(1) social psych module

what is social psychology

the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another

what does the folktale cinderella demand

that we accept the power of situation

how does cinderella demand that we accept the power of situation

cinderella was meek and unattractive with her stepmother, and therefore the prince didn’t recognize her because he was looking for someone confident

what is a theory

an integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events

what is the difference between facts and theories

facts are agreed upon statements about what we observe, and theories are ideas that summarize and explain facts

what does a good theory do (2/3)

effectively summarize observations and make clear predictions that we can use to confirm or modify theories, generate new exploration, and suggest practical application

what is a hypothesis

a testable proposition that suggests a relationship that may exist between events

what are the three qualities of a hypothesis (3)

allows us to test a theory by suggesting how to falsify it, gives direction and to look for unconsidered things, and the predictive feature can make them practical

why do we discard some theories

because they’re replaced by a newer model

what would a complete theory of aggresion do

predict when to expect aggression and how to control it

what is field research

research done in natural, real-life settings outside of the lab

what is the major advantage of correlational research

you’re examining important variables in natural settings

what is the major disadvantage of correlational research

you have difficulty determining the cause and effect relationship

what did carroll and his colleagues do (correlational)

went to scotland and noted the lifespan of 843 individuals to look for possible links between wealth and health

what did carroll and his colleagues find

when measuring the height (for wealth), taller graves predicted longer lives

what is correlational research

the study of the naturally occurring relationships among variables

what did the study between self-esteem and delinquency tell us

correlation disappears when factors like drug use by parents were controlled (which means the two things were caused by the same thing rather than caused by each other)

what are experimental research simulations akin to

aeronautical wind tunnels

what is experimental research

research that seek answers to cause-effect relationships by manipulating factors while controlling others

what are the two major advantages of experimental research

random assignment and control

what is random assignment

the process of assigning participants to the conditions of an experiment such that all persons have the same chance of being in a given condition

what does varying independent variables do

allow the influence to be pinpointed

what did chris boyatzis do (control variables)

showed some elementary schoolers power rangers and observed their aggressive acts after

what is the independent variable

the experimental factor that a researcher manipulates

what is the dependent variable

the variable being measured

why is replication (of steps) important

replication = confirmation

what is replication

repeating a research study, often with different participants in different settings, to determine whether a finding can be reproduced

what do you and do you not need in an ethical experiment

don’t need mundane realism and should have experimental realism

what is mundane realism

the degree to which an experiment absorbs and involves its participants

what is experimental realism

the degree to which an experiment absorbs and involves its participants

what fraction of social psychology studies have used deception in the last decade

1/3

what is done to research to make sure that it’s ethical

it’s reviewed to ensure that it is humane and that scientific merit justifies any temporary distress

what is informed consent

an ethical principle that requires participants to be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

what do the psychology societies mandate investigators to do (5)

enable informed consent, only use deception if essential and justified, protect participants and bystanders from harm, treat participant information confidentially, and debrief participants afterwards

experimenter(s) should….

be informative and considerate that people leave feeling at least as good as when they came in

when treated with respect…

few people mind being deceived

what do hunches from everyday experiences do

inspire lab experiments

what should you remember about things from a lab

they’re products of a simplified, controlled reality

what does WEIRD (cultures) stand for

western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic

what percent of humanity is weird

12%

what is distinguishable (labs to life)

content of people’s thoughts and actions versus the process by which they do those things