Exam I Study Guide

Exam II Study Guide

Psychology of Diversity: Fall 2003

The examination will consist of approximately 30-35 multiple choice questions (2 pts each). Also, there will probably be 5-10 matching items (2 pt each) and possibly some short answer/fill-in-the-blank. Finally, there will be 4 potential essay questions on the exam. You must answer 2 of them (10 pts each). One question will be mandatory. For the remaining questions, you will have some choice about what you answer.

You are responsible for all material presented in class and Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 & 7 from Blaine, the MTV study article, and all material covered in class.

The material covered is approximately ½ from lecture and ½ from the book. You may notice that there is much more overlap between the two for this exam. You still need to carefully read each book chapter and familiarize your self with the major concepts (often indicated by Bold/italicized words, bulleted/numbered lists, and highlighted text boxes). Use the questions below to help focus your studying. Note that though you could provide single word answers to many of the questions, doing so will not sufficiently prepare you for this examination.

Blaine, Ch. 2 & 3

1. What is a schema (schemata/schemas)? How are schemas and stereotypes related?

2. How are schemas/stereotypes adaptive, e.g., what is the role of schemas with respect to expectancies (resolving ambiguity), attention, interpretation of information, and memory? In what ways are schemas/stereotypes accurate? In what ways are inaccurate?

3. Walter Lippman once said "For the most part we do not first see and then define; we define first, and then see." What did he mean by this?

4. What are the negative aspects of using Stereotypes?

5. How are stereotypes formed? What aspect of stereotype formation did the segment from Bowling for Columbine illustrate and how?

6. What is meant by the notion of the Kernel of truth (grain of truth) and how does this truth get distorted?

7. What is an Illusory Correlation? What is the paired distinctiveness illusory correlation effect?

8. What makes stereotypes resistant to change? What is the additive nature of stereotypes? What is the sub-typing effect? When is sub-typing most likely to occur.

9. What outcomes are associated with using Stereotypes?

10. What is the Self-Fulfilling Prophesy? How has it been applied to classroom experiences? What teacher behaviors have been found to contribute to SFP? How do SFP, perceptual bias, and accuracy in perceptions contribute to student performance in the classroom? How has SFP been found to influence perceptions of strangers in phone conversations.

11. What is outgroup homogeneity, ingroup-bias/outgroup-derogation, the fundamental attribution error, and the ultimate attribution error?

12. What is stereotype threat? How does it affect individual behavior? How has stereotype threat affected African-Americans? How has it affected women?

13. What is Stereotyped Communication? What is the Linguistic Intergroup Bias? How can speech covertly communicate out prejudices?

Blaine, Ch. 4

1. How does Gordon Alport Define Prejudice? How does your instructor define prejudice?

2. What are positive and negative prejudice? Why are positive prejudices still problematic?

3. What does your instructor mean when he says "Prejudice is the spoiled fruit that grows from the cognitive vine. It sprouts from a kernel of truth among the weeds of distortion. It is fertilized by existential fear and the drive for self enhancement."

4. How does prejudice enhance self esteem? What is Social Identity Theory and how does it explain prejudice regarding outgroups? What is BIRGing (Basking in Reflected Glory)?

5. How does positive self-esteem facilitate prejudice? What is relative deprivation?

6. What is Terror Management Theory? What is a world view and how does it protect us against death (symbolic and physical)? What is the Mortality Salience Paradigm? What happens to social judgements when one’s mortality is made salient to them?

7. What is Modern Prejudice? How does modern prejudice differ from old fashioned prejudice?

8. How can we measure prejudice when people are motivated to conceal it? What is the Bogus Pipeline? What is the Bonafide Pipeline?

9. What is automatic prejudice? When are automatic prejudices most likely to influence our thinking? How is automatic prejudice demonstrated in Shelly Taylor’s (actually it was Susan Fiske, but I said Taylor in class) good citizen at the mall story, where her friend tackles the wrong guy?

10. How do personal beliefs differ from stereotypes? I.e. which one is faster, which one is conscious, which one requires effort, which one uses up cognitive resources.

11. What is Alport’s (1954) Contact Hypothesis? What did Alport believe would result from increased contact with outgroup individuals? What limitations have been found to affect the effectiveness of contact? Why does contact reduce prejudice?

12. What is the Self Regulation view of prejudice reduction? What aspect of prejudice is it trying to combat and how does it work?

Blaine, Ch. 5,7, and Gender Handout

1. What problems are associated with defining sex and gender as biological and social processes, respectively? What solution to this problem does Kay Deaux offer?

2. What types of genetic and physical variations are there that challenge the notion that sex reflects a discrete and mutually exclusive dichotomy?

3. Even though Women make up a majority of the population, why can they be considered a Minority?

4. What evidence is there that women are under-represented within positions of status and power? What is the Glass Ceiling?

5. How do men and women in america, differ with respect to salaries and wealth in general.

6. What is Sexism? How has sexism been supported within the Judeo-Christian religious tradition and by western "science"? Bonus (Who are Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Coffin Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton).

7. What are Benevolent and Hostile sexism (as presented in the Ambivalent Sexism Scale)? What are the three components of Benevolent Sexism.

8. What are the stereotypic traits associated with men and women? Why are such stereotypes problematic? What is Gender Bias, how is it reflected in stereotypes, research, and medical and psychiatric perspectives? (handout and ch 5)

9. Are men and women different with respect to intellectual skills, helpfulness and empathy, aggression, and gullibility/susceptibility to influence?

10. How do stereotypes contribute to people’s tendency to exaggerate gender differences?

11. What socialization processes contribute to exaggerating perceived gender differences? What is Deaux & Major’s Social Interaction Model? How do social roles exaggerate perceived gender differences? What influence do the family, schools, and media have on exaggerating perceived gender differences?

12. What are Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals and how do they related to perceived gender differences?

13. What did to Nancy Signorielli’s study of MTV commercials demonstrate about media portrayals of female stereotypes? What have previous studies of TV and Gender Stereotypes demonstrated?

14. According to your book (Ch 7), how are TV representations and portrayals of men and women different? What factors seem to affect the frequency with which men and women are depicted on TV?

15. How are women portrayed on TV and in the movies?

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