Test on Social Control and Norm Enforcement by Bystanders

Question 1: Norms that regulate behaviors affecting shared places or objects are easily perpetuated because their violations have direct measurable consequences on the bystanders who observe them.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: Violations of norms regulating behaviors that affect shared places or objects do not have direct measurable consequences on the bystanders who observe these behaviors. In such situations, people feel less personally implicated, which makes the perpetuation of these norms more challenging.

Question 2: According to the study materials, which of the following describes how social control contributes to the perpetuation of social norms?

A. It prevents individuals from engaging in antisocial behaviors.

B. It involves individuals communicating disapproval to those exhibiting counternormative behaviors.

C. It ensures that deviant group members can be identified and targeted for sanctioning.

D. It decreases the individual probability of exerting social control when personal implication is low.

Explanation: Social control contributes to the perpetuation of social norms in several ways. The study materials state that social control is a "positive predictor of the extent to which people engage in prosocial behaviors and cease to engage in antisocial behaviors," which means it prevents antisocial behaviors (Option 0). It is defined as any behavior where an individual communicates disapproval to someone engaged in counternormative behavior, and the text emphasizes that "If counternormative behaviors are not sanctioned, the norm is likely to disappear," highlighting the role of communicating disapproval (Option 1). Additionally, Yamagishi's study showed that norms are strengthened when systems allow "deviant group members could be identified and could be the target of social control" (Option 2). The fourth option describes the bystander effect, which inhibits social control, especially when personal implication is low, thus it does not describe how social control *contributes* to perpetuation but rather a condition where it might be hindered.

Question 3: If a bystander reacted to the confederate cutting in line, the confederate paid before the participant and left the store.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: In Situation B, if the bystander reacted to the confederate cutting in line, the confederate apologized and let the bystander pay first, rather than paying before the participant and leaving.

Question 4: According to the study materials, which of the following accurately describes a key difference between the behavioral condition and the questionnaire condition?

A. Participants in the behavioral condition were asked to complete a short questionnaire, while those in the questionnaire condition observed a confederate.

B. The behavioral condition primarily gathered data on direct social control behaviors, whereas the questionnaire condition collected participants' perceptions of deviance and personal implication.

C. All participants in the questionnaire condition provided usable data, unlike the behavioral condition where only about 50% complied.

D. The behavioral condition had a higher total number of participants across all situations compared to the questionnaire condition.

Explanation: The study materials state that in the behavioral condition, participants were "naïve bystanders and observed a confederate engaging in a counternormative behavior" and their "reactions" were recorded, which implies direct social control behaviors. For the questionnaire condition, participants "were approached by a female experimenter in the field and asked if they would be willing to complete a short questionnaire" to obtain "data on how deviant the confederate’s behavior was and the extent to which bystanders felt personally implicated by the deviant behavior." Option 0 is incorrect as the roles are reversed. Option 2 is incorrect because 100% of behavioral participants provided usable data, while only about 50% of questionnaire participants complied. Option 3 is incorrect as the behavioral condition had 398 participants, and the questionnaire condition had 500 participants.

Question 5: The most frequent reaction observed among participants to deviant behavior was deciding not to respond.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: In the behavioral condition, the largest group of participants (52%) decided not to respond to the deviant behavior, making it the most frequent reaction.