Final answer:
Most people are found to judge others more harshly than they judge themselves, due to cognitive biases such as in-group bias and confirmation bias, where individuals favor their own group and seek information that supports their existing beliefs, which is likely among the provided answer choices.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question concerns which statement is most often true regarding social behavior. Among the options presented, the one that academic studies and social psychology typically validate is that most people judge others more harshly than they judge themselves. This is known to occur due to tendencies like in-group bias and confirmation bias, where people favor those within their social group and seek information that supports their preexisting perceptions, respectively.
While the phrase "opposites attract" is popular in colloquial discussions about relationships, it isn't a consistently observed psychological principle. Prejudice, defined as a preconceived judgment or opinion, and discrimination, which is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex, are related but distinct concepts; where prejudice refers to attitudes, discrimination refers to actions. The idea that punching a pillow can help release tension and aggression is a debated topic within psychology, where the catharsis hypothesis suggests that expressing aggression in such a manner can be relief-bringing but it's not always effective and can sometimes increase aggressive feelings.
In general, social behavior and the study of it involve exploring how stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination occur within society. Prejudicial attitudes often result from in-group biases, and confirmation bias reinforces these prejudicial attitudes when individuals ignore information that contradicts their existing beliefs. Understanding these cognitive processes and their effects is essential in understanding human social interaction and behavior.