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?
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40. People are especially likely to conform due to informational social influence
a. when the task is intellectual or academic.
b. more in private than in public.
c. when the situation is a crisis.
d. the more flexible and yielding the other people are.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 234
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

41. Not all members of the radio audience of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast panicked immediately.
Indeed, some didn’t panic until they looked out of the window and saw empty streets; others didn’t panic until
they saw streets full of traffic. It was after checking out the situation that these citizens decided that the
Martians had indeed invaded Earth. This example illustrates that contagion
a. can result when cultural norms reinforce people’s most likely responses.
b. is especially likely when people are motivated to make independent decisions.
c. can result when people look to others for the interpretation of ambiguous situations.
d. occurs primarily because humans are by nature irrational creatures.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 234
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

42. When Orson Welles broadcast War of the Worlds, a fictitious program about a hostile Martian takeover of
Earth, many people who heard the program eventually believed the takeover was a real threat and panicked.
The power of ________ was a major cause of this widespread panic.
a. fear-arousing communications
b. informational social influence
c. propaganda
d. normative social influence
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 234
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

43. In a situation such as the War of the Worlds broadcast, where the situation is highly ambiguous, once people
begin to believe they know what is happening, they tend to
a. relax.
b. reinterpret potentially disconfirming evidence in line with their definition of the situation.
c. stop interacting with each other, as information is no longer needed.
d. become motivated to achieve acceptance by others.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 234
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

44. Consider the following (edited) excerpt from a James Thurber New Yorker piece: “Suddenly someone began to
run. It may be that he had simply remembered… an engagement to meet his wife, for which he was now
frightfully late. Whatever it was, he ran east on Broad Street. Somebody else began to run, perhaps a newsboy
in high spirits… Another man broke into a trot… A loud mumble gradually crystallized into the dread word
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 ‘dam.’ ‘The dam has broke!’ The fear was put into words by a little old lady in an electric car, or by a traffic
cop, or by a small boy: Nobody knows who… Two thousand people were abruptly in full flight…” This literary
excerpt illustrates the phenomenon known as
a. conversion.
b. propaganda.
c. collective psychosis.
d. contagion.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 234
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

45. Le Bon (1895) documented that emotions and behaviors can spread rapidly through a crowd, an effect known
as
a. mass psychogenic illness.
b. contagion.
c. persuasion.
d. normative social influence.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 234
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

46. Mass psychogenic illness, when many people in a group suddenly begin to feel sick, shows the power of
a. informational social influence.
b. normative social influence.
c. compliance.
d. the immune system.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

47. The major downside risk of informational social influence is that the more ________ the situation is, the more
we rely on others who are no more likely to be knowledgeable or accurate than we ourselves are, leading us
each to adopt others’ mistakes and misinterpretations.
a. clearly defined
b. superficial
c. familiar
d. ambiguous
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

48. First-year college students may be more susceptible than seniors to informational social influence because
a. they want to be liked by a group.
b. there is a charismatic leader in the group.
c. they have no allies in their group.
d. the situations they encounter are ambiguous.
Answer: D
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Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

49. When Steven goes to his fraternity meeting, all of the following factors will increase the impact of
informational social influence on him EXCEPT the
a. ambiguity of the situation.
b. importance of the group.
c. extent to which a situation is a crisis.
d. expertise of others.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

50. People are motivated to impose clear definitions on ambiguous situations. All of the following processes
EXCEPT ________ are used to resolve ambiguity of information.
a. schematic processing
b. making attributions
c. informational social influence
d. dissonance reduction
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

51. Many U.S. troops present at My Lai later reported that they were frightened and confused about whether people
in the villages were really enemy soldiers. Others reported that they didn’t know whether the rifle-fire they
heard was from enemy guns or from the guns of fellow troops. Still, frightened and bewildered, many of them
began setting fire to huts and shooting old men, women, and children. This tragic example illustrates that
informational influence is most likely to occur when
a. authorities model the appropriate behavior.
b. situations are interpreted as a crisis.
c. we look to experts for cues.
d. charismatic leaders provide a new definition of reality.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

52. When it comes to informational social influence processes, we are more likely to conform with experts’ ideas
and behaviors than with nonexperts’ because
a. social norms dictate that experts should be obeyed.
b. expertise is associated with social status and power.
c. experts are viewed as more credible sources of information.
d. experts convey clearer expectations of obedience.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
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Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

53. Priscilla is on her way to a concert and has gotten lost. Which of the following people, based on information
from your text about informational social influence, would she be most likely to ask for directions?
a. a tourist from out of town
b. the largest group of people she can find
c. a police officer
d. a homeless person
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

54. ________ conformity is to the desire to be right as ________ conformity is to the desire to be liked.
a. Normative; informational
b. Mindless; normative
c. Informational; mindless
d. Informational; normative
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231, 238
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”; Normative Social Influence: The
Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

55. Informational social influence is to ________ as normative social influence is to ________.

a. public compliance; private acceptance
b. private acceptance; public compliance
c. conversion; private acceptance
d. conformity; conversion
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231, 238
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”; Normative Social Influence: The
Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

56. The authors of your text report instances of teens taking a “polar plunge” by jumping into freezing water.
Which of the following best explains such dangerous behavior?
a. the power of normative social influence
b. the power of informational social influence
c. the teens having “excitement seeking” personalities
d. delinquent teens using this activity for gang initiations
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 236
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

57. The concept of social norms refers to

a. the most common beliefs, values, or behavior in a group of people.
b. implicit or explicit rules a group has for acceptable beliefs, values, or behavior.
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Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 c. social sanctions a group provides in response to deviant behavior.
d. social practices designed to promote cooperation in a group.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 237
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

58. When you and your friends greet each other, it’s customary for you to give each other a special, complicated
handshake. This handshake can be considered the ________ for greeting each other in your group.
a. hikikomori
b. autokinetic effect
c. social norm
d. disjunctive norm
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 237
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

59. Which of the following is an example of a social norm in mainstream U.S. culture?
a. bowing to your parents as a greeting
b. using your turn signal to indicate which direction you will be turning
c. reading a book
d. asking a homeless person for help finding an address
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 237
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

60. In essence, normative social influence arises from humans’ fundamental

a. selfishness, which must be kept in check.
b. need for companionship, affection, and acceptance.
c. need for accurate perceptions and beliefs about a confusing world.
d. desire to submit to knowledgeable authorities.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 237
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

61. When people conform in attitudes or behaviors in order to be accepted and liked by others, social psychologists
say that ________ has occurred.
a. contagion
b. informational social influence
c. social approval
d. normative social influence
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

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Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
62. Imagine that you are attending a new high school and would like to make friends. On the first day of school,
you observe that all of the students in your homeroom are crumpling paper into balls and throwing them on the
floor. You begin to do the same. You have conformed to the group’s behavior due to
a. informational social influence.
b. propaganda.
c. normative social influence.
d. obedience to authority.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

63. Going along with the crowd (e.g., doing the ice bucket challenge, smoking pot, polar plunging) because of a
fear of social exclusion is an example of
a. normative social influence.
b. informational social influence.
c. social impact.
d. social dominance.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

64. Deviant behavior is usually met with rejection. For example, in Japan, deviants in school tend to be shunned
and harassed by their entire class or school. Such treatment is particularly psychologically damaging in Japan
because the culture
a. demands perfection.
b. emphasizes cohesion and group harmony.
c. frowns upon conformity.
d. emphasizes good grades.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

65. In Japan, some teens become hikikomori, often after being victims of severe bullying. Someone who is
hikikomori can be described as
a. withdrawn from all social interaction.
b. gregarious and outgoing.
c. schizophrenic and paranoid.
d. extremely aggressive towards others.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

66. Itsuki, a Japanese teenager, has withdrawn from all social interaction. He is referred to as a hikikomori. The
most likely reason for his withdrawal is as a result of
a. academic failure.
b. being from a dishonored family.
c. being an illegitimate child.
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 d. being bullied severely.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

67. Bill has been deprived of human contact for long periods of time. He will tend to experience
a. insanity.
b. stress and trauma.
c. contentment.
d. increased desire to help others.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

68. Leslie keeps getting harassing, put-down messages on her phone and Facebook page from a group of kids at her
school. Leslie is being
a. ostracized.
b. socially normed.
c. cyberbullied.
d. e-dissed.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

69. Which type of conformity is most at odds with our cultural ethos of individualism and independence and most
closely matches the negative stereotypes of those who conform as being “weaklings”?
a. nonconformity
b. informational conformity
c. normative conformity
d. anti-conformity
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

70. Pierre joins the other concertgoers in giving the symphony a standing ovation, even though he thought the
performance was merely adequate. The next morning, Pierre confides to his girlfriend that the performance was
“satisfactory, but not overwhelming.” In joining the standing ovation, Pierre displayed what kind of
conformity?
a. private acceptance
b. mindless conformity
c. public compliance
d. social deviance
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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 LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

71. Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) embarked on a series of studies in which participants were asked to estimate the
lengths of lines that clearly differed in length. Asch originally undertook these experiments to
a. systematically replicate the earlier “autokinetic effect” studies of Muzafer Sherif, using different
ambiguous stimuli.
b. demonstrate that in ambiguous situations, people would rather be “liked” than “right.”
c. show that in unambiguous situations, people will behave in reasonable, rational ways.
d. challenge the prevailing view that humans are inherently motivated to be accurate in their perceptions.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238–240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

72. Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) conducted a series of studies in which participants were asked to estimate the
lengths of lines that clearly differed in length. Participants then heard the other group members give correct
estimations for some trials, and blatantly incorrect estimations for others. When confederates in the study gave
an incorrect response, how did participants respond?
a. They refused to provide an obviously incorrect answer.
b. They tried to correct the confederates’ mistakes and persuade them to make the correct choice.
c. They tended to conform on at least one of the trials.
d. They refused to answer, or “passed” their turn.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238–240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

73. In a series of experiments, why did Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) ask participants to judge the lengths of lines
that were clearly different from one another? Asch
a. wanted to study conformity in ambiguous situations.
b. believed that people would conform in their judgments.
c. wanted to study conformity in unambiguous situations.
d. believed that Muzafer Sherif’s experiments were fatally flawed.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238–240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

74. Recall that Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) asked participants to estimate the lengths of lines. In response to the
incorrect answers of others, some participants actually denied what their eyes saw. These studies provide
evidence of
a. normative social influence.
b. informational social influence.
c. private acceptance.
d. contagion.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238–240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

75. In a series of studies by Solomon Asch (1951, 1956), when participants judged the lengths of lines alone rather
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 than in a group of confederates, their judgments were accurate about 99 percent of the time. Still, when other
participants made judgments in a group of people who gave the wrong answers, they reported incorrect
judgments. These findings suggest that
a. experts exert informational social influence in ambiguous situations.
b. normative social influence was at work.
c. informational social influence happens, even in unambiguous situations.
d. people will distort reality to avoid punishment or social censure.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238–240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

76. What is the moral or the take-home message of Solomon Asch’s (1951, 1956, 1957) series of experiments in
which participants were asked to judge the lengths of lines? People will go to great lengths
a. to please people on whom they depend.
b. not to look like fools in front of others.
c. to assert their independence.
d. to convince others of their points of view.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 238–240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

77. In a variation of his standard experiment, Solomon Asch (1957) found that when participants could write their
responses on a piece of paper, conformity dropped dramatically. This finding indicates that participants
exhibited ________, not ________, during the standard experiment.
a. public compliance; private acceptance
b. private acceptance; public compliance
c. logical reasoning; mindless conformity
d. mindless conformity; logical reasoning
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

78. Studies of the importance of normative social influence are particularly noteworthy in that they show that
people conform even
a. to strangers they will never see again.
b. to friends.
c. to relatives.
d. in private as well as in public.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

79. Amanda is assigned to a group to take a quiz (which actually doesn’t count towards the course grade). For one
of the questions, she is certain the correct answer is C, but the rest of her group all says the answer is A. Based
on information about the Asch line studies, how would Amanda be likely to respond?
a. She would firmly state her case for answer C.
b. She would easily be persuaded that the actual answer is A.
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Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 c. She would go along with the group, but still believe C is correct.
d. She would ask for a new group.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 238–240
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

80. The Asch line studies were conducted over fifty years ago, and society has changed quite a bit. A recent study
involving fMRI and the line judgment task attempted to replicate some of Asch’s results. What were the results
of this study?
a. People today are more susceptible to conformity than people fifty years ago.
b. People today are less susceptible to conformity than people fifty years ago.
c. Results suggested that people no longer conform.
d. Results were very similar to those of Asch’s original studies.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 240–241
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

81. Sillain is participating in a fMRI study replicating Asch’s line judgment study. When she performed alone at
judging the figures, or when she conformed to the wrong answer, what area of her brain was most likely active?
a. the decision-making center
b. the motor cortex
c. the area dedicated to vision
d. the prefrontal cortex
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 240–241
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

82. Results from a recent fMRI study replicated Asch’s line judgment study. The results of the fMRI suggest that
when participants judged rotated figures and stated a correct answer when the others around them unanimously
stated an incorrect answer, the area of the brain that was active was the
a. visual cortex, which senses and perceives visual input.
b. amygdala, which is associated with negative emotions.
c. hippocampus: an area associated with trauma.
d. right cingular gyrus: an area associated with pain detection.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 240–241
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

83. Recall that in a study by Baron et al. (1996), participants in one condition were asked to select perpetrators after
a lineup in conditions of low ambiguity, so that participants in the control condition made very few mistakes.
Recall also that some participants were told that the task was one that was being designed for use by the police
department and were offered $20 if they were the most accurate, while others were told that it was just a
laboratory task under development. This condition of the study found that
a. the more important it was to participants to be correct, the more they conformed to other group members’
answers.
b. the more important it was to participants to be correct, the less they conformed to other group members’
answers.
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 c. people conformed more when the pressures were for normative rather than informational influence.
d. when importance was high and ambiguity was low, conformity virtually disappeared.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 241–242
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

84. Research by Baron et al. (1996) on the importance of accuracy indicates that the more important it is for people
to be accurate, the
a. less likely it is that people will conform, regardless of how clear the correct answer is.
b. more likely it is that people will conform, regardless of how clear the correct answer is.
c. more people conform if the correct answer is ambiguous and the less people conform if the correct answer
is clear.
d. more people conform if the correct answer is clear and the less people conform if the correct answer is
ambiguous.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 241–242
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

85. Research by Baron et al. (1996) on the importance of accuracy indicates that the more important it is for people
to be accurate, the
a. more likely people are to engage in both informational and normative conformity.
b. less likely people are to engage in both informational and normative conformity.
c. more likely people are to engage in informational conformity, but the less likely people are to engage in
normative conformity.
d. more likely people are to engage in normative conformity, but the less likely people are to engage in
informational conformity.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 241–242
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

86. Imagine that you are on the Olympics Planning Committee. Nine out of 10 of the committee members hold the
same opinions. However, one member, Laura, consistently deviates from the group’s opinion. How is your
group most likely to act toward Laura to bring her in line with the group’s opinion? The group will
a. first increase communication with Laura. When that doesn’t work, the group will ignore and punish Laura.
b. immediately punish Laura to force her to change her opinion.
c. ignore Laura and refuse to communicate with her. If this tactic fails, the group will punish Laura.
d. nominate Laura to be the chair of the committee.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 243
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

87. The norm in your large psychology class is that students will remain quiet enough for others to hear the
professor and one another during lectures and discussions. When you talk loudly to the person next to you and
violate the norm, like the deviant in Stanley Schachter’s “Johnny Rocco” study, you can expect that your
classmates will first
a. ignore you.
b. talk to you, hoping to change your behavior.
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 c. punish you by not working with you on the class project.
d. tell you to sit someplace else during the next class meeting.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 243–244
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

88. If a person deviates from the norms of a group, the first thing the group is likely to do is
a. exclude the person.
b. assign him to a position of lower status.
c. try to persuade him to conform.
d. say negative things to the deviant.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 243–244
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

89. In the “Johnny Rocco” studies conducted by Schachter (1951), he found that when a confederate stubbornly
deviated from the opinion of the rest of the group, the confederate then was more likely to
a. be voted as the leader.
b. be suspected of playing the role of a confederate in the study.
c. be voted out of the group.
d. experience a large amount of cognitive dissonance.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 243–244
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

90. Fads such as Crocs, miniskirts, Mohawks, tattoos, and body piercing represent responses to
a. informational social influence.
b. social contagion.
c. quickly changing cultural norms.
d. normative social influence.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 242
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

91. You need to give a presentation in your class about Bibb Latané’s social impact theory (1981). You want to
focus on the three variables that influence the likelihood that people will conform to social influence pressures.
Your lecture will include:
a. strength, immediacy, and number.
b. norms, values, and social practices.
c. anonymity, situational ambiguity, and norms.
d. pressure, resistance, and interdependence.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 244
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?
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92. Which situation below best exemplifies the tenet of social impact theory that immediacy is directly related to
conformity?
a. Mariah will debate actively with her roommate, but during class debates, she is quiet even when she has
strong opinions.
b. John won’t smoke around his girlfriend, but he does smoke when he talks to her on the phone.
c. Toby pierces his tongue because his friends are into body piercing, even though his parents disapprove.
d. Kelly will walk around in her bathing suit at the pool when there are just other women around, but she
wraps a towel around her hips when any men are around.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

93. Marcia values the opinions and desires of both her parents and her close friends. When she’s with her parents,
she finds herself agreeing with them. When she’s with her friends, she finds herself agreeing with them, even
though they sometimes disagree with her parents. This change in Marcia’s behavior represents the influence of
Bibb Latané’s (1981) concept of ________ on normative conformity.
a. number
b. immediacy
c. pressure
d. strength
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

