PSYC 512 Final Exam

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Liberty University *

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PSYC 512

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Psychology

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Feb 20, 2024

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Question 1 50 / 50 pts Explain the results of a research article that focuses on the fundamental attribution error. Show how the study confirmed this effect. ( 50 pts ( Explain the fundamental attribution error (10 pts) / Summarize the article (Hint: do this like the paper article summary assignments) (20 pts) / Explain why this study confirms the fundamental attribution error effect (20 pts) ). Your Answer: The fundamental attribution error is the error in an individual that overlooks situational factors and focuses on personal factors when explaining the behavior of others. An example of this is when a person is late to a meeting and other individuals reﬂect that in the person’s character instead of thinking about situational factors (Car accident, traﬃc, at-home issues, etc). In a research study by Flick and Schweitzer (2021), they sought to find the inﬂuence of the fundamental attribution error on perceptions of blame and negligence. The study consisted of 360 individuals who were at least 18 years old. The participants were instructed to read a hypothetical car accident scenario. In the scenario, the researchers had two avenues of manipulation. They were driver manipulation and situational circumstances manipulation. In the driver manipulation, they split the participants into two groups; one being the driver getting hit and the other being the driver causing the accident. They would change the situational circumstances by varying the road conditions, weather conditions, and traﬃc conditions. The measured variables in the study were situational attributions, dispositional attributions, neglect of external demand, and attention & manipulation checks. The procedure of the study consisted of the participants filling out the measures after reading the scenarios. Once the measures were completed, they were asked to fill out a few demographic questions. The results of the study found that when the individual was hypothetically the driver getting hit, the situational attributions were not present and the blame was placed on the other driver. But when the individual was the driver causing the accident, there were greater situational attributions. The fundamental attribution error is confirmed in the study because the individual was given the same accident situation, but different roles in the accident, and there was conﬂicting information. The individual, who caused the

accident, blamed the environment and situation around them for the accident. The individual, who was hit, did not blame the environment but blamed the other driver personally. Flick, & Schweitzer, K. (2021). Inﬂuence of the Fundamental Attribution Error on Perceptions of Blame and Negligence. Experimental Psychology. , 68 (4), 175–188. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000526 Links to an external site. Well done! Remember in the reference need authors initial, do not capitalize title throughout. Question 2 50 / 50 pts The nature versus nurture debate inﬂuences our understanding of every behavior. What is the nature argument for aggression? What is the nurture argument for aggression? Feel free to use research, theory, and other evidence as explained in any of the course texts. ( 50 pts ( Explain the nature argument (include min. 2 sources) (list 3-4 of the major points) (15 pts) / Explain the nuture argument (include min. 2 sources) (list 3-4 of the major points) (15 pts) / Based on this evidence what do you think the best explanation of aggression is? (20 pts) ). Your Answer: Aggression is a learned quality as a result of external environments and situations. Kassin et al. (2021) state that aggressive behavior within an individual is strongly affected by the actions of other individuals. Hyde et al. (2022) reinforced this claim that

