PSYCH 221 - Social Psychology - Exam I

Spring 2026 - Ilan Shrira

Hindsight Bias

After something happens, we exaggerate our ability to have predicted it beforehand, also known as the “I knew it all along” bias

Case Study

Studying an individual or small group to learn more about humanity

Survey

A questionnaire that studies a large sample very quickly

Social Desirability Bias

The desire to give a socially acceptable or desirable answer due to fear of embarrassment and/or disapproval

Naturalistic Observation

Observing people’s behavior in their natural environment

Archival Methods

Records left behind, forensic evidence

Experiment

When an experimenter manipulates one variable and looks at its effect on its a second variable to prove causation

The Skin as a Boundary

Once something leaves our inner system (e.g., spit), it becomes uncomfortable to take it back in

Attributions

Explanations one gives for why things happen

Internal Attributions

Explaining why something happened in terms of yourself/your aspirations, “because of me”

External Attributions

Explaining why something happened in terms of your surroundings, “because of that/them/it”

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to make internal attributions for good outcomes and external attributions for bad outcomes

Positive Memory Bias

The notion that negative events have a tendency to be forgotten, or recalled as more positive

Better-Than-Average Bias

The idea that we have the tendency to perceive ourselves as above average in certain skills when in reality we are not

Optimistic Bias

The tendency to think that good things are going to happen to us, and less likely to think that bad things will happen to us

Impact Bias

The tendency to overestimate the emotional impact of events that have not happened

Perception of societal changes are a reflection of changes within ourselves

The tendency of old people to perceive the world as less orderly or virtuous

Belief in a Just World

The degree to which someone believes there is order/justice in the world

Social Comparison

The act of comparing ourselves to others’ situations in an upward/downward context

Counterfactual Comparison

The act of comparing what actually happened with what could have happened in an upward/downward context

Close-Call Counterfactual

The tendency of it being easier to criticize one’s self for small insignificant details that may have changed an outcome of a situation, versus majorly messing up (ex., missing a flight by 1 minute vs 3 hours)

Regret

The result of an upward counterfactual comparison, the painful longing for an alternative that could have been better

Regret of Action

A regret of doing something

Regret of Inaction

A regret of not doing something

Zeigernick Effect

The tendency in general to remember details of unfinished tasks more than finished tasks

Reliability

Consistency of a test’s results

Validity

The extent to which a test mesaures what it is designed to measure

Random Assignment

Ensuring that each participant in an experiment has an equal probability of being in the different conditions

Internal Validity

The extent to which an experiment allows confident statements about cause and effect

External Validity

The extent to which the results of an experiment can be generalized to other circumstances

Demand Characteristics

Cue that makes participants aware of how the experimenter expects them to behave

Motivation

The force that moves people toward desired outcomes

Goal

A desired outcome; something one wishes to achieve or accomplish

Motive

A high-level goal fundamental to social survival

Attention

The process of consciously focusing on aspects of our environment or ourselves

Automaticity

The ability of a behavior or cognitive process to operate without conscious guidance once it is put into motion

Exemplar

A mental representation of a specific episode, event, or individual

Schema

A mental representation capturing the general characteristics of a particular class of episodes, events, or individuals

Priming

The process of activating knowledge or goals, or making them ready for use

Chronically Accessible

The state of being easily activated, or primed, for use

Attitudes

Favorable or unfavorable evaluations of a particular person, object, event, or idea

Emotions

Relatively intense feelings characterized by physiological arousal and complex cognitions

Moods

Relatively long-lasting feelings that are diffuse and not directed toward particular targets

Self-Concept

A mental representation capturing our views and beliefs about ourselves

Self-Esteem

Our attitude toward ourselves

Reflected Appraisal Process

The process through which people come to know themselves by observing or imagining how others view them

Self-Perception Process

The process through which people observe their own behavior to infer internal characteristics such as traits, abilities, and attitudes

Self-Regulation

The process through which people select, monitor, and adjust their strategies in an attempt to reach their goals

Self-Presentation

The process through which we try to control the impressions people form of us; synonymous with impression management

Affordance

An opportunity or threat provided by a situation

Descriptive Norm

A norm that defines what behaviors people typically perform in a given situation

Pluralistic Ignorance

The phenomenon in which people in a group misperceive the beliefs of others because everyone acts inconsistently with their beliefs

Injunctive Norm

A norm that describes what is commonly approved or disapproved in a situation

Scripted situation

A situation in which certain events are expected to occur in a particular sequence

Individualistic Culture

A culture that socializes its members to think of themselves as individuals and to give priority to their personal goals

Collectivistic Culture

A culture that socializes its members to think of themselves in terms of their relationships and as members of the larger social group, and to prioritize the concerns of their relationship partners and groups before their own

Person-Situation Fit

The extent to which a person and a situation are compatible

Socialization

The process whereby a culture teaches its members about its beliefs, customs, habits, and language