psy 360 gvsu park chapters 2-4

Basic research

increase understanding of human behavior and is often used to test a hypothesis

Applied research

makes applications to the world and contributes to solutions of social problems

self reports

participants share thoughts, opinions, feelings, etc. on a given topic or subject

observational studies

researcher(s) observe others’ behaviors, both naturalistically and not

naturalistic observation

researcher observes a given population in a given setting, with no participation from the researcher or impact on the behavior of the participants

structured observation

researcher impacts the behavior of others during observation (ex: lab studies, etc.)

inter-rater reliability

the level of agreement between multiple observers of the same behavior

technology (as a method of gaining data)

using little gizmos and gadgets and stuff to measure particular data such as heart rate, hormones, sexual arousal ;) , etc.

correlation coefficient

varies from -1 to +1, indicated strength and direction of a particular relationship between two things. negative correlation coefficient indicates negative relationship, positive indicated positive relationship. yayyyyyy

correlational research

studies the correlations between many different variables such as race, gender, sexuality, etc and other factors like whatever is being studied.

cannot indicate a causal relationship!!!

internal validity

properly conducting a study, eliminating confounds

confound

uncontrolled variable in a study, can impact results. BAD!

external validity

how well a study’s findings generalize to populations outside of that of the study

deception

providing participants with false information

confederate

people who act as participants, but work for/with the experimenter

operational defintion

how a researcher manipulates or measures something that is abstract like hunger, stress, etc.

self concept

the sum total of all beliefs one has about themself

cocktail party effect

the tendency to identity familiar stimulus like hearing one’s name in a loud environment

self schemas

thoughts about oneself that help the brain process information about oneself

introspection

looking in on oneself in order to learn more. some claim this is necessary for learning about yourself, others say it don’t do anything lol

affective forecasting

people have difficulty predicting the intensity and duration of the future affective states

self perception theory

when internal cues are difficult to interpret, one gains self insight by observing their own behavior

social comparison theory

people evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves to others

two factor theory of emotion

theory that emotion is based on two factors: physiological arousal and the cognitive interpretation of that arousal

self esteem

the evaluative, affective component of the self, how we value and perceive ourselves

sociometer theory

the need for self esteem is driven by the primitive desire for belonging

hierometer theory

the need for self esteem is driven by the desire of status, respect, and admiration

terror management theory

humans naturally have a lust for life and self preservation, but have a primitive fear of death 💀

self-discrepancy theory

people compare themselves to what they should/could be

self preservation

the behavioral aspect of the self, process by which we try to shape what others think of us and what we think of ourselves

spotlight effect

the tendency to believe that more people are paying attention to you than is actually true

self verification

the desire for others to see us how we see ourselves. if one’s view of themself is negative, the desire for self verification of those negative thoughts can trump the urge for self enhancement

self monitoring

the tendency to alter or preserve one’s behavior in order to meet the demands of a setting

attribution theory

how people explain / assess the causes of particular behavior

personal attribution

attribution of inner characteristics of a person

situational attribution

attribution of external characteristics of a person

covariation principle

people make causal inferences as to why people act certain ways

attribution: consensus information

how other people react to one particular stimulus

attribution: distinctiveness information

estimating whether one’s behavior is common in various environments or is caused by one. example from google lol: if I only cry at weddings but not at any other time, then it seems as if the wedding is the cause of my crying.

attribution: consistency information

how consistent the reactions to a stimulus are

availability heuristic WOOOOOOOO

the tendency for one to inaccurately estimate how likely something is to occur based on how accessible information is. ex: humankind is safer than ever in history, but it is easy to overestimate crime rates due to the fact that media outlets are easily accessible and prominent in many’s minds

false-consensus heuristic

the tendency for people to overestimate how many people agree with their opinions or beliefs

priming

the activation of certain associations in one’s neural network