Social psychology exam 1

How social psychologists answer research questions

scientific method

scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context

Social psychology

Why is common sense is often wrong

it is contradictory

“knew-it-all-along” effect

hindsight bias

how we perceive ourselves and others (stereotypes, impressions)

Social perception

the process by which individuals adjust their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behaviors to meet the demands of a social environment or as a result of interactions with others

Social influence

How do people meet? What makes people initially attracted to each other? attraction, helping behavior, aggression

Social relations

Studied social facilitation. Found people perform better on simple tasks when others are present

Triplett

Studied social loafing. Found individuals put in less effort when working in groups

Ringelmann

how genes influence social behavior

Behavioral genetics

brain processes behind social behavior

Social neuroscience

how evolutionary pressures shape behavior

Evolutionary psychology

abstract idea (e.g., aggression, empathy, stress)

Conceptual data

specific, measurable procedure

Operational data

seeks to increase knowledge

Basic research

seeks to solve real-world problems

Applied research

How well a measure reflects the theoretical concept, Increased by strong operational definitions

Construct Validity

the confidence that a study's results represent a true cause-and-effect relationship rather than being caused by external, confounding variables

Increased by: Control, Random assignment, Eliminating confounds

Internal Validity

Ability to generalize findings to real life

Increased by: Representative samples, Real-world settings

External Validity

Purpose: Describe behavior

Descriptive Research

Observe behavior without interference, Requires inter-rater reliability

Observational research

Pros: direct access to thoughts and feelings

Cons: social desirability bias, inaccurate reporting

Self-report surveys

Degree to which multiple observers agree

Associated with observational research

Reduces observer bias

Inter-Rater Reliability

Examines relationships between variables

Correlational Research

Correlational Research uses a _______ from –1.00 to +1.00

correlation coefficient

Correlation ≠

causation

A causes B

B causes A

A third variable causes both

explanation for correlations

Purpose: Establish cause-and-effect

Experimental Research

manipulated variable

Independent Variable

measured outcome

Dependent Variable

Experimental Research requires

a control and random assignment

Pre-existing participant characteristics

Examples: gender, ethnicity, culture

Cannot be manipulated

Subject Variables

effects produced when

experimenters’ expectations about the results of an experiment affect

their behavior toward participants and influence their responses.

Can occur in single blind experiments

Experimenter Expectancy Effects

Both the participants and the researchers interacting with

them are blinded, or unaware of the treatment or condition to

which the participants have been assigned.

Reduces expectancy effects

Double-Blind Experiments

Strengths:

• High in internal validity

• Can make causal claims

Drawbacks:

• Most lack external validity

• Can be expensive

• Unethical or impossible in some cases

• Effects of smoking on mood

• Cultural differences in aggression (cannot

assign “culture”)

experimental research

Participants randomly placed into conditions

Goal: equalize individual differences

Improves internal validity

Random assignment

Participants randomly selected from population

Goal: represent population

Improves external validity

Random sampling

repeating a study to see if results are consistent

Replication

Tests whether findings generalize across cultures

Important because many findings are based on Western samples

Cross-cultural research

“Cause” =

Experimental

“Relationship” =

Correlational

“Describe” =

Descriptive

Bias from researchers =

Experimenter expectancy

Agreement between observers =

Inter-rater reliability