Lesson 1.1.5

1.1.5 Factors affecting prejudice and discrimination Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 1

20 questions

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Lesson 1.1.5, Factors affecting prejudice and discrimination: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 1: Social psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Allport's contact hypothesis (1954) proposes that prejudice is reduced when groups meet under which conditions?

    • Meetings only in large crowds, so that individuals are never seen as members of the other group
    • Frequent but brief meetings with no shared goals, so that groups never develop any real relationship
    • Equal status, common goals, cooperation and support from authorities or institutions
    • Unequal status, competing goals, individual rivalry and no support from authorities or institutions

  2. Which individual difference is linked to prejudice in the research on personality?

    • Eye colour, since people with brown eyes are reliably more prejudiced than people with other eye colours
    • Left-handedness, which was shown to be associated with a stronger liking for members of all social groups
    • Authoritarian personality, which is associated with prejudice against groups seen as different or inferior
    • Height, since taller people were shown to hold consistently more prejudiced views than shorter people do

  3. Which situational factor is most likely to increase prejudice according to the research on prejudice?

    • Competition between groups over scarce resources, which creates hostility and discrimination
    • Cooperation between groups on a shared goal, which tends to build positive relationships between members
    • Equal status for all members of the groups, which removes the sense of threat from the other group
    • Regular friendly contact between members of different groups, which reduces anxiety about the other group

  4. In Sherif's Robbers Cave study, what happened when the two groups were given superordinate goals?

    • Hostility disappeared entirely, as the boys all quickly forgot which group they had originally belonged to
    • Hostility between the groups increased, as the shared problems gave them more reasons to compete with each other
    • Hostility between the groups reduced, as they cooperated to solve problems they could not solve alone
    • Hostility stayed exactly the same, as the shared problems made no difference to how the groups behaved

  5. A school introduces mixed teams with a shared reward for success. Which factor affecting prejudice does this use?

    • Common goals and cooperation, which the research suggests can reduce prejudice between groups
    • Competition between groups for individual prizes, which the research suggests increases prejudice
    • Individual rivalry between students, which the research suggests increases prejudice in the classroom
    • Unequal status between students, which the research suggests is the most important cause of prejudice

  6. Which cultural factor is linked to prejudice in the specification's account?

    • The price of food in the country, since expensive food always reduces prejudice in local communities
    • Cultural norms that accept or encourage discrimination against particular groups in society
    • The architecture of the buildings in the town, since older buildings are consistently linked to more prejudice
    • The climate of the region, since warmer climates are shown to make people less prejudiced in general

  7. Why is the mere presence of an out-group not always enough to reduce prejudice?

    • Contact always increases prejudice, since any meeting with an out-group member leads to conflict
    • Contact has no effect on prejudice at all, because prejudice is entirely fixed by genetic factors
    • Contact without equal status or cooperation may leave existing negative stereotypes in place
    • Contact is always reduced to a single event, so repeated meetings never affect attitudes in any way

  8. Which evaluation point is most relevant to research on situational factors in prejudice?

    • Field experiments always have perfect control over all variables, so their conclusions are always more reliable
    • Field experiments cannot be carried out with children, so they tell us nothing about prejudice in real life
    • Field experiments always use a single participant, so findings cannot be generalised to any larger population
    • Field and natural experiments can have high ecological validity, but control over variables is often lower

  9. How does the Robbers Cave study support the realistic conflict explanation?

    • The groups became friends as soon as they met, with no competition or conflict of any kind at any point
    • The groups became hostile when they competed for prizes, and hostility fell when they had shared goals
    • The groups showed no hostility at all, which proved that competition for resources does not affect groups
    • The groups were formed by the researcher with identical personalities, so no conflict developed between them

  10. Which situational factor is linked to reduced prejudice by the contact hypothesis?

    • Unequal status between the groups, which fosters respect because the lower group admires the higher group
    • Cooperation between groups on a common task, which fosters positive attitudes and reduces stereotypes
    • Competition between groups for a single prize, which fosters respect and reduces stereotypes between groups
    • Isolation of the groups from each other, which fosters respect because members never see each other's faults

