PSY 250 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE 2026
Stereotypes - Answers -•Thinking that certain characteristics apply to all members of a
particular group
•Is a way of categorizing people. Can be positive, negative, true or false.
•Involves thinking about a person as a member of a group instead of as an individual,
and projecting what you think you know about the group onto the individual.
•Ex. "All asians are smart."
•Stereotypes change what we pay attention to in a situation. We tend to pay attention to
things that are consistent with our stereotypes.
Prejudice - Answers -•A negative ATTITUDE or affective response toward a group
•Involves "prejudging" others because they belong to a certain group
•Usually negative, but there can be positive prejudices too
Discrimination - Answers -•Harmful behavior or unfair treatment towards certain people
because of the group they belong to
•Ex. An example of discrimination today is how men make more money than women.
Modern racism vs. old fashioned racism - Answers -Modern Racism: prejudice directed
at other racial groups that exist alongside rejection of explicitly racists beliefs.
Expressed covertly via nonverbal behavior or subtle means. More automatic (without
control) --occurs sometimes even when individuals sincerely disavow prejudice. We
automatically link certain social groups (e.g., blonds) with certain attributes(e.g., ditsy).
Hold associations automatically, even if reject them consciously. These associations
influence our behavior in ways we cannot (easily or consciously) control.
Old Fashion Racism: overt, explicit, prejudice, persists, but is considered unacceptable
Implicit association test (IAT) - Answers -A technique for revealing nonconscious
prejudices toward groups.
Benevolent racism and sexism - Answers -Not all stereotypes are necessarily negative.
Some include favorable assessments of abilities. Race and gender stereotypes often
contain a mix of both positive and negative sentiments. Trouble with positive
stereotypes. Can be used to justify holding other negative stereotypes. Ex. Asians are
really good at math but they are really bad at driving. May disparage members that don't
fit the positive stereotypes.
Economic perspective - Answers -Argues that prejudice results from different social
groups competing over scarce resources.
•Realistic group conflict theory: Competition for scarce resources will increase conflict
among groups, resulting in prejudice and discrimination
, •Ethnocentrism: Glorifying one's own group while vilifying other groups.
•Robbers Cave experiment: Boys summer camp. Seperated into different groups
"eagles" and rattlers." First week, group activities were directed at building unity and
cohesion. Second week, both groups brought together in a competitive tournament.
They grew hostile toward one another. Third week, two groups brought together in
noncompetitive ways. Reduced conflict through subordinate goals. Hostile feeling
reduced after the groups worked cooperatively
Motivational perspective - Answers -Argues that prejudice results from motivations to
view one's ingroup more favorably than outgroups. Aspects of self-esteem are
dependent on how people evaluate their ingroup relative to outgroups
•Minimal group paradigm: An experiment paradigm in which researchers create groups
based on arbitrary and seemingly meaningless criteria and then examine how the
members of these "minimal groups" are inclined to behave toward one another.
•Social identity theory: People derive part of their self-concept from membership in
groups
-Basking in reflected glory: Tendency to take pride in the accomplishment of those we
feel associated with in some way. Ex. Local sports teams, success of friends or family.
•Frustration-aggression theory: Theory that aggressive acts are caused by feelings of
frustration. Frustration increases general levels of aggression's, not necessarily
aggression directed at any specific target. Frustration coming from unrelated sources
may be displaced onto low-power individuals or social groups. Ex. Cotton prices vs.
lynching in South.
Cognitive perspective - Answers -•Stereotypes and the conservation of mental
reserves: Stereotypes are mental shortcuts, a way for us to know what to expect from
people. It makes us easier to figure out how to act around them and saves us time,
effort, and mental energy
•Outgroup homogeneity effect: Thinking that an out-group is really similar to each other.
"Oh, they're all the same"
•Paired distinctiveness: When 2 distinctive events happen at once, it sticks out more
and we remember it better (ex. negative behavior like murder & a minority race)
-Distinctiveness and illusory correlation study: Hamilton & Gifford found that minority
members were disproportionately responsible for negative events & were rated more
highly on negative traits & less highly on positive traits than the majority group
•Subtyping: Creating reasons why people don't fit the stereotypes of a group they
belong to "Oh, they're just exceptions"
Stereotypes - Answers -•Thinking that certain characteristics apply to all members of a
particular group
•Is a way of categorizing people. Can be positive, negative, true or false.
