Social Psychology: Key Concepts, Theories, and Research Methods

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how people's thoughts feelings and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people.

Social Influence

The effect that the words actions or mere presence of others have on our thoughts feelings attitudes and behaviors.

Real Presence

When other people are physically present and influence behavior.

Imagined Presence

When we are influenced by imagining what others think or expect.

Social Psychology vs Personality Psychology

Social psychology emphasizes the power of situations while personality psychology emphasizes stable individual traits.

Social Psychology vs Sociology

Social psychology studies the individual within a social context while sociology studies groups institutions and societies.

Social Psychology vs Philosophy

Social psychology answers questions using scientific research instead of reasoning or logic alone.

Social Psychology vs Common Sense

Common sense is often contradictory while social psychology relies on empirical evidence to determine when ideas are true.

Evolutionary Psychology

The attempt to explain social behavior using genetic factors shaped by natural selection.

Construal

The way people perceive comprehend and interpret the social world.

Level of Analysis in Social Psychology

The individual within a social situation.

Goal of Social Psychology

To identify psychological processes that make nearly everyone susceptible to social influence regardless of culture or background.

Cross-Cultural Research

Research comparing different cultures to determine whether findings are universal or culture specific.

Power of the Situation

The idea that social situations strongly influence behavior often more than personality does.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate internal personality factors and underestimate situational influences when explaining behavior.

Example of Fundamental Attribution Error

Assuming someone is rude because of their personality instead of considering they may be having a bad day.

Behaviorism

A school of psychology stating that behavior is shaped by rewards and punishments while largely ignoring thoughts and feelings.

Limitation of Behaviorism

It overlooks cognition and how people interpret situations.

Gestalt Psychology

A school of psychology emphasizing that people perceive the whole rather than simply the sum of individual parts.

Founder of Modern Experimental Social Psychology

Kurt Lewin.

Kurt Lewin's Contribution

Applied Gestalt principles to social behavior and argued that how people interpret situations is often more important than objective reality.

Naive Realism

The belief that we perceive the world exactly as it is while underestimating the role of interpretation.

Two Major Human Motives

The need to feel good about ourselves and the need to be accurate.

Self-Esteem

People's evaluation of their own worth competence and decency.

Self-Esteem Motive

The desire to maintain a positive view of ourselves even if it requires slightly distorting reality.

Self-Justification

Explaining or rationalizing our behavior to preserve self-esteem.

Example of Self-Justification

Valuing a difficult initiation more because of the effort required to join.

Social Cognition

How people select interpret remember and use information about themselves and others to make judgments.

Social Cognition Motive

The desire to understand and predict the social world as accurately as possible.

Leon Festinger

Social psychologist who recognized that important insights occur when the need for self-esteem conflicts with the need for accuracy.

Conflict Between Self-Esteem and Accuracy

People often sacrifice complete accuracy to maintain a positive self-image.

Why Study Social Psychology

To understand human social behavior explain why people act as they do and apply findings to real-world social problems.

Role of Social Psychologists

They ask scientific questions develop theories test hypotheses and use research to understand social behavior.

Scientific Approach in Social Psychology

Researchers use empirical systematic methods rather than intuition common sense or personal opinions.

Challenge of Social Psychology

Predicting the behavior of complex humans in constantly changing social situations is difficult.

Empirical Science

A scientific approach that develops tests and revises theories based on evidence.

Theory

A set of principles that explains observed phenomena and predicts future observations.

Hypothesis

A specific testable prediction derived from a theory.

Theory Refinement Process

Develop a theory derive hypotheses test them revise the theory and create new hypotheses.

Source of Research Ideas

Researchers develop hypotheses from previous theories research findings and personal observations.

Observational Method

A research method in which behavior is observed and systematically recorded without manipulating variables.

Purpose of the Observational Method

To describe behavior as it naturally occurs.

Ethnography

A type of observational research in which researchers observe a group or culture from the inside without imposing preconceived ideas.

Archival Analysis

An observational method that examines existing records such as newspapers diaries magazines or historical documents.

Strength of the Observational Method

Allows researchers to study naturally occurring behavior.