94. If you wanted to resist an influence attempt, social impact theory (Latané, 1981) suggests that you should
a. increase the distance between yourself and the group.
b. repeatedly think about how important the group is to your life.
c. spend as much time as possible with the group.
d. ensure that the group is unanimous.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
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Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

95. Dr. Lemitt finds Bibb Latané’s (1981) social impact theory very useful when she is researching conformity
because its tenets
a. predict when conformity is adaptive and when it’s not.
b. identify the costs of refusal to conform to norms.
c. predict characteristics of people most likely to resist conformity pressures.
d. identify variables that make a source more influential.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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96. According to Latané’s (1981) social impact theory, Katy will binge eat with her sorority sisters because
a. her sorority sisters are immediate and the sorority is very important to her.
b. Katy wants to be thin and accepted by others.
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 c. Katy is predisposed to binge eating.
d. Katy is in an ambiguous situation and so follows what others do around her.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
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97. Suppose you wanted your friend Nick to agree to join the “Save the Seals” campaign, a campaign that most of
your other friends support. You should invite Nick to a meeting of
a. two friends of Nick who support Save the Seals, and two friends of Nick who do not support “Save the
Seals.”
b. two other friends of Nick who support “Save the Seals.”
c. four other friends of Nick who support “Save the Seals.”
d. seven friends of Nick who support “Save the Seals,” and three friends of Nick who do not support Save the
Seals.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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98. You’re designing an activity for your social psychology class and you want to maximize conformity. What
should you do to make that happen?
a. Make sure the groups are small.
b. Have the group size be four or five.
c. Make sure the group is diverse.
d. Have the group dispersed throughout a wide area.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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99. According to Latané’s (1981) social impact theory, as group size increases from two to three members, the
impact will increase ________ if a group increases from twenty-nine to thirty members.
a. exponentially
b. more than
c. substantially less than
d. the same amount as
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
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Skill: FACTUAL
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100. Which situation below best exemplifies the tenet of social impact theory that group strength is directly related
to conformity?
a. When eating with strangers, Suzie will talk with her mouth full, but not when eating with her friends.
b. When Adam is with his “slacker” friends, he doesn’t take school seriously; when he’s at home alone, he
studies for hours on end.
c. When Jason’s friends use subtle influence attempts, he conforms; when they use coercive tactics, he resists
them.
d. One-on-one, Melissa will talk a blue streak, but when she’s in a group, she’s very quiet.
Answer: A
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 Difficulty: 3
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Skill: APPLICATION
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101. Which of the following comparisons represents the strength dimension as defined by social impact theory
(Latané, 1981)?
a. friends versus strangers
b. a group of two acquaintances versus a group of ten acquaintances
c. living with your family versus living 100 miles away
d. yielding to informational influence versus yielding to normative influence
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

102. Teenagers are often more susceptible to influence attempts from peers than from their parents. This is because
peers become more important to teenagers than their parents are. This example represents the influence of Bibb
Latané’s (1981) concept of ________ on normative conformity.
a. number
b. immediacy
c. pressure
d. strength
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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103. Research shows that conformity is not always required of group members. If a member of your group
occasionally deviates from the group and the group doesn’t impose negative consequences, the individual has
used some of his/her ________.
a. idiosyncrasy credits
b. descriptive norms
c. propaganda
d. power
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

104. Charlene typically goes along with what her group of friends wants and asks of her. However, one day she
refuses to meet them for smoothies after class. Chances are, Charlene will face little retribution for this as long
as she has enough
a. confidence.
b. power.
c. independence.
d. idiosyncrasy credits.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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 LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

105. Jane’s softball team is planning to steal the other team’s mascot—a baby goat. Jane does not want to participate
in such a scheme. Which of the following situations would make it more likely that Jane will refuse to help her
team steal the goat?
a. Jane has built up “favorability credits.”
b. The situation is ambiguous.
c. The group is important to Jane.
d. Another member of the team decides not to participate.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 246
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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106. Recall that when Solomon Asch (1955) conducted an experiment in which six confederates gave the wrong
judgment about the lengths of lines and in which a seventh confederate gave the correct judgment, participants’
normative conformity dropped drastically. These findings support the importance of ________ in creating
conformity.
a. a unanimous group
b. normative pressures
c. immediacy
d. strength
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 246
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

107. Recall that in an Asch-type conformity experiment (Frager, 1970), Japanese students were less conforming than
were North Americans. According to researchers, these findings suggest that
a. Japan is a less interdependent culture than other Asian countries.
b. in Japan, conformity is more likely in groups toward which one feels loyalty.
c. industrialization has changed Japan into a more independent culture.
d. Japanese compete with strangers, but cooperate with friends.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
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Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

108. Researchers (Bond & Smith, 1996) conducted a meta-analysis of 133 Asch line-judgment studies conducted in
17 countries. They found that conformity was higher in ________ because normative social influence
________.
a. individualistic cultures; conformity prevents conflict
b. collectivistic cultures; promotes harmony
c. agricultural cultures; survival depends on cooperation
d. industrialized cultures; norms are more widely shared
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
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Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

109. Recall the cross-cultural conformity research conducted by J. W. Berry (1967) and others. Based on this
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 research, who would be LEAST likely to conform to other group members’ opinions?
a. a member of an Inuit fishing society
b. a member of an African farming society
c. a member of a Norwegian community
d. a member of an African cattle-raising society
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
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Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

110. Cross-cultural replications of Solomon Asch’s original (1951) conformity studies (in which participants gave
public judgments of the lengths of lines) have revealed that
a. because humans are a social species, normative conformity pressures are universal.
b. people’s conformity in these situations varies depending on the culture in which they were reared.
c. cultures differ in the extent to which private acceptance follows from public compliance.
d. implicit conformity pressures vary from culture to culture, but explicit pressures do not.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 247
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
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111. Emily is a member of a collectivist culture, and she has just conformed with her social group. That behavior is
considered a(n)
a. sign of mental weakness and stupidity.
b. act of cowardice and submission.
c. act of sensitivity and tact.
d. act of ultimate self-sacrifice.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
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Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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112. Dr. Emile is trying to replicate Asch’s study in a collectivist culture. He’s not seeing the degree of conformity
in the lab that Asch saw. Which of the following is the most likely reason why?
a. Collectivists are more likely to conform to a group that’s important to them, rather than a group of
strangers.
b. Collectivists are especially sensitive to the lab environment and are likely to use informational social
influence in this research.
c. Collectivists are not likely to obey an outsider, so they are not doing what he’s asking them to do in the lab.
d. Collectivists have a lot of responsibilities to their families and groups so aren’t interested in his research.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
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Skill: APPLICATION
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113. According to several replications of Asch’s line studies in Japan, Germany, and Britain, people in those
countries are more likely to conform to groups
a. to which they belong.
b. who are strangers.
c. who make them feel inferior.
d. composed of opposite-sex individuals.
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 Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 247
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
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114. Mark is a Democrat. He just joined a Welfare Reform Committee made up of nine Republicans. Mark holds a
minority opinion on this issue. If Mark wants his opinion to influence the group’s final recommendations, he
should
a. express a consistent, unwavering viewpoint.
b. express his opinion, but voice the Republican viewpoint from time to time as well.
c. express his opinion once and then remain quiet.
d. remain quiet to avoid upsetting the group.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 248
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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115. Wilson is part of a group and has a different opinion from the rest of the group. He can successfully influence
the majority group through
a. informational social influence.
b. normative social influence.
c. public compliance.
d. assertive verbal jousting.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 248
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
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116. Felicia is initially the only member of the jury who believes that the defendant is innocent. After hearing and
debating Felicia’s arguments, the jury unanimously declares the defendant not guilty. The jurors’ decision will
most likely be characterized by
a. private acceptance.
b. public compliance without private acceptance.
c. public conversion.
d. contagion.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 248
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
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117. Majorities tend to rely on ________, whereas minorities tend to rely on ________.
a. informational social influence; normative social influence
b. normative social influence; informational social influence
c. normative social influence; idiosyncrasy credits
d. informational social influence; conversion
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 248
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?
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118. Majority influence is to ________ as ________ is to private acceptance.
a. private acceptance; propaganda
b. informational power; normative power
c. public compliance; minority influence
d. norms; idiosyncrasy credit
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 248
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
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119. ________ norms address people’s perceptions of what other people approve of, whereas ________ norms
address people’s perceptions of what other people actually do.
a. Descriptive; injunctive
b. Descriptive; subjective
c. Injunctive; descriptive
d. Proscriptive; injunctive
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 250
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

120. During a drought, Lynne noticed that all of her neighbors had stopped watering their lawns even though there
were no laws against it. Lynne was following a(n) ________ norm when she let her lawn turn brown, too.
a. descriptive
b. proscriptive
c. objective
d. productive
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 250
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

