aSample Midterm Items Actual midterm will have 40 MC items. 1. Pluralistic ignorance is likely to contribute to a) rapid cultural evolution. b) an overall drop in IQ scores. c) persistence of particular cultural practices. d) intra-regional cultural variation. e) None of these statements are true. Answer: c, lecture 2. Cross-cultural research on math achievement at school reveals that a) East Asian children perform better than American children on arithmetic but not trigonometry. b) The cultural differences in math achievement are pronounced in elementary school but largely disappear by the time of high school graduation. c) East Asian students dislike math more than American students. d) Americans spend more hours on math homework per week than do East Asians. e) Americans are more satisfied with their math performance than are East Asians. Answer: e , p. 197 3. A 2.5-year-old human child, a chimpanzee, and an orangutan are presented with the same problem-solving task-they must figure out how to use a tool to reach up to the top of a cabinet and nudge a wooden block that will knock over a banana. Based on Hermann and colleagues' findings, which of the three participants will outperform the others? a) the human child b) the chimpanzee c) the orangutan d) None will be able to complete the task. e) They will all perform equally well. Answer: e, lecture 4. Which of the following is NOT viewed as a reason for why many cultures are becoming more individualistic compared with past generations? a) today's generation has not lived through a big threat like World War II where people felt that they shared a common fate with their neighbors.
b) there are more double-income families today. c) people live more suburban lifestyles today. d) people have fewer siblings today. e) people rely on electronic entertainment more today. Answer: d, lecture 5. Shweder and colleagues found that Indians are more likely to sleep with their children than Americans. Given their studies, which of these is the most compelling explanation for their results. a) American houses have more rooms than Indian ones. b) Americans are more fearful of smothering their babies by rolling on top of them. c) Americans are more concerned about avoiding incest. d) Americans place more value on providing parents with exclusive sleeping space. e) Indian parents place more value on the moral good of interpersonal harmony. Answer: d, p. 175-177 6. One advantage of experimental methods over survey methods in cultural psychological research is that a) experimental methods are cheaper and easier to conduct than survey methods. b) experimental methods allow you to investigate more cultures at one time than survey methods. c) cultural differences in response biases are controlled better with experimental methods than with survey methods. d) experimental methods allow you to focus on comparing means across cultures, whereas survey methods allow you to focus on comparing patterns of means across cultures. e) experimental methods are more easily understood than survey methods. Answer: c, lecture 7. A key belief of