Social Psychology Lab Midterm

Nuremberg Code (1747)

Developed following the Holocaust and Nazi Germany regime. Performed medical experiments on imprisoned individuals who wrestle unable to consent. Key principles include:

• Voluntary informed consent

• Scientific value to society

• Based on prior research

• Avoids or minimizes physical and psychological harm

• No death or disability injury will expectedly result

• Risk is proportional to importance of problem

• Appropriate precautions to protect participants is in place

• Scientifically qualified researchers are conducting this

• Participants have the right to withdraw

• Researcher must stop the experiment if it becomes too dangerous

Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association 1964)

• Created in response to the broader history of unethical medical experimentation during World War II

• Consistently revised and updated (most recently in 2024)

• Evolving ethical medical research involving human participants

  • Global gold standard where IRB is not available

Belmont Report

• Respect for persons

  • Autonomy and informed consent when participating

• Beneficence

  • Minimize snd maximize potential benefits for study participants

    • Is everything we’re doing necessary?

• Justice

  • Burdens and benefits should be fairly disturbed

• Developed from Tuskegee studies

Little Albert (1920)

Can emotional responses be conditioned?

Ethical concerns:

• Protected population

• Don’t deliberately cause psychological harm

• Lacked informed consent by today’s standards

  • No assent from the child

Milgram (1960)

How far will people go in obeying authority?

Ethnical concerns:

• Deception

• Participant distress

• Freedom to leave the study

• Lack of informed consent

Tearoom Trade (1960s)

Observed men engaging in sexual encounters in public restrooms. Obtained information to be able to identify some participants and conducted interviews with them under misleading circumstances

Ethical concerns:

• No informed consent

• Deception

  • Participants were not told what researcher was doing and that he was researching the topic

• Sensitive personal information

• Lack of privacy

• Risk of social harm

Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)

How do social roles (based in authority) affect behavior?

Ethical concerns:

• Psychological distress

• Freedom to withdraw without consequences

• Researchers actively involved in in study situation

  • Zimbardo was a Principal Investigator as he served as the “Prison Superintendent” and involved himself in the project

• Lack of protection of participants

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Third-party ethical committee that determines the benefits, harms, necessity of research parameters and procedures.

Consent form

• Risks

  • What are the possible negative effects that could occur?

• Benefits

  • What will I gain from being in this research?

  • We often say the benefit for college students is being able to contribute to the research question and move the field along through their participation

    • Getting paid to take the study is not considered a benefit

• Informed

  • How long will the study take? What is required of me or expected?

• Confidentiality

  • What information about me will be shared, if at all?

• Privacy/Security

  • How will my responses be protected and secured?

• Withdrawal

  • What will happen if I no longer with to participate in the study?

Social Psychology

Scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others

Kurt Lewin (1890-1947)

• Founder of Social Psychology

  • Focused on APPLIED psychology principles

• Established that behavior stems from a person and their environment

  • Nature vs. nurture debate

  • B = f(P,E) ← his equation idea

  • Behavior is a function of personal characteristics and environmental characteristics

• Studies group dynamics, such as social action (protests), prejudice, and leadership styles

Norman Triplett (1861-1934)

• Studied how competition plays a role in individual performance

• First official experiment in social psychology

• Examined social facilitation- working around (in competition with or simply in the presence of another) is faster than working alone

  • Studied in children at first- eyeballed results, original experiment not actually significant, but this is well established concept now

  • Later studies found: we are especially better at performing simple tasks with groups than complex ones, because others can distract us when we need to focus at the task at hand

• His research contributions today: big in the world of sports psychology (e.g., think about social loafing)

Floyd Allport (1890-1978)

• Main contribution: determined how we properly assess and measure outcomes

• Predominantly interested in attitudes

  • Example: conformity, personality

  • Very well known in personality research for developing many personality traits and using statistics to “boil” it down to a few

    • Intelligence, temperament, self-expression, and sociality

Vignettes

• Scenario-based descriptions that differ based on what is measured

  • Ex: Sally drinks __ beers a week (0, 3, 8 → all different conditions)

    • Outcome: Injunctive norms

      • Beliefs on whether people would approve or disapprove of the behavior

    • How should someone respond if being asked whether they thought Sally had a drinking problem?