121. Public safety officials want to increase the use of seat belts among drivers, and have decided to show a
television ad documenting the rising use of seat belts among drivers. This represents the use of ________ norms
to change safety behaviors.
a. descriptive
b. injunctive
c. conjunctive
d. proscriptive
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 250
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

122. Complete the following analogy: injunctive norm: ________ :: descriptive norm: ________.
a. observed; common
b. approval; disapproval
c. culture; universal
d. approval; observed
Answer: D
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 Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 250
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

123. Recall that in a field experiment described in the text, participants were more likely to properly dispose of a
handbill left on their windshields when they saw a confederate pick up and dispose of a fast food bag. Results
of this experiment reveal the power of ________ to reduce littering behaviors.
a. descriptive norms
b. self-awareness
c. injunctive norms
d. subjective norms
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 250–252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

124. Recall that in a field experiment described in the text, participants were more likely to properly dispose of a
handbill left on their windshields when they saw a confederate pick up and dispose of a fast food bag. The
researchers suggest that the role of the confederate in this study was to
a. let participants know what the descriptive norm was.
b. let participants know what the injunctive norm was.
c. make the norms salient to participants.
d. provide an audience to increase self-awareness.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 250–252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

125. In the field experiment described in the text, city library patrons were approached by a confederate in the
parking lot. This experiment had two independent variables. What were they?
a. confederate’s behavior and cleanliness of the parking lot
b. cleanliness of the parking lot and how the patrons disposed of the handbill
c. confederate’s behavior and number of library fines
d. how patrons disposed of the handbill and number of library fines
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 250–252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

126. Catherine and Gabriel are picnicking in the park. They would be least likely to litter when
a. they notice that the park is completely free of litter.
b. a park official tells them about the fines for littering.
c. they see one piece of garbage on the otherwise clean park grounds.
d. they see other people throw away their garbage.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 250–252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

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127. Researchers have concluded that in general, ________ norms are more effective than ________ norms in
producing desirable behaviors, such as reducing litter.
a. descriptive; injunctive
b. salient; subtle
c. injunctive; descriptive
d. subtle; salient
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
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128. Injunctive norms tend to be more powerful than descriptive norms because they are based on
a. informational social influence.
b. normative social influence.
c. minority influence.
d. obedience to authority.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
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129. Emilio is designing an ad aimed at increasing seat belt use. He decides to incorporate slogans like, “It’s great to
buckle up!” rather than “35 percent of adults do not regularly wear a seat belt.” Emilio is using ________ in this
ad.
a. peripheral cues
b. injunctive norms
c. normative social influence
d. descriptive norms
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

130. Dr. Hammerstein is a college dean and wants to design a program to help deal with the problem of binge
drinking on her campus. The technique currently in favor, and which you’d suggest, is based on the use of
a. informational lectures and persuasion from experts.
b. obedience to authority.
c. presenting information on campus norms that are lower than students expect.
d. increasing cognitive dissonance by emphasizing discrepancies from core values.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
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131. The “social norms” approach to reducing binge drinking on college campuses relies primarily on the use of
a. informational influence.
b. normative influence.
c. diffusion of responsibility.
d. perceived behavior control.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
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 Page(s) in Text: 252
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132. Which student below is being exposed to an attempt to change behavior based on the “social norms” approach?
a. Gary, who is asked to sign a poster placed in the lobby of the student union that says, “I practice safe sex.”
b. Jonathon, who is required to attend a meeting in his dorm on preventing date rape.
c. Tabitha, who sees a poster on campus that says, “83 percent of UX students have 3 drinks or fewer when
they drink.”
d. Monica, who role-plays talking to a stranger in line at the store during an assertiveness-training seminar.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
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Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
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133. Steph reads an anti-drinking ad in the student newspaper that states, “Students at this school, on average, only
drink three drinks per week.” She typically drinks no alcoholic beverages per week, but after seeing the ad she
starts consuming more because she is “below average.” Steph is exhibiting the
a. reactance principle.
b. boomerang effect.
c. idea of reverse psychology.
d. exceptions as to when normative social influence works.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 252
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

134. In a field study by Shultz and his colleagues (2007), several households in a neighborhood received weekly
feedback about their level of energy consumption relative to their neighbors. Feedback about how much energy
they used relative to their neighbors provided participants with ________ norms.
a. descriptive
b. injunctive
c. prescriptive
d. descriptive and injunctive
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 252–253
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

135. If you wanted to alter the cleaning behavior of your roommates using a technique similar to Shultz and his
colleagues (2007), you could give them feedback about injunctive norms using which of the following
methods?
a. You can tell each how they have behaved relative to one another.
b. You can provide them information about how to correctly behave.
c. You can put a smiley or sad face drawing on a report about their behavior.
d. You can put a sign on the door of the roommate who behaved the best.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 252–253
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?
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136. In a field study by Shultz and his colleagues (2007), several households in a neighborhood received weekly
feedback about their level of energy consumption relative to their neighbors. Some households received only
descriptive norm feedback, and some received descriptive and injunctive norm feedback. Which method of
feedback was most effective in producing energy conservation?
a. They were both very effective.
b. descriptive norms
c. descriptive and injunctive
d. They were both very ineffective.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 252–253
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

137. In a field study by Shultz and his colleagues (2007), several households in a neighborhood received weekly
feedback about their level of energy consumption relative to their neighbors. How are these results being
applied?
a. Neighbors tell each other tips for better energy conservation.
b. Energy companies send out workers to assess energy consumption.
c. Some utility companies now put a smiley or sad face on customers’ bills.
d. People are “paying it forward” and teaching others about energy conservation.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 252–253
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

138. Based on the field study by Shultz and his colleagues (2007) in which several households in a neighborhood
received weekly feedback about their level of energy consumption relative to their neighbors, if you wanted to
encourage people to use less electricity, what would you do?
a. Tell them the average level of energy consumption.
b. Teach them ways to conserve energy.
c. Give them smiley or sad faces depending on how well they conserved energy.
d. Reduce their bill for efforts at efficiency.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 252–253
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
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139. Freedman and Fraser (1966) asked homeowners to put a large, unattractive sign in their yards. They were very
successful in getting people to agree if
a. they just asked the homeowners to put up the large sign.
b. they asked 2 weeks after getting the homeowners to put a small sign in the window.
c. they asked homeowners to pick up litter in the community first.
d. they told homeowners to conserve energy.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1
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Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

140. The social influence strategy in which getting people to agree first to a small request makes them more likely to
agree later to a second, larger request is known as
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 a. propaganda.
b. the door-in-the-face technique.
c. minority influence.
d. foot-in-the-door technique.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 254
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Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

141. To avoid _______, people will agree with a second, even unattractive, request as part of the foot-in-the-door
technique.
a. propaganda
b. informational conformity
c. the boomerang effect
d. dissonance
Answer: D
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 254
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

142. Paul spent Saturday picking up litter on a nearby beach with the biology club. At the end of a very long, hot
day, one of the other members asked him to come with the group that evening to catch some invasive lizards as
part of a science project. Paul hates lizards. Paul is more likely to agree to the second request now, after
spending the day picking up litter, because of
a. the door-in-the-face technique.
b. informational social influence.
c. the foot-in-the-door technique.
d. idiosyncrasy credits.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 254
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

143. In 1975, Cialdini and colleagues asked college students to spend 2 hours chaperoning a group of children on a
field trip to the zoo. Only 17% agreed to this request. However, after first asking another group of college
students to volunteer every week, for a minimum of two years, 50% agreed to the second request to chaperon
the zoo trip. This demonstrates the power of
a. the foot-in-the-door technique.
b. propaganda
c. idiosyncrasy credits.
d. the door-in-the-face technique.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 254
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

144. In 1975, Cialdini and colleagues asked college students to spend 2 hours chaperoning a group of children on a
field trip to the zoo. Only _____ agreed to this request. However, after first asking another group of college
students to volunteer every week, for a minimum of two years, _______ agreed to the second request to
chaperon the zoo trip because of the door-in-the-face technique.
a. 50%; 17%
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 b. 17%; 100%
c. 100%; 50%
d. 17%; 50%
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 254
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

145. Mr. Anderson needs someone to work the very undesirable Fourth of July shift in his restaurant. If he uses the
door-in-the-face technique, how should he approach his staff?
a. Ask someone to work every Sunday for the next 3 months, then ask that person to work July 4th.
b. Ask someone to work July 4th, and then ask if they can also work the following three days.
c. Ask someone to work a few extra minutes today, then ask the person to work July 4th.
d. Ask someone to work July 4th, because he (Mr. Anderson) is also working that day.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 254
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

146. ________ is defined as “the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and
direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the communicator.”
a. Propaganda
b. Persuasion
c. Conformity
d. Influence
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 254
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

147. The Nazi Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda used all of the following techniques EXCEPT
______ to portray the message that the German people must protect their racial purity and increase their
Lebensraum (living space) through conquest.
a. Hitler Youth groups
b. government control of the media
c. direct mail advertising
d. public rallies
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 254–255
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

