Political attitudes
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Political attitudes
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[ID] => 559883
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[post_date] => 2025-01-07 01:26:14
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-01-07 06:26:14
[post_content] => Practice Passage (Question 1-6)
*This passage is the property of Khan Academy and has been reformatted into an AAMC-style interface in their entirety by MedLife Mastery. MedLife Mastery does not endorse and is not an affiliate of Khan Academy.
Studies have found that participants can accurately distinguish political affiliation based on photos of faces. One study found that these effects seem to have been driven by traits attributed to the faces; specifically, power (a composite of ratings of dominance and facial maturity) and warmth (a composite of ratings of likeability and trustworthiness). Republican faces were perceived as more powerful than Democrats and, to the extent that a face was perceived as powerful, it was more likely to be categorized as Republican. On the other hand, the warmer a face was perceived, the more likely it was to be categorized as a Democrat. Other studies have also found relationships between facial traits and perceived political ideology. For example, one study found that conservative politicians in Finland were more attractive than candidates on the political left. In yet another study, politicians judged to be conservative were more attractive, intelligent-looking, and of higher social class than those judged to be more liberal. These judgments can have electoral consequences.
Although the extant research has provided important information about factors that may underlie categorizations of faces according to political party affiliation, it may be limited in some critical ways. These studies focus primarily on the target in isolation from the perceiver. It is important to note that this research draws from ideas based in an ecological theory of perception adapted to theories of ecological social perception. These theories argue that faces signal certain things to perceivers about what the target may afford. A target may appear, for instance, more or less trustworthy or dominant, which may lead the perceiver to trust or fear that person, accordingly. However, it is likely that the accuracy of categorizing ambiguous targets is driven at least in part by the perceivers' identities, dispositions, or states. For example, it is known that perceptions of ambiguous group members may be influenced by perceivers' attitudes toward the groups or exposure to members of the group. One study found that heterosexual perceivers who had more experience with gay men were better at categorizing gay faces. Similarly, it is plausible that categorizations and trait ascriptions of Democrat and Republican faces may differ based on the political ideology of the perceiver/judge. There does exist some evidence that other perceiver identities and ideologies influence categorizations and judgments based on political affiliation. For instance, one study found that people categorized faces as political ingroup or outgroup members largely as a function of likeability. Another recent study found that perceiver gender influences ratings towards male and female politicians.
Target political affiliation may interact with perceiver identity in another important way. In addition to accurate perceptions of political ideology, one study found that participants were more likely to classify faces as outgroup members than as ingroup members. These findings are consistent with a more general ingroup overexclusion effect. The ingroup overexclusion effect is thought to be a result of motivated social cognitions related to social identity, such that people tend to be protective of the ingroup. As a result of this protectiveness, perceivers may show a default bias toward categorizing others as outgroup members. This may be the case especially when groups are perceptually ambiguous. For example, one group of scholars have observed an ingroup over-exclusion effect for racially ambiguous targets, finding that Northern Italians (who had strongly identified as such) were more likely to exclude ambiguous targets that had a mix of Northern and Southern Italian features.
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[questions] => Array
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[0] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 578908434
[question] => Imagine a group of people is presented with a photo of a man. According to the passage, which of the following features will most likely lead the group to believe the person in the photo is a Republican?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
Paragraph 1 discusses studies that cited higher socioeconomic class, power, and good looks as traits that would lead people to believe an individual is a Republican. An expensive suit (option 4) implies a higher economic class. A friendly face (option 2) is similar to the “likability” and “trustworthiness” used in one study to convey “warmth”, and these were assumed by people to be traits belonging more to Democrats. Race is never directly discussed in the passage as a predictor of Republican affiliation (option 3) and neither is Republican paraphernalia (option 1). Regardless of how obvious the latter might seem, it was never mentioned in the passage.
Option 4 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
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[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. Republican paraphernalia
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[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. a friendly face
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. Caucasian features
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[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. an expensive suit
)
)
)
[1] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 3873426850
[question] => With regard to perception of other’s political affiliations, which of the following ideas presented in the passage is LEAST supported by the passage with evidence?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 2
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Within the Text” question. These items generally ask you to think about the author’s reasoning, such as what claim an author is trying to support with a piece of evidence, what assumption underlies a specific statement, or whether an argument is flawed.
In paragraph 3, the ingroup overexclusion effect (option 1) is supported by a study that “in addition to accurate perception of political identity” showed Northern Italians were more likely to exclude those who had a mix of both Northern and Southern Italian features. Paragraph 1 describes studies that found a relationship between perceived traits (such as warmth, intelligence, attractiveness, and class) and perceived political affiliation. Paragraph 2 explains that the studies described in paragraph 1 are grounded in the ecological theory of social perception (option 4). In paragraph 2 the author writes, “It is important to note that this research draws from ideas based in an ecological theory of perception adapted to theories of ecological social perception.” In paragraph 2, the author writes, “it is likely that the accuracy of categorizing ambiguous targets is driven at least in part by the perceivers’ identities, dispositions, or states.” However, the author then refers to studies that look at qualities of the perceivers that are not political, such as gender (option 3) or personal experience with certain groups. The author never cites examples or evidence of how the political ideology of the perceiver impacts the perceiver’s perception of others’ political affiliation (option 2).
