Social Psych Exam 1 prep

What is social psychology?

is the scientific study of how people’s feelings, thoughts and behavior are influenced by others

What do ABCs in social psychology stand for?

-Affect (how people feel about themselves)

-Behaviors (How people behave alone or w/ ppl)

-Cognition (how ppl think abt themselves and others)

What are theoretical perspectives?

a family of theories that share common traits

What are the 4 Theoretical Perspectives?

1. Sociocultural Perspective

2. Evolutionary Perspective

3. Social Learning Perspective

4. Social Cognitive

Sociocultural Perspective

theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in influences from larger groups

ex: nationality, ethnicity, religion

Evolutionary Perspective

theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and psychological predisposition that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce

Social Learning Perspective

theoretical viewpoint that focuses on past learning experiences as determinants of a person’s social behavior

ex: hand on hot stove

Social Cognitive perspective

theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, and remembering social experiences

AIM is part of which of the 4 Theoretical perspectives?

Social Cognitive:

-Attention

-Interpretation

-Memory

What is a hypothesis?

prediction that can be tested

What is a variable?

A characteristic of a person or thing that can have a different possible state

(NEEDS TO VARY)

ex: age, political party, 1-10 question

Independent Variable

predicts the other variable, treated as the cause

Dependent Variable

predicted by the other variable, comes after

Descriptive Method is…

procedure for measuring or recording behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in their natural state

Pro and Con of Descriptive method:

+Good at determining correlation: the extent to which variables are associated with one another

- No control over variables

What are the 5 Descriptive Methods?

1. Naturalistic Observations

2. Case Studies

3. Archival Method

4. Survey Method

5. Psychological Tests

Naturalistic Observation is…

observing behavior as it unfolds in its natural setting

Case Studies is…

an intensive examination of an individual or group

Archival Method is…

examination of systematic data originally collected data for other purposes

Survey Method is….

technique where researchers ask people to report their thoughts, feelings, etc

Psychological Tests are…

instruments for assessing a person’s abilities , cognition, or motivators

What is a correlation?

linear association b/w 2 or more variables

Experimental Methods?

research method in which the researchers set out to systematically manipulate one source of income while holding others constant

What are the two types of Experimental Methods?

-Field Experiment

-Lab Experiment

Pro and Con of Experimental Research

+Allow cause-effect conclusions

-time-consuming, expensive, in the field = less control

What are the 3 key Aspects that influence the person?

• Motivation (what drives us)

• Knowledge (our view of ourselves and the world)

• Feelings ( emotions, attitudes, moods)

Goal vs Motive?

Goal - desired outcome, wishing to achieve

Motive - a high-level goal fundamental to social behavior

Emotions?

relatively intense feelings characterized by physiological arousal & complex cognitions

Mood vs Attitude?

Mood - relatively long-lasting feelings, not directed toward particular targets

Attitude - favorable or unfavorable evaluations of a particular person, object, event, idea

What are the 3 Key Aspects of the Situation?

-Physical Environment

-Presence of others

-Rules and Norms

What are affordances?

others provide us w/ opportunities and threats

What are the two kinds of norms?

• Descriptive Norm

• Injunctive Norm

Descriptive Norm is…

information about what most people do in a situation

Injunctive Norm is…

information about what is typically approved and disapproved of in a situation

Scripted events are…

situations in which certain events are expected to occur in a particular sequence

Strong Situation ….

narrow range of behaviors is seen as acceptable

**Obvious injunctive & descriptive norms*

ex: religious services

Weak Situations

- A wide range of behaviors are as acceptable

**Lack of clear injunctive & descriptive norms*

ex: hanging out w/ friends

What is a covariation model?

When do we think a situation is due to the person, the situation, or a person-situation interaction

What are the 3 parts of the covariation model?

-Consistency (how much the person waivers)

-Distinctiveness (how unique the case is for the person)

-Consensus (how much other ppl would agree/behave the same)

What are the 6 Types of Person-Situation Interaction?

1. (different types of) ppl respond differently to the same situation

2. One (the same type) person will respond differently across different situations

3. Situations choose the person (ex: college admissions)

4. Ppl choose their situation

5. People change situations

6. Situations change people

If the Consistency = + , Distinctiveness = - , Consensus = - ?

a. Person

b. Situation/External Attribution

c. Person x situation

a. Person

If the Consistency = + , Distinctiveness = + , Consensus = +?

a. Person

b. Situation/External Attribution

c. Person x situation

b. Situation/External Attribution

If the Consistency = + , Distinctiveness = + , Consensus = -?

a. Person

b. Situation/External Attribution

c. Person x situation

c. Person x situation

Social psychologists consider the people we meet during the day and the fact that we live in a democratic society as examples of __________.

a. unique experiences

b. Observations

c. Irrelevant stimuli

d. Situations

d. Situations

John goes through fraternity rush. He initially picks two fraternities he likes, but at the end of the week, only one of the two wants him as a member, so he joins that fraternity. This is an example of __________.

a. different people reacting differently to the same situation

b. a situation choosing the person

c. a person changing the situation

d. a situation changing the person

b. a situation choosing the person

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

a. attention

b. mindlessness

c. motivation

d. automaticity

d. automaticity

What are the 4 Key Processes of Social Cognition?

1. Attention

2. Interpretation

3. Judgment

4. Memory

Attention:

the process of consciously focusing on features of the environment or oneself

Interpretation:

-the process through which we give meaning to things we experience

(“the what”)

Judgment:

-The process of using info. to form impressions and make decisions, often focused on intent

(the “why”)

Memory:

-the process of storing and retrieving info. for future use

Mental Simplification: 7 Biases/Heurisitcs

1. Confirmation Bias

2. Conjunction Fallacy

3. Gambler’s Fallacy

4. Representativeness heuristic

5. Availability Heuristic

6. Base Rate Fallacy

7. Anchoring & Adjustment Heuristic

Conjunctive Fallacy

tendency for ppl to see an event as more likely as it becomes more specific

Gambler’s Fallacy

-The tendency to think that a random event is more or less likely based on a previous outcome.

