Exam 1 - 3325H

social psychology

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

experimentation

The act of trying out a new procedure, idea, or activity.
very important to social psych

H of HOMER

hypothesize

O of HOMER

operationalize

M of HOMER

measure

E of HOMER

evaluate

R of HOMER

Replicate/Revise/Report

hypothesize

theories and hypothesis

theory

an integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events

hypothesis

testable prediction about the conditions under which an event will occur
-allow us to test theories
-give new directions for research
-give us practical knowledge

how do we know a good theory?

-summarizes wide range of observations
-makes clear predictions we can use to confirm theory AND create new research
-suggests practical applications

basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base of human behavior
knowledge for knowledge's sake

applied research

use social psych theories to understand world events and social problems

conceptual definition

general, abstract definition of a variable

operational definition

specific description of a variable that allows it to be measured and/or manipulated
ex. \= love is amount of time you spend with someone on weekly basis

variables must be \____________ to conduct a useful experiment

operationalized

observational studies

watching behavior in real-life situations

advantages of observational studies

-does not bias or affect participants
-see normal behavior outside of lab

disadvantages of observational studies

ethical considerations

archival studies

existing data are used to test a hypothesis

advantages of archival studies

inexpensive, easy, unbiased

disadvantages of archival studies

may not be complete or collected correctly

surveys

representative sample of people are asked questions about various topics

advantages of surveys

quick and inexpensive

disadvantages of surveys

sample may not be representative
people may not respond honestly

random sampling

everyone in population of interest has an equal chance of being selected

correlational research

examine the extent to which two variables are associated

correlation coefficient

measures correlational relationships
+1 to -1

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

experimental research

manipulate one or more variables, while controlling for others, in order to test for cause and effect relationships

advantages of experimental research

can make statements about cause and effect relationships

disadvantage of experimental research

some important variables cannot be studied with experiments

independent variables

manipulated to determine whether it affects the dependent variable

subject variable

when characteristics of participants are treated like independent variables

dependent variable

variable that is measured to determine whether it is affected by the manipulation

random assignment

randomly sorting participants into two groups

experimental group

receives treatment manipulation

control group

does not receive treatment manipulation

internal validity

degree to which you are certain that the independent variable cause the change in the dependent variable

external validity

degree to which you are certain that the results of a study could be generalized to other populations

how to ensure ethical treatment of participants

-informed consent
-use deception ONLY when necessary
-protect participants from harm
-keep info confidential
-debrief participants

self concept

total beliefs you have about yourself and can communicate to others

self complexity

the tendency to define the self in terms of multiple domains that are relatively distinct from one another in content

possible selves

images of who we wish to be and who we fear being
these motivate us

introspection

looking inward to examine thoughts, feelings, and motives

affective forecasting

people have difficulty predicting the intensity and duration of future emotions

self perception theory

when we are unsure, we look to our own behavior to infer our motives
behavior before emotions

facial feedback hypothesis

changes in facial expression can lead to corresponding changes in emotion

Pen in mouth experiment

shown to induce happiness, fear, anger, sadness

social comparisons

judgments of one's own appearance, abilities, and behavior in relation to those of others

upward comparisons

comparing oneself to another person who is more competent or in a better situation, which tends to confirm a person's low self-esteem

downward comparisons

Comparing oneself to another person who is less competent or in a worse situation, which tends to protect a person's high self-esteem.

flashbulb memory

enduring, detailed memories of important events

individualism

giving priority to one's own goal over group goals

collectivisim

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly

colored pen study

individualistic cultures chose the uniquely colored pen
collectivist cultures chose common pen color

self esteem

a person's overall positive and negative self-evaluation or sense of self-worth

sociometer theory

a theory linking level of self-esteem with level of belongingness

terror management theory

cope with fear of death by constructing worldviews that help to preserve our self-esteem

self-discrepancy theory

theory of how we come to have high/low self esteem
actual self
ought self
ideal self

actual self

who you actually are

ought self

who you ought to be (other people's expectations)

ideal self

who you would ideally be (your own expectations)

actual-ought discrepancy

creates guilt, shame, anxiety

actual-ideal discrepancy

Creates disappointment, frustration

self-awareness theory

the idea that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and values

private self-consciousness

inner thoughts and feelings

public self-consciousness

thinking about how others perceive you

forehead "E" study

did people make the "E" visible to observers or themselves?

4 methods of self-enhancements

1. self serving bias
2. self handicapping
3. BIRGing
4. Downward social comparisons

self-serving bias

blame failures on external events but take credit for successes

self-handicapping

protecting one's self-image by creating obstacles to performance in order to have an excuse if you fail

BIRGing

increase self-esteem by associating with others who are successful
College t-shirt study

self-monitoring

personality characteristic where one adjusts their self-presentation in order to create desired impression

attribution

inference about the cause of someone's behaavior

dispositional attributions

behavior is based on internal characteristics
caused by something about the person

situational attributions

behavior reflects external circumstances
caused by something about the situation

covariation theory

can attribute behavior of someone else to something about the person, situation, or general circumstances

three types of information to make attributions

1. consistency
2. distinctiveness
3. consensus

consistency

how consistent is this behavior?

distinctiveness

how specific is the person's behavior to this situation?

consensus

would other people behave in the same way?

dispositional attribution

high consistency + low distinctiveness + low consensus

situational attribution

high consistency + high distinctiveness + high consensus

if consistency is low, behavior is attributed to

transient circumstances

fundamental attribution error

tendency to overestimate personality factors and underestimate situational factors when making attributions about others behavior

I Love Fidel Castro Study

-people are asked to write an essay in favor or against castro
-1/2 given choice on position to take
-1/2 assigned to position
observers read essay and guess how much essay writer likes castro

Why do we make the fundamental attribution error?

1. it's comforting (person cause situation bc of their personality)
2. perceptual salience

perceptual salience

focus on other people's personalities (not the environment around them)

cognition

how we perceive, remember, and interpret information

social cognition

how we perceive, remember, and interpret information about ourselves and others

Dartmouth vs. Princeton football study

-showed game to both school's students
-asked students to indicate number of penalties
-saw more penalties committed by the opponent

bottom-up processing

the analysis of the smaller features to build up to a complete perception
guided by present stimuli

top-down processing

a progression from the whole to the elements
guided by prior knowledge

schemas

mental frameworks
organize old and new information/knowledge

person schema

personality traits and goals

self schema

information about the self

roles schema

how people generally act

event schema

what is expected in some setting

group schema

information about stereotypes