Option 2 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. the ingroup overexclusion effect.
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[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. impact of perceivers’ political ideologies.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. the impact of gender.
)
[3] => Array
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[each_answer] => D. the theory of ecological social perception.
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[2] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 83407773
[question] => The author’s general attitude toward studies that have focused on the “target in isolation from the perceiver” as described in paragraph 2 can best be described as:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
The opening of paragraph 2 is where the author explicitly expresses an opinion on the studies referred to as studies that focused on “the target in isolation from the perceiver.” The author writes, “Although the extant research has provided important information about factors that may underlie categorizations of faces according to political party affiliation, it may be limited in some critical ways.” Thus, the author is not completely dismissive of the studies and still recognizes the value found in them. General disapproval (option 1) and condescending dismissal (option 4) are therefore not good descriptions of the author’s attitude. While the author doesn’t outright dismiss the studies, however, general support (option 2) is also insufficient because it doesn’t capture the author’s view that the studies are limited, suggesting the author points out both the usefulness and limitations of these studies (option 3).
Option 3 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. general disapproval
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[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. general support
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. balanced criticism
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[3] => Array
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[each_answer] => D. condescending dismissal
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[3] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 872728905
[question] => According to the passage, which of the following individuals is most likely to engage in overexclusion?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 1
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
In paragraph 3, the author writes, “The ingroup overexclusion effect is thought to be a result of motivated social cognitions related to social identity, such that people tend to be protective of the ingroup.” The paragraph then goes on to describe the study of Northern Italians who strongly identified as part of that group were more likely to exclude other members of the same ingroup (option 1). While the passage mentions experience as a factor, it is not mentioned in relation to the overexclusion effect (option 2). Being accustomed to exclusion (option 3) and being jealous (option 4) are never mentioned as factors.
Option 1 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. a member of an ingroup who feels a strong sense of group identity.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. a member of ingroup who has more exposure to the outgroup
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. a member of an outgroup who is accustomed to the practice of exclusion.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. a member of an outgroup who is jealous of the ingroup.
)
)
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[4] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3143847772
[question] => the author’s mentioning of over exclusion and the Northern Italian study strengthen the author’s central argument because:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 1
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Within the Text” question. These items generally ask you to think about the author’s reasoning, such as what claim an author is trying to support with a piece of evidence, what assumption underlies a specific statement, or whether an argument is flawed.
The Northern Italy study discussed in paragraph 3 showed that social identity, e.g. identifying with being Northern Italian, affected the way that people judged others. When asked about whether another person also belonged to the same social group, Northern Italians tended to exclude people with ambiguous, mixed features more often than people who were not Northern Italian themselves. This study highlights the fact that an individual’s own personal attributes can play a big role in the way that a person categorizes someone else (option 1). The author never claimed that the ecological theory of perception is totally wrong (option 2). In addition, the accuracy of the judgments that people make about the political or social affiliations of others (option 3) is not the author’s central argument. Finally, the author never criticizes the previous studies for lack of realism (option 4).
Option 1 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. ingroup behavior emphasizes the importance of individual identity in making judgments.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. the Northern Italy study completely debunks the ecological theory of perception.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. the fact that ambiguity leads people to exclude more than include shows judgment inaccuracy.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. previous studies had failed to present the perceiver with ambiguities that were real to life.
)
)
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[5] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3143847772
[question] => Which of the following potential study results would support the author’s central claim with new evidence not already provided by the studies the author describes?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
Paragraph 1 discusses how previous studies have shown how political affiliation can be accurately distinguished based on the physical features of a person’s face (option 2). A study further demonstrating such a relationship would therefore not add anything new. The first and fourth options refer only to religious affiliation, but the main concern of the passage is political affiliation, so these results would not address the author’s main claim. The author states in paragraph 2 that former studies have focused more on the relationship between facial features/demeanor and the accuracy of perceived political affiliation. A hypothesis examining how the perceiver’s own political affiliation impacts judgment addresses the main claim in a way not covered by the studies the author discusses.
Option 3 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. perceiver judgment of another’s religious affiliation is predicted by physical attributes and overall demeanor.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. perceiver judgment of another’s political affiliation is predicted by physical attributes and overall demeanor.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. perceiver political ideology alters the relationship between perception of another’s political affiliation and perceived traits.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. perceiver religious ideology alters the relationship between perception of another’s religious affiliation and perceived traits.
)
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[559883|1] => D
[559883|2] => B
[559883|3] => C
[559883|4] => A
[559883|5] => A
[559883|6] => C
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