  11. Which of these is a valid individual-difference explanation of prejudice?

    • Individuals who speak more than one language are always prejudiced because bilingualism causes prejudice
    • Individuals who live in cities are always prejudiced because urban life determines how people think about others
    • Individuals who are tall are always prejudiced against out-groups because height determines social attitudes
    • Individuals high in authoritarianism are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes towards out-groups

  12. A researcher argues prejudice is shaped by both personality and situation. Which concept captures this?

    • A purely genetic explanation, in which prejudice is fixed at birth and cannot be changed by experience
    • A purely reinforcement explanation, in which prejudice is learned only through rewards and punishments
    • An interactionist explanation, in which personality and situation together influence prejudice
    • A purely cognitive explanation, in which prejudice is caused only by conscious decisions people make

  13. Which statement about culture and prejudice is most consistent with the specification?

    • Culture can shape prejudice through environmental effects, such as norms and shared beliefs about groups
    • Culture has no effect on prejudice, since prejudice is entirely determined by the genetic makeup of individuals
    • Culture always reduces prejudice, since all cultures teach equal respect for every social group equally
    • Culture only affects prejudice in adults, since children are never influenced by the cultural norms around them

  14. Which factor would most likely increase prejudice in a situation of economic hardship?

    • Shared jobs and housing between groups, which fosters common goals and increases contact between them
    • Perceived competition for jobs and housing between groups, which creates realistic conflict
    • Equal access to resources for all groups, which removes any sense of competition or threat between them
    • Regular cooperation in community projects, which builds friendships and trust between different groups

  15. In the research on prejudice, what is the role of institutional support?

    • Authorities that ignore groups entirely reduce prejudice by removing any sense of identity from the situation
    • Authorities that back cooperation and equal treatment help contact between groups to reduce prejudice
    • Authorities have no role in prejudice, since individuals alone decide how they feel about other groups
    • Authorities that encourage competition between groups usually reduce prejudice by making rivalry more open

  16. A study finds prejudice is lower in schools where students are in mixed groups working on a shared project. What does this suggest?

    • Mixed groups always increase prejudice because students are forced to compete with students they do not know
    • Prejudice depends only on the number of students in the school, not on how the students are organised
    • Shared projects have no effect on prejudice, because prejudice is entirely determined by personality traits
    • Cooperation and common goals can reduce prejudice, consistent with the contact and realistic conflict accounts

  17. Which is a limitation of research on individual differences in prejudice?

    • Correlational data show association, so it may not establish that personality causes prejudice
    • Correlational data include no participants, so they cannot tell us anything about prejudice in any group
    • Correlational data are always completely reliable, so the conclusions about personality are beyond question
    • Correlational data always prove causation, so personality is shown to cause prejudice in every case

  18. Which statement best describes an out-group in social psychology?

    • A group formed only for a single task, which dissolves once the task is finished by the members
    • The group a person belongs to, which they identify with and see as their primary social identity
    • A group of strangers who share no common features and are never compared with any other group
    • A group that a person does not belong to, which they may compare unfavourably with their own group

  19. What would a researcher expect to find if prejudice is reduced by contact under the right conditions?

    • Lower prejudice only for the individual who had the contact, with no effect on the rest of the group
    • No change in prejudice, since contact has no effect on attitudes under any conditions whatsoever
    • Lower prejudice and more positive attitudes towards members of the out-group after structured contact
    • Higher prejudice and more hostile attitudes towards the out-group after any amount of contact at all

  20. Which situational factor could increase prejudice in a community?

    • Regular social events in which residents mix freely and share food, with no rivalry between groups at all
    • Equal access to jobs for all groups, which removes any sense of economic threat between residents
    • A sudden shortage of housing, which leads residents of different groups to compete for the same homes
    • A shared community project, in which residents of different groups work together to build a playground

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