Exam One

Sociology 530 - Graduate Social Psychology

October 12, 1992

Answer two of the following. American students have till 12:30, foreign students till 1:00. Return the exams to my office, Decio 471, or to my mailbox in the Sociology office.

1. Choose either social learning theory, the cognitive perspective, or symbolic interactionism. What are the central propositions or key concepts of the theory? What does the theory say are the primary influences on, or determinants of, behavior? According to the theory, how do the actions of other people influence an individual's behavior? What, in your opinion, are the theory's major strengths and weaknesses? (HINT: For the latter part of this question, you may want to speculate about how the theory is or is not useful for dealing with some of the other topics we have talked about - such as attitude formation and change, errors in attitudes, attitude-behavior consistency, social persuasion, or attribution.)

2. Notre Dame wants to increase its minority enrollment. The administration would like your ideas on how to get more blacks, hispanics, and other minority group members to come to Notre Dame.

a) Choose one of the following theories, and explain its major propositions.

i. Cognitive dissonance

ii. Fishbein and Ajzen's Model of Reasoned Action

iii. Functionalist theory

iv. Heuristic processes

v. Attribution theory

b) Discuss how your chosen theory can be applied to this particular problem. Be sure to make it clear what things the theory says you should focus on, and specific strategies that the theory suggests.

c) Suppose the persuasive campaign does not succeed - minority group members do not enroll. Explain how the theory might account for this.

3. Compare and contrast two of these six perspectives on altruism and aggression: biological, cultural, personal, situational, affective, and cognitive. According to your two chosen perspectives, why do people behave in an altruistic or aggressive manner? How do the perspectives account for the fact that people are not always consistent in their altruistic or aggressive behavior? That is, why are individuals altruistic or aggressive at one time and situation but not another? Be sure to note any major conflicts between the two perspectives, and how the perspectives account for both altruism and aggression.