SCOM 122: JMU: Fall 2025 Questions With Complete
Solutions
Salience
the degree to which something attracts our attention in a
particular context.
Selecting:
focus our attention on certain stimuli
Organizing:
sort and categorize data to create schema
Interpreting:
assigning meaning to an experience using mental structures
known as schemata.
Schemata: (under Interpreting)
databases of stored, related information that we use to interpret
new experiences.
Identify a perceptual schema
A mental framework that creates meaningful patterns from
stimuli
Describe some of the influences on perception:
Gender, culture, past experiences, mood, context, self-esteem,
bias, etc.
,Explain how our perceptions of others can influence our
communication with them.
First impressions, Attribution (Internal, External, Fundamental
error), Stereotypes, Prejudice
First impressions:
can be biased but accurate.
Fundamental Attribution error:
tendency to overemphasize personal traits and
underemphasizing situations as causes of other people's behavior
and making allowances for yourself but judging other people
Internal attribution
attributing the cause of a person's behavior to an internal
personality trait or disposition
External attribution
attributing the cause of a person's behavior to an external event
or situation in the environment
Stereotypes:
using rapid judgment when instant decisions are required.
Prejudice:
negative feelings or attitudes toward people based on their
identity or identities.
A self-fulfilling prophecy:
, thought and action patterns in which a person's false belief
triggers a behavior that makes the initial false belief actually or
seemingly come true
Self-Serving bias
a perceptual error through which we attribute the cause of our
successes to internal personal factors while attributing our
failures to external factors beyond our control.
Looking glass self:
explains that we see ourselves reflected in other people's
reactions to us and then form our self-concept based on how we
believe other people see us
Define what culture is:
ongoing negotiation of learned and patterned beliefs, attitudes,
values, and behaviors
Explain how culture influences communication:
different cultures that have a different sets of values, beliefs, and
practices all have things that mean something different
Define ethnocentrism and describe how to combat it:
Ethnocentrism: the notion that one's own culture is superior to
any other, it is the idea that other cultures should be measured
by the degree to which they live up to our cultural standards
How to combat it:
Mindfulness, cognitive flexibility, tolerance
Solutions
Salience
the degree to which something attracts our attention in a
particular context.
Selecting:
focus our attention on certain stimuli
Organizing:
sort and categorize data to create schema
Interpreting:
assigning meaning to an experience using mental structures
known as schemata.
Schemata: (under Interpreting)
databases of stored, related information that we use to interpret
new experiences.
Identify a perceptual schema
A mental framework that creates meaningful patterns from
stimuli
Describe some of the influences on perception:
Gender, culture, past experiences, mood, context, self-esteem,
bias, etc.
,Explain how our perceptions of others can influence our
communication with them.
First impressions, Attribution (Internal, External, Fundamental
error), Stereotypes, Prejudice
First impressions:
can be biased but accurate.
Fundamental Attribution error:
tendency to overemphasize personal traits and
underemphasizing situations as causes of other people's behavior
and making allowances for yourself but judging other people
Internal attribution
attributing the cause of a person's behavior to an internal
personality trait or disposition
External attribution
attributing the cause of a person's behavior to an external event
or situation in the environment
Stereotypes:
using rapid judgment when instant decisions are required.
Prejudice:
negative feelings or attitudes toward people based on their
identity or identities.
A self-fulfilling prophecy:
, thought and action patterns in which a person's false belief
triggers a behavior that makes the initial false belief actually or
seemingly come true
Self-Serving bias
a perceptual error through which we attribute the cause of our
successes to internal personal factors while attributing our
failures to external factors beyond our control.
Looking glass self:
explains that we see ourselves reflected in other people's
reactions to us and then form our self-concept based on how we
believe other people see us
Define what culture is:
ongoing negotiation of learned and patterned beliefs, attitudes,
values, and behaviors
Explain how culture influences communication:
different cultures that have a different sets of values, beliefs, and
practices all have things that mean something different
Define ethnocentrism and describe how to combat it:
Ethnocentrism: the notion that one's own culture is superior to
any other, it is the idea that other cultures should be measured
by the degree to which they live up to our cultural standards
How to combat it:
Mindfulness, cognitive flexibility, tolerance