Descriptive Statistics

• Summarize and organize characteristics of a data set

  • After you collect data, the first step in analysis is to describe the characteristics of the responses

  • Three parts

    • Distribution- concerns frequency of each value (e.g., skewed, normally distributed)

    • Central tendency- averages of variables (e.g., mean, median, mode)

R values

Correlation coefficient r, measures the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables on a scatter plot. The value of r is always between +1 and -1

Correlation

DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION

• Relationships or “association” between 2 variables

• Denoted by “r”

• Values range from -1 to +1 (but cannot exceed +/- 1)

Statistical Significance (P-value)

• Indicates whether the results might have occurred by chance.

• P-value

  • Statistical significance test to determine the probability of weather the observed result occurred by chance, given the null hypothesis

  • Cut off value for significance: at or below .05

Theory

A framework set of ideas intended to explain phenomena. Testable hypotheses can be drawn. One study cannot “prove” a theory and studies support or do not support a theory.

Model

Close to the theory, but not quite theorized yet. Not enough evidence to conceptualize it. More statistically based and tested.

Hypothesis

A tentative supposition about the relationship between two variables. Must be testable.

Experiment Research

Investigates a cause-and-effect relationship with random assignment. We can identify cause and effect because of random assignment.

Quasi-experimental research

Investigates cause-and-effect relationships, but lacks random assignment

Non-experimental research (observational research)

Describes and explores relationships between variables without manipulating them

• Researchers observe and measure variables as they naturally occur, without intervening or controlling them

Correlational research

Type of non-experimental research that investigates the relationship (or correlation) between two or more variables

• Gathers information about two or more variables without researcher intervention

• Strengths: Estimates the strengths and direction of relationships among variables in the natural environment

• Limitations: Does not permit determination of cause and effect relationships among variables

Hierarchy of study designs for testing a theory and causality

Cross Sectional Correlational Research

Occurs at one point in time and is sometimes retrospective (looking back in time)

Third variable problem

Confounding or unconsidered variables influences both the variables being studied, creating a spurious correlation

Spurious Correlation

One that statistically shows significance, but in actuality is not present

Confounding Variable

A third variable (X) influences both the independent variable (IV) and the dependent variable (DV), making it appear that the IV causes the DV, when in reality X is the true cause

Longitudinal Studies

Conducted with the same participants over a period of time (also called prospective or cohort studies)

Laboratory Experiment

• Manipulates something about the environment to impact behavior

• Usually conducted in-person, in a controlled environment

• Occasionally could be conducted online depending on study software used

• Strengths: Permits determination of cause and effect relationships among variables

• Limitations: Data obtained in artificial laboratory environment may lack generalizability to the real world

Field Experiment

• Manipulates independent variable and measures its impact on the dependent variable in a natural setting 

  • Example: going to a learning center/school setting

• Strengths: Permits determination of cause and effect relationships and generalization of findings to the real world

• Limitations: Experimental treatments may be les potent and harder to control when presented in the natural environment

Natural (Quasi) Experiment

• Gathers information about the behavior in a real-world setting without manipulation of the environment

  • Example: park, hospital setting, athletic event

Randomized Control Trials (RCTs)

Testing the effectiveness of a treatment

Single-Blind

Participants do not know if they are in the control and experimental group

Double-Blind

Participants and researchers do not know if which people are in the control and experimental group

Triple-Blind

Participants, researchers, and those analyzing the data do not know the condition the participants are in (blind to what the research questions in, what the participant has to do)

Random Assignment

• Randomly assigning a large enough sample to two different groups, we can assume that those two groups are statistically equivalent on all potentially confounding variables

  • Any differences in the DV between groups that we find can be attributed to the manipulation (IV)

  • However, confounding variables can still arise during experimental procedures despite this

Quasi Experiments

• No random assignment

  • Often self-reflection

• Two or more pre-existing groups function as the IV and differences in a DV are examined

  • Example: people who elect to join a certain treatment program vs people who don’t

  • Example: people who have a certain condition or have met a certain milestone

• Cannot make causal claims

Other strategies in hypothesis testing

• Effect size

  • The power of an intervention

• Cost-benefit analysis

• Odds ratio

Factor Analysis

Reveals clusters of variables to form a factor, which is a composite of many variables

