COMM 1000 EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Perception - Answer -The sensory experience of the world. Brought by 5 senses
Selective Attention - Answer -The ability to process certain of the stimuli available to us
while filtering out others
Two kinds of filters - Answer -Perceptual filters and psychological sets
Perceptual filters - Answer -Physiological. Actual physical and physiological limitations
that are built into human beings and cannot be reversed. Limits of our senses. Ex) not
being able to hear someone
Psychological sets - Answer -Our expectancies or predispositions to respond.
Motivation or interest. Influenced by past experiences. Ex) see a man and a woman
looking at each other and you may think they are interested or that the woman looks
annoyed depending on how your experiences make you think about it
Selection, organisation, and interpretation - Answer -We SELECT- stimuli that are
intense, repetitious, or changing.
We ORGANIZE- expectation based complete sensible picture.
We INTERPRET- assign meaning unique to perceiver
Self- concept - Answer -Your relatively stable impressions of yourself
Looking- glass self - Answer -You evaluate yourself primarily on the basis of how you
think others perceive and evaluate you
Social comparison - Answer -We compare ourselves to others to form our self concept.
"Comparative dimension" ex) Alex is smarter than his cousins
Self concept and gender - Answer -Important aspect of self concept. Broader, more
complex. It's in part shaped by culture and includes your "biological sex (male or
female), psychological characteristics (femininity, masculinity, androgyny), attitudes
about the sexes, and sexual orientation.
Self esteem - Answer -Your feelings of self worth. Chief measure of self concept.
Affected by our social comparisons and self perception. Affected by feedback. Related
to performance but not a good measure or predictor of success
Self- fulfilling prophecy - Answer -Expectation about another's behavior influences
unwittingly leads to a predicted behavior
, Attribution - Answer -The process of assigning meaning to others behavior. We do this
continuously. Ex) why did my boss pass me up for a promotion?
Why biases? - Answer -Self attribution differs from other attribution. We tend to see our
behavior as governed by the demands of a given situation but to view the same
behaviors in others as governed by their disposition. Sometimes we focus on the
person/ personality. Sometimes we focus on context or circumstances
Positive feedback - Answer -Gain in self confidence
Private theory of personality - Answer -Also known as implicit personality theory. How
we select and organize information about other people on the basis of what behaviors
we think go together
Halo effect - Answer -The tendency to extend a favorable impression of one trait to
other traits
Horns effect - Answer -The tendency to extend an unfavorable impression of one trait
to other traits. Ex) if you feel Justin is cheap you might attribute several other
undesirable traits to him
The primacy effect - Answer -The first information we receive about a person is the
most decisive in forming our impression
Generalizations of human perception - Answer -Some people are easier to judge than
others.
Certain traits are easier to judge than others.
People are better at judging those who resemble themselves.
Kinds of biases - Answer -Dispositional other: overuse of personality "reasons" or
dispositions with others.
Self-serving bias: tendency to overuse situational attributions with yourself. Preserves
self- esteem
Impression formation - Answer -The way we combine info to get a general "sense" of a
person. When flooded with new info: attend to some things, not others. Need to
organize all that info. Form an overall impression through weighted average
Principle of unity - Answer -We MAKE traits organize well. We explain away or avoid
inconsistent information.
The role of physical attractiveness - Answer -Attractive= THE EDGE
baby attention, marriage, occupation success, court defendants, teacher evals, power
and status, increased self esteem by proxy
Perception - Answer -The sensory experience of the world. Brought by 5 senses
Selective Attention - Answer -The ability to process certain of the stimuli available to us
while filtering out others
Two kinds of filters - Answer -Perceptual filters and psychological sets
Perceptual filters - Answer -Physiological. Actual physical and physiological limitations
that are built into human beings and cannot be reversed. Limits of our senses. Ex) not
being able to hear someone
Psychological sets - Answer -Our expectancies or predispositions to respond.
Motivation or interest. Influenced by past experiences. Ex) see a man and a woman
looking at each other and you may think they are interested or that the woman looks
annoyed depending on how your experiences make you think about it
Selection, organisation, and interpretation - Answer -We SELECT- stimuli that are
intense, repetitious, or changing.
We ORGANIZE- expectation based complete sensible picture.
We INTERPRET- assign meaning unique to perceiver
Self- concept - Answer -Your relatively stable impressions of yourself
Looking- glass self - Answer -You evaluate yourself primarily on the basis of how you
think others perceive and evaluate you
Social comparison - Answer -We compare ourselves to others to form our self concept.
"Comparative dimension" ex) Alex is smarter than his cousins
Self concept and gender - Answer -Important aspect of self concept. Broader, more
complex. It's in part shaped by culture and includes your "biological sex (male or
female), psychological characteristics (femininity, masculinity, androgyny), attitudes
about the sexes, and sexual orientation.
Self esteem - Answer -Your feelings of self worth. Chief measure of self concept.
Affected by our social comparisons and self perception. Affected by feedback. Related
to performance but not a good measure or predictor of success
Self- fulfilling prophecy - Answer -Expectation about another's behavior influences
unwittingly leads to a predicted behavior
, Attribution - Answer -The process of assigning meaning to others behavior. We do this
continuously. Ex) why did my boss pass me up for a promotion?
Why biases? - Answer -Self attribution differs from other attribution. We tend to see our
behavior as governed by the demands of a given situation but to view the same
behaviors in others as governed by their disposition. Sometimes we focus on the
person/ personality. Sometimes we focus on context or circumstances
Positive feedback - Answer -Gain in self confidence
Private theory of personality - Answer -Also known as implicit personality theory. How
we select and organize information about other people on the basis of what behaviors
we think go together
Halo effect - Answer -The tendency to extend a favorable impression of one trait to
other traits
Horns effect - Answer -The tendency to extend an unfavorable impression of one trait
to other traits. Ex) if you feel Justin is cheap you might attribute several other
undesirable traits to him
The primacy effect - Answer -The first information we receive about a person is the
most decisive in forming our impression
Generalizations of human perception - Answer -Some people are easier to judge than
others.
Certain traits are easier to judge than others.
People are better at judging those who resemble themselves.
Kinds of biases - Answer -Dispositional other: overuse of personality "reasons" or
dispositions with others.
Self-serving bias: tendency to overuse situational attributions with yourself. Preserves
self- esteem
Impression formation - Answer -The way we combine info to get a general "sense" of a
person. When flooded with new info: attend to some things, not others. Need to
organize all that info. Form an overall impression through weighted average
Principle of unity - Answer -We MAKE traits organize well. We explain away or avoid
inconsistent information.
The role of physical attractiveness - Answer -Attractive= THE EDGE
baby attention, marriage, occupation success, court defendants, teacher evals, power
and status, increased self esteem by proxy