Representativeness heuristic (relies on schema)

-mental shortcut ppl use to classify something as belonging to a certain category to the extent that it is similar to a typical case from that category

ex: see an older person carrying books and has glasses assume a teacher

Availability Heuristic (easy to recall)

-mental shortcut ppl use to estimate the likelihood of an event by the ease w/ which instances of the event come to mind

Ex: ppl often think shark attacks are leading causes of death bc most are reported on the news

Base Rate Fallacy

-tendency to ignore data b/c of one vivid example

Anchoring & Adjustment Heuristic

-mental shortcut through which ppl begin w/ a rough estimate as a starting point & then adjust this estimate to take into account the unique characteristics of the present situation

ex: a sale price being marked as cheaper feels like a deal, even if it’s worth less than price

When do we use mental simplification strategies? (2)

• When cognitive resources are limited

• When everything is the status quo

Why do we use Mental Simplification? (3)

• To conserve mental effort

• To manage self-image

• To be accurate (more control thinking)

What is an attribution?

-the casual explanation ppl give for their own behavior and others’ behaviors

*Relating to Judgement & Interpretation

Dispositional (Internal) Attribution

-attributing behavior to a person’s disposition & traits

Situational (External) Attribution

-attributing behavior to the situation or environment a person is in

Two theories of attribution:

1. Correspondent Inference Theory

2. Covariation Model

Correspondent Inference Theory

-Theory proposes that ppl determine whether a behavior corresponds to an actor’s internal disposition by asking whether:

a. a behavior was intended

b. the behavior’s consequences were foreseeable

c. the behavior was freely chosen and

d. the behavior occurred despite countervailing forces

Self-serving bias

-the tendency to take credit for success & deny blame for failure

Actor Observer Bias

-ppl make situational attributions about their own behavior, while

dispositional attributions about others behaviors

Fundamental Attribution Error

-tendency to underestimate the effect of the situation in explaining ppl’s behavior or vice versa

Correspondence Bias

-assumption that (others’) behavior corresponds to disposition

Individualistic Culture

focus on the individual as distinct & seperate from others

Collectivistic Culture

focus on connections & relationships

Imagine that you see one of your classmates falling asleep in psychology class. Given that no other students fall asleep in this psychology class, this student has fallen asleep in previous meetings of the same class, and he often falls asleep in math and science classes as well, which of the following attributions would the covariation model suggest?

a. to the person-situation interaction

b. to the situation

c. to the professor

d. to the person

d. to the person

The __________ is a mental shortcut people use to classify something as belonging to a certain category to the extent that it is similar to a typical case of that category.

a. anchoring heuristic

b. adjustment heuristic

c. representativeness heuristic

d. availability heuristic

c. representativeness heuristic

According to attributional logic, in which of the following circumstances (if true) would Mike’s existing relationship with Monica most strongly reflect a deep underlying affection for her (a dispositional attribution)?

a. Mike’s rich family disowns him because they do not approve of Monica’s background.

b. Mike’s friends really like Monica.

c. Monica is smart, beautiful, and has wealthy parents.

d. Mike and Monica were put together by a matchmaker hired by both sets of parents.

a. Mike’s rich family disowns him because they do not approve of Monica’s background.

Which of the following is a core process of social cognition?

a. expectancy confirmation

b. induction

c. attention

d. socialization

c. attention

Suppose that you are trying to estimate how much your new employer is going to pay you. You start with an estimate of what others are paid and then take into account your unique qualifications that are relevant. You have just used the __________.

a. representativeness heuristic

b. availability heuristic

c. anchoring and adjustment heuristic

d. actor–observer difference

a. representativeness heuristic

Self-Presentation

-The process through which we try to control the impressions that ppl form of us

(IS STRATEGIC)

When do we perform self-presentation? (3)

• When others can influence whether or not we achieve our goals

• When others have undesirable impression of us

• When we think others are paying attention to us

Spotlight Effect

-the tendency to overestimate how much others notice aspects of one’s appearance or behavior

What are the 3 aspects of Self-Presentation?

1. To be seen as likable

2. To be seen as competent

3. To convey status and power

What are the 3 strategies for appearing likable?

1. Expressing liking for others

2. Creating similarity

3. Making ourselves physically attractive

What are the 4 strategies for appearing Competent?

1. Staging performances

2. Claiming Competence

3. Using the trapping of competence

4. Making excuses or claiming obstacles

What are the 4 strategies to convey power and status?

1. Display artifacts of power

2. Conspicuous Consumption

3. Associate w/ high status people

4. Non-verbal dominance

People use staging strategies to appear _____.

a. appear likeable

b. appear competent

c. convey status

d. appear powerful

b. appear competent

In which of the following conditions would a person become more concerned with strategic self-presentation?

a. when he or she is trying to reach an important goal

b. when he or she is low in self-monitoring

c. when he or she thinks observers hold desired impressions of them

d. when controlling something he or she wants

a. when he or she is trying to reach an important goal

The text discusses which of the following as a strategy primarily for conveying status and power?

a. flattery

b. handicapping

c. self-promotion

d. cutting off reflected failure

d. cutting off reflected failure

BIRGing is what?

broadcasting our associations w/ successful, high status others & events

CORFing is what?

distancing ourselves from unsuccessfulness

Can we determine if two variables have a casual relationship if Descriptive?

NO