Social Psychology: Attitudes, Prejudice and Attraction MCQs 2026

A person may reduce cognitive dissonance by:

1. A Increasing incompatible evidence ✓
2. B Seeking only neutral stimuli ✓
3. C Changing an attitude to fit behavior ✓
4. D Forgetting all social norms ✓

In the lowball technique, compliance is increased after:

1. A A reward is removed before any offer ✓
2. B The target is left without information ✓
3. C A group becomes anonymous ✓
4. D Commitment is gained and then the cost is raised ✓

The cognitive basis of prejudice is most closely linked to:

1. A Stereotypes ✓
2. B Companionate love ✓
3. C Social facilitation ✓
4. D Formal punishment ✓

Realistic conflict theory explains prejudice as arising from:

1. A Excessive exposure to beauty ✓
2. B Competition over scarce resources ✓
3. C Very low sensory thresholds ✓
4. D Short-term memory decay ✓

A superordinate goal reduces group conflict because it:

1. A Increases social distance ✓
2. B Eliminates all group identity ✓
3. C Requires cooperation for a shared outcome ✓
4. D Makes one group anonymous ✓

Social distance scales measure:

1. A The time needed to learn a list ✓
2. B The level of visual acuity ✓
3. C The speed of motor reflexes ✓
4. D Willingness to interact with members of a group ✓

Passionate love is characterized by:

1. A Intense arousal and longing ✓
2. B Only formal commitment ✓
3. C Indifference toward closeness ✓
4. D Absence of emotion ✓

Companionate love is best described as:

1. A A brief response to novelty ✓
2. B Deep affection, trust, and commitment ✓
3. C Obedience to group command ✓
4. D Fear of rejection by strangers ✓

Sternberg triangular theory identifies love through:

1. A Norms, roles, and status ✓
2. B Reward, punishment, and extinction ✓
3. C Intimacy, passion, and commitment ✓
4. D Encoding, storage, and retrieval ✓

Equity in close relationships means that partners perceive:

1. A No need for communication ✓
2. B All conflicts as impossible ✓
3. C Attraction as unrelated to rewards ✓
4. D Contributions and rewards as fair ✓

Modern forms of prejudice are often expressed when:

1. A Social norms allow bias to be disguised ✓
2. B People have no group identity ✓
3. C There is complete information about everyone ✓
4. D All stereotypes are publicly rejected ✓

The Bogardus scale is used to assess:

1. A Depth perception in vision ✓
2. B Social distance toward groups ✓
3. C Obedience to commands ✓
4. D Operant reinforcement schedules ✓

The similarity-attraction effect means that liking increases when people share:

1. A Only different languages ✓
2. B Unequal status positions ✓
3. C Attitudes and values ✓
4. D No opportunity for contact ✓

The physical attractiveness stereotype is the tendency to assume attractive people:

1. A Are always poor leaders ✓
2. B Cannot persuade others ✓
3. C Never receive social support ✓
4. D Have other positive qualities ✓

The sleeper effect in persuasion refers to:

1. A Delayed persuasion after the source is forgotten ✓
2. B Immediate rejection of every argument ✓
3. C Loss of attraction after proximity ✓
4. D Rapid obedience to authority ✓

Selective exposure is the tendency to:

1. A Choose partners only by height ✓
2. B Seek information consistent with existing attitudes ✓
3. C Accept every opposing argument ✓
4. D Avoid all familiar stimuli ✓

Attitude accessibility refers to:

1. A The number of people in a crowd ✓
2. B Formal status in a group ✓
3. C How quickly an attitude comes to mind ✓
4. D The strength of a conditioned reflex ✓

Ambivalent prejudice contains:

1. A Only complete acceptance ✓
2. B No emotional component ✓
3. C Only physical attraction ✓
4. D Both positive and negative evaluations of a group ✓

A just-world belief is the assumption that people:

1. A Cannot change attitudes ✓
2. B Get what they deserve ✓
3. C Always conform under pressure ✓
4. D Prefer dissimilar partners ✓

Source credibility in persuasion mainly depends on:

1. A Physical distance and noise ✓
2. B Group size and anonymity ✓
3. C Expertise and trustworthiness ✓
4. D Hunger and thirst ✓

A fear appeal is most persuasive when it includes:

1. A Only a frightening image ✓
2. B No information about prevention ✓
3. C A denial of personal risk ✓
4. D A specific feasible action to reduce the threat ✓

Attitude inoculation builds resistance by:

1. A Exposing people to weak counterarguments ✓
2. B Removing all opposing views ✓
3. C Increasing group size ✓
4. D Punishing disagreement ✓

Which is a typical peripheral cue in persuasion?