148. According to the authors of your text, the actions of Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi official responsible for
transporting Jews to death camps, can best be described as
a. a madman in a mad world.
b. an ordinary man in an extraordinary circumstance.
c. a simple bureaucrat easily manipulated by false promises.
d. Hitler’s “fall guy.”
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 257
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 Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

149. Milgram found that about ________ percent of his participants went all the way to 450 volts in his original
experiment.
a. 25
b. 45
c. 65
d. 85
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 259
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

150. Milgram surveyed both a panel of Yale undergraduates and a panel of psychology professors before he
conducted his original experiment. In these surveys, he found that
a. most people predicted that less than 1 percent of participants would go to 450 volts.
b. most people predicted that less than 10 percent of the participants would go to 450 volts.
c. most people predicted that a majority of participants would go to 450 volts.
d. students underestimated the percentage who would go all the way to 450 volts, while professors’ estimates
were fairly accurate.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 259
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

151. Results from Milgram’s study, in which participants were led to believe that they were being asked to shock
another person at lethal levels, suggest that people
a. are generally rather sadistic.
b. have strong aggressive impulses, as Freud suggested.
c. will obey authority, even when perhaps they shouldn’t.
d. are willing to do just about anything for a buck.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 259
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

152. In a famous social psychological experiment, participants were led to believe they were to deliver electric
shocks of increasing potency to a “learner” for a memorization task. Participants were encouraged to continue
even though the learner was clearly in pain, and most participants, in fact, did continue shocking the learner.
What famous study is this describing?
a. Asch line studies
b. Milgram’s studies of obedience
c. Shultz’ study of injunctive norms
d. Moscovici’s studies of minority influence
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 257–259
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

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Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
153. In all likelihood, participants in Milgram’s obedience experiments (conducted in the 1960s and 1970s) were
willing to administer increasingly severe shocks to a confederate learner because they were concerned that the
experimenter would be disappointed or perhaps even angry with them. Such concerns reflect the power of
________ to induce obedience to authority.
a. informational social influence
b. the reciprocity norm
c. mindless conformity
d. normative social influence
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 257–259
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

154. Which of the following variations of Milgram’s (1963) original obedience experiment provides the strongest
evidence of the operation of normative conformity when participants administer electric shocks to a confederate
learner?
a. When another (confederate) participant refuses to continue, participants obey less.
b. When the participants are in the same room as the learner, they obey less.
c. Older participants are less likely to obey than are younger participants.
d. Participants are less likely to obey when they believe that the learner will have a chance to “teach” them
later.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 259–260
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

155. Which of the following types of conformity pressures induced most of the participants in Stanley Milgram’s
obedience studies to deliver escalating and life-threatening shocks to an innocent learner?
a. informational influence
b. normative influence
c. mindless conformity
d. both informational and normative social influence
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 259–261
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

156. Recall that Milgram conducted a variation on his original obedience experiment. In this variation, there were
two confederates in addition to the participant. When the participant threw the switch at 150 volts, one of the
confederates refused to continue, even though the experimenter commanded him or her to do so. In this
variation, only about 10 percent (compared to about 65 percent in the original study) went to the highest shock
level. This experimental variation demonstrated the power of ________ in eliciting obedience.
a. informational social influence
b. descriptive norms
c. normative social influence
d. the door-in-the-face effect
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 259–260
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

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Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
157. Given the role of informational and normative social influence processes in contributing to participants’
willingness to shock a confederate learner (e.g., Milgram, 1974), which of the following situations would yield
the LEAST obedience?
a. The experimenter administers shocks to himself to demonstrate that the shocks are not lethal.
b. The experimenter tells participants that the learner will later be allowed to administer shocks to them.
c. The experimenter tells participants that the best teacher will be awarded a prize at the conclusion of the
experiment.
d. Before leaving the room, two experimenters disagree on instructions before finally telling participants to
take their time and choose their own shock levels.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 259–260
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

158. Based on your text, which of the following is the best example of obedience to authority based on normative
social influence?
a. A bank teller gives a robber all of her money after he puts a gun in her face.
b. A teacher threatens to take away recess privileges unless her class behaves better.
c. A parent tells his child to eat her peas or “Daddy will be mad at you.”
d. A police officer gives directions to an African-American couple that is lost.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 259–260
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

159. It is likely that participants in Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments (conducted in the 1960s and 1970s)
were willing to administer increasingly severe shocks to a confederate learner because when confronted with a
confusing, unfamiliar, and upsetting situation, they would turn to the experimenter for cues as to how to
proceed. This speculation in essence identifies ________ as a source of participants’ destructive obedience.
a. social norms
b. normative social influence
c. informational social influence
d. latent sadism
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 260–261
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

160. In a variation on his original experiment, Milgram had the experimenter leave the room after telling participants
that they could deliver whatever level of shock they chose. After the experimenter left, a confederate suggested
that the participant increase the shock by one level each time the learner made a mistake. In this variation, only
about 20 percent of participants went to the highest shock level. The fact that the authority figure’s presence
made much more of a difference than that of a peer suggests the role of
a. informational influence.
b. normative influence.
c. private acceptance.
d. mindless conformity.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 260–261
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?
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Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
161. In an alternative version of his original experiment, Milgram used two experimenters, who began to disagree
with each other when the participants administered 150 volts and the learner began to complain. In this
variation, participants refused to continue. According to the authors of your text, this variation demonstrates the
importance of ________ in influencing obedience.
a. clear informational influence
b. unanimous normative influence
c. the foot-in-the-door effect
d. the door-in-the-face effect
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 260–261
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

162. The authors of your text note that across the studies that Milgram did investigating obedience to authority, the
one factor that never made a consistent difference in how participants behaved was
a. instructions from the experimenter.
b. pleas for help from the victim.
c. disagreement among authority figures.
d. disobedience from other teachers.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 260–261
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

163. According to the authors, in part because the experimental procedures were so ________, it was difficult for
participants in Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments (e.g., Milgram, 1974) to abandon the “Obey
legitimate authority” norm in favor of the norm that says, “Do no harm.”
a. time-consuming
b. arousing
c. fast-paced
d. realistic
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 261–262
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

164. In addition to the role of both informational and normative conformity pressures, participants in Stanley
Milgram’s obedience experiments (e.g., Milgram, 1974) administered escalating shocks to a confederate learner
because they
a. became trapped in conflicting norm demands.
b. failed to take the perspective of the experimenter.
c. ignored social norms once they entered the experimental setting.
d. were motivated to reduce the ambiguity of this distressing situation.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 261–262
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

165. According to the authors of your text, once participants in Milgram’s studies delivered the first shock to the
learner, this created internal pressure to obey. This dissonance made it more difficult later for participants to
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 a. draw the line as to what exactly was too strong of a shock.
b. continue conforming to the norms.
c. continue to obey authority.
d. listen to the cries of pain from the learner.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 262
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

166. Execution teams who work at prisons tend to deny personal responsibility for the executions and state that they
are just following orders. Such justifications for taking a human life illustrate that when people obey authority
they can
a. internally justify their actions.
b. externally justify their actions.
c. control the situation psychologically.
d. influence others to do so as well.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 262–263
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

167. If an executioner were to be questioned about how he could live with himself after taking someone’s life, one
likely response (according to the authors of your text) is
a. “The guilt is killing me!”
b. “I love my job; I get to legally hurt people.”
c. “I’m just following orders.”
d. “I am a sociopath anyway.”
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 262–263
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

168. One of the major concerns about the Milgram studies on obedience was
a. results are not generalizable.
b. participants were all urban dwellers.
c. it did not involve random selection.
d. there were several major ethical concerns.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 263
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

169. In Milgram’s studies on obedience, the experimenter repeatedly told the participants that they must continue
with the study. This aspect of Milgram’s studies violated the ethical principle of
a. informed consent.
b. deception.
c. the right to withdraw.
d. inflicted insight.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 264
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 Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

170. Milgram’s studies on obedience to authority violated several ethical principles. These include all of the
following EXCEPT
a. no true informed consent.
b. no debriefing period.
c. deception.
d. inflicted insight.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 263–264
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

171. Despite public outcry and rigorous ethical guidelines on research, Burger (2009) did a replication of Milgram’s
studies on obedience. How was Burger able to conduct these studies?
a. He conducted them outside of the U.S.
b. He did an archival analysis.
c. He made several changes to adhere to modern ethical guidelines.
d. He lied to the Institutional Review Board.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 264–265
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

172. In order for Burger (2009) to conduct a study replicating Milgram’s work on obedience, he had to modify
Milgram’s procedures. Which of the following is one of the modifications he made?
a. He videotaped the study.
b. He stopped the study at 150 volts.
c. He paid them $50 for participation.
d. He used young, psychologically resilient participants.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 264–265
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

