Midterm 1 dr Yu psy 102

What is hindsight bias?

It is the tendency for people to exaggerate how predictable an outcome was after learning that it occurred.

Why are individuals particularly susceptible to hindsight bias in social psychology?

Topics in social psychology often appear deceptively familiar and aligned with common sense.

How does inductive logic differ from deductive logic in scientific inquiry?

Inductive logic derives general theories from observed data, whereas deductive logic derives specific hypotheses from established theories.

Why can an inductive approach never 100% confirm a theory?

A researcher can never exhaust every possible observation required to rule out exceptions.

According to Karl Popper, how does scientific progress occur?

Science advances by systematically testing and discarding theories that were once considered self-evident.

What is the definition of a theory in research?

Is a system of statements designed to explain and predict observed events.

What is a hypothesis?

Is an educated prediction formulated as an 'if-then' statement logically derived from a theory.

What is a research prediction?

Is a specific statement regarding the expected outcome of a particular experiment or event.

In the Bateson honesty box experiment, what was the underlying theory tested?

The theory was that people manage their reputation when they believe others may evaluate them.

What hypothesis was tested in the honesty box study?

Cues suggesting that someone is watching will increase cooperative behavior.

What specific prediction was made in the honesty box study?

People will pay more into a university honesty box when displayed signs feature eyes instead of flowers.

What did the data reveal in the honesty box experiment regarding payments?

Money paid per drink consumed was nearly three times higher when eyes were displayed compared to flowers.

What are the three primary research designs used in social psychology?

Correlational, experimental, and archival.

What is the main goal of the correlational method?

It assesses the strength and direction of the statistical relationship between variables.

What is the numerical range of a correlation coefficient (r or ρ)?

A correlation coefficient ranges from −1 to 1.

What defines a positive correlation?

Means that as one variable increases, the other variable also increases.

What defines a negative correlation?

Means that as one variable increases, the other variable decreases.

In Mitchell et al. (2013), how was tweet sentiment quantified for regional analysis?

Geotagged tweet words were scored on a 1-to-9 happiness scale using a pre-rated dictionary of 5,000 words.

What did the AHR score represent in the Mitchell et al. (2013) Twitter study?

It measured composite regional health factors, including lower obesity and lower smoking rates.

What correlation was found between regional tweet happiness and AHR health scores?

A statistically significant positive correlation (r=0.578) was observed.

What correlation was found between regional tweet happiness and gun violence rates?

A statistically significant negative correlation (r=−0.664) was observed.

Why does correlation fail to prove causality?

Correlational data cannot establish temporal precedence or eliminate potential third-variable confounds.

What is the third-variable problem in correlational research?

An unmeasured external variable causes changes in both measured variables, creating a false direct link.

What two essential characteristics define a true experiment?

Researcher control through IV manipulation and random assignment of participants.

What is an independent variable (IV)?

Is the factor that an experimenter systematically manipulates to test its effects.

What is a dependent variable (DV)?

Is the outcome measured to assess the impact of the independent variable.

What is the role of control variables or covariates in an experiment?

They account for extraneous influences that could affect the dependent variable but are outside the research question.

What is operationalization?

It is the process of translating an abstract psychological construct into concrete, measurable procedures or behaviors.

What was the independent variable in Carlin & Ahrens (2014)?

It was emotional state, manipulated as Fear versus Neutral.

How was the independent variable manipulated in Carlin & Ahrens (2014)?

Participants were randomly assigned to view either a scary film clip or a neutral nature film clip.

What is the purpose of a manipulation check in an experiment?

It verifies whether the experimental manipulation successfully altered the intended psychological state.

How was persistence operationalized as a dependent variable in Carlin & Ahrens (2014)?

As whether participants quit a difficult math task before the allotted time expired.

What were the results of Carlin & Ahrens (2014) regarding fear and task persistence?

Participants in the fear condition demonstrated significantly lower persistence than those in the control condition.

What is construct validity?

Is the degree to which operationalized measures and manipulations accurately capture the theoretical concepts.