Meta-Analysis

“Study of studies” analyze the accumulated results, data analysis combines studies to lead solid conclusions

Leading Question

Pushing your respondent to respond a certain way

• Implies that you should be concerned- question bias

Loaded Question

Has a presumption attached otherwise it

• Assumes that everyone enjoys drinking alcohol

  

Double-Barreled Question

Asking multiple things at the same time

• Asking two things in the question where someone can be satisfied/dissatisfied in your social life and feel different about the other one

  

Absolutes

Always is definitive

Double-negatives

Makes it hard to understand and interpret the question

Gambling

Risking something of value (e.g., money) on an event that has an uncertain outcome in hopes of winning something more of value.

• Oftentimes the chance of winning is not in our favor

• Types: sports betting, prediction markets, casino games/going to a casino, lottery, placing a bet with a friend

Theory of Planned Behavior and Exposure to Advertising for Gambling

• Among gamblers, greater gambling ad exposure, more likely to place bets and spend more than intended (Browne et al., 2019)

• Theory of Planned Behavior

  • Attitude for gambling is already high →

  • Increased intentions →

  • Increased behavior

Online gambling vs in-person gambling

• Tangibility of Spending Money

  • On average people spend more money and take more financial risks when gambling online than in-person

  • Why?

    • Online gambling is accessible 24/7

    • Digital payments makes money feel less real vs. handing over physical cash

      • Lowering of psychological barrier– tokens, chips, credits

      • Numbers are less meaningful than seeing the money physically disappear

        • We are more likely to take greater risks online than in-person

Variable Ratio Reinforcement

You will receive a reinforcement (e.g., reward/punishment) after a varying/changing number of times.

• Gambling falls into upper right category

  • Reason why lesser forms of gambling, such as blind boxes, are considered gambling from a psychological lens even though they are not considered gambling at a legal level

• Takes significantly more responses

• Strongest form of conditioning

  • Highest response rate, constant and without pauses (pattern of responses), most resistant to extinction

Regions of the Brain impacted by gambling

Gambling impacts the brain’s reward systems, impulsivity, learning, and self-control

• Gambling wins and near misses have almost identical brain reactions (anticipation of being close). A near miss makes you more likely to gamble than a win

• Nucleus Accumbens (Reward center)

• Frontal Cortex (Planning/Judgement)

• Amygdala (Emotions)

• Ventral Tegmental Area (Reward)

Neurotransmitters of the brain impacted by gambling

Alterations in dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine

• Mood becomes tied to winning

• Even if we lose there is a dopamine release, but not to the same response (dampened mood)

• If we gamble enough to the addiction-level these pathways are going to be altered, the reward system is being re-wired

• Creates a cycle of craving and loss even stimulates the brain, leading to repeated behaviors to chase the next dopamine rush

Dual Process Model of Cognition

Idea that there are two broad systems in which we process information

• System 1- Fast, automatic, intuitive, emotional reactions, relies on peripheral cues/processing

• System 2- Slow, deliberate, intention, takes energy and attention, less prone to cognitive biases

System 1 Thinking (Dual Process Model of Cognition)

Fast, automatic

• Effortless, intuitive, emotional

• Uses past experience to mental shortcuts (heuristics) to make judgments and decisions

• Can also contribute to greater cognitive biases

• High cognitive load can contribute to this, and lead to impaired decision-making

System 2 Thinking (Dual Process Model of Cognition)

Slow, deliberate

• Analytical, logical, effortful

• Can correct or override system 1’s decisions but require more cognitive effor to do so (when activated)

Gamification, Gambling, and Psychology Principles

• Using game-like features to make something more engaging, motivating or rewarding

  • Keeps people’s attention (e.g., movement, sounds like bells/dings)

    • Related back to Pavlov’s dogs

  • Can be used as a form of distraction (e.g., visual overload, lights)

  • Lowers risk perceptions with inviting cues (e.g., colors)

    • Alleviate feelings of seriousness

  • Goal settings (challenges, achievements, badges)

  • Social comparison (e.g., rankings, leaderboards)

  • Positive reinforcement (e.g., early winnings, compliments)

    • Keeping you hooked

  • Commitment and experiential investment (e.g., leveling up early, winning badges can help make you feel accomplished)

Loss Aversion

Individuals are more likely to take action to avoid losses than to take action to secure gains