173. Burger (2009) conducted a replication of Milgram’s studies on obedience. One of the modifications to
Milgram’s original method was that Burger stopped the study after participants had reached 150 volts (rather
than 450). Why did he choose the 150-volt cut-off point?
a. In Milgram’s work, participants who were going to disobey usually did so by 150 volts.
b. Burger actually had the participants hooked up to the shock device with the learner, and 150 volts is quite
painful.
c. 150 volts of electricity sounds very painful to participants.
d. 150 volts of electricity actually isn’t painful at all.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 264–265
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

174. In Burger’s (2009) modernized version of Milgram’s experiments on obedience, there are several modern
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 “updates.” In what ways was Burger’s sample of participants different from Milgram’s?
a. It included only college students.
b. It included children.
c. It was diverse in gender, age, and education level.
d. It included Bantu tribespeople.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 264–265
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

175. Burger’s (2009) replication of Milgram’s studies on obedience to authority suggests that compared with people
in the 1970s, people in 2006 were ________ likely to obey authority.
a. less
b. just as
c. more
d. not at all
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 264
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

176. In Burger’s (2009) replication of Milgram’s studies on obedience to authority, he included both men and
women. Milgram included women in only one of his studies. Which of the following is true about the gender
differences Burger found?
a. Men were more obedient than women.
b. Women were more obedient than men.
c. Men were more obedient, but only if the experimenter giving instructions was also a man.
d. There were no significant gender differences, just as in Milgram’s study.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 264–265
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

177. According to the authors of your text, the work of Milgram and Burger on obedience to authority is a clear
example of which conflicting goals of science?
a. discover new knowledge; replicate work
b. do no harm; the end justifies the means
c. replication is a waste of time; everything old is new again
d. discover new knowledge; do no harm
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 264–265
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

178. Even though the authors point to a number of situational variables that contributed to the destructive obedience
of Stanley Milgram’s participants (e.g., normative and informational conformity pressures, conflicting norms),
it might still be argued that people have, lurking deep within them, sadistic tendencies that can easily be elicited
by situational variables. What experimental findings by Milgram call this “personal attribution” into question?
a. When participants could choose the level of shock, they administered very low levels.
b. Violent prisoners administered lower shocks than non-prisoner participants.
c. There are cultural differences in the amount of shock participants administer.
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 d. When the learner was introduced as a minister, participants gave lower shocks.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 265
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

179. The authors of your text discuss several factors that led to the high degree of obedience in the Milgram
experiment. All of the following are implicated EXCEPT
a. normative social influence.
b. informational social influence.
c. gradual commitment and resulting changes in self-perception (foot-in-the-door).
d. aggression.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 265
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

Essay
180. Recall that Muzafer Sherif (1936) used the autokinetic effect to measure participants’ estimates of the apparent
movement of a stationary spot of light. In what sense did Sherif’s findings illustrate informational social
influence?

Answer: There was no objectively “right” or “wrong” answer about how much the light was moving. There are
great individual differences in people’s estimates of the apparent movements. Sherif put participants in a dark
room with other participants. As each individual participant made estimates, those estimates served as
information for other participants about the movement of the light. Over time, this shared information yielded
group norms in estimates. The room was dark, so participants could not see others or be seen, and so normative
pressures did not likely operate; in addition, group norms developed, and were used later by lone participants
who made individual estimates. This suggests that informational conformity was in operation, not normative
conformity.
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231–232
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

181. After checking into a hotel, Emma suddenly hears pounding on her door. A man in a uniform is standing there
telling her that there is smoke on a lower floor and the electricity is possibly going to shut off. She should prop
her door open and evacuate as quickly as possible. Later, she returns to find her laptop and jewelry have been
stolen. She has fallen victim to informational social influence. Explain why she conformed.

Answer: Being in an unfamiliar environment, the situation was ambiguous. She accepted the man’s uniform as
a sign that he was an expert, so she was likely to do what she was told. Finally, the “expert” told her that there
was a crisis. All of these contributed to her doing what she did and being influenced.
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 231
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

182. Solomon Asch conducted a series of studies in which confederates publicly gave an obviously wrong judgment,
and then a participant was asked to make a judgment about the length of several lines he or she saw. What was
the result of this study? Describe how participants behaved. Additionally, state if they were subject to
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 normative or informational social influence.

Answer: In Asch’s studies, he found that most of the time, the real participants would conform and provide a
wrong answer at least on one occasion during a series of trials. This is evidence for the power of normative
social influence.
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 238–241
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

183. The text discussed informational social influence and normative social influence. First, describe the two types
of social influence and give a real life example of each. Be sure to clearly explain how your example
demonstrates that particular type of social influence.

Answer: Informational social influence occurs when individuals are looking to others to provide them with
information about an ambiguous situation or stimulus. Because individuals in these types of situations are
uncertain about the situation, they are more likely to internalize the information, which would lead to private
acceptance. An example of this would be when students take down notes because they see other students
writing something down. This is an example of informational social influence because the individuals are
looking to others to decide when it is appropriate or necessary to behave in a specific way. On the other hand,
normative social influence occurs when individuals want to be accepted. This type of social influence is more
likely to lead to public compliance rather than private acceptance. For example, if a group of friends endorsed a
particular candidate during a discussion around a table, a single individual at the table may publicly go along
with the majority opinion because he or she wants to be liked and accepted. However, in the actual voting
booth, the individual may still vote for his or her favored candidate.
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 230–232, 236–238
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”; Normative Social Influence: The
Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

184. Informational social influence does not always produce conformity, but informational conformity is more likely
in some situations than in others. What factors increase conformity to informational social influence?

Answer: The most crucial variable is how ambiguous a situation is. The more uncertain we are of the
appropriate construal or the appropriate course of action, the more we will yield to informational social
influence. Crisis situations—in part because they are ambiguous and in part because they call for immediate
action—are other situations that increase informational conformity. And finally, especially in ambiguous
situations or during crises, we often turn to experts as a source of information on what’s going on and what we
should do.
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 235
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

185. How does conformity to normative social influence differ from conformity to informational social influence?

Answer: Whereas informational conformity arises from a need to be “right,” to arrive at an accurate construal of
an ambiguous situation, normative conformity arises from a need to be “liked” and to be accepted by other
people. Informational conformity typically is longer lasting, because it often yields private acceptance of
information or group norms; normative conformity typically only results in public compliance, and not private
acceptance. Finally, informational conformity is most likely to occur in ambiguous situations, whereas
normative social influence can occur in almost any situation, including those in which what is “right” is
perfectly clear.
Difficulty: 2
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 Page(s) in Text: 230–232, 236–238
Topic: Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right”; Normative Social Influence: The
Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

186. According to the text, what are the three things that happen to individuals who resist normative social
influence?

Answer: Those who resist normative social influence are often met with attempts by the group to bring them
into line. They are teased and encouraged to follow group norms. If that does not work, the group usually
rejects and ostracizes the individual. Finally, groups can punish individuals by relegating them to lower, less
desirable tasks and positions. This was demonstrated by Schachter’s “Johnny Rocco” study.
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 243–244
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

187. Describe a situation when you were the “odd man out.” That is, you were the nonconformist. Did your
experience resemble the Johnny Rocco study results? If so, how? If not, why not? Be sure to use vocabulary
from the chapter and be specific.

Answer: [Students’ description of the experience should include degree of communication and how they were
treated by the group. There should be a compelling explanation if they choose “why not.”]
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 243–244
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

188. Explain how both informational conformity and normative conformity could contribute to eating disorders in
women.

Answer: Informational social influence may set the stage for eating disorders in that media portrayals of
“attractive” women convey information to women about what type of body is attractive and desirable in a
society at any given point in time. After the media create a wide consensus among men and women alike about
what is attractive, normative influences take over.
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 230–232, 236–238
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

189. In what kinds of situations are people most likely to yield to normative social influence pressures?

Answer: In general, people are more responsive to normative pressures when these pressures come from three
or more others. Of course, conformity does not increase linearly as group size increases; Solomon Asch (1955)
found that conformity did not increase appreciably when the majority exceeded four people. Because normative
influence hinges on the need to be liked, the more important the group is to the individual, the more he or she
will conform. Unanimous groups are also more likely to induce conformity; even one other dissenter will
reduce conformity. Finally, both cultural and personal variables may affect conformity to normative social
influence. In general, members of interdependent agricultural societies are more conforming than members of
more independent hunting and fishing societies. There is also some evidence that women are slightly more
conforming than men, perhaps because more than men, women have been socialized to be supportive and
agreeable.
Difficulty: 2
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 Page(s) in Text: 244–248
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

190. In a conversation before class, you find that you are the only person in your group to favor tuition increases.
The other five students with whom you are talking strongly oppose tuition increases. What might you do to
persuade them of your point of view? What form of social influence would you rely on?

