Deck 5: Social Categorization

Question 1

Which of the following is mentioned in your textbook as an important reason to study social categorization?

A) Social categories are changing rapidly.
B) Social categorization creates social influence.
C) Social categories intersect with memberships in working groups and it is important to be aware of these intersections.
D) We cannot predict group performance without knowing a person's social category membership.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is the definition of social categorization?

A) The process of thinking about someone as a member of a meaningful social group.
B) The process of providing social influence to a member of the social category.
C) The process of comparing people to natural objects such as animals, plants, and landscapes.
D) The process of forming judgments about people on the basis of their physical appearance.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Lamar sees a guy crossing the street in the distance and thinks "Man, that guy is tall - he must be a great basketball player!" Lamar has just engaged in which of the following processes?

A) Social integration.
B) Social re-perceptions.
C) Social categorization.
D) Social influence.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The name-confusion paradigm has been used to demonstrate which of the following?

A) That social categorization relates to social influence.
B) That social categorization reduces prejudice.
C) That social categorization is spontaneous.
D) That social categorization occurs only for objects, but not for people.

Question 5

The dependent variable in the name-confusion paradigm is

A) self-esteem.
B) reaction time to identifying faces.
C) politeness expressed toward others.
D) memory for statements made by others.

Question 6

Charles indicates that he does not like any French people. Charles is expressing

A) prejudice.
B) stereotyping.
C) discrimination.
D) exemplar processing.

Question 7

When Scott indicates that he thinks that "all women are emotional" he is expressing which of the following?

A) Prejudice.
B) Stereotyping.
C) Discrimination.
D) Exemplar processing.

Question 8

Which of the following has been found by researchers studying stereotypes?

A) There is little agreement among people about the stereotypes of social groups.
B) People tend to agree about which stereotypes are true of which groups.
C) Most stereotypes have now faded away.
D) Stereotypes are infrequently used in today's society.

Question 9

When Jeremy thinks of Italians, the image of Roberto Benigni, a famous film actor, always comes to his mind. In this case, Benigni can be considered as

A) a prototype.
B) a schema.
C) a social category.
D) an exemplar.

Question 10

In an experiment by Sechrist and Stangor (2001), European-American participants learned the beliefs that other students held about African-Americans. Then participants responded to traits that were descriptive of African-Americans as quickly as they could. The goal of this reaction time measure was to investigate

A) whether participants engaged in in-group favoritism.
B) the level of discrimination of the participants.
C) the extent to which stereotypes were linked to a social category in memory.
D) whether participants held exemplars of the social categories.

Question 11

Two goals of social categorization are

A) accurate information and cognitive economy.
B) accurate information and reduced prejudice.
C) accurate information and increased prejudice.
D) cognitive economy and reduced discrimination.

Question 12

In an experiment conducted by Galen Bodenhausen, participants made judgments about the guilt or innocence of a defendant either at a time of day when they reported feeling tired or at a time of day when they reported feeling more alert. The results of this study demonstrated that

A) people stereotyped more when they were alert.
B) people stereotyped more when they were tired.
C) most people stereotyped more in the morning.
D) people stereotyped more in the morning, but only when they felt tired.

Question 13

When we know someone well we are more likely to _____ them, whereas when we do not know someone well we are more likely to _____ them.

A) categorize; individuate
B) individuate; categorize
C) stereotype; prototype
D) prototype; stereotype

Question 14

On the first day of the semester, Kathy meets her new roommate. Which of the following represents an order in which Kathy's perceptions of her roommate are likely to change over the course of the semester?

A) Categorization; subtyping; individuation.
B) Individuation; subtyping; categorization.
C) Subtyping; categorization; individuation.
D) Individuation; categorization; subtyping.

Question 15

William is in a study group with Jennifer, Allison, Angela, and Katie. Because he is the only man in the study group, William will be

A) prototypical.
B) perceptually salient.
C) prejudiced.
D) homogeneous.

Question 16

Research has shown that people who are prejudiced are more likely to categorize others by their race, in comparison to people who are less prejudiced. This is probably because

A) they can not accurately perceive people.
B) they are more perceptually salient.
C) they spend more time processing information.
D) race is an accessible category for them.

