Exam 1 Social Psychology (8/14-x/xx)

Flash cards from the lecture and textbook in preparation of Exam 1 September 4th

Social Psychology

Scientific study how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence/ are influenced by other people

What are the 3 roles of social psychology

1. Describe what people are like

2. predict

3. explain what causes behavior (causality)

How do we Describe what people are like (3 goals of social psyc)

careful observation and unveiling how people really feel about others

Good descriptions = _________

predictions

What can be used top make predictions?

Good descriptions

Theory

Scientific explanation connecting existing observations and suggest paths for research

True or false: Major theoretical perspectives are competing rather than complementary

false

What are the levels of analysis for?

Casual processes referred to explain some phenomenon

What is the first level of analysis discussed in class

Evolutionary

Evolutionary searches for the _______ of ________ behavior in _______ and _______ predispositions that helped________ survive and reproduce

1. cause

2. social

3. physical

4. phsycological

5. ancestors

Natural selection

Characteristics that help animals survive and reproduce passed on to offspring

What is the core principles of natural selection

variation

individuals differs in genes leading to differences in traits

inheritance

selection

Define: some pass on genes to their offspring

inheritance

Selection

some have genes that make better survival skills, leading to more production of said species, leading to that gene becoming more common.

What are the types of sexual selection?

intrasexual competion

intersexual

sexual selection

natural selection based on competition over mate/mate choice

intrasexual competition

Between members of 1 sex for access to mate

intersexual selection

preferential mate choice

Life began_____ years ago

4 billion

Is evolution Long or short term

Usually long term unless environmental changes occurs that changes the time frame

3 products of evolution

1. adaptation

2. by-products

3. noise

Adaptations

inherited/reliable developing characteristics from natural selection because they help survival of reproduction more than alternative existing traits

Brest making nutrition for babies is an example of

By- Products

Characteristics that dont solve adaptive problems or functional design “carried alsong” from characteristics that do have functional design

bellybuttons are an example of ________

byproduct

random variations of belly buttons are an example of

Noise

Noise

random effects produced by forces (chance mutation, sudden change in environment or chance effect during development)

gene mutation

errors that occasionally/ unpredictably occur during DNA Replication

evolutionary Psychology

focuses on phychological adaptations and use natutral selection to understand behavior emotions and thoughts

true or false: taste is an example of evolutionary phycology

true

true or false: evolutionary phycology cannot be used to understand humans

false

why do we have taste?

its an evolutionary trait from natural selection that promotes survival through seeking out substances that provide nutrition

true or false: our ancestors had no taste, but over time they were produced

true

The Environment of Evolution AdaptedNess (EEA)

Selection pressures that occur during adaptation period of evolution and is responsible for producing the adaptation

Evolutionary mismatch

evolved traits once advantageous but became maladaptive due to changes in the environment

What are the 2 levels of explanation

Proximate cause and ultimate cause

Proximate cause

immediate/ mechanistic cause of behavior

ultimate cause

evolutionary function of behavior

Chemical stimulates taste receptors cells in tastebuds is an example of _______cause

proximate

Detecting nutrient or toxins is an example of ______ cause

ultimate

Evolutionary focuses on ______ cause

Ultimate

Evolutionary focuses on what 3 points

Explaining behaviors that are species typical

strong trends behavior found in majority

dosen’t mean there is no variabtion in behaivor or that its due to culture

True of false: a common misunderstanding is the saying selected for by evolution means morally good

true

true or false: people generally are aware of evolutionary rational for behavior

false

individuals are _______ _____ not _______ __________

adaptation executors; fitness maximizers

Sociocultural perspective

theoretical viewpoint, searching for causes of social behavior influenced from larger social groups

social norms

rule or expectation for appropriate social behavior

True of False: tipping is an example of social norms

true

Social norms emphasizes the _____ _____ people are a part of

larger groups

Culture

beliefs, customs, habits, and languages shared by people living in a particular time and place

Social Learning

theoretical viewpoint that focuses on past learning experiences as determining a person’s social behaviors

Social learning emphasizes ____ ______ experiences

individual unique

Social Cognitive

theoretical viewpoint focus on mental process in paying attention to / interpreting /remembering social experinences

Hypothesis

research prediction about what they’ll find

Hypothesis are developed by…

informed observations

practical problems

previous research

Descriptive methods:

procedure for measuring/ recording behavior/ thoughts/ feelings in a natural state

Experimental methods

procedure uncovering casual process by systematically manipulating some aspect of a situation

Descriptive methods’ 2 subcategories

Naturalistic observation and case study

naturalistic observation

recording behavior as it unfolds

Disguised natural observation

observing participants without their knowledge

Undisguised natural observation

participants are aware they are being observed

reactivity (Natural observation/dm)

measurement changes participant behavior

_____ is a concern of Disguised and undisguised naturalist observation

reactivity

Unobtrusive measures

studying human behavior without direct interaction or interference with the research subjects (measures taken from results, not behavior itself)

_______ can help get around reactivity

Unobtrusive measures

_________observation is generally considered better for naturalistic observation

Disguised

Case Study

an intensive examination of an individual or group

The story of Finneas Gage is an example of_______

Case Study

Pros of Case Studies

Allow rich data and conditions and circumstances are rare

Cons of Case Studies

Often only provides weak evidence of causation and difficult to generalize findings to other people and situations

Archival method (Descriptive Methods)

Examining systematic data originally collected for other purposes

Content analysis (descriptive methods)

study documents and communication artifacts

Letters sent from the past or movies to see cultural differences is an example of _______ ________

Content analysis

Survey methods (descriptive methods)

researchers ask people to self report on feelings/beliefs/ or behaviors

What are 2 concerns of survey methods (descriptive methods)

dealing with social desirablity bias and representative sample

representative sample

respondents having Characteristics matching those of the larger population research wants to describ

Social Desirability Bais

people say what they believe is appropriate or acceptable

Psychological test (descriptive methods)

instruments for assessing people ability/ cognitions/motavations

Correlation (descriptive methods)

extent where 2 or more variables are associated with one anouther

spurious correlation (descriptive methods)

correlation resulting of a third variable

Experiment

research method in which researcher set out to systematically manipulate 1 source of influence while holding other constant

Theses points describe________:

few things directly manipulated

everything esle’s is constant

lets you observe effect of what you manipulated

gives strong evidence of casual relationships

Experiment

______ is an issue of Experimental Methods

Demand Characteristics

Demand Characteristics (Experimental methods)

cue making participants aware of how experimenter expects them to behavior

Lab (Experimental methods)

researchers give tasks in a controlled environment

Field Experiments (Experimental methods)

Real world studies and susally dont know they are being studied

Name the Ethical issues in research True or false: Benefits should not outweigh the risks

false

Name the Ethical issues in research True or false: Informed consent is necessary

true

Name the Ethical issues in research True or false: Participants do not have the freedom to withdraw

false

Name the Ethical issues in research True or false: Debriefing can be skipped at the end

false

Name the Ethical issues in research True or false: The study must be approved by the IRB

true

Debriefing

discuss procedures, hypothesis, and participants reactions at the end of a study

Name the Ethical issues in research True or false: Researchers have no bais

false

Behavior Gentics

study of genetic and environmental influences on behavior and other psychology

Heritability

proportion of obserberd variance in a group thats coounted for by genetic variance

What is the range for heritability

0 to 1 ( none due to genes —> only due to genes)

True or false: Less environmental variation could increase heritability

true

What are the 2 methodologies of determining heritability of a trait

1. Calculate correlations between twins separated at birth

2. Calculate twins in similar environments

What is the main finding of heritability of traits

all human behavior are heritable