Social Psych Key Terms

Social Psychology

The study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another

Social neuroscience

a subfield that examines how the brain and biology impact social behaviors

hindsight bias

believing you knew it all along after an outcome occurs

theory

a system of ideas that explains and predicts phenomena

hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction

random sampling

everyone in population having equal chance of being selected

sample size

the number of participants in a study

framing

the way information is presented shaping decisions

correlational research

observes relationships between variables without manipulation

experimental research

manipulates a variable to determine its effect on another

random assignment

randomly placing participants into study groups

independent variable

the factor being manipulated in a study

dependent variable

the factor being measured in response

replication

repeating a study to confirm results

meta-analysis

combines results from many studies to find general trends

mundane realism

how much a study resembles real-life situations

experimental realism

how engaging and emotionally involving the study feels

deception

misleading participants to conceal the true study purpose

demand characteristics

hints that influence how participants think they should behave

informed consent

participants are told key facts before joining a study

debriefing

explaining the real purpose of a study afterward