ch1 social experimental psych

Norman Triplett 1897-1898

Bike racing & fishing reels: He found that most children performed better when working alongside another person, a phenomenon later known as social facilitation.

Max Ringelmann, 1880’s

Tug of war, leading to the discovery of the Ringelmann effect or social loafing. He found that as group size increased, individual effort decreased.

Gordon Allport

American psychologist known for his pioneering work in personality psychology. He emphasized the uniqueness of the individual and the importance of personal traits in shaping behavior.

Kurt Lewin

A German-American psychologist known as the father of modern social psychology. Behavior is a function of personality and situation

Influences in the 1950’s and 1960’s

Behaviorism and Freudian psychoanalysis. Social Psychology as a science.

Contemporary Themes in Social Psychology

social cognition, biology and the brain, focus on self, focus on conflict

ABC Triad

Personal and Situational influences on ABC

Affect (how people feel inside)

Behavior (how people act)

Cognition (how people think)

Scientific Method

1) State Problem

2) Formulate testable hypothesis

3) Design study and collect data

4) Test the hypothesis with the data

5) Communicate study results

Independent Variable

Observable event that causes person to do something

manipulated versus individual difference

Dependent Variable

(operational response) observable behavior produced by the person

Construct Validity of the cause

Independent variable: theoretical stimulus

Construct Validity of the effect

Depedent variable—theoretical response

Experiment

Researcher controls produces participants who are randomly assigned and allow for statements of cause and effect

Quasi-experiment

no random assignment

Internal Validity

Independent variable caused change in dependent variable

Confederate

Person pretending to be a participant

Experimental Realism

the extent to which study participants get so caught up in the procedures that they forget they are in an experiment

Mundane realism

whether the setting physically resembles the real world

External Validity

Findings can be generalized

Correlational Approach

no effect on control variables or random assignment

Correlation

Relationship between two variables does not prove causation