•Involves thinking about a person as a member of a group instead of as an individual,
and projecting what you think you know about the group onto the individual.
•Ex. "All asians are smart."
•Stereotypes change what we pay attention to in a situation. We tend to pay attention to
things that are consistent with our stereotypes.
Prejudice - Answers -•A negative ATTITUDE or affective response toward a group
•Involves "prejudging" others because they belong to a certain group
•Usually negative, but there can be positive prejudices too
Discrimination - Answers -•Harmful behavior or unfair treatment towards certain people
because of the group they belong to
•Ex. An example of discrimination today is how men make more money than women.
Modern racism vs. old fashioned racism - Answers -Modern Racism: prejudice directed
at other racial groups that exist alongside rejection of explicitly racists beliefs.
Expressed covertly via nonverbal behavior or subtle means. More automatic (without
control) --occurs sometimes even when individuals sincerely disavow prejudice. We
automatically link certain social groups (e.g., blonds) with certain attributes(e.g., ditsy).
Hold associations automatically, even if reject them consciously. These associations
influence our behavior in ways we cannot (easily or consciously) control.
Old Fashion Racism: overt, explicit, prejudice, persists, but is considered unacceptable
Implicit association test (IAT) - Answers -A technique for revealing nonconscious
prejudices toward groups.
Benevolent racism and sexism - Answers -Not all stereotypes are necessarily negative.
Some include favorable assessments of abilities. Race and gender stereotypes often
contain a mix of both positive and negative sentiments. Trouble with positive
stereotypes. Can be used to justify holding other negative stereotypes. Ex. Asians are
really good at math but they are really bad at driving. May disparage members that don't
fit the positive stereotypes.
Economic perspective - Answers -Argues that prejudice results from different social
groups competing over scarce resources.
•Realistic group conflict theory: Competition for scarce resources will increase conflict
among groups, resulting in prejudice and discrimination
, •Ethnocentrism: Glorifying one's own group while vilifying other groups.
•Robbers Cave experiment: Boys summer camp. Seperated into different groups
"eagles" and rattlers." First week, group activities were directed at building unity and
cohesion. Second week, both groups brought together in a competitive tournament.
They grew hostile toward one another. Third week, two groups brought together in
noncompetitive ways. Reduced conflict through subordinate goals. Hostile feeling
reduced after the groups worked cooperatively
Motivational perspective - Answers -Argues that prejudice results from motivations to
view one's ingroup more favorably than outgroups. Aspects of self-esteem are
dependent on how people evaluate their ingroup relative to outgroups
•Minimal group paradigm: An experiment paradigm in which researchers create groups
based on arbitrary and seemingly meaningless criteria and then examine how the
members of these "minimal groups" are inclined to behave toward one another.
•Social identity theory: People derive part of their self-concept from membership in
groups
-Basking in reflected glory: Tendency to take pride in the accomplishment of those we
feel associated with in some way. Ex. Local sports teams, success of friends or family.
•Frustration-aggression theory: Theory that aggressive acts are caused by feelings of
frustration. Frustration increases general levels of aggression's, not necessarily
aggression directed at any specific target. Frustration coming from unrelated sources
may be displaced onto low-power individuals or social groups. Ex. Cotton prices vs.
lynching in South.
Cognitive perspective - Answers -•Stereotypes and the conservation of mental
reserves: Stereotypes are mental shortcuts, a way for us to know what to expect from
people. It makes us easier to figure out how to act around them and saves us time,
effort, and mental energy
•Outgroup homogeneity effect: Thinking that an out-group is really similar to each other.
"Oh, they're all the same"
•Paired distinctiveness: When 2 distinctive events happen at once, it sticks out more
and we remember it better (ex. negative behavior like murder & a minority race)
-Distinctiveness and illusory correlation study: Hamilton & Gifford found that minority
members were disproportionately responsible for negative events & were rated more
highly on negative traits & less highly on positive traits than the majority group
•Subtyping: Creating reasons why people don't fit the stereotypes of a group they
belong to "Oh, they're just exceptions"
