Psci 104- Social psychology and Methods(SG)

Social Psychology

The scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people.

Real or Imagined Presence

Influence can come from people intentionally affecting us, their mere presence, or even just thinking about them.

Strong Social Situations

Situations in which most people behave in the same way (e.g., a classroom).

Weak Social Situations

a position in which most people behave in different ways(e.g. a playground)

Why do we study social psychology?

To understand interesting life phenomena and inform actions such as promoting health, decreasing discrimination and violence, and improving policy, business, and legal practices.

Focus of Social Psychology

The psychology of individuals; understanding behavior requires attention to both situation (social psychology) and personality.

Theory

Beliefs or a collection of beliefs about some phenomenon.

Hypothesis

A testable statement of prediction that includes at least two concepts and a statement of their relationship; derived from theories or observations.

Observational Method

Used to describe the nature of a phenomenon (e.g., What is Y?).

Pros: No concern about lying.

Cons: Difficult to conduct; can't answer complex questions.

Correlational Method

Involves manipulating one variable to see its effect on another (e.g., Does X cause Y?).

Experimental Group

Group exposed to the treatment or independent variable.

Control Group

Group not exposed to the treatment; used for comparison

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated (X).

Dependent Variable

The outcome variable that may change in response to the independent variable (Y).

Random Assignment

Every participant has an equal chance of being in any condition, ensuring groups are comparable.

Sampling (Representative, Random)

Ensuring a sample represents the population by giving everyone an equal chance of selection.

Internal Validity

The extent to which cause-and-effect conclusions can be drawn from a study.

External Validity

The extent to which findings can be generalized to real-world settings.

Construct Validity

The extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure.

Generalizability

The extent to which research findings apply to individuals not included in the study.

Mundane Realism

The extent to which an experiment resembles real-life situations.

Psychological/Experimental Realism

The extent to which psychological processes in an experiment resemble those in real life.

HOMER

1. Hypothesize

2. Operationalize

3. Measure

4. Evaluate

5. Revise or Replicate

Hypothesize (HOMER)

Creating a testable prediction about when and how an event will occur.

Operationalize (HOMER)

Conducting the study and measuring the variables of interest.

Evaluate (HOMER)

Analyzing the data to see if the hypothesis was supported.

Revise or Replicate (HOMER)

If supported, replicate the study; if not, revise the hypothesis or methods.

Conceptual Definition

The abstract or theoretical meaning of a concept being studied.

Operational Definition

A statement of procedures used to define research variables for measurement.