Question 1

When Fatima first met Katie at work,Katie seemed impatient,stressed out,and irritable.Although Katie has since adjusted and become more even-tempered,Fatima still tries to avoid her.Fatima continues to see Katie in a negative light most likely due to the __________.

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect explains this situation, as it refers to the tendency to remember and be influenced by first impressions, leading Fatima to continue seeing Katie negatively based on their initial interaction.

Question 2

Meghan anxiously awaits as her statistics professor hands back results on the last exam.As the professor approaches,Meghan notices that the he has a smile on his face.She immediately thinks to herself "I must have aced this test!" On which stage of the interpersonal perception process did Meghan end this interaction?

Accepted Answer

Meghan ended in the interpretation stage, as she interpreted the professor's smile as a positive indication of her performance on the exam.

Question 3

Reece watches a news report about a young man arrested for stealing bread and peanut butter from a local grocery store.Reece assumes that the young man had no other choice but to steal the food for survival.Using causal attribution theory,which cause does Reece attribute the man's behavior to?

Accepted Answer

Reece attributes the man's behavior to his circumstances, or the situation he was in where he felt he had no other choice but to steal food for survival.

Question 4

What is the proper ordering of the stages we use to make sense of the various stimuli around us?

Accepted Answer

The first stage of making sense of stimuli is selecting what information to pay attention to. Then, the information is organized based on its importance or relevance. Finally, the information is interpreted to understand the meaning and create a meaningful response. Therefore, the proper ordering of stages is selecting, organizing, and interpreting, which is represented by choice D.

Question 5

What process is involved when we focus our attention on specific elements of our environment and ignore others?

Accepted Answer

Selective attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things. This involves filtering out irrelevant information and focusing on the information that is most relevant to us at a given moment.

Question 6

Alyce assumes that her classmate,Ginny,does not wash her hair and skin regularly because she always looks oily.Alyce thinks it is gross that Ginny is so unclean,and further,assumes that she is unintelligent and unfriendly.What can be used to explain Alyce's perception of Ginny?

Accepted Answer

The horn effect is when a negative impression in one area (Ginny looking oily) leads to negative assumptions in other areas (being unclean, unintelligent, and unfriendly).

Question 7

A recency effect occurs when we pay attention to the __________ pieces of information we receive about a person or situation.

Accepted Answer

A recency effect means that we remember or give more weight to the last pieces of information we receive. So, the correct choice is A- last.

Question 8

Mary goes to the gym to exercise after work because she says her husband,John,comes home late every night.John stays at work late because he says Mary works out every night anyway.Which principle of organizing and imposing structure is involved?

Accepted Answer

Punctuating involves organizing events into a sequence that implies cause and effect or a particular order of operations. In this scenario, Mary and John each see the other's behavior as the cause of their own, creating a loop of justification for their actions.

Question 9

After watching a few minutes of a new sit-com,Will determined that the comedians on the show were not particularly funny and that watching was a waste of his time.By classifying the comedians as unfunny,Will demonstrates the use of __________.

Accepted Answer

Will is using a construct to evaluate the comedians on the show. A construct is a mental category or framework used to organize and interpret information. In this case, Will is using the construct of "funny" to evaluate the comedians and determine that they do not meet his expectations for humor.

Question 10

After the first day of classes Hadya has already decided that her economics professor is strict ("He said he doesn't tolerate cell phones"),her art professor is flaky ("She came in late because she couldn't find the room"),and her communications professor is fun ("He sat on the desk and started to learn all of our names").What process has Hadya used in forming her perceptions?

Accepted Answer

Hadya has used the process of thin slicing, where she has formed immediate judgments and perceptions about her professors based on small pieces of information and observations from a short interaction.

Question 11

Paola went on a blind date that was set up by Jodi.After the date,Jodi called Paola to ask how it went.Paola explained that,although the date was friendly,she was not interested in seeing him again since she didn't think the relationship would last long.Paola's reasoning can best be explained by __________.

