SOC 132 Final Exam Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2025/2026
UNIT 6 Social Perception - Answers
social perception - Answers constructing an understanding of the social world from the data we
get through our senses
the process by which we form impressions of other people's traits and personalities
social attribution - Answers in forming impressions we try to understand the *causes* of
people's behavior
observe behavior and infer causes
categorization - Answers mental process
tendency to perceive stimuli as members of groups or classes
*prototypes* - Answers an abstraction that represents the typical or quintessential instance of a
class or group
set of *common attributes* among members of a category
ex: bluejay for bird
schemas - Answers basic forms or sketches
usually include info about an entity's attributes and its relations with others entities
types of schemas - Answers person
self
group
role
event
,*person schemas* - Answers cognitive structures that describe the personalities of others
enable us to develop expectations about others' behavior
*self-schemas* - Answers structures that organize our conception of our own characteristics
*group schemas* - Answers stereotypes
schemas regarding the members of a particular social group or social category
*role schemas* - Answers attributes and behaviors that are typical of persons occupying a
particular role in a group
*event schemas* - Answers schemas regarding important, recurring social events
ex: wedding, funeral, job interview
Why do we use schemas? - Answers way to efficiently organize, understand, and react to the
complex world around us
way to focus on what is most important in defining a situation
Schematic processing - Answers 1. they influence recall by making certain kinds of facts more
salient and easier to remember
2. help us process information faster
3. guide our inferences and judgements
4. allow us to reduce ambiguity
schematic memory - Answers schemas organize info in memory
people remember facts that are *consistent* with their schemas
, schematic inference - Answers schemas affect conclusions we make about persons and social
entities
supply missing facts when gaps exist in our knowledge
schematic judgement - Answers schemas influence judgements or feeling about persons or
entities
*complexity of schemas* - Answers variety of attributes included
directly tied to diversity of experience
less experience--> less schematic complexity
complexity-extremity effect - Answers less complex schemas--> more extreme judgements and
evaluations
in group schemas more complex
confirmation bias - Answers tendency to focus of information consistent with schema and
ignore inconsistent info
drawbacks to schematic processing - Answers 1. confirmation bias
2. people fill in gaps in knowledge with schema consistent information (can be incorrect)
3. reluctant to discard schemas, apply them even when they do not fit
implicit personality theory - Answers sets of assumptions about how different types of people,
personality traits, and actions are related to each other
person schema
UNIT 6 Social Perception - Answers
social perception - Answers constructing an understanding of the social world from the data we
get through our senses
the process by which we form impressions of other people's traits and personalities
social attribution - Answers in forming impressions we try to understand the *causes* of
people's behavior
observe behavior and infer causes
categorization - Answers mental process
tendency to perceive stimuli as members of groups or classes
*prototypes* - Answers an abstraction that represents the typical or quintessential instance of a
class or group
set of *common attributes* among members of a category
ex: bluejay for bird
schemas - Answers basic forms or sketches
usually include info about an entity's attributes and its relations with others entities
types of schemas - Answers person
self
group
role
event
,*person schemas* - Answers cognitive structures that describe the personalities of others
enable us to develop expectations about others' behavior
*self-schemas* - Answers structures that organize our conception of our own characteristics
*group schemas* - Answers stereotypes
schemas regarding the members of a particular social group or social category
*role schemas* - Answers attributes and behaviors that are typical of persons occupying a
particular role in a group
*event schemas* - Answers schemas regarding important, recurring social events
ex: wedding, funeral, job interview
Why do we use schemas? - Answers way to efficiently organize, understand, and react to the
complex world around us
way to focus on what is most important in defining a situation
Schematic processing - Answers 1. they influence recall by making certain kinds of facts more
salient and easier to remember
2. help us process information faster
3. guide our inferences and judgements
4. allow us to reduce ambiguity
schematic memory - Answers schemas organize info in memory
people remember facts that are *consistent* with their schemas
, schematic inference - Answers schemas affect conclusions we make about persons and social
entities
supply missing facts when gaps exist in our knowledge
schematic judgement - Answers schemas influence judgements or feeling about persons or
entities
*complexity of schemas* - Answers variety of attributes included
directly tied to diversity of experience
less experience--> less schematic complexity
complexity-extremity effect - Answers less complex schemas--> more extreme judgements and
evaluations
in group schemas more complex
confirmation bias - Answers tendency to focus of information consistent with schema and
ignore inconsistent info
drawbacks to schematic processing - Answers 1. confirmation bias
2. people fill in gaps in knowledge with schema consistent information (can be incorrect)
3. reluctant to discard schemas, apply them even when they do not fit
implicit personality theory - Answers sets of assumptions about how different types of people,
personality traits, and actions are related to each other
person schema
