Question 1

______ is a process of being aware of and understanding the world.

Accepted Answer

Perception is the process through which individuals interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world, thus being aware of and understanding it.

Question 2

When we rely on mental shortcuts, we run the risk of having incomplete or inaccurate impressions of people or things, also known as ______.

Accepted Answer

Perceptual bias refers to the tendency to have incomplete or inaccurate views due to overreliance on mental shortcuts in our judgment or perception of others.

Question 3

When we notice one part of the environment while ignoring other parts, we are engaging in ______.

Accepted Answer

Selective attention refers to the process of focusing on a particular object in the environment for a certain period of time while simultaneously ignoring irrelevant information that is also occurring. This allows individuals to concentrate on one aspect of their environment while filtering out other stimuli.

Question 4

Phillip is studying for his licensing exam at night and is annoyed by the sound of his neighbor's dog barking next door. Philip is engaged in what process?

Accepted Answer

Selective attention is the process by which a person focuses on one or a few sensory inputs while ignoring the other stimuli. In this scenario, Phillip is trying to concentrate on his studies and is specifically annoyed by the dog's barking, indicating he is selectively attending to this particular sound over others.

Question 5

Exposing ourselves only to beliefs, values, and ideas that are similar to our own is called ______.

Accepted Answer

Selective exposure is the tendency to favor information which reinforces our pre-existing views while avoiding contradictory information.

Question 6

Marko and Busola attended a lecture on changing weather patterns in the United States. The lecture confirmed Marko's growing belief that global warming is increasing at a rapid rate and we need to do something right now! Busola, however, got the message that global warming isn't as bad as we originally predicted. Marko and Busola are most likely engaged in ______.

Accepted Answer

Selective perception explains how individuals interpret messages differently based on their pre-existing beliefs, attitudes, or experiences. In this scenario, Marko and Busola attended the same lecture but interpreted the information in ways that reinforced their existing beliefs about global warming.

Question 7

When Jason watches the news, he filters what he hears to suit his own needs, biases, and expectations. Which of the following is Jason using?

Accepted Answer

Selective perception is the process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages while ignoring opposing viewpoints. It involves filtering information to suit personal biases and expectations, which is what Jason is doing when he watches the news.

Question 8

Selective perception is best described as ______.

Accepted Answer

Selective perception involves focusing on information that is personally relevant or aligns with one's existing beliefs, often ignoring contradictory information.

Question 9

The way in which we store or retain information is called selective ______.

Accepted Answer

Selective memory refers to the process of retaining or storing certain information while forgetting or ignoring other information. It is a type of memory bias that influences what we remember based on various factors such as relevance, emotional state, and personal biases.

Question 10

During his graduation ceremony, Stephen remembers all of the positive experiences he had with his classes and the fun he had with all the people he met. Stephen is using which type of selection?

Accepted Answer

Stephen is using selective memory, which refers to the process of remembering certain events or interactions over others, often those that are positive or significant in some way. In this case, he recalls the positive experiences and fun times, indicating a selective memory process.

Question 11

Memories contain which three qualities?

Accepted Answer

Memories are dynamic because they can change over time, creative because they can influence new ideas or thoughts, and social because they are often shared or influenced by social interactions.

Question 12

Which statement best reflects the "memories are dynamic" quality?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which statement best reflects the "memories are...

Question 13

Mental structures that serve as "road maps" to help us understand, classify, and respond to the world around us are called ______.

Accepted Answer

Schemas are mental structures that help individuals understand and interpret the world around them. They act as cognitive frameworks or "road maps" for processing incoming information, organizing our experiences, and guiding our actions.

Question 14

The four types of schema we use to understand and respond to stimuli are ______.

Accepted Answer

Prototypes, stereotypes, interpersonal constructs, and scripts are the four types of schema used to understand and respond to stimuli. Prototypes are the best example or representative of a category, stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations about a group, interpersonal constructs are used to understand social interactions, and scripts are sequences of expected behaviors for a given situation.

Question 15

Kelli joined an online dating site and posted her criteria for her ideal romantic partner. In her list, she notes that the ideal person should be funny, financially stable, a good cook, and a lover of dogs. Kelli's criteria are an example of which type of schema?

Accepted Answer

Kelli's criteria represent a prototype, which is a mental image or best example of a category. In this case, it is her ideal romantic partner.

Question 16

Prototypes are beneficial because they help us to ______.

Accepted Answer

Prototypes help us make sense of new experiences by providing a mental model or framework that allows us to categorize and understand new information based on prior knowledge.

Question 17

Dakota had a bad experience with an insurance agent when his house flooded. The insurance agent was generally unhelpful and rude. Dakota found himself becoming distrustful of all insurance agents, saying "all insurance agents are selfish and out for themselves only." What schema is Dakota relying on to make sense of his experience?

Accepted Answer

Dakota is relying on stereotypes, which are oversimplified generalizations about a group of people. In this case, he's generalizing his negative experience with one insurance agent to all insurance agents.

Question 18

When we create "pictures in our heads" of a variety of social groups, we are drawing on ______.

Accepted Answer

Stereotypes are oversimplified and widely held fixed ideas or images of particular social groups, often used to categorize and make assumptions about individuals within those groups.

Question 19

A potential drawback of using stereotypes is ______.

Accepted Answer

Stereotypes can lead to oversimplified and generalized views of people, causing us to overlook their individuality and unique characteristics.

Question 20

The schema we use to label someone as "lazy" versus "a go-getter" or "nice" versus "mean" is called interpersonal ______.

Accepted Answer

Interpersonal constructs are the mental frameworks we use to differentiate or categorize people's behaviors and personalities, such as labeling someone as "lazy" versus "a go-getter" or "nice" versus "mean." These constructs help us interpret and predict others' behaviors in social interactions.

Quiz 2: Perception, Self, and Communication