Social Psychology Exam 1

Social Psychology

The nature and causes of individual behavior, feelings, and thoughts in social situations.

Social Psychology Influences

Social environments where we find ourselves, others, and thoughts of others.

Core Values of Science

Accuracy, Objectivity, Skepticism, and Open-Mindedness; good theories are falsifiable.

Accuracy

Careful, precise, and error-free info gathering.

Objectivity

Evaluating information with little bias as possible.

Skepticism

Accepting findings after many verifications.

Open-Mindedness

Changing views if evidence suggests innacuracy.

Thoughts & Emotional Processes

They underlie individual action; social contexts/experience → identity → social behavior.

Causes of Social Behavior

Actions of Others, Characteristics of Others, Cognitive Processes, Environmental Variables, and Biological Factors

Actions of Others

When we observe and respond to people this indicates that other people’s emotions have powerful impacts on us.

Characteristics of Others

We are often affected by others’ appearance and visual characteristics. Research shows that we cannot ignore appearances even if we try to (Hassin & Trope, 2000).

Cognitive Processes

We try to make sense of people by attributing actions to something about them or their circumstances.

Environmental Factors

Aspects of the environment influence feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Research shows that exposure to pleasant smells in the air makes people more willing to help (Baron, 1997).

Biological Factors

Biology and social experience aren’t unidirectional. Research shows that environmental factors and social processes (through epigenetics) can influence behavior; evolutionary psychology.

Evolutionary Psychology

We inherit tendencies that may be apparent in our overt actions, depending on our environments; tendencies may become part of our biological inheritance.

Behavior

How people act in social situations.

Thought

How people make sense of the social world.

Social Neuroscience

Study events in the brain and immune system to see how they’re related to social processes.

Mirror Neurons

Activated during observation/execution of actions and may play a role in empathy.

Implicit Processes

We often don’t really know why we think or behave in social contexts; may be aware we hold certain beliefs.

Systematic Observation

Can be naturalistic or through survey methods

Naturalistic Research

Observing behavior as it occurs.

Survey Method

Large amount of people to respond to questions about attitudes or behavior. Must be: representative of population, careful wording, accurate to extent items are addressed.

Correlation Method

Tendency for an event (variable) to be associated with changes in another; cannot establish causation. Allows predictions to be made about the variables being measured.

Experimental Method

One variable is changed (IV) and effects of change on another variable (DV) are measured; useful in predictions but doesn’t explain well. Allows for possible causation, random assignment, and may allow for confounding variables (one not being measured).

Mediating Variables

Measuring how a factor influenced by the IV and then affect the DV; they intervene between the IV and DV and explain the relationship.

Ex. High frequency of social media use (IV) leads to higher fear of being a victim (Mediator) of ghosting, leading to increased experiences of anxiety and depression (DV).

Moderating Variables

Factors altering the effect of the IV on the DV (alters relationship strength); changes the relationship between variables.

Ex. Individuals with obesity (IV) are seen more negatively than those not, and it is more pronounced in obese females than males (Moderator). Obese females were given lower scores on positive social image and higher scores on lack of self-care (DV) compared to males.

Theories

Frameworks for explaining various events or processes; it is never proven, and research should be undertaken to PROVE these.

Theory Building Step 1

On the basis of existing evidence, a theory consistent with the evidence is proposed.

Theory Building Step 2

The theory that consists of basic concepts and statements about their relation helps to organize existing information and make predictions about observable events.

Theory Building Step 3

The predictions (hypotheses) are then tested by actual research.

Theory Building Step 4

If results are consistent with theory, its confidence is increased. If they are not, then the theory is modified and tested further.

Theory Building Step 5

The theory is accepted as accurate or rejected as inaccurate. Even if it’s accepted, the theory remains open to further refinement as improved methods are developed.

Deception

Withholding information about a study’s purpose from participants. It raises ethical issues, shouldn’t be used to persuade participation, even though temporary deception is sometimes acceptable.

Informed Consent

Giving participants as much information as possible about the procedures to be followed before they make their decision to participate.

Debriefing

Providing participants with full description of the purposes of a study after they have participated in the study, including an explanation of any deception used and why it was necessary.

