Social Pschology Quiz 2
1. What do the white hoods of Ku Klux Clan members, flaming somebody in a chat room on the Internet, and looting by mobs have in common with respect to lessening inhibitions?
physical anonymity
safety in numbers
moral panic
social contagion
Question 2. 2. Katz (1957) observed that the mass media effect is a two-step flow of communication. Where does the process begin?
with celebrities
the media
with opinion leaders
with consumers of the medium
Question 3. 3. According to the text, we may spontaneously resort to using stereotypes, under which one of the following conditions?
when we feel smug and self-important
when we are feeling very self-confident
when we are in a hurry
when somebody is blocking our goals
Question 4. 4. A state police force has set a height requirement of 5 foot 10 inches, for all officers. The requirement is not relevant to job effectiveness, and generally excludes social groups with shorter statures, including Hispanics, Asians, and women from the force. Such a requirement most clearly reflects which one of the following combinations?
racism and sexism
scapegoating and prejudice
stereotyping and discrimination
racism and prejudice
1. The 2008 presidential election was marked by record-breaking expenditures on various forms of persuasion by the nominee contenders, and the eventual candidates. Candidate websites with blogs, entries on FaceBook and other social media, print ads, television ads, live rallies, staged sound bytes, trips abroad, endorsement announcements, and e-mail campaigns by organizations supporting or against a particular candidate were all part of the dynamic.
With respect to the elements of persuasion, write one or two paragraphs on EACH of the following two factors: message content AND audiences. Explicitly explain why and how these factors apply to the presidential case above.
Question 2. 2. In 2006, the Sigma Chi fraternity at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore put on a weekend "Halloween in the Hood" party. One of the decorations was a skeleton hanging from a rope noose. On the invitation, which was posted on Facebook, Baltimore was referred to as an "HIV pit" and suggested that party-goers should wear rap style clothing and bling-bling. An image of an internationally prominent African-American appeared in the posting.
The Black Student Union members protested to university administration, saying that Sigma Chi was being racially insensitive. A student protest emerged urging the banning of the fraternity. Individual African-American students were deeply disturbed by the noose imagery. The fraternity said it did not mean to offend anyone, and it was only a regular Halloween party. Hostility grew between student groups. The university administration suspended the fraternity, worried about its already tension-filled relations with the surrounding community and other manifestations of intolerance in the student body.
Analyze the facts of this scenario critically using the following approach:
a. explicitly use three (3) concepts from the textbook in your analysis;
b. identify and very briefly describe each concept you use and link it to specific evidence from the scenario;
c. within your group of three course concepts include at least one (1) concept from Chapters 8 (Group Influences) and at least one (1) concept from Chapter 9 (Prejudice: Disliking Others) in your analysis.