PSYCH 204 Midterm

scale development - things to avoid

• Thurstone scales

• categorical response

• double-barrelled answers

• jargon or ambiguous wording

• wording all items in same direction

Likert scales

provide series of statements worded in positive or negative direction, and ask people to rate how strongly they agree/disagree

• provide ratings on continuum

• multiple items referring to same psychological construct

• draw items from natural language

• make items interpretable and unambiguous

good construct definitions:

• clearly articulate what construct is (and is not)

• identify expected dimensionality - one thing or several related facets?

• ground definition in existing theory and literature

nomological network

where construct sits in broader web of related variables, construct gets meaning in part from its expected pattern of relationships with other constructs

reliability

consistency or repeatability of measurement, internal consistency

Kessler 6 psychological distress

measures generalised or non-specific psychological distress in general population

hostile sexism

represents an overt justification of, or attempt to preserve male dominance. is strongly adversarial in tone, and generally expressing hostility toward women who are seen as rebelling or failing to conform to traditional roles

benevolent sexism

seems to celebrate intimate interdependence between men and women in a subjectively positive, even adoring, way. reflects a paternalistic attitude that positions women as weaker, but nicer than men

Māori identity

interdependent self-concept (ISC) - the extent to which the concept of the self-as-Māori is defined by virtue of relationships with other Māori people versus the extent to which the concept of the self-as-Māori is viewed as being defined as solely unique and independent to the individual rather than as part of the social group

moral foundations: purity

practices related to purity “serve social functions, including marking off the group’s cultural boundaries and suppressing the selfishness often associated with humanity’s carnal nature by cultivating a more spiritual mindset”

right wing authoritarianism

group-based motivation for collective security and tighter in-group cohesion, often in response to threat. highly prejudiced mainly because they were raised to travel in tight, ethnocentric circles; and they fear that authority and conventions are crumbling so quickly that civilisation will collapse and they will be eaten in the resulting jungle

left wing authoritarianism

anti-hierarchical aggression reflects the belief that those currently in power should be punished, the established order should be overthrown, and that extreme political actions, such as political violence, are justifiable to achieve these aims

concept creep

definitions expand to include adjacent or similar concepts e.g. the definition of mental illness might eventually expand to also include feeling occasionally sad

words can harm

belief that speech can cause lasting psychological harm

political violence

beliefs that justify or endorse violence to achieve social, political, religious, or ideological goals. measures generic support for violent extremism defined as attitudes that condone the use of violence to achieve collective goals

multiple regression

trying to use same set of variables to predict scores on another variable. the mean as the simplest model

regression

allows us to build a model by adding other variables, thereby improving our ability to predict an outcome

R²

represents the total amount of variance in the outcome explained by the regression model

F-value

the F-statistic testing whether the regression model predicts significantly more variation than expected by chance

constant (or intercept)

the point at which the regression slope crosses the y-axis. represents the mean of the outcome when all the predictors included in the regression are held constant or controlled for

unstandardised b

represents the change in the outcome associated with a one-unit change in the predictor the variable

standard error (SE) of b

used to calculate a t-value testing whether B differed from 0

t-value for B

the t-value testing whether the effect of b was significant

standardised Beta

reflects the effect of the predictor on the outcome in standard deviation units

primary dimensions of person perception

is this person warm? is this person competent?

shifting judgements of person perception

• people can appear warm but a single bout of cold behaviour can quickly shift our judgement of them

• warmth is seen as intentional and therefore easy to fake - any lapse tends to be weighted heavily

• competence is harder to fake and viewed less under person’s immediate control

• someone generally capable can commit blunders without overturning broader impression of competence

ambivalence

evaluating positively on one dimensions but negatively on the other, simultaneously e.g. Jews depicted as high competence but low warmth

warmth

friendly, well-intentioned, trustworthy, warm, good-natured, sincere

intention toward us

competence

competent, confident, capable, efficient, intelligent, skilful

capability to act on intention

stereotype function

• stereotypes not deliberately ‘designed’ as form of social control

• system remains relatively stable despite serious group inequality

• mixed stereotypes provide effective method of social control - allow groups to derive a positive social identity based on one domain of comparison

bias toward ambivalent stereotypes

we want to believe that the poor are happier and the rich are unhappier, but the evidence shows otherwise. human tendency toward comforting illusions and system justification

structural origins of stereotype content

competition → warmth

relative status → competence

stereotype content and outcomes

stereotype → emotion → behaviour

different high/low combinations of warmth and competence predict very different forms of prejudice and emotion

the BIAS map

identifies four different ways of acting toward people based on their perceived group membership: active harm, passive harm, active facilitation passive facilitation

passive harm

• reflecting classes of behaviours where one demeans other groups by diminishing their social worth through excluding, ignoring, or neglecting

• institutionally, involves disrespecting needs of groups or limiting access to necessary resources

• often not perceived as discrimination in classical sense, less readily identifiable, more plausible deniability

active harm

• representing behaviours intentionally directed toward outgrip and members with goal of harming or otherwise causing damage

• easily identifiable

• examples: attacking, threatening, fighting with, making others feel unsafe

passive facilitation

• one acts with outgrip members to achieve one’s own goals, and accepts obligatory association or convenient cooperation with group

• contact is not desired but merely tolerated in service of other goals, facilitation of group is mere by-product

• examples: hiring services of outgroup member, choosing to work on project with someone because you think they’re smart, tacitly trading with oppressive regimes

active facilitation

• proactively help or aid members of outgroup in reaching their goals

• protecting members of outgroup, shaping behaviour of other people to enact desired behaviour, inhibit undesired behaviour

• examples: helping others, defending others, charitable giving, anti-discrimination policies

forms of prejudice

high warmth / low competence → paternalistic prejudice

low warmth / high competence → envious prejudice

low warmth / low competence → contemptuous prejudice

high warmth / high competence → admiration

Kitty Genovese

• case of young woman in NYC in 1960s

• stabbed and raped in apartment parking lot

• 38 people witnessed fatal interaction that lasted 30mins, no one called police until after it was over

• social psychologists wanted to understand how people could let something like that unfold

helping

intent to benefit, prosocial behaviour

altruism

no hidden motive

egoism

self-interest

kin selection

help those who are genetically similar, more likely to help brother over distant cousin, and distant cousin over stranger

kin selection: health x severity

everyday situation → help sick person

life or death situation → help healthy person