Question 1

What is a schema?&#10;A) a cognitive error that we use to explains events&#10;B) a category of knowledge that helps people interpret and understand the world&#10;C) a mental structure used to simplify and organize knowledge&#10;D) A and B&#10;E) B and C

Accepted Answer

A schema is both a category of knowledge that helps individuals interpret and understand the world around them (B) and a mental structure used to simplify and organize knowledge (C). It is not considered a cognitive error.

Question 2

Schemas affect:&#10;A) what people notice&#10;B) how people remember and interpret things&#10;C) how people make decisions&#10;D) all of the above&#10;E) none of the above

Accepted Answer

Schemas are cognitive structures that help individuals organize and interpret information. They affect what people notice, how they remember and interpret things, and how they make decisions, making all of the above correct.

Question 3

How did the Duke lacrosse case turn out?&#10;A) the players were declared innocent of the charges and the district attorney was disbarred&#10;B) all but two of the players were declared innocent and the district attorney was promoted to state attorney general&#10;C) the accuser was sentenced to jail for lying about the details of the incident&#10;D) the players were declared innocent and the accuser was put on trial for perjury&#10;E) none of the above

Accepted Answer

The Duke lacrosse case concluded with the players being declared innocent of the charges against them. The case was marked by significant legal and procedural errors, leading to the disbarment of Mike Nifong, the district attorney who prosecuted the case.

Question 4

Which of these statements is NOT true of schemas?&#10;A) Information inconsistent with existing schemas receives more mental attention as people try to explain the inconsistencies.&#10;B) It takes more work for people to process an individual's actions when the behavior doesn't fit with existing schemas.&#10;C) Expected information is effortlessly integrated into a schema, leaving extra resources for processing unexpected information.&#10;D) Information consistent with existing schemas takes as much effort to process as information inconsistent with existing schemas.&#10;E) All of the above statements are true.

Accepted Answer

Schemas are mental structures that help us organize and interpret information. Information consistent with existing schemas is easier to process because it fits into our pre-existing knowledge structures, whereas inconsistent information requires more cognitive effort to reconcile with our existing schemas. Therefore, statement D is not true as it contradicts this understanding by suggesting that consistent and inconsistent information require the same amount of processing effort.

Question 5

Which type of schema is a mental file containing your perceptions of a person's traits and goals?&#10;A) Event schema&#10;B) Role schema&#10;C) Person schema&#10;D) Memory schema&#10;E) None of the above

Accepted Answer

Person schema refers to a mental structure that helps us organize and interpret information about people, including their traits, goals, and behaviors. This schema helps us predict how individuals might act in certain situations based on our perceptions and past experiences with them or others similar to them.

Question 6

Which type of schema can contribute to stereotyping?&#10;A) Event schema&#10;B) Role schema&#10;C) Personality schema&#10;D) Memory schema&#10;E) None of the above

Accepted Answer

Role schemas involve expectations about how people in certain roles are supposed to behave, which can lead to stereotyping when these expectations are oversimplified or generalized.

Question 7

What is the perseverance effect?&#10;A) A concept that describes how people's beliefs and schemas persist despite contradictory information.&#10;B) A concept that describes people who are extremely determined even in the face of opposition.&#10;C) An effect that counteracts the stereotyping effects of role schemas.&#10;D) An effect similar to the Rashomon effect, but harder to eliminate in one's thinking.&#10;E) None of the above

Accepted Answer

The perseverance effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals maintain their beliefs even when presented with evidence that contradicts those beliefs. This can occur due to cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, where people favor information that confirms their preexisting beliefs.

Question 8

What is the following cycle describing: A journalist expects a source to act in a particular way; the journalist treats the source in a way consistent with his expectation; the source responds in a way consistent with the treatment; the journalist sees the source's behavior as proof his expectation was correct.

A) experiential learning
B) the self-fulfilling prophecy
C) the Rashomon effect
D) the perseverance effect
E) none of the above

Accepted Answer

This cycle is describing the self-fulfilling prophecy, where an individual's expectations about another person or entity cause the individual to act in ways that lead to the expected behavior, thus confirming the original expectation.

Question 9

Counterarguing, carefully evaluating information and having meaningful contact with people unlike you are all ways to do what?&#10;A) counteract the biasing power of argumentative schemas&#10;B) help you engage in purely automatic thinking&#10;C) combat the perseverance effect&#10;D) avoid stimulus-driven thinking&#10;E) none of the above

Accepted Answer

The answer of Counterarguing, carefully evaluating information and having meaningful...

Question 10

The term to describe when individuals remember the same events differently, but plausibly, than others do, is called:&#10;A) the Kurosawa prophesy&#10;B) the perseverance effect&#10;C) stimulus-driven thinking&#10;D) the Rashomon effect&#10;E) A and C

Accepted Answer

The Rashomon effect refers to the phenomenon where different people have contradictory but plausible accounts of the same event, named after Akira Kurosawa's film "Rashomon," where multiple characters provide differing accounts of the same incident.

Deck 3: Encountering the News