1. A Quality of statistical evidence ✓
2. B Speaker attractiveness ✓
3. C Logical consistency of arguments ✓
4. D Detailed cost-benefit analysis ✓

Dehumanization in prejudice means:

1. A Denying full human qualities to outgroup members ✓
2. B Increasing cooperation through common goals ✓
3. C Reducing dissonance by attitude change ✓
4. D Choosing partners with similar attractiveness ✓

Self-serving bias is shown when people:

1. A Credit success to themselves and failure to external causes ✓
2. B Always blame themselves for group conflict ✓
3. C Refuse all positive feedback ✓
4. D Ignore personal achievements ✓

Actor-observer bias refers to explaining:

1. A Group success only by chance ✓
2. B Attraction only by physical distance ✓
3. C Prejudice only by hormones ✓
4. D Own actions by situations more than traits ✓

The mere exposure effect states that liking often increases through:

1. A Punishment after a response ✓
2. B Competition between groups ✓
3. C Sudden role conflict ✓
4. D Repeated contact with a stimulus ✓

The fundamental attribution error is:

1. A Assuming all attitudes are inherited ✓
2. B Helping more when more witnesses are present ✓
3. C Overemphasizing personal traits when explaining the behavior of others ✓
4. D Changing opinions only after rewards ✓

Out-group homogeneity means perceiving outsiders as:

1. A More expert than authorities ✓
2. B More alike than they really are ✓
3. C Less visible in crowds ✓
4. D More obedient to leaders ✓

In-group bias is the tendency to:

1. A Favor members of own group ✓
2. B Forget recently learned information ✓
3. C Reject all group norms ✓
4. D Avoid similarity in partners ✓

Social identity theory states that self-esteem partly comes from:

1. A The absolute pitch of sounds ✓
2. B Unconditioned reflexes ✓
3. C Short-term memory limits ✓
4. D Membership in social groups ✓

The door-in-the-face technique works by first making:

1. A A small request that is hidden ✓
2. B A large request that is refused, then a smaller target request ✓
3. C A neutral statement without a request ✓
4. D A command from an expert authority ✓

Cognitive dissonance is most likely when:

1. A Attitudes and behavior are inconsistent ✓
2. B A stimulus is repeated many times ✓
3. C A group has high cohesion ✓
4. D A leader gives a direct order ✓

Scapegoat theory explains prejudice as:

1. A A result of high self-actualization ✓
2. B Learning that happens only by insight ✓
3. C Frustration displaced onto an outgroup ✓
4. D A decline in cognitive ability ✓

In the elaboration likelihood model, the central route depends mainly on:

1. A Attractiveness of the speaker ✓
2. B Careful evaluation of message arguments ✓
3. C Repeated exposure without attention ✓
4. D Fear with no suggested response ✓

The behavioral component of an attitude refers to:

1. A The genetic source of emotion ✓
2. B Intended or actual actions toward the object ✓
3. C The sensory threshold for a stimulus ✓
4. D The memory span for digits ✓

The affective component of prejudice refers to:

1. A Legal barriers against a group ✓
2. B Beliefs about group traits ✓
3. C Negative feelings toward a group ✓
4. D Direct commands by authorities ✓

A stereotype is best defined as:

1. A A refusal to help in emergencies ✓
2. B A tendency to obey authority ✓
3. C A close romantic attachment ✓
4. D A belief about characteristics of group members ✓

Discrimination in social psychology means:

1. A Unfair behavior based on group membership ✓
2. B Unconscious memory for an event ✓
3. C Private acceptance of a norm ✓
4. D An increase in task performance ✓

The contact hypothesis predicts reduced prejudice when contact includes:

1. A Competition for scarce rewards ✓
2. B Equal status and common goals ✓
3. C Anonymous interaction only ✓
4. D A large status difference ✓

The affective component of an attitude is represented by:

1. A Feelings linked with the attitude object ✓
2. B Formal rank in a group ✓
3. C The number of bystanders ✓
4. D The size of a reward ✓

The cognitive component of an attitude consists of:

1. A Only facial expressions ✓
2. B Muscle tension during fear ✓
3. C Direct group punishment ✓
4. D Beliefs and thoughts about the attitude object ✓

The foot-in-the-door technique involves:

1. A A small request followed by a larger request ✓
2. B A large request followed by no request ✓
3. C A threat followed by punishment ✓
4. D A reward after group failure ✓

Reciprocity in attraction means people tend to like those who:

1. A Hold formal power over them ✓
2. B Are never available ✓
3. C Punish their opinions ✓
4. D Show liking toward them ✓

Proximity promotes interpersonal attraction mainly because it:

1. A Always prevents conflict ✓
2. B Creates obedience to authority ✓
3. C Increases opportunities for interaction ✓
4. D Removes all social comparison ✓

The matching hypothesis in attraction suggests that people often choose partners who are:

1. A Opposite in every attitude ✓
2. B Similar in physical attractiveness ✓
3. C Highest in formal authority ✓
4. D Least familiar to them ✓

The halo effect occurs when:

1. A One positive trait shapes an overall evaluation ✓
2. B A person avoids all social contact ✓
3. C A group becomes less cohesive ✓
4. D A crowd develops new norms ✓

Implicit attitudes are commonly assessed by the:

1. A Thematic Apperception Test ✓
2. B Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory ✓
3. C Implicit Association Test ✓
4. D Stanford-Binet Scale ✓

The elaboration likelihood model proposes two routes called:

1. A Classical and operant routes ✓
2. B Intrinsic and extrinsic routes ✓
3. C Central and peripheral routes ✓
4. D Authoritarian and democratic routes ✓

A person high in need for cognition is more likely to:

1. A Depend only on speaker appearance ✓
2. B Enjoy effortful thinking and argument evaluation ✓
3. C Avoid all complex information ✓
4. D Conform only under threat ✓