AP Psychology : Culture, Norms, and Conformity

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

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Example Question #1 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

Which pioneer of social psychology conducted a famous conformity experiment requiring subjects to match lines?

Possible Answers:

Ancel Keys

Sigmund Freud

Solomon Asch

Alfred Binet

William James

Correct answer:

Solomon Asch

Explanation:

This particular conformity experiment was conducted using 123 male participants under the guise that the experiment was testing visual judgment. Participants were shown a series of cards, each with varying lengths. This experiment showed that the majority of participants would conform to the responses of the "confederates" instead of trusting in their own perceptive faculties.

Example Question #1 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

What is a morpheme?

Possible Answers:

The smallest distinctive unit of sound

How children explore the world through sensorimotor skills

A way to study behavioral psychology in animals

A type of medication used to treat people in great pain

The smallest unit of language that can carry meaning

Correct answer:

The smallest unit of language that can carry meaning

Explanation:

A morpheme is the smallest grammatical unit of language. A morpheme is not necessarily a word, but it can be. It can also be part of a word. For example, the word "smaller" is made up of two morphemes. 

1) small: adjective and root of this word

2) er: morpheme that changes the word into a relative adjective, as opposed to a stand alone adjective

 A phenome is the smallest distinctive unit of sound in language. 

Example Question #2 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

All of the following are stages experienced by people facing grief or death except __________.

Possible Answers:

bargaining

denial

anger

mistrust

Correct answer:

mistrust

Explanation:

Mistrust is not one of the five stages of grief described by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. These stages are, in order: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

Example Question #1 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

What phenomenon was Milgram investigating in his famously controversial shock experiment?

Possible Answers:

Operant conditioning

Classical conditioning

The halo effect

The bystander effect

Obedience

Correct answer:

Obedience

Explanation:

Milgram led people to believe that they were shocking a person in another room in response to incorrect answers on a memory test. The levels of shock administered by some got to be deadly and the person being "shocked" (they were an actor) repeatedly cried out in pain. Many people in the study obeyed the researcher, especially if the researcher was from a presitigious university. The effect was also stronger in unfamiliar environments.

Example Question #2 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

Toward what kind of people do we generally feel romantic attraction?

Possible Answers:

People who display positive feelings towards us

People who are similar to ourselves

People with whom we come into frequent contact 

All of these

None of these

Correct answer:

All of these

Explanation:

Contrary to "opposites attract," more generally speaking we are attracted to people who are very similar to us physically, emotionally, morally, and interest-wise. More than this, the more we see a person, the more we will like them. If they return positive feelings, than we will like them even more!

Example Question #51 : Social Psychology

What is social loafing? 

Possible Answers:

An individual makes less effort in making new friends, since they already have enough to keep them happy

An individual makes less effort when they are part of a group working towards a common goal

An individual adopts the beliefs, morals, and customs of the group to which they belong

None of these

An individual makes less effort in all social endeavors

Correct answer:

An individual makes less effort when they are part of a group working towards a common goal

Explanation:

Social loafing is a social phenomenon whereby an individual makes less effort towards a goal when they are working towards it with others. The most relatable example is when students are put together for projects at school. In these circumstances, there is considerably less effort put into the project than if everyone was working separately.

Example Question #3 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

Which of the following is an example of a stereotype?

Possible Answers:

Diners serve American food

Cats like to hunt

America is widely considered to be democratic

Blondes have more fun

Darker skin is caused by excess pigment

Correct answer:

Blondes have more fun

Explanation:

A stereotype is a widely held belief about a group of people, place, or thing that is a simplified generalization. In this instance, the group of people is "blondes" and the generalization is that they "have more fun." The belief could be based on the images in the media or real life experiences, but the quality that results in stereotype is the generalization to the demographic as a whole. Of course, stereotypes are not always true and can be very misleading. This applies to how we think about many other groups in society and can contribute to prejudice and animosity towards them.

Example Question #1 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

What are the tendencies of an authoritarian personality? 

Possible Answers:

Rebellion against authority out of a sense of self importance 

Cultural awareness and openness to new ways of looking at the world 

Chronic dependence upon authority figures 

Aspiration to the most powerful positions in society

Rigidity and a strong grip of societal norms and tradition 

Correct answer:

Rigidity and a strong grip of societal norms and tradition 

Explanation:

Those with authoritarian personalities have a strong tendency towards sticking to tradition and cultural norms. They believe in their own authority over others and display an oppressive attitude toward their subordinates. Moreover, they are defined by a lack of oppenness and fluidity in the face of newer ideas and innovations in society, choosing to instead stick with their own practices and beliefs.

Example Question #1 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

The difference between prejudice and discrimination is __________.

Possible Answers:

prejudice involves an action

None of the other answers is accurate; prejudice and discrimination are the same thing

discrimination is an attitude

discrimination does not involve an action

discrimination involves an action

Correct answer:

discrimination involves an action

Explanation:

The difference between prejudice an discrimination is that discrimination MUST involve an action, whereas prejudice can simply be an attitude. For example, a cat may be prejudiced against a dog on his street. The dog, however, is discriminating against the cat by eating the cat's food and chasing the cat every time he sees her.

Example Question #5 : Culture, Norms, And Conformity

According to John Santrock, in male adolescent culture, many perceive that they will be thought of as more masculine if they engage in which of the following activities? 

Possible Answers:

Play sports and engage in athletic activities

Hang around many male acquaintances

Get good grades and do well academically

Engage in premarital sex, drink alcohol and take drugs, and participate in delinquent activities. 

Correct answer:

Engage in premarital sex, drink alcohol and take drugs, and participate in delinquent activities. 

Explanation:

In Adolescence by John Santrock, male behaviors are said to have been taught as masculine, although they lack social approval. As a result, doing things like engaging in premarital sex, drinking alcohol and taking drugs, and participating in delinquent activities, make adolescent males feel like they are being manly and masculine.

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