Accepted Answer

Paola's decision not to pursue a relationship with her date is based on her assessment of the predicted outcome value, or the likelihood of a relationship being successful in the long-term.

Question 12

Rex likes Karl because he thinks Karl is fun,smart,and energetic.When someone points out that Karl is a cheapskate,Rex refuses to believe it.Perhaps Rex's perception is clouded by the __________ effect.

Accepted Answer

The halo effect is the tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinion in another area. In this case, Rex's positive perception of Karl's fun, smart, and energetic qualities influences his opinion about Karl's behavior regarding money, causing him to overlook or dismiss evidence that contradicts his positive impression of him.

Question 13

As a nurse,Marcus must quickly interpret a large amount of information in order to treat patients.To help in this process,Marcus creates categories and applies a familiar structure to each new piece of information he receives.Marcus is organizing information by __________.

Accepted Answer

Marcus is using the cognitive strategy of superimposing, which involves applying a familiar structure to new information in order to organize and make sense of it more easily. This is a common technique used in many fields, including nursing, where quick interpretation of complex information is essential for effective patient care. Seeking closure, direct perception checking, and becoming other-oriented are not directly related to the cognitive strategy of organizing information through superimposing.

Question 14

Uncertainty reduction can be used to reduce partner,relational,and __________ uncertainty.

Accepted Answer

Uncertainty reduction theory suggests that individuals seek to reduce uncertainty in interpersonal communication, including self-uncertainty, which involves doubts about one's own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a relationship.

Question 15

Maria is studying in the library before an exam.All of a sudden,the smell of cologne causes her to look up from her textbook.Which process of perception is most likely responsible for Maria's response to the smell?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Maria is studying in the library before...

Question 16

When we perceive elements of our environment simply because our senses are operating,we are engaged in __________ perception.

Accepted Answer

Passive perception refers to perceiving elements of the environment without actively seeking them out or selecting them based on their relevance or importance. It is a result of our senses simply operating and detecting stimuli in the environment.

Question 17

Which is a true statement about negative feedback?

Accepted Answer

Negative feedback can be valuable for growth and improvement, but it can also be difficult for some individuals to receive. Some people have a tendency to take feedback personally, even if it is given with care and consideration. It is important to be aware of this and provide feedback in a way that is constructive and respectful.

Question 18

Our tendency to put ourselves in situations that reinforce our attitudes,beliefs,values,or behaviors is known as __________.

Accepted Answer

Selective exposure is the tendency to seek out information that reinforces our pre-existing attitudes, beliefs, values, or behaviors while ignoring information that contradicts them. This can lead to a confirmation bias, where we only expose ourselves to information that confirms our beliefs and ignore information that challenges them.

Question 19

The theory that helps explain why Nabil's perception of Shawna's behavior differs dramatically from Benjamin's perception of that same behavior is known as __________ theory.

Accepted Answer

Standpoint theory suggests that our understanding and interpretation of the world is influenced by our social experiences, which can result in different perspectives or viewpoints. Therefore, Nabil and Benjamin's different perspectives of Shawna's behavior may be based on their unique social experiences and positionalities. The other options (implicit personality, impression formation, and attribution) describe different concepts in social psychology but are not directly relevant to the situation described in the question.

Question 20

The __________ indicates that people make guesses about the personalities and behaviors of others using their own ideas,expectations,and often unconscious biases.

Accepted Answer

The statement describes the concept of implicit personality theory, which explains how people form impressions of others based on their own preconceived beliefs and biases, often without conscious awareness. Impression formation theory refers to the overall process of how people form first impressions, causal attribution theory focuses on how people make judgments about the causes of others' behavior, and correspondence inference theory explains how people infer dispositional traits from observed behavior. None of these fully capture the idea presented in the statement.

Quiz 3: Interpersonal Communication and Perception