Prospect Theory

• The pain of losing is psychologically twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining

• A $100 loss hurts more than the pleasure of receiving $100 gain

• Demonstrates human decision-making is driven by cognitive shortcuts and emotional reactions to losses

  • System I thinking and heuristics

• People become risk-seeking when trying to recover losses: they want to win and escape a loss

• Overweight small probabilities; underweight moderate to high odds:

  • “I have a small chance of winning though” Jackpots appear more attainable than they are

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Investing time, money, effort into something simply because you have already invested

• Past costs cannot be recovered and you may not continue to benefit from continuing

• “I can’t stop now”

Why do we engage in heuristic/biased thinking from an evolutionary perspective?

• Our brain loves to identify patterns- it is an evolutionary way we have evolved to surie (e.g., identifying sounds from a predatory)

• False Patterns can occur- we think there may be a pattern, but there is not

• Examples:

  • The slot machine is probably due for a payout soon’

    • There haven’t been winnings in a while

  • I have a good system for predicting winning numbers

  • I notice that XYZ always happens before a big win

  • I was so close to winning (Near Miss- cognitive distortion)

Overconfidence Bias

Overestimating accuracy of knowledge, predictions, or abilities

Confirmation Bias

Giving more weight to information to support your belief; overlooking contradictory info

Gambler’s Fallacy

Thinking that the previous (random) outcomes will affect what happens next

Illusion of Control

Thinking you can predict or influence the outcome that is actually determined by chance

• Blowing the dice or wearing a lucky pair of socks

Reciprocity (Cialdini’s 7 powerful persuasion principles)

People repay what they receive

• Free samples lead to purchases

Commitment & Consistency (Cialdini’s 7 powerful persuasion principles)

We stick to what we say

• Signing a pledge leads to follow through

Social Proof (Cialdini’s 7 powerful persuasion principles)

We follow the crowd

• Best-seller tag

Authority (Cialdini’s 7 powerful persuasion principles)

We trust experts & leaders

• Doctor endorsement

Liking (Cialdini’s 7 powerful persuasion principles)

• We say yes to people we like

  • Friendly salesperson

• Using someone well-liked or known

• Ways to increase this principle:

  • Increasing number of similarities (e.g., same age, gender, race, etc.)

    • The more characteristics that someone shares the more we will like the other person

    • These can be physical characteristics, shared values or identities, or something else

      • Example: Sharing a birthday

  • Familiarity 

    • We tend to like something the more that we are exposed to it

      • Related to mere exposure effect

    • Even if our initial reaction was not positive, with more exposure it could become positive, but depends on attitude stability (strength)

  • Compliments

    • Increase liking, as it boosts our ego and self-worth/self-esteem

    • However, it also taps into reciprocity as we feel the desire to do something favorable for the implementer (e.g., buy their product)

Scarcity (Cialdini’s 7 powerful persuasion principles)

Limited = More valuable

• Only 2 left in stock

Unity (Cialdini’s 7 powerful persuasion principles)

We belong with “out people”

• Shared identity in groups

Short-Term Psychological Effects of Gambling

• Excitement and thrill or irritability, anger, or sadness

• Temporary financial gain or losses

• Stress, anxiety, regret related to betting outcomes

Stigma

Prejudicial attitudes created socially through defining people by their problem using judgement and labeling (self-stigmatization exists as well)

Effects of Stigma

• Stereotyping/labelling

• Separating/Exclusion/Isolation

  • Rejection

• Negative emotional reactions

  • Anger, pity, fear, irritation

• Status loss/devaluation

  • Morally/flawed, untrustworthy

• Discrimination

• Hiding Gambling Problem

  • Further stigmatizing; 92.5% of people say they could tell when it was being hidden

• Personal Responsibility

  • Main reason for stigmatization (e.g., viewed as in your control)

• Self-Stigma

  • Believing and agreeing internally with public stigma; diminishes self-esteem

Psychological Effects of a Gambling Problem

• Depression

  • Symptoms of guilt, shame, and hopelessness, especially after a large loss or a losing streak, can lead to depressive episodes. These symptoms also affect the self-esteem and self-worth of the gambler

• Isolation

  • Problem and disordered gambling can result in altered attitudes and behavioral issues in some gamblers, causing them to experience loneliness in their personal lives