Culture

The beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a social group. Includes: features of everyday existence, attitudes, values, goals, conventions, and social practices in fields, activities, and organizations.

Construals of Self

Interdependent (form thoughts of self from others’ ideas) and Independent (form thoughts of yourself from own ideas).

Social Cognition

The manner we interpret, analyze, remember, and use social information; helps in understanding, predicting, and planning social interactions.

Information Overload

Cognitive system demands are greater than its capacity; focusing on input beyond our limits.

Conditions of Uncertainty

The “correct” answer is difficult to know for sure.

Heuristics

Simple rules for making complex decisions rapidly; we can do more with less effort.

Representativeness Heuristic

Making a guess to compare someone with something else; we prototype attributes commonly possessed by category members. Base rates tend to be ignored here and is used when judging whether causes resemble each other and produce similar effects.

Base Rates

Frequency that events and categories occur in a given population.

Availability Heuristic

The easier to bring information to mind, the greater its impact on decisions; people often judge frequency based on the ease they’re brought to mind. The more information we bring to mind the greater its impact and ease of retrieval may be impacted if we think we’re familiar with a topic.

Overestimation Error

We tend to overestimate the likelihood of rare events; it is salient, or very perceptually prominent.

Anchoring & Adjustment Heuristic

The tendency to deal with uncertainty by using something we know as a starting point and then adjusting it; make adjustments following exposure but are sometimes not sufficient in overcoming experience.

Status Quo Hueristic

When making judgements, they act as though the current ways are better than any other alternative; those easily retrieved may be judged as “good” or “better” than the new.

Schemas

A mental framework that helps organize social information, guide actions, and process information to certain contexts; it’s how the social world may operate and determines what we notice about it.

3 Processes of Social Cognition

Attention, Encoding, and Retrieval

Attention

Information we notice; schemas act as a filter - research shows that information consistent with schemas are more likely to be noticed. We also rely more on schemas when we experience cognitive load.

Encoding

Processes used to store noticed information in memory; what we focus on is more likely to be stored, while information inconsistent with schemas may be encoded separately (so unexpected is seizes attention).

Retrieval

How we recover information from memory to use; information inconsistent with schemas might be as present as those consistent with.

Priming

The temporary increase in specific schema accessibility; the stronger schemas are the more they influence thinking.

Unpriming

Thoughts and actions that are primed dissipate once expression is found; if they are not expressed effects may persist.

Schema Persistence

By influencing what we notice, enter to memory, and remember, schemas distort understanding of social world; can be self-fulfilling.

Perseverance Effect

Tendency for beliefs to be unchanged even when faced with contradictory information.

Self-Fulfilling Schemas

They influence responses to make our expectations come true.

Reasoning by Metaphor

They compare concepts by suggesting similarity between them; they influence how we interpret events. When primed, they can influence different types of social inferences and behaviors.

Controlled Processing

Systematic, logical, and effortful; involves portions of prefrontal cortex.

Automatic Processing

Fast, effortless, and intuitive; primarily occurs in the amygdala. “Fight or Flight”

Automatic Processing Connection

People act with schemas even if they are unaware of it; activating a schema may also activate behaviors that “prepare” them to interact with others. These schemas trigger behaviors consistent with the schema itself.

Benefits of Automatic Processing

We attempt to deal with problems while our attention is elsewhere; when we think actively, we may be unable to take account of all information → it has greater capacity and may reflect our real preferences clearer.

Sources of Error

Optimistic Bias, Overconfidence Bias, Planning Fallacy

Optimistic Bias

Tendency to overlook risks and expect things to turn out well; when our thinking is dominated by positive thoughts, we make optimistic predictions about it.

Overconfidence Bias

We often have greater confidence in our beliefs and judgement; do this because we often lack essential information and stems from errors of omission.

Planning Fallacy

Believe projects will take less time than they actually do, and vice versa. People focus on the future, preventing them from looking backward in time; guess what will happen as what they want to.

Situation-Specific Sources of Error

Counterfactual Thinking and Magical Thinking

Counterfactual Thinking

Thoughts about “what might have been” instead of what actually happened. Can boost or reduce current moods: upward (comparing to favorable outcomes may cause dissatisfaction) or downward (comparing with less favorable outcomes may cause positive feelings).

