Test 4

Question 1

What is a stereotype?

Answer 1

A schema (shortcut) which leads us to assume that all members of a certain group have characteristics in common. They are often negative or neutral

Question 2

What is a sex-role stereotype? Give examples

Answer 2

An expectation of behavior based on gender.
Women: caregivers, emotional, soft, gentle, sensitive, accommodating
Men: unemotional, strong, ambitious, aggressive, logical.

Question 3

What are the ABC’s of prejudice?

Answer 3

A: affect (negative)
B: behavior (discrimination)
C: Cognition (beliefs, expectations)

Question 4

What is the definition of Prejudice?

Answer 4

A negative attitude towards individuals because they are part of a particular group.

Question 5

What is a schema?

Answer 5

A theory (expectation) that helps us simplify and organize information

Question 6

What are the 3 important points about schemas?

Answer 6

1. Schemas reduce information overload
2. Sometimes schemas distort information, which can lead to the development of prejudice
3. Schemas are cultural, learned and automatic. We only notice when someone is outside of the norm

Question 7

How can schemas function as prejudice? (Prejudice as being self-confirming) describe and give example.

Answer 7

It can function as prejudice because the schemas are extremely hard to change once they have been formed. Self—confirming means doesn’t change mind.
-ex: when going over to a friends house because they got a cat. If the cat is unfriendly the behavior is consistent with the prejudice against cats. The person then pays attention and remembers this information so the prejudice does not change. If the cat is friendly the behavior is inconsistent with the prejudice but the person still dismisses this information as an exception so the prejudice does not change.

Question 8

What role do education, empathy and power play in preventing prejudice? (Jane Elliot study)

Answer 8

Teachers shape the ideas of students which is shown in the video. The students learned about power through this experiment because when the roles were reversed they did not treat them differently. Compassions and empathy need to be taught.

Question 9

What are social norms?

Answer 9

Widely accepted ideas or rules on how people should behave

Question 10

What is the difference between explicit and implicit social norms?

Answer 10

Explicit → they are precise and written down. they are formal societal punishement like: highway safety code, laws, plagiarism rules
Implicit → unspoken and unwritten norms. They take form in social punishement. (People’s reactions, people not interacting with person)

Question 11

What is the definition of conformity?

Answer 11

When people behave according to implicit social norms. It usually peaks around the age of 14-15.

Question 12

What is the conformity line study?

Answer 12

It studied how individuals conform to the group. The participants were asked which line fit the standard line best and each time everyone would give an incorrect answer so the 7th person was face with a dilemma. 75% of the time the person went along with the incorrect answer. This is because it is easier to go along instead of going socially against.

Question 13

What is the definition of obedience?

Answer 13

Behavior in response to an order given by someone in authority.

Question 14

What is the obedience shock machine study by Stanley Milgrim?

Answer 14

It studied how individuals obeyed authority. When the learner made an error ther teacher gave a shock. 65% of participants were shocked at 450 volts The dilemma was to obey authority or your “conscience”. It is because people are taught from a young age to do what authority figure says.

Question 15

What is the Stanford prison experiment?

Answer 15

This study was about conformity and obedience. It was a display of institutional power.

Question 16

What are prosocial behaviours? Give example

Answer 16

An action intended to benefit others.
- ex: sending notes, volunteering, giving up seat on bus

Question 17

What is the bystander effect?

Answer 17

When the prescience of others lead to less helping by any one individual. It is assuming someone else will help

Question 18

What is the bystander effect study by Darley and Latane?

Answer 18

It was a study where participants thought they were having a conversation through an intercom then one participant had a seizure. It was questioned how they would react.
In conclusion the more people there were at the time the less likely someone was to receive help. It took more time to get help when there were more people around because there was a diffusion of responsability.

Question 19

What is the definition of memory?

Answer 19

An active system that allows people to retain information over-time

Question 20

What are the 3 stages of memory?

Answer 20

1. Encasing (put into)
2. Storing (keep in memory)
3. Retrieving (get from)

Question 21

What are the three kinds of memory

Answer 21

1. Sensory
2. STM
3. LTM

Question 22

What is sensory memory?

Answer 22

Hold information for a very brief period of time (1/2-2 seconds) after the sensory stimulus is gone sensory information is not modified. If you’re paying attention the information is transferred to STM.
- Textbook definition:
- initial process that receives and holds environnemental information in its raw form for a brief period of time, from an instant to several seconds.