Question 17

One likely outcome of social categorization is

A) stereotyping.
B) better memory.
C) more variation in response times.
D) in-group homogeneity.

Question 18

In an experiment reported in your textbook, Peter Glick and his colleagues sent bogus résumés to business people. What was the major conclusion of their study?

A) Although professional people did not use stereotypes, non-professional people did.
B) Although females were stereotyped, males were not.
C) Significant gender discrimination was found even among experts and supposedly impartial employment officers.
D) Most of the professionals did not find the research important enough to return the questionnaires.

Question 19

One reason that people may find it difficult to avoid using stereotypes is that

A) they believe their stereotypes are fair.
B) they are not aware they are using stereotypes.
C) they do not want to individuate others.
D) they have too much time on their hands.

Question 20

Perceptual accentuation refers to which of the following?

A) The tendency to categorize only out-group members.
B) The tendency to categorize only in-group members.
C) The tendency to amplify between-group differences and within-group similarities.
D) The tendency to perceive out-group members negatively.

Question 21

In an experiment by Henri Tajfel, participants were shown six lines that varied in length. In the condition in which the lines were categorized into two groups,

A) the lines were all perceived as longer.
B) the lines were all perceived as shorter.
C) the lines were all perceived as more similar to each other.
D) the lines were perceived as longer or shorter depending on which category they were in.

Question 22

When an eyewitness to a crime attempts to identify a person who is a member of a different social category than he or she is, more errors in identification are likely to be made. This is probably the result of which of the following?

A) Out-group homogeneity.
B) A self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) The minimal intergroup effect.
D) Individuation.

Question 23

In-group homogeneity is likely to be observed in which of the following cases?

A) When the in-group has high social identity.
B) When the in-group is very discriminatory.
C) When a self-fulfilling prophecy is created.
D) When the out-group is also very homogenous.

Question 24

Which of the following processes are likely to lead people to maintain their stereotypes?

A) People seek out and remember information that confirms their stereotypes.
B) People show more in-group than out-group homogeneity.
C) People spend more time thinking about out-groups than about in-groups.
D) People remember more in-group than out-group information.

Question 25

Harold believes that all Italians are warm and friendly. One day he meets Lydia, who is Italian. Harold begins talking to Lydia in a very warm and friendly manner. Lydia responds by acting in a warm and friendly way toward Harold. Which of the following has just occurred?

A) Out-group homogeneity.
B) In-group homogeneity.
C) A self-fulfilling prophecy.
D) Biased stereotyping.

Question 26

When people are divided into social groups, even if those groups are not very important or meaningful,

A) they will demonstrate greater social identity with the out-group.
B) they will remember more information about the out-group.
C) they will favor members of the in-group.
D) they will attempt to treat all out-group members equally.

Question 27

Which of the following describes the minimal intergroup effect?

A) The tendency to spontaneously categorize others.
B) The tendency to spontaneously express prejudice.
C) The tendency for in-group favoritism in groups that are not very meaningful.
D) The tendency to frequently change social category memberships.

Question 28

In-group favoritism has been shown to be greater when the groups are in competition with each other. This is probably because

A) competition decreases social categorization.
B) competition increases social identity.
C) competition distracts people from their task.
D) competition changes social memory.

Question 29

Explain the concepts of social categorization and of individuation. When does each occur, and what are the benefits of each? Mention examples of research that show the occurrence of individuation and social categorization in your answer.

Question 30

Which social categories are most likely to be used in everyday perception? What determines when and for which people social categorization occurs?

Question 31

What are stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, and how do they relate to social categorization?

Question 32

What research evidence has been used to assess individuals' cognitive representations of social groups?

Question 33

What is self-categorization? Why does it occur, and what are its outcomes? What self-categories are most important to you?

Question 34

What is outgroup homogeneity, and why does it occur? Under what circumstances are in-groups seen as homogenous?

Question 35

What factors make stereotypes and prejudices so difficult to change?

Question 36

Describe the minimal intergroup effect, and give an example of how it has been demonstrated in research. Indicate some reasons that it might occur.