What is external validity?

Is the extent to which experimental findings can be generalized to real-world settings.

What is the definition of random assignment in experimental design?

It is assigning participants to conditions such that every individual has an equal chance of being in any group.

What is an archival research design?

Analyzes pre-existing data sets rather than gathering new data directly from participants.

Are archival research designs and correlational research designs mutually exclusive?

No, a single study can utilize an archival design while employing correlational statistical analyses.

Which research design is best suited to address whether variable X directly causes variable Y?

An experimental research design is best suited to infer direct causality.

What advantage do archival and observational designs typically offer over lab experiments?

They capture real-world behaviors and patterns, providing higher external validity.

What are the four primary categories of measurement methods in social psychology?

Archival, behavioral, self-report, and physiological measures.

What are examples of archival measurement data?

Yearbook photos, professional sports statistics, and official crime records.

What are examples of behavioral measurement techniques?

Observing discrete task choices, reaction times, or physical task performance.

What are examples of self-report measures?

Structured questionnaires, rating scales, and self-reported emotional evaluations.

What are examples of physiological measures in psychology?

Peripheral responses like heart rate and central neural measures like brain activity imaging.

What methodology was used in the Mills College longitudinal study (Harker & Keltner, 2001)?

It tracked women over several decades using archival yearbook photos, observer personality ratings, and self-reported well-being.

Which facial muscles are activated during a genuine Duchenne smile?

Involves the zygomatic major muscle and the orbicularis oculi muscle.

How was personality assessed at age 20 in the Mills College study?

Staff observers rated participant personalities after interacting with them for one day.

According to ethical guidelines, how is 'Research' formally defined?

Is a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.

How is a 'Human Subject' defined under human research protection regulations?

Is a living individual about whom an investigator collects data through intervention, interaction, or identifiable private info.

What is the primary function of descriptive statistics?

Summarize and characterize the specific patterns observed within a collected data set.

What is the primary function of inferential statistics?

Evaluate whether an observed data pattern is statistically meaningful or due to random chance.

What relationship was observed between early morning classes and academic performance?

Students taking more days per week with early morning classes demonstrated lower overall GPAs.

The process of deriving testable hypotheses from broader theoretical models is known as _____.

deductive logic

A variable that distorts the apparent relationship between an IV and DV by covarying with both is called a _____.

confound

What three levels of abstraction organize self-knowledge from broadest to most specific?

Self-concept, self-schemas, and self-beliefs.

Self-Concept

The overarching, organized collection of all knowledge and beliefs an individual holds about themselves.

Self-Schema

A cognitive structure representing a person's beliefs and feelings about the self within a specific domain across general and situational contexts.

What are self-beliefs within the framework of self-knowledge organization?

Are domain-specific statements and observations organized under a broader self-schema.

How do self-schemas assist individuals in daily cognitive processing?

Provide frameworks that help quickly process, make sense of, and navigate daily social information.

Which component of self-description includes physical attributes such as height and eye color?

Material or physical self.

Which component of self-description encompasses personality traits, interests, hopes, and fears?

Spiritual or inner self.

Which component of self-description covers social roles, relationships, and group memberships?

Social self.

The prompt '1. I am... 2. I am...' used to assess self-concept structure is known as the _____.

Twenty Statements Test

According to situationism, what determines which self-schema is activated at any given moment?

Immediate social context or situation.

In social psychology, what is meant by 'activated self-schemas'?

Specific subset of self-schemas made salient by situational cues in the current environment.

What is the primary finding of the self-reference effect in memory research?

Information processed in relation to the self is remembered significantly better than information processed in other ways.

In the study by Rogers et al. (1977), which rating task condition led to the highest percentage of recalled words?

Self-reference task condition.

In Rogers et al. (1977), what cue question was used to test structural processing of a target word?

"Big letters?"

In Rogers et al. (1977), what cue question was used to test phonemic processing of a target word?

"Rhymes with xxxx?"