they tested whether a child with aggression tendencies is caused by nature or nurture. They found aggression is likely to emerge from a complex interaction of multiple nurture contexts at family, neighborhood, peer, and community levels (Hyde & Dotterer, 2022). Kassin et al. (2021) brought up 3 major points that link nurture and aggression. The first point is corporal punishment which is a physical force with the intention to not injury but only pain. They can commonly be found in the form of spanking of children. When a parent intention to spank a child, they are using it as a behavior modifier. This action can result in the child developing aggressive actions due to exposure to aggression at a young age. The second point is the social learning theory which is the theory that explains that a person’s behavior is developed by the observation of others. An example of this can be found in a household of domestic violence. If a child is exposed to seeing one parent display aggression towards the other, the likelihood of the child displaying the same increases the more often they witness it. The third point is the culture the individual is a part of. There are cultures in the world that require boys to display aggressive behavior to be considered a man. The culture of honor requires men to have aggressive tendencies in order to protect their honor (Kassin et al., 2021). Aggression within an individual is a result of biology. The most common factors to look at to better understand the biological development of aggression are genes, testosterone, serotonin, and the brain. After an evaluation of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, Kassin et al. (2021) summarized that genes make up about a third to a half of the variation in aggression within adolescents. The primary gene that was found in people with aggression was the MAOA gene (Hyde & Dotterer, 2022). Testosterone also plays a big role in aggression primarily in males, but women do have small levels of testosterone. Researchers have found a strong link between high levels of testosterone and aggression. Kassin et al. (2021) displayed that individuals that display aggression can obtain high levels of testosterone as a result of the aggression. Another factor that is found in human aggression is the levels of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that the brain relies on to control emotions. If an individual contains low levels of serotonin, they are likely to have high levels of aggression because they are not resisters in the nervous system. The frontal lobe in the brain controls aggression among its other responsibilities. If an individual has a brain disorder that affects the frontal lobe, they have a high probability to display aggressive behavior. I believe that both nature and nurture come into play when an individual is displaying aggressive behavior. The ability to control your behavior is extremely important to me as each person does have some form of aggression, but if the serotonin is not at the

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correct levels, the small aggressive behavior will become inﬂated. On the topic of nurture, social learning theory stood out to me as individuals will have higher levels of aggression if they are surrounded by it a lot. Hyde, L. W., & Dotterer, H. L. (2022). The nature and nurture of callous-unemotional traits. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 31 (6), 546–555. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214221121302 Links to an external site. Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2021). Social psychology (11th ed., pp. 4-47). Cengage. Nicely done! Question 3 45 / 50 pts List and explain the mechanisms of self-enhancement. Pick 1 and explain a situation in which it would be used. ( 50 pts ( Define mechanisms of self-enhancement and explain what they are in your own words (15 pts) / Individually define 5 of them and explain each one in your own words (5 pts each for a total of 25 points) / Explain how 1 of the mechanisms in a situation that it would be used (10 pts )). Your Answer: The mechanisms of self-enhancement are the ways in which an individual improves their self-esteem and make them feel better about themselves.

1. Downward social comparisons occur when an individual evaluates another individual that is less fortunate or less happy. This is common in high school reunions as individuals see the social status of individuals who were in the same position as them in high school 2. Basking in Reﬂected Glory is the action in which a finds their connection with people that are deemed successful and build on that connection to increase self-esteem, 3. Self-handicapping is a different mechanism in self-enhancement as it has to do with failure. Another way to describe self-handicapping is self-sabotaging. As a result of an individual’s actions, the surrounding company expects a failure in the individual’s future actions. Because the result is expected, the initial reaction isn't as severe as it would be if it was unexpected. 4. Better than average effect is the result of an individual amplifying their positive qualities. When an individual is aware of their qualities, they tend to exaggerate their qualities and see their self-esteem as much higher than it is. 5. Self-serving beliefs are the belief that the individual is better than their actual performance or something caused the individual to not reach the preferred results. Basking in Reﬂected Glory Example - My brother works in the movie industry and is friends with well-known movie stars. On his Instagram, he has a video with Rayn Reynolds. When my self-esteem is low, I have noticed that I mention my brother more than normal and his accomplishments to boost my self-esteem. Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2021). Social psychology (11th ed., pp. 4-47). Cengage. Need to take a few sentences to explain self enhancements. Question 4

