social psych 1

Social psychology

scientific study of how ppl influence each other’s thoughts, feelings, or behavior

Hindsight bias

“I knew it all along”

Personality psychology

internal attributes & individual differences influence behavior (disposition/nature)

Distributional Thinking

the practice of analyzing the entire pattern and spread of data variation rather than relying solely on a single summary metric like the average or median

Statistical significance

a mathematical measure that determines whether an observed relationship or difference in data is likely a real effect rather than a product of random chance (p<0.05)

Generalizability

how easily a finding can be applied to a larger population

Convenience sampling

creating a sample group based on what’s easiest

Random sample

each person in a sample has a random chance of being selected

Random assignment

how someone in chosen for a certain group in a study

Observational Method

researcher observes people & systematically records measurements/impressions of their behavior

Correlational method

assesses relationship of 2+ variables

Correlation coefficient

±1, statistic correlational value

Preexperimental

one group is studied

Quasiexperimental

group can be compared

True experiment

random assignment

Operational Definition

how researchers manipulate and/or measure the variables in a study; helps understand what results mean

Reliability

consistency of measurement

Validity

level of confidence in patterns of data

Self-concept

personal summary of who we are

schema

framework for the world

self-schema

summary of our perceptions on self-relevant info

Social comparison theory

we make assessments abt what we are by comparing how we think/act to those around us

Upward social comparison

when individuals compare themselves to someone better than them

upward social comparison

when individuals compare themselves to someone who’s better than them

Social Comparison WIDE factors

who, interpretation, direction, esteem

Culture

norms, traditions, and ways of life of a group of people

Social identity theory

ingroups & outgroups to validate perceptions

Independent self-construal

individual’s ideal self largely based on internal, personal qualities

Interdependent self-construal

ideal self largely based on social qualities, especially in relationship with others

Self-expansion theory

humans have basic motivation to grow, improve, and enhance our self-concept, especially thru close social relationships

Inclusion of the other in the self (IOS) Scale

used to measure the psychological inclusion of others in the self-concept; overlap between the self and other indicate how much a self-concept includes a specified other person

Self-presentation theory

we tend to adjust the self & perform in slightly different ways depending on social influence

actual self

who we are currently

ideal self

who we want to be

ought self

who one believes others expect them to be

self-discrepancy

when our selves do not aligh

self-monitoring

people differ in how much they monitor the environment for cues about social behavior

self-esteem

subjective, personal evaluation of our self-concept

self-enhancement

people are motivated to view themselves positively

cognition

brain's process of thinking, learning, and using information

Social cognition

how people select, interpret, remember & use social info to make judgements and decisions

Dual processing

intuition + logic

intuition

knowing something quickly and automatically

logic

ability to reason, think systematically & consider evidence

Schema

cognitive & memory structure for organizing and interpreting the world

stereotypes

assuming everyone in a group has the same characteristics

heuristics

a practical, experience-based mental shortcut or "rule of thumb" used to solve problems and make decisions quickly

priming

exposure to one stimulus influences how you respond to a subsequent, related stimulus, usually without your conscious awareness.

Loftus & Palmer

schemas influence memory (car crash)

Donald Study: Huggins, Rholes & Jones

priming influences how we judge people

Heuristics

may lead to poor decisionmaking

Availability heuristic

Easy to recall = seems more common/likely

Anchoring heuristic

First information = influences later judgment

Representative heuristic

Looks like the typical example = seems more likely

Endowment effect

valuing something simply because we own it

sunk cost effect

continuing to invest in something because we’re already invested in it

ecological rationality

heuristics work because they’re adapted to their environments

Bounded rationality

limited in our time to think

recognition heuristic

take the option you recognize

take the best heuristic

think about the most useful diagnostic cues to make decision

cognitive misers

Our brains try to take the easiest mental route.

Counterfactual thinking

tendency to imagine what might’ve been

downward counterfactuals

worse than reality

upward counterfactuals

better than reality

spin framing

changing phrasing to make something seem more appealing

Confirmation bias

we want to conserve our own beliefs

hindsight bias

tendency to believe we knew it all along

implicit expectations

conformity; social roles

explicit expectations

compliance, obedience

conformity

a change in ones behavior dur to the real or imagined influence of other people

informational social influence

conforming because you see others as a source of information (autokinetic illusion study)

normative social influence

conforming because you want to be accepted by others

Descriptive norms

describes what people usually do, what’s common or popular

descriptive norms

describes what people usually do, what is common or popular

obedience

type of explicit social influence where we behave in response to an order from someone w/ power over us

Attitude

an overall evaluation of something

attitude object

what’s being evaluated

Crises of confidence

la pierres study found attitudes didn’t align with behaviors

cognitive dissonance

inconsistency between 2 thoughts produces discomfort and tension

internal justification

changing something about oneself

external justification

explaining a counterattitudinal behavior as something about the situation or environment

induced compliance

people perform behaviors that contradict preexisting attitudes

Festinger $1 vs $20 experiment

people tell another group a banal task is fun and those paid more enjoy it more

effort justification

more positive evaluation of the task or activity when it involves something more difficult or unpleasant

post decision dissonance

when we have to make a decision between two or more good choices

spreading of alternatives

what we choose becomes better and vice versa