In Rogers et al. (1977), what cue question was used to test semantic processing of a target word?

"Means same as yyyy?"

In Rogers et al. (1977), what cue question was used to test self-referential processing of a target word?

"Describes you?"

How does self-referential processing improve memory recall relative to semantic processing?

Connects new information to a rich, highly organized pre-existing network of self-knowledge.

Independent View of Self

A self-construal emphasizing individual internal thoughts, feelings, and actions as distinct from others.

Interdependent View of Self

A self-construal emphasizing interpersonal connections, where thoughts and actions are deeply tied to social relationships.

Which cultural orientation is most strongly associated with an independent self-construal?

Individualism, typical of Western cultures.

Which cultural orientation is most strongly associated with an interdependent self-construal?

Collectivism, typical of East Asian, African, and Latin American cultures.

What does the acronym WEIRD stand for in cultural psychology literature?

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic.

Who coined the term WEIRD to highlight sample bias in psychological research?

Joseph Henrich.

Why do classic collectivism scales often fail across different cultures according to Talhelm et al. (2026)?

Conflate collectivism with generalized interpersonal warmth rather than duty and obligations.

How did survey responses in China and the USA differ regarding the statement 'Winning is everything' in Talhelm et al. (2026)?

Participants in China agreed more strongly with the statement than participants in the USA.

How did survey responses in China and the USA differ regarding 'My relationships with others are more important than my own accomplishments'?

Participants in the USA agreed more strongly with the statement than participants in China.

What alternative concept do Talhelm et al. (2026) propose to better capture collectivism across cultures?

Responsibilism, which emphasizes relational duties and obligations in close relationships.

According to Mwaniki (1973), how do responses on the Twenty Statements Test vary based on urbanization and exposure to Western culture?

Greater urbanization and Western exposure shift responses from social roles to personal characteristics.

In Mwaniki's (1973) study, which group provided the highest proportion of interdependent (role/group) responses?

Samburu tribespeople.

In Mwaniki's (1973) study, which group provided the highest proportion of independent (personal trait) responses?

American undergraduates.

Self-Perception Theory

People infer their internal states by observing their own behavior when internal cues are weak or ambiguous.

Who proposed Self-Perception Theory in 1972?

Daryl Bem.

Under what condition do individuals rely on self-perception to understand their feelings?

When internal cues are ambiguous, weak, or difficult to interpret.

Why is direct introspection often unreliable for identifying the true causes of our mental states?

The underlying neurocognitive processes generating feelings and actions operate largely unconsciously.

When people attempt to explain why they feel a certain way, what do they typically rely on?

Causal theories about what normally drives behavior and physiological states.

Misattribution of Arousal

Process whereby physiological arousal caused by one stimulus is mistakenly attributed to a different stimulus.

Who conducted the classic 1974 field experiment on the misattribution of arousal on a suspension bridge?

Donald Dutton and Arthur Aron.

What were the two manipulated independent variables in Dutton and Aron's (1974) bridge experiment?

Bridge safety (scary suspension bridge vs. safe bridge) and experimenter gender (female vs. male).

What was a primary dependent variable in Dutton and Aron's (1974) study?

Whether male participants called the experimenter after the interview.

What was the main behavioral outcome for male participants met by a female experimenter on the scary bridge in Dutton and Aron (1974)?

They were significantly more likely to call her than those on the safe bridge.

How did Dutton and Aron (1974) explain why men on the scary bridge contacted the female experimenter more often?

The men misattributed physiological fear arousal from the dangerous bridge as romantic or sexual attraction.

In Markus and Kitayama's (1991) framework, how is the boundary of the 'self' depicted in an interdependent view?

As flexible and overlapping with significant relationship partners like parents, siblings, and friends.

In Markus and Kitayama's (1991) framework, how is the boundary of the 'self' depicted in an independent view?

As distinct, autonomous, and separated from social relationships.

According to the self-reference effect, which strategy is most effective for long-term retention of course concepts?

Relating the concepts directly to personal memories and self-experiences.