Social Psychology: Foundations, Perspectives, Methods, and Processes

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering sociological and psychological perspectives, scientific methodology, social network power dynamics, status characteristics theory, and identity control processes.

Social Psychology

The systematic study of people's thoughts, feelings, and behavior in social contexts, or the systematic study of the nature and causes of human social behavior.

Sociological Miniaturism

Also known as psychological reductionism, an analytical approach focused on explaining social phenomena at the micro level of individual behavior, contrasted with structuralism.

The Coleman Boat

A conceptual model illustrating the relationship between macro-level social structures (such as the Protestant Ethic leading to Capitalism) and micro-level individual mechanisms (norms/values guiding behavior).

Theory

A logically interrelated set of propositions about empirical reality that is explanatory, logically sound, parsimonious, fertile, and falsifiable.

Bounded Rationality

A concept forwarded by March and Cohen stating that the human mind, like a computer, has inherent limits to its cognitive processing and information management capacity.

Exemplar

A specific individual instance of a category utilized in learning and cognition (e.g., identifying "this chair").

Prototype

A cognitive representation of the typical features characterizing a category (e.g., conceptualizing that chairs generally have backs, four legs, and seats).

Schema

An abstract, organized framework of knowledge regarding an object, concept, or social situation (e.g., understanding that chairs are objects designed for people to sit on).

Epigenetic Principle

Erik Erikson's developmental proposition that human personality unfolds through eight predetermined stages, where progress through each stage depends partly on success or lack of success in prior stages.

Significant Symbols

Words, gestures, and language described by George H. Mead that convey shared social meaning and enable negotiated symbolic communication between individuals.

Twenty Statements Test (TST)

An empirical measurement instrument developed by Manford Kuhn of the University of Iowa to assess objective components of self-concept and social reality.

Affect Control Theory (ACT)

A symbolic interactionist theory developed by David Heise stating that individuals use Evaluation, Potency, and Activity (EPA) dimensions to assign affective meanings and act to align transient impressions with fundamental sentiments.

The Components Principle

A tenet of the Social Structure and Personality perspective stipulating that researchers must identify the specific dimensions of social organization (such as roles, status, and social networks) impacting individuals.

The Proximity Principle

A tenet of the Social Structure and Personality perspective stating that the broader society influences individual psychology through immediate, interpersonal environments such as work, family, and social networks.

The Psychology Principle

A tenet of the Social Structure and Personality perspective describing the internal cognitive and socioemotional mechanisms individuals use to process structural and proximal forces.

Structural Theory Perspective

Also known as the role theory perspective, a framework asserting that social positions carry scripts and behavioral expectations that individuals occupy and fulfill, facing negative sanctions if deviant.

Principle of Determinism

The core scientific assumption underpinning social psychology that human social behaviors have identifiable causes governed by systematic natural laws rather than random occurrences.

The Research Circle

The cyclical scientific process connecting theory to hypotheses via deductive research, hypotheses to data, data to empirical generalizations via descriptive research, and generalizations back to theory via inductive research.

Reliability

The degree to which repeated measurements of the same phenomenon yield consistent results under identical conditions.

Measurement Validity

The condition achieved when an empirical measure accurately reflects and assesses the specific concept it is intended to measure.

Causal Validity

Also called internal validity, the correctness of the conclusion that a specific condition or variable $A$ directly leads to or results in outcome $B$.

Generalizability

Also called external validity, the extent to which a research conclusion holds true for the larger population, setting, or event under specified conditions.

Network Extensiveness

A structural property of social networks defined by the total number of paths, links, or threads connecting actors across a web of relationships.

Network Density

The degree of interconnectedness or "knittedness" among actors in a network, measured as the proportion of actual direct connections relative to all possible connections.

Power-Dependence Theory

Richard Emerson's formulation stating that the power of actor $a$ over actor $b$ is equal to the degree to which actor $b$ depends on actor $a$ for valued resources ($P_{ab} = D_{ba}$).

Degree-Based Power

Network power derived from having the highest number of direct ties, positioning an actor as a central hub (exemplified by Diane in the Kite Network).

Betweenness-Based Power

Network power derived from occupying a broker position situated on the shortest paths connecting separate subgroups or actors (exemplified by Heather in the Kite Network).

Closeness-Based Power

Network power derived from having direct and indirect connections that minimize path distance to all other members, allowing rapid information monitoring (exemplified by Fernando and Garth in the Kite Network).

The Krackhardt Kite Network

A 10-actor social network structure utilized to illustrate the divergence between degree-based centrality, betweenness centrality, and closeness centrality.

Graph-Theoretic Power Index (GPI)

A mathematical method developed to solve the 4-line problem and predict dependence-based power by calculating the number of odd-length paths minus the number of even-length paths connecting an actor to all other network nodes.

Status Characteristics Theory (SCT)

A branch of expectation states theory developed by Joseph Berger and colleagues stating that task group influence hierarchies emerge from performance expectations attributed to members' status traits.

Scope Conditions of SCT

The specific boundary requirements under which Status Characteristics Theory operates: group members must be task-focused and collectively oriented.

Diffuse Status Characteristic

A widely recognized social attribute (such as race or gender) carrying general cultural expectations of competence across multiple unrelated task settings.

Specific Status Characteristic

A distinct attribute directly denoting competence in a bounded domain (such as mathematical ability or technical expertise).

Burden of Proof Postulate

The assumption in Status Characteristics Theory that any salient status characteristic will automatically shape performance expectations unless explicitly disconnected from the task by a legitimate source.

Aggregation Postulate

The assumption in Status Characteristics Theory that all activated positive and negative status information combines into an overall expectation advantage, exhibiting diminishing marginal returns capped around six characteristics.

Altercasting

A tactical impression management technique in which an individual places another person into a specific role or identity to constrain their behavior and define the interaction.

Identity Salience

In Sheldon Stryker's identity theory, the relative probability that a particular identity will be enacted across diverse social situations within an individual's hierarchy of identities.

Identity Commitment

The degree to which an individual's social relationships depend on occupying a particular identity, assessed through extensivity (quantity of ties) and intensivity (emotional strength of ties).

Identity Control Theory (ICT)

Peter Burke's cybernetic feedback model proposing that individuals act to match reflected appraisals from their environment to an internal identity standard in order to avoid social stress.

Broken Identity Loop

An interruption in the Identity Control Theory system occurring at the output stage (where others ignore or shun actions) or at the input stage (where the individual cannot perceive or interpret feedback).

Over-Controlled Identity System

An identity disruption in Identity Control Theory where an individual attempts to match perceived reflected appraisals to the identity standard too rigidly, producing elevated social distress over minor interaction nuances.

Episodic Identities

An identity disruption in Identity Control Theory characterized by a lack of live, real-time performance feedback, occurring when identities are only rehearsed or imagined in "what-if" scenarios.