UVA Mazurek PSYC 2600 FinalExam '22

Psychoanalysis

Freud- Focusing on the individual

Behaviorism

B.F. Skinner- Focusing on the environment

B=f(P,E)

Lewin- Behavior is the function of both the person and the environment

Social psychology

a scientific study of how thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are influenced by the presence of other people, real or imagined

Construal

One's interpretations, perception, or comprehension of the social situation

Gestalt Psychology

The subjective experience of a pehnommon is more important than the objective reality of the phenomenon

Naive Realism (Ross)

The belief that one's construals reflect objective reality

Vallone, Ross, Lepper: Stanford University study

Naive Realism: Debate on who is to blame for the Beirut Massacre. P's watched a non bias news reel and everyone watching the same video has different perceptions and believes it is more biased against them

Liberman, Samuels, and Ross Study (2004) Prisoner's Dilemma

Cooperating or defecting with each other (choices are made in secret) if you both cooperate it is best group outcome if you both defect, you both lose. Told the game was called either: The Community Game or The Wall Street Game--> this adds an element of the construal. Conclusions: People playing the community game were more likely to cooperate regardless of their level of competitiveness

Confirmation Bias

Searching for/ processing information in ways consistent with pre-existing beliefs

Theory

Integrate set of principles that explain or predict observed events

Hypothesis

A testable proposition that describes a relationship that might exist between events

Falsification

There needs to be a right and a wrong outcome

Just World Theory

People want to believe in a just world and that consequences follow appropriately from actions

The Observational Method

Basic Observation: Use for questions where you just want clarity on what has happened + Archival Analysis: Look at archives and previous data and can be used in theories about time/generations

The Correlational Method

a research procedure used to determine how much events or characteristics vary along with each other

Correlation

a statistical estimate of the relationship between variables

A Positive Correlation

Direct relationship between two variables (De/Increase together)

A Negative Correlation

An inverse relationship between two variables (De/Increase apart)

Extraneous (Third) Variable

A variable that accounts for the correlation between variables of interest

Study: Optimism will make you lifespan longer

Correlation ≠ Causation

The Experimental Method

Using experiments as a way to try and establish cause

Independent Variable

The variable you manipulate

Dependent Variable

The variable you measure

Internal Validity

the only thing that affects your dependent variable is your independent variable

External Validity

How well do results generalize to other situations/people?

Psychological Realism

If I bring you into a lab and are controlling for certain things so much so that it doesn't simulate the real world, your behavior can change

Automatic Thinking

nonconscious, unintentional, involuntary, and effortless

Schemas

mental structures that organize our knowledge about the world

Function of Schemas

Organize Information, Direct Attention, and Influence Memory

Accessibility

We can use schemas because they are accessible even if they're not always the most appropriate

Factors that lead to accessibility

Expertise, Goal State, Experience

Priming

the process by which recent experiences increase the accessibility of a schema, trait, or concept

Donald Study

Part 1: Perception in memory- Using applicable memory words that prime negative or positive words. Part 2: Perception of Donald. Negative words= negative perception

The Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Expectations (schemas) affect our behavior towards another in consistent ways and The other person responds to our action in a way that confirms our initial expectation or schema

Bloomer Study

an experiment in which teachers were told to expect certain students to be smart, they treated those students differently

result- expectation became reality-kids who were expected to do well did. reason was due to different treatment, ethical concerns for students not expected to "bloom", used study to point out differences in minority achievement

Heuristics

A mental "shortcut" that allows judgements to be made quickly

The Availability Heuristic

Making a judgment based on how accessible information is in memory

The Representativeness Heuristics

Judging an attribute, event, or outcome based on how well it matches one's schema or expectations

Fishoff and Bar-Hillel Study 1984: Lawyer v Doctor Clinical Notes

There was nothing in the description that applied exclusively to lawyers or engineers. There was just a vague description and interpret. Yet because of the issues in the clinical notes, people assumed the patient was a lawyer. People relied one representativeness over base rate.

Attribution

How people explain the causes of behavior

External attribution

Behavior is a result of an external (situational) factor(s)

Internal attribution

Behavior is a result of an internal (personal) characteristic

Harold Kelley (1921-2003): The Covariation Model

If minimal data, tend to make internal attribution

If data, then it depends on environment- behavior consistency

Consistency (Covariation Model)

High: They frequently behave this way

Low: No perceived pattern of behaving this way

Consensus (Covariation Model)

High: Most people heave like this

Low: Not many people behave like this

Distinctiveness (Covariation Model)

High: They don't behave this way in other situation

Low: They behave like this in many other situations

(Covariation Model) If consistency, consensus and distinctiveness are high we tend to make ________

external attributions

(Covariation Model) If consistency is high, but consensus and distinctiveness are low we tend to make ___________

internal attributions

Two Step Attribution Process

Characterization (internal attribution, automatic) + Correction (Consider the situation, controlled)

The Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate the importance of internal - and underestimate the importance of external - factors on a person's behavior

Jones and Harris: Castro Study

Task: Judge personality based on writing

IV: Chosen position versus Assigned position

DV: Estimate of writers true attitude

People assume that their writings are accurate representations of their beliefs

Self Concept

The overall set of beliefs we have about our personal attributes

Independent Self

a self defined in terms of one's own internal thoughts and feelings, and actions

Interdependent Self

A self defined in terms of one's relationships to others

Introspection

Looking inward and examining our thoughts, feelings, and motives

Self-Perception

When attitudes/feelings are uncertain, we infer their states by observing our own behaviors and the situation in which they occur

intrinsic motivation

Engaging in activities because they are personally rewarding or because they fulfill our beliefs and expectations

extrinsic motivation

engaging in activities to gain reward or avoid punishment

Overjustification Effect

When people see their driven by extrinsic reasons and under estimate the intrinsic reasons

Fixed Mindset

Abilities are set/ stable

Growth Mindset

Abilities are malleable

misattribution of arousal

people's inference about the origin of their emotional response is faulty

lateral social comparison

we want to accurately evaluate the self

upward social comparison

we are motivated to improve by setting an attainable standard of excellence

downward social comparison

we want to feel better about ourselves

Social comparison study: Pyszcynski, Greenberg, and Laprelle

P's given faux social sensitivity test. IV1: Ps score (high or low), IV2: Others relative scores (Higher or lower), DV: Percent asking to see other's relative scores

Self Handicapping

creating obstacles and excuses for ourselves that allow for a non-ability attribution of blame

Study: Berglas and Jones (1978)

Cover story: Testing effect of 2 drugs on performance

Group 1: Easy task

Group 2: Hard task

All participants received positive feedback

Then given choice to use performance-enhancing or performance-inhibiting drug for next set of similarly east or hard tasks.

Attitudes

an evaluation of judgment of people, things, or concepts

Cognitively Based Attitudes

based on thoughts/beliefs about an attitude object

Affectively Based Attitudes

Based on one's values/emotions

Behaviorally Based Attitudes

Based on past behaviors or behavioral intentions

Explicit Attitudes

Attitudes we are aware of and can report

Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes of which we are unaware

LaPiere Study (1934): Asian American Prejudice

Highlights a situation where attitudes and behaviors don't seem to coincide with one another. Looking at anti-Asian (particularly Chinese) prejudices across the country. In person results/ acceptances are different than on phone

Spontaneous Behavior Prediction

wasn't given a chance to think about attitudes prior- High Accessibility (important/strong) and personal experience

The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein)

Attitude → Behavior Intention → Behavior

Specific Attitudes

the more specific the attitude, the better predictor

Davidson and Jaccard Study (1979) Birth Control

Askes questions about the use of birth control pills during a two year period, and every time you reduce the clarity, you are increasing the variability

Subjective Norms

How important others think about one's behaviors

Perceived Behavioral Control

the extent to which one believes they can engage in the behavior

Persuasion involves look at

who says what to whom

Factors that change the persuasion of the persuader

Credibility, Expertise, Trustworthiness, Attractiveness, Fear

Credibility

How believable does one find the communicator to be?

Expertise

the amount of knowledge the communicator has relevant to the persuasive message

Trustworthiness

Communicator's perceived intentions; their sincerity

Self Interest

Acting contrary to one's self interest is a sign of trustworthiness

Intention to Persuade

If we believe people are not intending to persuade us, they are more persuasive

The Sleeper Effect

An initially discounted persuasive message becomes more persuasive after a delay→ believe it later when you didn't believe it initially

Requirements

(1) Think about message

(2) Given discounting cue

(3) Acknowledge inaccuracy

Study: Pratkanis Greenwald Leippie and Baumgarner: 4 Day work-week?

P's received a message on the 4 day work week followed by an editors note refuted the message's claim. P's were asked about the issue 6 weeks later and 50% remembered the message, but only 8% remembered the note

Attractiveness

People are more persuasive if they are physically attrice or similar to receiver

Fear

For fear arousing messages to be effective they must

Arouse fear (but not too much) and offer a means to avoid feared outcome

The Elaboration Likelihood Model

Audiences will follow different routes to persuasion depending on whether they are motivated and able to listen to the messages

Central Route to Persuasion

If audience is motivated and able to follow message→ Message strength and how good your argument is will determine outcome

peripheral route persuasion

If audience is either unmotivated or unable to follow the message → Peripheral cues will determine outcome

Study: Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman (1981)- Comprehensive Exams to Graduate

High relevance--> argument is more important than speaker

Low relevance--> Expertise in the key factor

Cognitive Dissonance

Unpleasant arousal occurring when two cognitions, or a cognition and a behavior, are in conflict

Means of Dissonance Reduction

Changing behavior, changing cognition, add consonant cognition, trivialize the dissonance

Dissonance and the Self-Concept

dissonance most painful when one of the cognitions is about the self