1
SOC 132 MidTerm Sigmon Questions with
Correct Answers | Updated (100% Correct
Answers)
Social Psychology Answer: The attempt to understand and explain
how the thought, feeling, and behavior of individuals are influenced
by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others
3 Faces of Social Psychology Answer: 1. Symbolic Interactionism
2. Group Processes
3. Social Structure & Personality
3 Tenets of Symbolic Interactionism Answer: 1. We act toward
things on the basis of their meanings
2. Meanings are not inherent but are negotiated in interaction with
others
3. Meanings can be modified and changed through interaction
According to social exchange theorists, what is the purpose of social
interaction and the utility of social relationships? Answer: Humans
interact with one another and enter into social relationships for the
purpose of exchanging things of value.
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,2
The utility of social relationships is that these relationships are
primarily based on the exchange of goods and services among
people.
According to social exchange theorists, what is the basis of power?
Answer: One's ability to secure desired rewards from other sources
3 Principles of Social Structure and Personality Answer: 1.
Components Principle: The ability to identify the elements or
components of society most likely to affect a given attitude,
behavior, race, class, gender
2. Proximity Principle: The environments and social relationships
associated with this component
3. Psychology Principle: How attitudes, values, and beliefs are
influenced by these environments
Why is 'cognitive theory' an approach associated with psychological
social psychology? Answer: Because it emphasizes that the link
between stimulus and response is not direct.
Rather, an individual's cognitive processes intervene between
external stimuli and behavioral responses
The basic premise of cognitive theory is that mental activities of the
individual [e.g., perception, memory, judgment, problem solving,
decision making] are important determinants of social behavior.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3
According to 'dual-process theory,' in what two ways do people
process information? Answer: 1. Automatic: relies on use of
heuristics (cognitive shortcuts that aid in information processing)
Heuristics classify people into a category using salient features (what
to expect and how to treat them)
2. Deliberate: Occurs when we decide to keep processing. More
conscious and deliberate. Takes place when we seek out a more
accurate judgement than what is provided through unconscious
processing alone.
What is 'socialization'? Answer: The ways in which individuals learn
and re-create skills, knowledge, values, motives, and roles
appropriate to their positions in a group or society
According to the 'developmental perspective,' socialization depends
on what natural processes? Answer: physical and psychological
maturation which are biologically determined
How do 'social learning theorists' account for socialization? Answer:
as dependent on the presence of cultural influences
How does the 'interpretive perspective' approach the process of
socialization? Answer: socialization is a process of interpretive
reproduction
© 2025 All rights reserved
SOC 132 MidTerm Sigmon Questions with
Correct Answers | Updated (100% Correct
Answers)
Social Psychology Answer: The attempt to understand and explain
how the thought, feeling, and behavior of individuals are influenced
by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others
3 Faces of Social Psychology Answer: 1. Symbolic Interactionism
2. Group Processes
3. Social Structure & Personality
3 Tenets of Symbolic Interactionism Answer: 1. We act toward
things on the basis of their meanings
2. Meanings are not inherent but are negotiated in interaction with
others
3. Meanings can be modified and changed through interaction
According to social exchange theorists, what is the purpose of social
interaction and the utility of social relationships? Answer: Humans
interact with one another and enter into social relationships for the
purpose of exchanging things of value.
© 2025 All rights reserved
,2
The utility of social relationships is that these relationships are
primarily based on the exchange of goods and services among
people.
According to social exchange theorists, what is the basis of power?
Answer: One's ability to secure desired rewards from other sources
3 Principles of Social Structure and Personality Answer: 1.
Components Principle: The ability to identify the elements or
components of society most likely to affect a given attitude,
behavior, race, class, gender
2. Proximity Principle: The environments and social relationships
associated with this component
3. Psychology Principle: How attitudes, values, and beliefs are
influenced by these environments
Why is 'cognitive theory' an approach associated with psychological
social psychology? Answer: Because it emphasizes that the link
between stimulus and response is not direct.
Rather, an individual's cognitive processes intervene between
external stimuli and behavioral responses
The basic premise of cognitive theory is that mental activities of the
individual [e.g., perception, memory, judgment, problem solving,
decision making] are important determinants of social behavior.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3
According to 'dual-process theory,' in what two ways do people
process information? Answer: 1. Automatic: relies on use of
heuristics (cognitive shortcuts that aid in information processing)
Heuristics classify people into a category using salient features (what
to expect and how to treat them)
2. Deliberate: Occurs when we decide to keep processing. More
conscious and deliberate. Takes place when we seek out a more
accurate judgement than what is provided through unconscious
processing alone.
What is 'socialization'? Answer: The ways in which individuals learn
and re-create skills, knowledge, values, motives, and roles
appropriate to their positions in a group or society
According to the 'developmental perspective,' socialization depends
on what natural processes? Answer: physical and psychological
maturation which are biologically determined
How do 'social learning theorists' account for socialization? Answer:
as dependent on the presence of cultural influences
How does the 'interpretive perspective' approach the process of
socialization? Answer: socialization is a process of interpretive
reproduction
© 2025 All rights reserved