Magical Thinking

Thoughts that don’t hold up to rational scrutiny but are compelling; one’s thoughts influence physical world in ways that don’t follow physics. The more uncertain an outcome, the more people engage in superstitious behavior.

Terror Management

Part of magical thinking; includes efforts to come to terms with certainty of death and its implications.

Affect

Current moods or emotions.

Cognition

Aspects of the ways we think, process, store, remember, and use information.

Influence of Affect on Cognition

Current moods can influence perceptions of the world

Positive moods encourage people to feel like they understand the world better and can impact memory.

Influence creativity (happy mood activates wider range of ideas and associations).

Influences tendency to engage in heuristic processing (when in good mood).

Influences interpretations of motives behind peoples’ behavior.

Mood Congruence

Current moods determine which information is noticed and entered into memory; more “in the moment”.

Mood-Dependent Memory

What information is retrieved from memory; more linked to “recall”-ability and we are more likely to remember information from past while in a similar mood.

Influence of Cognition on Affect

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion, Affective Forecasts

Activates schemas containing strong affective component.

Factors influencing cognition differ from those influencing emotions.

Learning to regulate emotions is important since our thoughts can regulate our feelings.

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

We don’t know our feelings or attitudes directly, but we infer their nature from the external world.

Affective Forecasts

Predictions of how we would feel about an event not experienced yet.N

Social Neuroscience

Affect and cognition are linked; findings indicate two distinct systems involved in processing social information (“reason” and “dealing with affect and emotion”)

Reason in Social Neuroscience

It can be disrupted by cognitive load.

Deals with Affect and Emotion in Social Neuroscience

It is less sensitive to cognitive load.

Norms vs. Schemas

Former is defined as socially shared expectations or rules, and the latter is defined as mental representations of situations.

Social Perception

Trying to detect others’ temporary states and enduring processes.

Nonverbal Communication

Social actions are often affected by temporary factors and causes, and it may be inappropriate or impossible to ask others’ feelings, so we use these.

Basic Channels of Nonverbal Communication

These are cross-culturally significant; Facial Expression, Eye Contact, Body Language, Touching.

Facial Expressions

Human feelings and emotions are often reflected in the face; they vary in strength. Core = anger, fear, happiness, sadness, disgust (possibly surprise).

Happiness is but fear is the least likely to be universal; recognition is more accurate for members of the same group or nationality.

Eye Contact

We learn much about feelings from this; staring can be interpreted as a sign of anger or hostility, while gazing may be interpreted more romantically or eagerly.

Body Language

Current moods and emotions are often reflected in positions, postures, and movement; many movements suggest emotional arousal and may be emblems.

Body Language Emblems

Body movements carrying cultural meaning. Ex. thumbs-up, an okay signal.

Touching

Depending on context, it can suggest friendliness, affection, sexual interest, or dominance; when appropriate, it can elicit positive reactions or vice versa if inappropriate.

Paralanguage

Vocal effects other than speech used to communicate; may express emotions through the quality or sound of voices (tone or pitch); Ex. sarcasm, may speak slower if sad, adding inflection to end of sentences.

Facial Feedback Hypothessis

Nonverbal cues may influence internal feelings - facial expressions can trigger emotions; doesn’t work all the time.

How Well Do We Recognize Deception?

Rarely do it better than chance since we tend to perceive others as truth and don’t search for deception; we have a desire to be polite.

Our moods also influence ability; sad people pay more attention to a message’s content than people who are happy.

Microexpressions

Fleeting facial expressions that are difficult to suppress.

Interchannel Discrepancies

Facial expressions and body language are difficult to control together; how we react (facial) may not be the same as how our body reacts.

Linguistic Style

Aspects of speech apart from words may indicate deception.

Attribution

How we seek “how” or “why” certain things are done and draw inferences from them; we often want to know why someone says or does certain things.

Theories of Attribution

Correspondent Inference and Causal Attribution

Correspondent Inference

How we use information about behavior as a basis for inferring their traits; based on actions, does someone have certain traits or discrepancies that are stable.

Tend to focus on actions that may informative and are low in social desirability → correspond traits when behavior seems chosen, and we pay attention to actions that produce noncommon effects.