Answer: Typically, normative influence is used by majorities to bring minority group members into line with
the majority opinion. Because you are a decided minority on this issue, you must rely on informational social
influence. The key is to present your case consistently, being careful not to waver between two different
viewpoints on the issue. In the face of a consistent and unwavering minority view, members of the majority
have been known to sit up and take notice when the minority uses informational social influence to present
them with new unexpected information that encourages them to examine the issue more carefully.
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 248
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

191. Given the strong need for acceptance and belonging that people have, it is not surprising that they often have a
difficult time saying “no” and not conforming when it may lead to social disapproval. Nonetheless, there are
times when people resist normative social influence. Name the two main conditions under which someone is
more likely to resist normative social influence attempts.

Answer: When someone in a group has an ally—someone else who stands in opposition to the majority—
people have the confidence to take a stand and go against the majority. Second, if a person is usually very
agreeable and conforms readily to a group, it’s likely that he or she will have accrued idiosyncrasy credits. That
is, since the person is usually very agreeable and conforms to the group, he or she is allowed to deviate
occasionally without consequences.
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 244–248
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

192. What is the relation between idiosyncrasy credits and normative conformity? Provide a concrete example of this
relation.

Answer: When group members conform over time to the normative influence attempts of others, those
conforming members earn “credit” that they can later use to resist such normative pressures. Edwin Hollander
(1958, 1960) called these credits that people earn over time “idiosyncrasy credits.” Ironically, conformity over
time earns an individual more idiosyncrasy credits, which he or she can later use to behave deviantly without
censure or disapproval from group members. [Note: Any example will do so long as students include two key
ideas: conformity over time to normative influence pressures, and the right to deviate without censure later.]
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 245
Topic: Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

193. Discuss the role of both informational and normative influence in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.

Answer: Both informational and normative conformity were involved in the Holocaust. Informational influence
can be seen as important because the government had control of all the media, and used propaganda to convey
the consistent message that the German people must take action to preserve their racial purity and to increase
their territory through conquest. Even though many of the facts conveyed were lies, the people had no other
independent source of information that would help them to question this. The government was seen as the
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 “expert,” and experts tend to have more informational influence when the situation seems threatening. In
addition, normative influence was extremely important, as people feared that their acquaintances and even
family members would spy on them and report any evidence of disloyalty to the Nazis. This fear of potential
retaliation squelched the expression of any dissent, so that the majority appeared unanimous, even though many
people may have had private reservations.
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 265–257
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

194. The authors of your text describe two types of social norms. Identify and describe these two types of norms,
then state which type of norm is more effective in persuading people to conform.

Answer: The text describes injunctive norms as people’s perceptions of what behaviors are approved or
disapproved of by others. Descriptive norms are people’s perceptions of how people actually behave in given
situations, regardless of whether the behavior is approved or disapproved of by others. The authors of your text
suggest that injunctive norms lead to better conformity than descriptive norms.
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 250
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

195. Give examples from your life of the two types of social norms. Be sure to include a definition of each.

Answer: [Students’ answers should include definition of injunctive norms: people’s perceptions of what
behaviors are approved or disapproved of by others. A possible example is going to each and every class.
Definition of descriptive norms: people’s perceptions of how people actually behave in given situations,
regardless of whether the behavior is approved or disapproved of by others. A possible example is that many
students don’t go to early morning classes or classes on Fridays.
Difficulty: 3
Page(s) in Text: 250
Topic: Strategies for Using Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

196. Explain how both normative and informational social influence worked to convince Stanley Milgram’s
participants to deliver powerful shocks to a hapless learner. How did replications of the original study
demonstrate the role of normative and informational influence?

Answer: The experimenter wore the mantle of scientific authority in the original study. It is likely that
normative influence operated when participants feared that they would anger, hurt, or disappoint the
experimenter when they refused. In a variation of the original study, when two confederates refused to continue
(at 150 volts and 210 volts, respectively) despite the experimenter’s stern instructions, participants also decided
to resist. Informational influence was also operating. Odds are that the experimental situation was novel and
confusing to participants, so they relied on the experimenter’s behavior to help them define the situation.
Because he did not seem concerned about the learner, participants became convinced that they were not doing
anything too harmful, so they obeyed. In a variation of the original study, the experimenter did not insist on
escalating shocks, and left the room. When a confederate (allegedly a fellow participant) suggested the original
procedures, participants refused to administer severe shocks. This suggests that participants were less likely to
use a “nonexpert” to help them define the situation.
Difficulty: 2
Page(s) in Text: 256–261
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: Factual
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

197. Explain what two conflicting norms operated in Stanley Milgram’s classic obedience experiments. Also explain
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 why one norm was more likely to be obeyed than the other.

Answer: Participants were caught between two conflicting norms; on one hand, it is wrong to inflict needless
pain on an undeserving victim, and on the other hand, it is right to obey authority figures. At the beginning of
the experiment—when shocks were mild and the learner did not complain or fall silent—it was relatively easy
to follow the “obey authority” norm. As the learner’s pain and protests grew stronger, it became hard to
abandon that norm for the alternative “Do no harm” norm. First, the experiment was fast-paced (participants
didn’t have time to think about their values and the other norm) and second, participants were asked to deliver
shocks in small increments (which made each previous shock a kind of justification for subsequent shocks).
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 259–261
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

198. After the Milgram study, there were several changes made to the way psychologists are allowed to conduct
research. Describe at least three of the differences between the APA ethics code now and then.

Answer: Now, participants are required to give informed consent before proceeding with research. The
description provided in the informed consent may be vague, but it cannot be completely deceptive as in the
Milgram experiment. Now, participants are reminded that they have the right to discontinue when they choose.
In Milgram, they were encouraged to continue, and weren’t reminded of that right. Third, the experiment
clearly causes psychological distress. Now, the extremes of such an experiment are not allowed (see Burger,
2009).
Difficulty: 1
Page(s) in Text: 263–264
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

REVEL Quiz Questions

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.1

All of the following are examples of informational social influence EXCEPT

a. you are running a race, but because you are unsure of the route, you wait to check which of two roads the
other runners follow.
b. you’ve just started work at a new job, and a fire alarm goes off; you watch your coworkers to see what to
do.
c. when you get to college, you change the way you dress so that you “fit in” better—that is, so that people
will like you more.
d. you ask your adviser which classes you should take next semester.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Informational Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.2

Which of the following is true, according to social impact theory?

a. People conform more to others who are physically close than to others who are physically distant.
b. People conform more if the others are important to them.
c. People conform more to three or more people than to one or two people.
d. All of the above are true.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Social Impact Theory
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 Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.3

In Asch’s line studies, participants who were alone when asked to report the length of the lines gave the correct answer
98% of the time. However, when they were with the confederates who sometimes gave an obviously wrong answer, 76%
of participants gave the wrong answer at least once. This suggests that Asch’s studies are an illustration of
a. public compliance with private acceptance.
b. public compliance without private acceptance.
c. informational influence.
d. private compliance.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Asch Line-Judgment Studies
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.4

Which of the following is most true about informational social influence?

a. When deciding whether to conform, people should ask themselves whether the other people know more
about what is going on than they do.
b. People should always try to resist it.
c. People are most likely to conform when others have the same level of expertise as they do.
d. Often, people publicly conform but do not privately accept this kind of influence.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Informational Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.5

Brandon knows that society considers underage drinking to be wrong; he also knows, however, that on a Saturday night
at his university, many of his friends will engage in this behavior. His belief that most of the public would disapprove of
underage drinking is __________________, while his perception that many teenagers drink under certain circumstances
is ____________________.
a. an injunctive norm; a descriptive norm
b. a descriptive norm; an injunctive norm
c. a descriptive norm; conformity
d. an injunctive norm; conformity
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Injunctive and Disjunctive Norms
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.6

Tom is a new student at his university. During the first week of classes, he notices a fellow student from one of his
classes getting on a bus. Tom decides to follow the student and discovers that this bus takes him right to the building
where his class meets. This best illustrates what kind of conformity?
a. obedience to authority
b. informational social influence
c. public compliance
d. normative social influence
Answer: B

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 Difficulty: 3
Topic: Informational Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.7

Which of the following best describes an example of normative social influence?

a. Carrie is studying with a group of friends. When comparing answers on the practice test, she discovers that
they all answered the question differently than she had. Instead of speaking up and telling them she thinks
the answer is something else, she agrees with their answer because she figures they must be right.
b. Samantha is supposed to bring a bottle of wine to a dinner party she is attending. She doesn’t drink wine
herself but figures she can just ask the store clerk for advice on what kind to buy.
c. Miranda is out to lunch with her boss and coworkers. Her boss tells a joke that makes fun of a certain
ethnic group, and everyone else laughs. Miranda doesn’t think the joke is funny but laughs anyway.
d. Charlotte is flying on an airplane for the first time. She is worried when she hears the engine make a
strange noise but feels better after she looks at the flight attendants and sees that they are not alarmed.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Normative Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.8

American mythology and culture often emphasize the importance of

a. not conforming.
b. following authority.
c. setting descriptive norms.
d. normative social influence.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.9

