Social Psych Midterm

Social psych definition

The scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people.

Father of modern social psych

Kurt Lewin, who emphasized that behavior is a function of the interaction between the person and the social situation.

When explaining another person's actions, the tendency to overestimate internal personal traits and underestimate situational factors is known as the _____.

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

What is the primary difference between social psychology and personality psychology?

Focuses on stable individual traits, whereas focuses on how social situations influence individuals.

Why does correlation NOT equal causation?

Because two related variables may be influenced by an unmeasured third variable, or the direction of cause and effect may be reversed.

In an experiment testing sleep duration on test performance, what are the Independent Variable (IV) and Dependent Variable (DV)?

IV: amount of sleep; DV: test score

How do random sampling and random assignment differ in research design?

Determines WHO enters the study (enhances generalizability/external validity); determines WHERE participants go across conditions (establishes causality/internal validity).

In hypothesis testing, what is a Type 1 error versus a Type 2 error?

False positive (rejecting a true null hypothesis); False negative (failing to reject a false null hypothesis).

What is the principle of falsification in scientific theories?

The requirement that a scientific theory or hypothesis must be empirically testable and capable of being proven wrong.

What is the key methodological difference between direct replication and conceptual replication?

Repeats a study using the exact same methods, while the other tests the same underlying hypothesis using different operationalizations or procedures.

What defines a double-blind study?

A study design where neither the participants nor the researchers interacting with them know which experimental condition participants are assigned to.

What is an operational definition in psychological research?

The precise, observable, and quantifiable method used to define and measure an abstract construct in a study.

How does a true experiment differ from a quasi-experiment?

Utilize random assignment to conditions, evaluate pre-existing or non-randomized groups.

What is a confounding variable?

An unmeasured outside variable that systematically varies alongside the independent variable, offering an alternative explanation for the observed results.

What is the distinction between internal validity and external validity?

Reflects confidence that the IV caused changes in the DV; reflects the extent to which results generalize to real-world settings and populations.

A measurement tool that produces consistent results across repeated tests demonstrates high _____, whereas a tool that accurately measures what it claims to measure demonstrates high _____.

Reliability; Validity

What is social desirability bias?

The tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a way that will be viewed favorably by others rather than reporting their true beliefs or habits.

What research method involves analyzing existing data sets, such as court records or historical documents?

Archival Research

In research design, how do between-participant and within-participant designs differ?

Designs assign different individuals to separate treatment conditions; expose the same individuals to all treatment conditions.

When comparing mean performance across three or more treatment groups, researchers typically use an _____ statistical test rather than a t-test.

ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)

What ethical requirement mandates explaining the true nature and purpose of a study to participants after data collection, especially if deception was used?

Debriefing

What standard behavioral test is used to demonstrate self-awareness in toddlers and animals?

The Mirror Self-Recognition Test (or Rouge Test)

According to Social Comparison Theory, how do upward social comparisons impact self-evaluations compared to downward social comparisons?

(comparing to superiors) Can inspire hope or provoke envy/dissatisfaction; (comparing to inferiors) increases gratitude or scorn.

According to Social Identity Theory, what forms the social identity portion of our self-concept?

The parts of our self-concept derived from group memberships (e.g., nationality, sorority, sports team, university).

How do independent and interdependent self-construals differ across cultures?

Defines the self through unique internal traits and autonomy; defines the self through relational connections and social roles.

What does Bem's Self-Perception Theory assert about how we determine our internal attitudes?

When internal cues are weak or ambiguous, we infer our attitudes and internal states by observing our own outward behavior.

According to Higgins' Self-Discrepancy Theory, what three domains of the self exist?

1. Actual Self (who you believe you currently are)

2. Ideal Self (who you want to be)

3. Ought Self (who you feel you should or must be)

What is Self-Expansion Theory?

The idea that humans have a fundamental motivation to grow their self-concept, often by incorporating close personal relationships, skills, and perspectives into the self.

What are the two common ingratiation tactics used in impression management?

1. Other-enhancement (flattering/complimenting others)

2. Opinion conformity (agreeing with someone else's views to build rapport)

How does self-promotion differ from ingratiation?

Self-promotion aims to convince others of one's own personal competence or accomplishments, whereas ingratiation aims to make the other person feel good to gain liking.

What is conspicuous consumption?

Purchasing and publicly displaying luxury items primarily to signal high social status, wealth, or identity to others.

How do high self-monitors differ from low self-monitors in social situations?

Adapt their behavior like 'social chameleons' to match environmental norms; behave consistently across situations based on internal values.

What is the core proposal of Optimal Margin Theory regarding self-perception?

Maintaining slight, positive illusions (slight self-deceptions) about oneself yields psychological benefits and builds resilience without losing touch with reality.

In Dual Processing Models, what characterizes System 1 versus System 2 thinking?

System 1 is fast, automatic, intuitive, and effortless; System 2 is slow, controlled, analytical, and effortful.

What does the term 'Need for Cognition' describe?

An individual difference reflecting how much a person enjoys and chooses to engage in effortful, complex intellectual tasks.

What is the difference between a schema and a script?

