Social Psychology Chapter 1

Vocab from Chapter 1

social psychology

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

social neuroscience

an interdisciplinary field that explores the neural bases of social and emotional processes and behaviors affect our brain and biology

hindsight bias

the tendency to exaggerate, after learning an outcome, one’s ability to have foreseen how something turned out. Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along-phenomenon

theory

an integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events

hypothesis

a testable proposition that describes a relationship that may exist between events

random sampling

survey procedure in which every person in the population being studied has an equal chance of inclusion

sample size

the number of participants in a study

framing

the way a question or an issue is posed; it can influence people’s decisions and expressed opinions

correlational relationship

the study of the naturally occurring relationships among variable

experimental research

studies that seek clues to cause—effect relationships by manipulating one or more factors (independent variables) while controlling others (holding them constant)

random assignment

the process of assigning participants to the conditions of an experiment such that all persons have the chance of being in a given condition. (Note the distinction between random assignment in experiments and random sampling in surveys. Random assignment helps us infer cause and affect. Random sampling helps us generalize to a population)

independent variable

the experimental factor that a researcher manipulates

dependent variable

the variable being measured

replication

repeating a research study, often with different participants in different settings, to determine whether a finding could be reproduced

meta analysis

a “study of studies” that statistically summarizes many studies on the same topic

mundane realism

degree to which an experiment is superficially similar to everyday situations

experimental realism

degree to which an experiment absorbs and involves its participants

deception

in research, a strategy by which participants are misinformed or misled about the study’s methods and purposes

demand characteristics

cues in an experiment that tell the participant what behavior is expected

informed consent

an ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

debriefing

in social psychology, the postexperimental explanation of a study to its participants. It usually discloses any deception and often queries participants regarding their understandings and feelings