50 / 50 pts Pick a field in which social psychology can be applied: Law, Business, or Health and Well-being. Explain how social psychology explains 1 area of these applied fields. For example, the Jury Decision-Making in the legal field. ( 50 pts ( Pick and explain a theory/concept of social psychology that would apply to one of the above fields (25 pts) / If you worked in that field how would you specifically apply the theory/concept/principle in your workplace (come up with an example) (25 pts) ). Your Answer: Social psychology is extremely important in business. In the world of business, individuals are constantly evaluating individual’s wants and needs. A theory that is commonly found in the workplace is Self-Eﬃcacy. According to Kassin et al. (2021), Self-Eﬃcacy is the theory that a person’s confidence in oneself to complete a specific task is needed to actually complete the task with the desired outcome. High self-eﬃcacy within an individual is needed for that individual to be successful in the workplace for the following reasons: 1. Motivation - If an individual contains high self-eﬃcacy, they will contain a higher level of motivation to complete a task compared to an individual who is not confident to complete the task. 2. Effectiveness - This is one of the most important reasons for self-eﬃcacy in business. Effectiveness is the degree to which an individual is successful in obtaining the desired result. If an individual is confident in their work and the ability to obtain the desired result, the effectiveness will increase within the individual. 3. Positivity - This explanation is fairly simple. If an individual is successful in completing the desired results, the individual’s attitude will be positive and positivity can easily be contagious. I unknowingly used this theory a lot when I was a manager at Chick-fil-a. As it is commonly known, Chick-fil-a is an extremely busy food establishment which results in a busy workplace. When a new team member is on the first day, it can be really scary due to the speed of everything going on. I would start the team member out on the easiest

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task so they can become familiar with the workplace and build them up from there. One of the most important tasks in the kitchen is breading chicken. During the first time in the station, it was expected that the person wouldn’t do well so we did it during a slow time. Once leadership felt they were ready, we would put them in a position doing a busy time. Before we would do that, we would make sure the team member was confident in himself and his work. They needed to truly believe they could do it. The results are the process were extremely positive as most individuals did really well. Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2021). Social psychology (11th ed., pp. 4-47). Cengage. Great work! Example fits. Question 5 50 / 50 pts Can a person be truly altruistic? Most psychological theories assume an egotistic, self-interested bottom-line. However, this is an argument that people are truly altruistic. Explain this argument. ( 50 pts ( Define/explain Altruism (10 pts) / What are arguments for altruism (list 2-3) (15 pts) / What are arguments against altruism (list 2-3) (15 pts) / Based on this evidence you provided, do YOU think people can be altruistic or not? (10 pts )). Your Answer: Altruism is the behavior in which an individual displays selﬂess desires with no interest to think about themselves. When an individual is walking down a public street and they see a homeless person not wearing any shoes on a day it is below freezing outside, an altruistic individual will take off their shoes and give them to the homeless person without concern for the warmth of their own feet. Many valid arguments support altruism. The first one is the empathy-altruistic hypothesis. The hypothesis explains that

when an individual sees another individual in need, they will imagine how they would feel in that situation which will increase empathy and result in altruism. Another argument for altruism is that helping a natural behavior within an individual. Kassin et al. (2021) point out that research studies have found that our instincts are to help people due to people being surrounded by others they can trust. As we switch to the opposite side of the discussion, there are also valid arguments against altruism. If an individual is helping another person, what is their true motive? This is a question that has been surrounding this topic. This can be commonly on social media. Individuals are taking videos of themselves giving money or helping the homeless, but they are posting them on social media and essentially throwing altruism out the window because they are videoing it for their benefit. Another argument against altruism is the empathy-altruism hypothesis. According to Kassin et al. (2021), the hypothesis is looking at a person’s situation from their perspective. To do this, an individual will inevitably imagine themselves in the person’s situation to better understand. Since they are mentally putting themselves in the situation, the person is no longer being altruistic. I believe it is truly diﬃcult for an individual to be altruistic. It is human nature to think, “What is in it for me?”. They can be a result of doing chores as a child for a payment of some sort. That payment could have been extra play time, a few dollars, or something that benefits us. Almost every kind of act we do for another person has some kind of benefit for us. The benefits could include public recognition or an increase in self-esteem. I truly believe social media has ruined altruism in the world. Social media inﬂuencers are constantly giving away money or helping individuals in diﬃcult situations, but they are receiving an income for the popularity of the events which benefits the inﬂuencer. Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2021). Social psychology (11th ed., pp. 4-47). Cengage. Well done!

PSYC 512 Final Exam

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