A mental framework organizing knowledge about a concept/category; a schema containing expectations for the sequence of events in a specific situation.

How does the Availability Heuristic influence cognitive judgments?

People estimate the frequency or probability of an event based on how easily vivid instances of it come to mind.

Judging a quiet, book-loving person as more likely to be a librarian than a farmer based on how closely they fit a prototype is an example of the _____ Heuristic.

Representativeness

What is the Base-Rate Fallacy?

The tendency to ignore or underuse quantitative statistics (base rates) in favor of qualitative, descriptive stereotypical information.

How does the Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic function in numerical estimates?

Individuals start estimation processes from an initial starting value and adjust insufficiently from that anchor.

What is priming in social cognition?

The implicit activation of specific mental constructs or schemas by prior exposure to stimuli, making related concepts more accessible.

How does Confirmation Bias differ from Belief Perseverance?

Involves selectively searching for confirming evidence; the other is maintaining a belief even after its supporting evidence has been completely disproven.

What is counterfactual thinking, and how do upward and downward counterfactuals differ?

One is imagining alternative outcomes ('what if'). The other is imagining better outcomes (provoking regret/learning); The last is imagining worse outcomes (provoking relief).

What is the Planning Fallacy?

The tendency to underestimate the time, effort, and costs required to complete a future task, focusing unrealistically on best-case scenarios.

The psychological phenomenon of incorrectly perceiving meaningful patterns or visual features in vague, random stimuli (such as seeing faces in clouds) is called _____.

Pareidolia

What cognitive bias is depicted in this graph showing how confidence varies relative to knowledge?

Dunning-Kruger Effect: A cognitive bias where individuals with low skill or knowledge overestimate their competence ('The Peak'), whereas increased learning causes initial drops in confidence before mastery is built.

What is an illusory correlation?

Perceiving a relationship or association between two variables when no actual statistical relationship exists.

What is the Universality Hypothesis regarding emotional nonverbal communication?

The proposal that certain basic facial expressions of emotion (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust) are universally recognized across all human cultures.

What is the Halo Effect in person perception?

A cognitive bias where a single positive evaluation or trait (e.g., friendliness) leads us to assume that person possesses other positive qualities.

How does the 'What-Is-Beautiful-Is-Good' effect reflect the Halo Effect?

It is a specific halo effect where individuals assume physically attractive people possess desirable psychological traits like intelligence, social skill, and kindness.

What three sequential steps define a self-fulfilling prophecy?

1. Perceiver forms an initial expectation about a target.

2. Perceiver alters their behavior toward the target according to the expectation.

3. Target adjusts their behavior in response, causing the original expectation to come true.

What key takeaway was demonstrated by Rosenthal & Jacobson's classic 'Intellectual Bloomers' experiment?

Teacher expectations can act as self-fulfilling prophecies, altering teacher behavior in ways that measurably improve student intellectual performance.

How do dispositional and situational attributions differ?

(internal) Attributions assign behavior to internal character traits or personality; (external) attributions assign behavior to environment or context.

What is the Actor-Observer Bias?

The tendency to attribute our OWN negative actions to external situational factors, while attributing OTHER people's identical actions to internal personal dispositions.

Attributing personal success to internal factors ('I'm smart') and personal failure to external factors ('The exam was unfair') is an example of the _____ Bias.

Self-Serving

How do the False Consensus Effect and False Uniqueness Bias contrast with one another?

Overestimates how many people share one's common opinions/flaws ('everyone does it'); overestimates how rare one's positive talents/virtues are ('no one is as good as me').

What is the Just-World Hypothesis?

The belief that the world is inherently fair and predictable, leading people to believe individuals get what they deserve (which can lead to victim-blaming).

According to Terror Management Theory, how do humans cope with existential anxiety surrounding mortality?

By bolstering cultural worldviews, adherence to values, and self-esteem, which provide symbolic permanence and meaning.

What three sources of information does Kelley's Covariation Model use to determine attributions?

1. Consensus (do others act similarly?)

2. Distinctiveness (does the person act differently in other situations?)

3. Consistency (does the person act this way every time this situation occurs?)

Why are human thinkers often referred to as 'cognitive misers'?

Because people conserve mental energy by defaulting to heuristics, shortcuts, and simplified schemas rather than deeply analyzing every situation.

How do decision-making strategies differ between maximizers and satisficers?

One seeks the absolute best possible outcome through exhaustive comparison; one chooses the first option that meets an acceptable threshold ('good enough').

What is an attitude object?

Anything toward which an attitude is directed—including a person, object, place, behavior, group, or idea.

How do informational beliefs differ from evaluative beliefs?

Consist of factual information without judgment; incorporate a positive or negative value judgment (forming attitudes).

What is the key claim of the Model of Dual Attitudes regarding attitude change?

Developing a new attitude does not completely erase an older attitude; instead, the new attitude overrides the old one, but the old evaluation can still resurface automatically.

What is the distinction between explicit attitudes and implicit attitudes?

Consciously held, deliberate, and self-reportable; automatic, involuntary, and often operating outside conscious awareness.

How does assortative mating demonstrate a genetic or cultural contribution to attitudes?