Question 23

What is iconic sensory memory and how long does it last

Answer 23

It holds visual information for about 1/2 of a second.

Question 24

What are echoic memory and how long it lasts

Answer 24

It is a form of sensory memory that holds auditory information for 1-2 seconds

Question 25

What is short term memory?

Answer 25

It involves attention (focus) for doing various cognitive task. It can hold only a limited amount of information - an average of seven items for only a short period of time, 2 to 30 seconds.

Question 26

How long does short-term memory last?

Answer 26

Up to 30 seconds

Question 27

What are two functions of short-term memory?

Answer 27

1. To selectively turn information from sensory memory into LTM
2. To retrieve information from LTM

Question 28

What is maintenance rehearsal?

Answer 28

Intentionally repeating information so that it stays longer in short term memory. Or the practice of intentionally repeating or rehearsing information so that it remains longer in short-term memory

Question 29

What is elaboration rehearsal?

Answer 29

Elaborating or giving meaning to information so that it can be stored in long term memory

Question 30

What is maintenance and elaboration rehearsal with regard to encoding into memory. Give an example of each.

Answer 30

Maintenance rehearsal is the easier way to remember information for a short period of time it works best for for maintaining or keeping information longer in short term memory while elaborative rehearsal involves using effort to actively make meaningful associations between mew information that you wish to remember and old or familiar information already stored in long-term memory. It is better to encode information using elaborative rehearsal.
Ex:
- maintenance → a new phone number, psych concept - repeating it to remember for a bit longer
- elaborative → when remembering in for from lectures or textbook

Question 31

What is the limited storage capacity of short term memory?

Answer 31

7+2 pieces of information

Question 32

What is chunking?

Answer 32

Combining separate items of information into a larger unit, or chunk, and then remembering chunks of information rather than individual items. This would allow for an increase in the length of each item.

Question 33

What are 3 things that can happen to information in short term memory

Answer 33

1. Lasts 30 seconds
2. Transferred to long-term memory
3. Interference leading to information being lost before 30 seconds

Question 34

What is interference?

Answer 34

When new information enters short-term memory and overwrites or pushes out information that is already there.

Question 35

What is long-term memory?

Answer 35

An active system of storing almost unlimited amounts of information over long periods of time. It stores almost unlimited amounts of information over long periods of time with the potential of retrieving or remembering such information in the future.

Question 36

What is encoding for meaning as the deepest level of processing?

Answer 36

Encode for meaning: deepest level of process. The deeper we process information the more we remember it. Encoding is the process of transferring information from short-term to long-term memory but paying attention to it, repeating it or forming new associations.

Question 37

What are mnemonic devices. Give examples

Answer 37

It helped process non-meaningful information.
Ex:
- PEMDAS (parenthesis, exponent, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction)
- musical notes between lines → FACE
- musical notes on lines → EGBDE

Question 38

What are 4 way to encode meaningful information (MORE)

Answer 38

M: meaning
O: organization (grouping information in a meaningful way)
R: rehearsal
E: elaboration (making connections)

Question 39

How much storage does the long-term memory have?

Answer 39

It had an almost unlimited capacity to store information

Question 40

What is semantic memory (LTM)

Answer 40

A type of declarative memory that involves knowledge of facts, concepts, words, definitions, languages and rules. Most of what is learned in class goes into semantic memory.

Question 41

What are episodic memories?

Answer 41

Involves knowledge of specific events, personal experiences (episodes), or activities, such as naming or describing favorite restaurants, movies, songs, habits or hobbies. Most college or high school experiences go into episodic memory. In other words memories of specific things we experienced.
- memories of emotional or dramatic events are more easily encoded and remembered.

Question 42

Why is episodic memory often inaccurate?

Answer 42

We can forget or distort episodic memories which is why they can be unnacurate. It’s called flashbulb memories and their accuracy is questionable because of this.

Question 43

What is procedural memory? Example

Answer 43

It involves memory for motor skills or a certain cognitive skill but it is difficult to describe the sequences of movements.
Ex:
- motor: sports
- cognitive: reading

Question 44

What is primacy effects?

Answer 44

Better recall of information presented at the beginning of a list because we have had the time to rehearse the information so it has set into our long-term memory

Question 45

What is recency effect?

Answer 45

Better recall of information at the end of a list because our information only lasts 30 seconds in our short term memory

Question 46

What happens to the memory for items in the middle of a list?

Answer 46

Few people remembered because there was no time for rehearsal needed for long term memory and interference for encoding into short term memory.