PSY 200

Psychological Realism

The extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to the psychological processes that occur in everyday life.

Causal Attribution

An explanation of an individual’s behavior.

Schema

A mental structure, stored in memory, that contains prior knowledge and associations with a concept.

Social Psychology

The scientific study of the causes and consequences of people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions regarding themselves and other people.

Salience

The aspect of a schema that is active in one’s mind and, consciously or not, colors perceptions and behavior.

Event Schema

Knowledge of the sequence of expected events in a given situation (e.g., a birthday party includes cake, presents, and friends).

Experiential System

An intuitive, unconscious, automatic mode of thinking.

Cognitive System

A rational, conscious, controlled mode of thinking.

Covariation Theory

Theory explaining when we make internal vs. external attributions, based on distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.

Demand Characteristic

When participants alter their behavior because they guess the purpose of the experiment.

Motives for Social Cognition

• Need for accuracy: desire to understand correctly.

• Need for closure: desire for a quick, definite answer.

• Need to confirm beliefs: desire to see the world consistent with prior views.

External Validity

The extent to which findings generalize to other people and settings.

Internal Validity

Confidence that the independent variable, and nothing else, caused changes in the dependent variable.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to attribute others’ behavior to internal causes while underestimating situational influences.

Actor-Observer Effect

The tendency to make internal attributions for others’ behavior but external attributions for our own.

First Impressions

Form quickly and automatically, tend to persist due to the primacy effect, but can change if strong contradictory evidence appears.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A false expectation that leads to behavior causing the expectation to come true.

Gestalt Approach

We perceive situations as unified wholes, not as collections of separate facts.

Bottom-Up Impression Formation

Based on direct observation (thin slices, internal attributions, theory of mind).

Top-Down Impression Formation

Based on schemas and prior knowledge (stereotypes, transference, false consensus, implicit personality theories).

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to interpret or seek out information that fits with existing schemas or beliefs.