Individuals non-randomly choose romantic partners who possess similar physical, intellectual, political, and attitudinal characteristics.

What is the Bogus Pipeline procedure in attitude measurement?

A research technique where participants are connected to a fake lie detector, leading them to report sensitive explicit attitudes more truthfully.

How does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measure implicit attitudes?

By measuring reaction time speed when pairing target concepts (e.g., age categories) with positive or negative evaluations; faster pairings signal stronger implicit associations.

What major lesson did LaPiere's (1934) classic study with a Chinese couple demonstrate regarding attitudes?

Self-reported explicit attitudes (establishments claiming they would refuse service) do not reliably predict actual physical behavior (establishments accepting customers).

What is the Specificity Principle in predicting behavior from attitudes?

Attitudes predict behavior best when both the attitude and the behavior are measured at matching levels of specificity (e.g., recycling plastic bottles vs. general environmental concern).

According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, what three components combine to predict behavioral intentions?

1. Specific Attitude toward the behavior

2. Subjective Norms (beliefs about others' expectations)

3. Perceived Behavioral Control (belief in one's ability to execute the behavior)

What defines Cognitive Dissonance?

Uncomfortable psychological state/tension arising when an individual holds two inconsistent cognitions or acts in ways that conflict with their beliefs.

How do individuals typically resolve cognitive dissonance when behavior cannot be undone?

By changing their attitude, rationalizing the action, or inventing new justifications so that beliefs match the behavior.

In the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), how do the central route and peripheral route to persuasion differ?

One relies on deep, logical processing of argument strength; the other relies on surface cues like speaker attractiveness, status, or emotional hooks.

What is the sequence of requests in the Foot-in-the-Door technique?

Gaining compliance with a small initial request first, followed by making a larger target request.

What is the sequence of requests in the Door-in-the-Face technique?

Starting with an unreasonably large request expected to be rejected, followed immediately by a smaller, reasonable target request.

What is the Lowball technique in social compliance?

Securing commitment to an attractive initial offer, and then raising the cost or adding hidden conditions after commitment has been made.

What social principle dictates that we should treat others as they have treated us?

The Norm of Reciprocity

How does the Facial Feedback Hypothesis connect physiology to psychological state?

Involuntary or voluntary facial muscle movements can directly trigger corresponding emotional experiences in the brain.

What is the Hindsight Bias?

The tendency to overestimate one's ability to have predicted an outcome after it is already known ('I knew it all along').

Which term best describes unrealistic optimism for the future and inflated self-concept?

Positive Illusion: Unrealistic optimism for the future and an inflated self-concept are hallmarks of positive illusions.

Which term best describes the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of a hurricane after noticing dark clouds, focusing more on the potential danger than the actual probability?

Negativity Bias: Overestimating danger due to dark clouds prioritizes negative emotional stimuli over base probability.

Which term best describes to overestimating the likelihood of a hurricane solely because you live in Florida, without considering current weather conditions?

Base Rate Fallacy: Overestimating hurricane risk solely because of living in Florida without reviewing weather data ignores the statistical baseline

Which term best describes overestimating the likelihood of a hurricane likely to happen after watching a news report about hurricanes?

Availability Heuristic: Overestimating likelihood after recent news coverage is driven by how easily vivid memories come to mind.

What might describe facilitators’ and family members’ choice to continue believing in and making excuses for facilitated communication despite no evidence supporting it?

Self-discrepancy: Maintaining beliefs despite contradictory evidence relates to resolving discrepancies in beliefs/self-concepts

A researcher observes group behavior in a public park without interfering. This method is best described as:

Naturalistic observation: Passive observation in a public setting without intervention is naturalistic observation

Which concept is most closely associated with the argument that a theory must be testable and open to being proven wrong?

Falsification: Popper's principle that theories must be testable and capable of being proven false

A researcher wants to ensure that participants in different experimental conditions do not systematically differ due to uncontrolled factors. Which method would best help achieve this?

Random assignment: Prevents systematic baseline differences between groups in experimental conditions

A clinical trial distributes a scale measuring their self-reported pain before and after an intervention. Which method should they use?

Pre-test and post-test: Measuring pain before and after an intervention evaluates change over time

A student who performs poorly on a test attributes their failure to an unfair professor, but when they succeed, they believe it was due to their intelligence. This is an example of:

Self-serving biases: Attributing test failure to an unfair professor (external) and success to personal intelligence (internal)

In a study, participants are told about Steve who is described as quiet, introverted, and highly interested in literature and philosophy. Participants then read a short story about studying in the library. When asked whether Steve is more likely to be a librarian or a farmer, most participants choose librarian, even though there are far more farmers than librarians in the population. This judgment is likely NOT related to:

Anchoring and adjustment heuristic: Assuming Steve is a librarian based on the description involves the representativeness heuristic and the base-rate fallacy, NOT anchoring

Sandra asks her neighbor to sign a petition supporting a local environmental cause. After the neighbor agrees, Sandra then asks if they would also be willing to volunteer at a cleanup event. Which persuasion technique is Sandra using?

Foot-in-the-door technique: Securing agreement to a small petition first before asking for a larger volunteer commitment