Chapter 1: Introducing Social Psychology

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from Chapter 1 notes on Social Psychology.

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how people think, feel, and behave toward others, and how other people influence those thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Affect

Feelings and emotions that influence attention, judgment, creativity, helping, avoidance, and aggression.

Behavior

Actions and interactions between individuals within a social context.

Cognition

Thoughts and interpretations about oneself and other people.

Social Cognition

How people process, interpret, and use information about themselves and other people.

Schemas

Mental frameworks about people, groups, roles, or situations.

Attitudes

Evaluations of people, objects, or ideas.

Mood

A relatively mild feeling that lasts longer and often has no clear cause.

Emotion

A shorter, more intense emotional response connected to a specific event.

Social Exchange

Process involving the sharing of goods, services, attention, emotions, or other social outcomes.

Reciprocal Altruism

Helping someone now with the expectation that help may be returned later.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have predicted it beforehand.

Conceptual Variable

The abstract idea a researcher wants to understand.

Operational Definition

The specific procedure used to measure or manipulate a conceptual variable.

Self-Report Measure

A measurement technique in which participants describe their own attitudes, feelings, or behavior.

Behavioral Measure

A measurement technique in which researchers observe what people actually do.

EEG (Electroencephalography)

A brain measurement technique that records electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp, effective for tracking when brain activity changes.

fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

A brain imaging technique that uses changes in blood flow to create images related to brain activity, providing strong spatial detail.

Observational Research

A research design in which researchers record behavior objectively without manipulating the situation.

Research Hypothesis

A falsifiable statement predicting a relationship between variables and stating the expected direction.

Correlational Research

A research design that describes the direction and strength of association between measured variables without establishing causation.

Experimental Research

A research design that manipulates an independent variable to test its causal effect on a dependent variable.

Independent Variable

The condition or factor that the researcher deliberately changes or manipulates in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The outcome measured in an experiment after the manipulation of the independent variable.

Random Assignment

An experimental procedure giving each participant an equal chance of entering each condition, helping create equivalent groups.

External Validity

The extent to which research findings apply beyond the specific study to other people, places, measures, or real-life situations.

Factorial Designs

Experimental designs that examine two or more independent variables at the same time to test person-situation interactions.

Debriefing

A procedure following a study that explains the research details and reveals any deception used during the study.

Kurt Lewin's Behavior Formula

The principle that behavior reflects the joint influence of the person and the social situation, represented as $\text{Behavior} = f(\text{person}, \text{social situation})$.

Self-Concern

The motivation to protect and enhance one's own life, resources, status, and well-being.

Kin Selection

An evolutionary strategy in which helping biological relatives supports the survival of shared genes.

Other-Concern

The motivation to connect with, care for, cooperate with, and gain acceptance from others.

Social Norms

Shared expectations about appropriate thoughts, feelings, and behavior within a group.

Individualistic Emphasis

A cultural pattern where independence, personal goals, self-expression, and individual achievement receive greater emphasis.

Collectivistic Emphasis

A cultural pattern where interdependence, group harmony, obligations, and close relationships receive greater emphasis.