Social Psychology Exam 1

Social psychology

the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people

how can someone influence us if they are not physically in our presence?

cultural influence, social media, literature, advertising, etc.

Social psychologists ask what kinds of questions?

Empirical questions

Empirical

based on observation or experience (can this question be scientifically tested?)

Personality Psychology studies…

individual differences

Sociology studies…

groups, institutions, society

Social psychologists study…

the power of the situation & how ppl interpret the situation, individuals within groups/institutions/society

attribution

explanation - why is someone behaving that way?

internal (dispositional) attribution

exhibiting a behavior because it’s who that person is; their personality

external (situational) attribution

exhibiting a behavior because of the situation the person is in; what’s going on around them

fundamental attribution error

overestimating the extent to which people’s behavior is due to internal factors and underestimating the role of external factors

why do people so commonly make the fundamental attribution error?

cognitive simplicity, lack of info, self-serving bias, etc.

how do we define “the situation”?

objective situation → interpretation of the objective situation → your behavior

naive realism

the belief that we perceive things “as they really are,” underestimating how much we are interpreting or “spinning” what we see

factors that might influence someone’s spin on a situation

emotional state, personal biases, cognitive style, perceived stakes, etc.

factors determining people’s construal of a situation

self-esteem motive, accuracy motive

self-esteem motive

the need to feel good about ourselves, affects how we see a situation

accuracy motive

the need to be accurate or correct, affects the way we see a situation

reasons for inaccuracy in construal

inability to access all relevant info, exposure to misinformation, mental shortcuts (heuristics)

the scientific method

procedure for gaining new knowledge by using empirical evidence

theory

hypothetical explanation of a phenomenon or observation (why?)

hypothesis

falsifiable prediction made by a theory

the scientific method is a __________ process

continuous

the process of the scientific method

initial idea/observation → theory (why is this happening?) → hypothesis (what should happen if my “why” is true? → test hypothesis (conduct a study and evaluate evidence) → initial idea → …

correlational studies test _______

associations (whether variations in one variable correspond with variations in another variable)

result of a correlational study

an association claim

limitation of a correlational study

correlation does NOT = causation, third variable problem

third variable problem

a potential third variable involved in the association between two actually unrelated variables

Correlation coefficient

r-value, ranges from -1 to 1

absolute value tells us the strength of a relationship

sign tells us the direction of the relationship

experimental studies test _______

causation

trust and confrontation - correlational

variables: measure trust, measure desire for future interactions

trust and confrontation - experimental

IV: confronted by friend or confronted by stranger

DV: measure how positive they evaluate the interaction

experiments always include a _________ variable

manipulated

Manipulating a variable

varying a factor to determine its causal power

independent variable

the factor/construct in an experiment that the researcher manipulates/controls

IVs always have at least _____ levels

2

Measure a variable

determining what effect or impact (if any) the IV has

dependent variable

the factor/construct in an experiment that the researcher measures after the IV

importance of random assignment

minimizes differences between groups of participants so it is more likely that the IV caused change in the DV

how do we randomly assign participants to levels of the iv?

online studies → can be built into the survey software

lab studies → flip a coin, random number generator

random assignment increases the __________ ___________ of an experiment

internal validity

internal validity

researchers’ ability to make a causal claim

other ways to enhance internal validity

minimize extraneous variables

all participants should have the same experience within the study except for the IV

how do we minimize extraneous variables

ensure participants get the exact same info and experience except for the level of the IV

training research personnel - practice and follow scripts

external validity

the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people

psychological realism

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

ways to promote psychological realism

try to get participants to feel like they are involved in a real event

do not reveal the true purpose of the study at first - come up with a cover story

ultimate goal to be able to generalize the finding to other people

a representative sample

the social psychologist’s dilemma

there is a trade-off between internal and external validity

to increase internal validity, the researcher imposes as much control as possible, which decreases generalizability. To increase external validity, the findings must be applicable in the real world, which often sacrifices control.

IRB

Institutional Review Board - ethics review, must approve all human subjects studies before researchers can start collecting data

informed consent

ethical practice before the study that specifies what participants will do in the study and lists the risks involved; participants must give consent to participate

debriefing

ethical practice after the study that explains the true purpose of the study, including any deception that was involved

self-concept

set of beliefs someone has about their own personal attributes

self concept is influenced by __________ and ___________

context, culture

self-recognition begins around…

18-24 months

as we age, self concept goes from __________ → ____________

concrete, physical → psychological, abstract

what happens when we increase the vividness of people’s future self?

less likely to cheat when looking at an aged-up version of yoursel

interdependent/collective self-concept

the way you view yourself is closely tied to your relationships to other people

independent/individual self-concept

the way you view yourself is thought of as independent of your relationships around you

collectivism and mask use results

States with higher levels of collectivism wore masks more, probably because they sensed greater reliance on/connection with those around them.

self-awareness cues

mirror

seeing ourselves in a pic/video

being in front of an audience (evaluation)

self-awareness theory

when we focus on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our behavior to our own standards and values

internal/private self awareness

attention to our inner states including thoughts, desires, traits, emotions

external/public self-awareness

attention to how we are perceived by other people (feeling self-conscious)

what influences how we explain our thinking/behavior

self-esteem motive

are the reasons for our feelings/behavior conscious to us?

usually outside of our conscious awareness

introspection illusion

incorrect assumption that we accurately understand our own motivations, desires, attitudes

mindfulness

reduces distorted thinking and reliance on self-esteem motive by allowing thoughts to drift by

social comparison theory

we learn about our own abilities and attributes by comparing ourselves to other people

when do we engage in social comparison?

• when no objective standard is present

• when there is uncertainty around your own attitudes/abilities

  • performance dimension or issue must be relevant to the self

to whom do we compare ourselves?

to those we see as similar/important to us (often depends on which of your core motives is activated - self-esteem, accuracy)

when we want to be accurate, we compare ourselves to others using…

upward social comparison

upward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who we perceive as better than we are on a particular trait or ability

positive outcomes of upward social comparison

might be inspiring, help you discover and stick to goals

negative outcomes of upward social comparison

self esteem may suffer

when we want to feel good, we compare ourselves to others using…

downward social comparison

downward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are worse than we are on a particular trait or ability

positive outcomes of downward social comparison

boosts self-esteem and confidence, validates the feeling that you are good at something, may motivate you

negative outcomes of downward social comparison

you may not be motivated for growth if you assume that you’re better than everyone else

why did scientists find a positive correlation between social media use and depression in adolescents?

upward social comparison - easy to get sucked into the idea that other’s lives are more interesting than your own → self-esteem suffers

why do adolescents with more in-person interactions not experience as high a degree of depression?

in-person interactions are far less skewed and more in-line with reality

online interactions cannot replace in-person interactions

self-control

the ability to minimize immediate desires to achieve long-term goals

practices of self-control that DO NOT work

trying not to think about immediate desires

focusing on the importance of the long-term goal

practices of self-control that DO work

implementation intentions

adjust your environment to minimize temptations

implementation intentions

specific plans about where, when, and how they will fulfill a goal and avoid temptations

public self

image of the self conveyed to others (varies depending on context)

self-presentation

the attempt to get others to see us in a positive light

ingratiation

self-presentation strategy where you use flattery or praise to make yourself likable to another person, often someone of a higher status than you

self-promotion

self-presentation strategy where you highlight your strengths and achievements to be perceived as more competent, often in business settings