• Anxiety

  • Nonstop experiences of anticipatory anxiety (before gambling) and increased stress levels during gambling can form an unhealthy psychological bond, leading to an increased chance of developing an anxiety disorder

Gambling and Adult Suicide Risk

Gambling as a precipitating factor in deaths by suicide

• 0.44% of the cases were classified as gambling-related

Gambling and Confounds In Adult Suicide Risk

• Psychiatric comorbidity

  • Depression

  • Alcohol/drug abuse

• Impulse personality

• Poverty/life hardships

Gambling and Relationships

Damaged relationships

• Work

  • Hiding or concealing gambling behaviors

  • Reduced job performance

  • (Rare) harms to business or lost trust from criminal activity

• Family

  • Trust issues or violence

  • Separation or divorce

  • Emotional distress and neglect with children

• Friends

  • Withdrawing from social activity

Problem Gambling

Any gambling behavior that causes stress, financial strain, or relationship issues

Gambling Disorder

Clinically diagnosed mental health condition (classified as an addictive disorder) that meets specific DSM-5 criteria of compulsive loss of control

Halo Effect

Using spokesperson’s attractiveness to show product attractiveness

Mood Setting

• Using music to set the tone. Using humor or laugh tracks.

  • Laugh tracks are an example of social proof

More = Better

• More arguments = more convincing. Bigger price = better quality

  • Thinking that a bigger diamond is more expensive than a smaller one

Availability Heursitic

Capitalizing on what is currently popularly (or seemingly popular)

Credibility

Emphasizing brand longevity, popularity, and how trusted or well known it is

Primary Effect

Early information can impact later interpretation

• If we are told something early on, it might be enough to sway us

Peak-End Rule

We remember the most intense part at the end

Recency Heuristic

Recent information can impact your judgement

• Many food recalls might impact our decision to eat/purchase salads

Foot-In-The-Door

Starting with a small request and moving to a bigger one

• Small engagement, builds brand loyalty

  • Keeping up with streaks, to then feel committed

  • Listening to a couple of songs from a new artist, then buying the album (or multiple)

  • Free month of a subscription service with all the premium features, now you feel like you can’t go back and buy the premium subscription next month

  • People like to stay consistent, if they say yes to one thing, they will likely say yes to the next, if the ask isn’t too large

• Example: Peal Factory

• Example: Warby Parker At Home Try On

  • Try on a bunch of glasses at home and return the ones you don’t like

  • Odds are you will be sending more because of this tactic and additional, concepts (e.g., personal experience, commitment and consistency)

Door-In-The-Face

Starting with a large request, then conceding with a smaller one

• Example: When you cancel your subscription, there is a pop-up that asks if you are sure. And presents you with an even lower limited time subscription offer (e.g., $2.99/month for 6 months)

What is more effective, foot-in-the-door or door-in-the-face?

Some studies have shown door-in-the-face, but it depends on context

Urgency

Existing offers, countdowns or clock, false deadlines

• Taps into System 1 Thinking

What does red represent in advertising?

• Visceral, bold, courageous, energetic

• Stimulates appetite and the pituitary gland

• Examples: CNN, Pinterest, Coca-Cola, Target, Canon, Lego, Kellogs

What does orange represent in advertising?

• Friendly, cheerful, confident, fun, vitality

• Lighter shades appeal to upscale market

• Examples: Nickelodeon, Amazon, Fanta, Payless, Shutterfly

What does purple represent in advertising?

• Wise, creative, imaginative, royalty

• Lavender evokes nostalgia, sentimentality

• Examples: T-Moble, Yahoo, Taco Bell, Hallmark

What does black represent in advertising?

• Prestige, serious, bold, classic, powerful

• Works well for expensive products

• Examples: Prada, D & G, Outdi, Chanel

Priming

Useful tool for exposing people to a stimulus, which then impacts how they think or respond without direct conscious awareness

• Out brain makes associations automatically, and this tool helps bring these cues together

• Example: When we see Curious George, Minions, banana bread, a smoothie, we are more likely to think of banannas

Subliminal Priming

Having fast cues displayed that the human eye cannot catch, such as “Eat Popcorn if Hungry” during a movie, which leads to individuals following that behavior, purchasing popcorn