CMS 315 UPDATED EXAM STUDY GUIDE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Selective perception - ✔✔We only see what we want to see.
✔✔attribution theory - ✔✔theory addressing whether an action is due to internal or
external.
Ex: If someone cuts us off in traffic, we think they are a jerk "internal", or we can think
they are on the way to save someone from a burning building "external"
✔✔The fundamental attribution error - ✔✔the tendency for observers, when analyzing
another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the
impact of personal disposition. MORE ABOUT STRANGERS.
✔✔self-serving bias - ✔✔the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but
blame failure on external factors
✔✔Gestalt Impression Formation - ✔✔we organize individual traits to form a whole and
then make assessments on for overall protection. Then, this perception influences
individual traits.
✔✔stereotyping - ✔✔can do it inductively from small to big. or deductively from big to
small
, ✔✔spiral of reciprocal perspectives - ✔✔What I think you think of me affects what I think
of myself, which affects how I act toward you. These factors influence how you feel
toward yourself & how you act toward me, etc.
✔✔Pollyanna Principle - ✔✔optimistic bias in people. Evaluate people positively. Rate
self above average. Overestimate importance of pleasant events and underestimate
unpleasant events. Most people say they are optimists.
✔✔primacy and recency effect - ✔✔Tendency to remember early and late items
✔✔personal rewards derived from the other person - ✔✔we think we will get something
out of relationship.
✔✔proximity - ✔✔the biggest predictor of who you will start a relationship is how close
you are to them
✔✔physical attractiveness: romeo and Juliet effect - ✔✔you want what you can't have
✔✔matching hypothesis - ✔✔the tendency to develop relationships with people who are
approximately as attractive as we are
✔✔similarity of attitudes and beliefs - ✔✔we find that people who have differences tend
to have shorter relationships. It is very difficult to have a long term relationships if you
have different core beliefs
✔✔Communication rule - ✔✔a prescription we follow that indicates what to say in
particular situations
✔✔Communication norm - ✔✔when a rule is followed nearly all the time, it becomes a
norm
✔✔Six Relationship Rules - ✔✔1. respect privacy
2. eye contact during convo
3. don't discuss what's said in confidence
4. don't criticize in public
5. repay debts, favors, compliments
6. shouldn't/should engage in sexual activity
✔✔Interpersonal Conditions that Influence Norm Development - ✔✔1. distance
2. relation intimacy
3. status
4. ego involvement - how involved you are
5. self-image relevance
7. well-defined roles
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Selective perception - ✔✔We only see what we want to see.
✔✔attribution theory - ✔✔theory addressing whether an action is due to internal or
external.
Ex: If someone cuts us off in traffic, we think they are a jerk "internal", or we can think
they are on the way to save someone from a burning building "external"
✔✔The fundamental attribution error - ✔✔the tendency for observers, when analyzing
another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the
impact of personal disposition. MORE ABOUT STRANGERS.
✔✔self-serving bias - ✔✔the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but
blame failure on external factors
✔✔Gestalt Impression Formation - ✔✔we organize individual traits to form a whole and
then make assessments on for overall protection. Then, this perception influences
individual traits.
✔✔stereotyping - ✔✔can do it inductively from small to big. or deductively from big to
small
, ✔✔spiral of reciprocal perspectives - ✔✔What I think you think of me affects what I think
of myself, which affects how I act toward you. These factors influence how you feel
toward yourself & how you act toward me, etc.
✔✔Pollyanna Principle - ✔✔optimistic bias in people. Evaluate people positively. Rate
self above average. Overestimate importance of pleasant events and underestimate
unpleasant events. Most people say they are optimists.
✔✔primacy and recency effect - ✔✔Tendency to remember early and late items
✔✔personal rewards derived from the other person - ✔✔we think we will get something
out of relationship.
✔✔proximity - ✔✔the biggest predictor of who you will start a relationship is how close
you are to them
✔✔physical attractiveness: romeo and Juliet effect - ✔✔you want what you can't have
✔✔matching hypothesis - ✔✔the tendency to develop relationships with people who are
approximately as attractive as we are
✔✔similarity of attitudes and beliefs - ✔✔we find that people who have differences tend
to have shorter relationships. It is very difficult to have a long term relationships if you
have different core beliefs
✔✔Communication rule - ✔✔a prescription we follow that indicates what to say in
particular situations
✔✔Communication norm - ✔✔when a rule is followed nearly all the time, it becomes a
norm
✔✔Six Relationship Rules - ✔✔1. respect privacy
2. eye contact during convo
3. don't discuss what's said in confidence
4. don't criticize in public
5. repay debts, favors, compliments
6. shouldn't/should engage in sexual activity
✔✔Interpersonal Conditions that Influence Norm Development - ✔✔1. distance
2. relation intimacy
3. status
4. ego involvement - how involved you are
5. self-image relevance
7. well-defined roles
