Social Psych Exam 1

Behavioral economics

Interdisciplinary subfield that focuses on how psychology, particularly social and cognitive psychology, relates to economic decision making.

Behavioral genetics

Subfield of psychology that examines the role of genetic factors in behavior.

Cross-cultural research

Research designed to compare and contrast people of different cultures.

Culture

A system of enduring meanings, beliefs, values, assumptions, institutions, and practices shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Evolutionary psychology

A subfield of psychology that uses the principles of evolution to understand human social behavior.

Open science

Movement to make research materials, methods, hypotheses, and data more transparent, accessible, and easily shared with researchers from other labs.

Social psychology

Scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context.

Applied research

Research whose goal is to make applications to the world and contribute to the solution of social problems.

Basic research

Research whose goal is to increase the understanding of human behavior, often by testing hypotheses based on a theory.

Confederates

Accomplices of an experimenter who, in dealing with the real participants in an experiment, pretend to be ordinary participants.

Deception

In the context of research, a method that provides false information to participants.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the conditions under which an event will occur.

Social comparison theory

The theory that people evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves to others.

Self-handicapping

Behaviors designed to sabotage one’s own performance in order to provide a subsequent excuse for failure.

Self-regulation

The process by which people control their thoughts, feelings, or behavior in order to achieve a personal or social goal.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to focus on the role of personal causes and underestimate the impact of situations on other people’s behavior.

Primacy effect

The tendency for information presented early in a sequence to have more impact on impressions than information presented later.

Stereotype threat

The experience of concern about being evaluated based on negative stereotypes about one’s group.

Impression formation

The process of integrating information about a person to form a coherent impression.

Contact hypothesis

The theory that direct contact between hostile groups will reduce intergroup prejudice under certain conditions.