Which of the following students provides the best explanation for stereotype threat during problem solving?
a. Alper: Stereotype threat can usually be traced to overactive bottom-up processing.
b. Kristi: Stereotype threat is basically caused by a growth mindset.
c. Kevin: Stereotype threat typically occurs because people use parallel processing, rather problem-solving heuristics.
d. Nita: Stereotype threat seems to cause a reduction in working memory, due to factors such as high arousal.
Question 2The in-depth section of Chapter 11 examines the effect of stereotype threat on problem solving. Which of the following students provides the most accurate information about an important mechanism for stereotype threat?
a. Kirsten: When people are in a threatening situation, they try to act in a counter-stereotypical fashion.
b. Liam: Stereotype threat seems to reduce the capacity of working memory.
c. Treena: Stereotype threat seems to increase the use of the hill-climbing heuristic.
d. Scott: Stereotype threat seems to change problem-solving strategies, so that people are more likely to attend to the structural similarities of problems.
Question 3Chapter 11 discusses the effects of ethnic and gender stereotypes on a test that measures math problem-solving ability. This research shows that
a. Asian women perform relatively well if their ethnicity is emphasized before they begin the math test.
b. Asian women perform relatively well if their gender is emphasized before they begin the math test.
c. European American women are not aware of stereotypes, and so they perform better than Asian women.
d. There were no ethnic or gender differences in this study, showing that stereotypes in these two areas are no longer relevant in math problem solving.
Question 4Suppose your friend Ellen has lost the back to her earring. She looks around her room, picks up a pencil, removes the eraser, and uses the eraser as a substitute for the missing part. According to the chapter on problem solving, Ellen
a. has solved an ill-defined problem.
b. is too heavily guided by mental set.
c. has focused on the initial state.
d. has overcome functional fixedness.
Question 5One way that functional fixedness and mental set are similar to each other is that
a. Both emphasize our reliance on bottom-up processing.
b. Both show that we rely too heavily on a strategy that is typically useful.
c. Both show that we tend to emphasize the positive, rather than the negative.
d. Both emphasize our inability to use situated learning effectively.
Quick Reply