Which of the following strategies of social influence creates a situation similar to that experienced by Milgram’s study in
that it relies on requests that increase in severity in incremental fashion?
a. contagion
b. foot-in-the-door technique
c. door-in-the-face technique
d. descriptive norms
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Foot-in-the-Door Technique; Milgram’s Studies
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

Aronson_9e_EOC_Q8.10

Which of the following had the LEAST influence on participants’ willingness to keep giving shocks in the Milgram
studies?
a. loss of personal responsibility
b. self-justification
c. informational social influence
d. participants’ aggression

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 Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Milgram’s Studies
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.1.1

Which of the following is the most direct and powerful example of social influence?
a. complying with a polite request made by a friend
b. conforming to a group norm
c. obedience to an order from an authority figure
d. emotion-based attitudes
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.1.2

Which of the following statements best captures the relationship between cultural beliefs and conformity?
a. There is little variability in how people from different cultures think about conformity.
b. Compared to many cultures, Americans tend to have relatively negative attitudes toward conformity.
c. Compared to many cultures, Americans tend to have relatively positive attitudes toward conformity.
d. Americans’ beliefs about conformity have become more and more negative as the years go by.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.1.3

Conformity always includes

a. positive and moral behavior.
b. negative and immoral behavior.
c. the real or imagined influence of other people.
d. an authority figure.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Conformity: When and Why
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.1 What is conformity, and why does it occur?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.2.1

Informational social influence occurs

a. when we believe that other people’s reactions can help us arrive at an accurate reading of a situation.
b. through public but not private conformity.
c. only in a crisis.
d. autokinetically.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1
Topic: Informational Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

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Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.2.2

Which of the following statements regarding Sherif’s (1936) study of perceptions of the autokinetic effect is true?
a. Participants conformed publicly but not privately.
b. Participants did conform, but the effects of this conformity were short-lived as they reverted to their
previous, individually-given responses once they were no longer part of a group.
c. Participants conformed because they were in a group with their friends, and they simply wanted to fit in
with the group.
d. Participants conformed because they believed the other people’s responses were accurate.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Informational Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.2.3

The more important it is to people to make an accurate decision,

a. the less likely they are to conform to informational social influence.
b. the more likely they are to conform to informational social influence.
c. the more they seek to make that decision on their own, uninfluenced by what the people around them have
to say.
d. the more they will prefer public to private conformity.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Informational Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.2.4

Which of the following statements best captures the relationship between informational social influence and eyewitness
performance in legal proceedings?
a. Because the stakes are so high in a criminal trial, eyewitnesses do not conform to informational social
influence.
b. Eyewitnesses are encouraged to use informational social influence in providing their testimony at trial.
c. The legal system often takes steps to prevent conformity to informational social influence among
eyewitnesses.
d. Informational social influence always makes eyewitnesses more accurate.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Informational Social Influence
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.2.5

Informational social influence is most likely to occur when

a. a situation is unambiguous and not a crisis.
b. the other people around are not experts and the situation is not a crisis.
c. the other people around are experts and the situation is ambiguous.
d. a situation is a crisis but also unambiguous.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Informational Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.2 How does informational social influence motivate people to conform?

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Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.3.1

Societal rules regarding acceptable behavior are known as

a. contagion.
b. social norms.
c. minority influence.
d. convergence.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1
Topic: Social Norms
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.3.2

Asch’s line-judgment research indicated that

a. participants demonstrated public conformity without private acceptance.
b. every single participant conformed at least one time.
c. conformity was greater when participants wrote down their responses rather than said them aloud.
d. conformity occurs only on a task that is of personal importance to the individual.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Asch’s Line-Judgment Studies
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.3.3

Compared to informational social influence, normative social influence

a. leads to more internalized, private attitude change.
b. is more consistent across different cultures.
c. has to less to do with being accurate and more to do with fitting in.
d. is a tendency about which most Americans hold positive attitudes.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Normative Social Influence
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.3.4

A 12-person jury is deliberating on a murder trial. Eleven members of the jury want to vote guilty and convict the
defendant; only one juror wants to vote not guilty. The holdout juror, Henry, digs in and will not change his mind.
According to research, what is the best prediction for how the rest of the group will react to Henry’s deviance?
a. They will eventually come to ignore him and try to punish him by being generally unpleasant toward him.
b. They will come to appreciate his principled stand the longer he holds out in defiance of their position.
c. They will seek to change his opinion by using idiosyncrasy credits.
d. They will try to use minority influence to change his mind.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Social Norms and Deviant Behavior
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.3.5

Which of the following conclusions is consistent with the predictions of social impact theory?

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 a. Conformity is more likely among groups of strangers than within established groups that are important to
us.
b. Social influence increases in a linear fashion as a group grows in size; in other words, each new member
added to a group adds the same amount of social influence as the previous member added.
c. The more immediate a group is, the more social influence it tends to exert.
d. Conformity is less prevalent in collectivist cultures than it is in individualistic cultures.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Social Impact Theory
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.3.6

The key to minority influence is

a. normative social pressure.
b. immediacy.
c. creativity.
d. consistency.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1
Topic: Minority Influence
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.3 How does normative social influence motivate people to conform?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.4.1

A(n) __________ norm involves perceptions of which behaviors society approves of; a(n) ___________ norm involves
perceptions of how people actually behave.
a. public; private
b. private; public
c. descriptive; injunctive
d. injunctive; descriptive
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Injunctive and Descriptive Norms
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.4.2

__________ norms are most powerful for changing people’s behaviors.

a. Informational
b. Normative
c. Injunctive
d. Descriptive
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1
Topic: Injunctive and Descriptive Norms
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.4.3

Which of the following provides an illustration of how the use of norms to change behavior can backfire and produce a
“boomerang effect”?

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 a. Jerry finds out that everyone in his building is conserving water by installing a low-flow shower head, so
he decides that he doesn’t need to worry about conserving, and he begins taking even longer showers than
usual.
b. Elaine notices that the new, attractive guy at the office brings a reusable cup instead of bottled water, so she
goes out of her way to show off her reusable cup whenever he is in the vicinity in order to win his
affection.
c. Kramer finds out that he is using more electricity than most people in the neighborhood, so he cuts down
on his usage by shutting off his computer, lights, and hot tub every time he leaves his apartment.
d. George finds out that all of his neighbors are stealing cable television, so he decides that he will get an
illegal cable hookup as well.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Norms and the “Boomerang Effect”
Skill: APPLICATION
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.4.4

The foot-in-the-door technique

a. works only when the second request comes from the same person as the first request.
b. capitalizes on people’s desire for self-consistency.
c. is an example of propaganda.
d. works only when the requests come from someone in a position of authority.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Foot-in-the-Door Technique
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.4.5

The door-in-the-face technique

a. is an example of informational social influence.
b. illustrates the importance of people’s desire to be accurate.
c. relies at least in part on norms of reciprocity.
d. is more likely to work during a time of crisis.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Door-in-the-Face Technique
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.4 How can people use their knowledge of social influence to influence others?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.5.1

Which of the following was a goal of Milgram’s obedience research?

a. to identify the abnormal personality characteristics associated with sadistic behavior
b. to justify and exonerate the behaviors linked to genocide and other inhuman acts
c. to better understand the social forces that contribute to destructive and immoral behavior
d. to identify cultural differences in aggression
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: ANALYTICAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.5.2

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Which of the following illustrates the role played by normative social influence in the obedience of Milgram’s
participants?
a. When other “teachers” (actually confederates) refused to continue with the study, participants’ obedience
rates declined significantly.
b. Men and women exhibited similar levels of obedience in the research.
c. The “learner” (actually a confederate) announced before the study began that he had a preexisting heart
condition.
d. Many participants showed signs of nervous laughter during the course of the study.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2
Topic: Obedience to Authority
Skill: CONCEPTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.5.3

Which of the following was NOT one of the instruction prods used by the experimenter in the Milgram studies?
a. “The experiment requires that you continue.”
b. “Please continue.”
c. “It is absolutely essential that you continue.”
d. “If you do not continue, you will not be paid for your participation.”
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1
Topic: Milgram’s Study
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.5.4

Which of the following is a common ethical concern raised about the Milgram study?
a. Participants’ compensation was low.
b. Participants were forced to learn unpleasant things about themselves without agreeing to that ahead of time.
c. Participants were never given the chance to serve in the role of learner.
d. Participants had to receive a sample shock of 75 volts before the study began.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3
Topic: Milgram’s Study
Skill: ANALYTICAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

Aronson_9e_EOM_Q8.5.5

Which of the following is a change that Burger (2009) made from the original Milgram study when he replicated the
research several decades later?
a. He examined only female participants.
b. The study was stopped once participants went past 150 volts.
c. He told participants that the study was part of research on the effects of punishment on learning.
d. He paid participants for their involvement.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1
Topic: Milgram’s Study
Skill: FACTUAL
LO 8.5 What have studies demonstrated about people’s willingness to obey authority figures?

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