Limitation of the Observational Method

Cannot determine cause and effect and some behaviors are difficult to observe.

Correlational Method

A research method that measures two or more variables to determine whether they are related.

Purpose of the Correlational Method

To predict one variable from another.

Correlation Coefficient

A statistic that measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

Positive Correlation

As one variable increases the other also increases.

Negative Correlation

As one variable increases the other decreases.

Zero Correlation

No relationship exists between two variables.

Survey

A research method that asks a representative sample questions about attitudes beliefs or behaviors.

Representative Sample

A sample that accurately reflects the population being studied.

Random Selection

A method in which everyone in the population has an equal chance of being chosen for the sample.

Strength of Surveys

Can measure variables that are difficult to observe and sample large populations.

Greatest Limitation of Correlational Research

Correlation does not prove causation.

Three Possible Explanations for a Correlation

Variable A causes Variable B Variable B causes Variable A or a third variable causes both.

Experimental Method

A research method in which researchers manipulate an independent variable while controlling other variables to determine cause and effect.

Independent Variable

The variable manipulated by the researcher.

Dependent Variable

The variable measured by the researcher.

Random Assignment

A process that gives every participant an equal chance of being placed into any experimental condition.

Purpose of Random Assignment

Helps ensure participant differences are evenly distributed across conditions.

Internal Validity

The extent to which only the independent variable could have caused changes in the dependent variable.

How Internal Validity Is Increased

Control extraneous variables and randomly assign participants to conditions.

External Validity

The extent to which findings generalize to other people situations and settings.

Generalizability Across Situations

Whether results apply to real world situations.

Generalizability Across People

Whether results apply to the broader population.

Psychological Realism

The extent to which the psychological experience in an experiment resembles real life.

Cover Story

A false explanation of a study's purpose used to maintain psychological realism.

Field Experiment

An experiment conducted in a natural setting while manipulating an independent variable.

Advantage of Field Experiments

High external validity because behavior occurs in real life.

Disadvantage of Field Experiments

Researchers have less control over extraneous variables than in laboratory experiments.

Basic Dilemma of Social Psychology

The tradeoff between internal validity and external validity.

Replication

Repeating a study with different participants settings or procedures to determine if findings are reliable.

Meta Analysis

A statistical technique that combines results from multiple studies to estimate the overall effect.

Basic Research

Research conducted to expand scientific knowledge without solving an immediate problem.

Applied Research

Research conducted to solve a specific real world problem.

Cross Cultural Research

Research comparing psychological processes across different cultures.

Purpose of Cross Cultural Research

To determine whether findings are universal or culture specific and improve theories.

Challenge of Cross Cultural Research

Researchers must ensure concepts and variables have the same meaning across cultures.

Social Neuroscience

The study of how biological processes and the brain influence social behavior.

EEG

Electroencephalography measures electrical activity in the brain during information processing.

fMRI

Functional magnetic resonance imaging measures changes in brain activity by detecting blood flow.

Purpose of EEG and fMRI in Social Psychology

To relate patterns of brain activity to social thinking and behavior.

Ethical Dilemma in Social Psychology

Researchers want realistic experiments while protecting participants from harm.

Informed Consent

Participants voluntarily agree to participate after learning about the nature of the study.

Deception

Intentionally misleading participants about the purpose or procedures of a study when necessary for valid results.

When Is Deception Acceptable

Only when no reasonable alternative exists and ethical guidelines are followed.

Debriefing

Explaining the true purpose of the study after participation especially when deception was used.

Purpose of Debriefing

To restore trust answer questions and ensure participants leave without harm.

IRB Institutional Review Board

A committee consisting of at least one scientist one nonscientist and one unaffiliated member that reviews research for ethical standards before it begins.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe after an event occurs that it was predictable all along.

Most Common Methodological Error

Assuming that correlation proves causation.

Only Research Method That Establishes Causation

The experimental method.

Best Method for Describing Behavior

The observational method.

Best Method for Predicting Behavior

The correlational method.

Best Method for Determining Cause and Effect

The experimental method.

Social Cognition

How people think about themselves and the social world including how they select interpret remember and use social information.

Automatic Thinking

Thinking that is unconscious effortless unintentional and involuntary.