104S Midterm Study guide WINTER 2026

What is social psychology?

The scientific study of how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others.

What distinguishes social psychology from abnormal psychology?

Social psychology focuses on everyday behavior rather than pathology or mental disorder.

How does social psychology differ from personality psychology?

Personality psychology focuses on stable individual differences, whereas social psychology focuses on how situations influence behavior.

How does social psychology differ from sociology?

Social psychology studies individual behavior in social contexts, while sociology studies groups, institutions, and societies.

What does the "real or imagined presence of others" mean?

Social influence can occur even when others are not physically present but are psychologically salient.

What is the person × situation matrix?

A framework showing how behavior results from the interaction between individual differences and situational forces.

Which part of the person × situation matrix does social psychology emphasize?

The columns (situations), explaining why people behave similarly in the same context.

Which part does personality psychology emphasize?

The rows (people), explaining consistent differences across situations.

What is Aronson's First Law of Social Psychology?

"People who do crazy things are not necessarily crazy."

What is construal?

The subjective interpretation of a situation rather than its objective features.

Why is construal important in social psychology?

People respond to what situations mean to them, not to objective reality.

What is the Thomas Theorem?

If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.

Why is culture central to social psychology?

Humans are cultural animals whose beliefs and behaviors are shaped by shared norms and values.

What is individualism?

A cultural orientation emphasizing independence and personal goals.

What is collectivism?

A cultural orientation emphasizing interdependence and group goals.

How does natural selection relate to social behavior?

Many social behaviors serve adaptive functions shaped by evolutionary pressures.

Does an evolutionary perspective imply genetic determinism?

No, evolution is compatible with cultural and situational influences.

Why are humans considered "ultra-social"?

Humans depend heavily on social relationships for survival and functioning.

What are the three goals of science?

Description, prediction, and explanation.

What does scientific explanation aim to uncover?

Causal relationships.

What is correlational research?

Research that measures variables without manipulating them.

What can correlational research determine?

The direction and strength of a relationship.

Why can't correlational studies establish causation?

Because of the third variable problem.

What is the third variable problem?

An unmeasured variable may cause both correlated variables.

What is experimental research?

Research that manipulates an independent variable to observe its effect on a dependent variable.

Why can experiments establish causation?

Because they control confounds through random assignment.

What is random assignment?

Assigning participants to conditions by chance to equalize preexisting differences.

How does random assignment differ from random sampling?

Random assignment improves internal validity; random sampling improves external validity.

What is internal validity?

The degree to which changes in the DV are caused by the IV.

What is external validity?

The degree to which results generalize to real-world settings.

What is the validity tradeoff?

Increasing internal validity often reduces external validity, and vice versa.

What is reliability?

The consistency of a measurement.

What is a confound?

A variable that varies with the IV and provides an alternative explanation.

What are extraneous variables?

Variables that could potentially influence the DV.

What is operationalization?

Translating abstract concepts into measurable procedures.

What is participant reactivity?

Changes in behavior due to awareness of being studied.

What is the Müller-Lyer illusion?

A perceptual illusion demonstrating how experience shapes perception.

Why is the Müller-Lyer illusion relevant to social psychology?

It shows how perception is influenced by environmental and cultural experience.

What is conformity?

Adjusting behavior to align with group norms.

What is compliance?

Changing behavior in response to a direct request.

What is obedience?

Following orders from an authority figure.

What are descriptive norms?

Perceptions of what people typically do.

What are injunctive norms?

Perceptions of what people approve or disapprove of.

What is normative social influence?

Conforming to be liked or avoid rejection.

What is informational social influence?

Conforming because others are seen as a source of accurate information.

When is informational influence strongest?

When uncertainty is high.

When is normative influence strongest?

When social acceptance is important.

How does group size affect conformity?

Conformity increases as group size increases, up to a point.

How does unanimity affect conformity?

Conformity decreases when unanimity is broken.

How does task difficulty affect conformity?

More difficult tasks increase conformity.

How does anonymity affect conformity?

Anonymity reduces conformity for undesirable behaviors but increases it for desirable behaviors.

How does group cohesion affect conformity?

Greater cohesion increases conformity.

How does culture affect conformity?

Collectivist cultures show higher conformity than individualist cultures.

What is automatic mimicry?

Unconscious imitation of others' behaviors.

Why does automatic mimicry occur?

It facilitates social bonding and affiliation

Are there cultural differences in automatic mimicry?

Yes, it is more common in collectivist cultures.

What did Garfinkel's breaching studies demonstrate?

Social norms become visible when they are violated.

What did Middlemist et al.'s urinal study show?

Increased social density increases arousal and reduces personal space tolerance.

What did Sherif's autokinetic study demonstrate?

Informational social influence under ambiguity.

What did Asch's line studies demonstrate?

Normative social influence in clear situations.

What happens to conformity when unanimity is broken in Asch's paradigm?

Conformity drops dramatically.

What did Milgram's obedience studies demonstrate?

Ordinary people will obey authority figures even when actions conflict with moral beliefs.

What situational factors increased obedience in Milgram's studies?

Authority proximity, legitimacy, and diffusion of responsibility.

What are the psychological effects of social exclusion?

Anxiety, lowered self-esteem, and feelings of rejection.

What are the physical effects of social exclusion?

Activation of brain regions associated with physical pain.

What is authority?

Legitimate power to influence behavior.

What is dominance?

Power through coercion or intimidation.

What is power?

Control over resources or outcomes.

What is group polarization?

Group discussion leading to more extreme positions.

What is the risky shift?

Tendency for groups to make riskier decisions than individuals.

What is social facilitation?

Improved performance on well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

How does social facilitation affect new tasks?

Performance is impaired.

What did Triplett's study demonstrate?

Social facilitation improves performance on simple tasks.

What did Diener et al.'s Halloween study demonstrate?

Deindividuation increases antisocial behavior.

What is deindividuation?

Loss of self-awareness and accountability in groups.

What is groupthink?

Faulty decision-making due to pressure for consensus.

What is pluralistic ignorance?

Misjudging others' beliefs and privately rejecting norms while publicly conforming.

What is social loafing?

Reduced individual effort in group tasks.

What is the approach/inhibition theory?

Power increases approach behavior and reduces inhibition.

What is the distraction-conflict theory?

Presence of others creates attentional conflict that affects performance.

What are the three components of attitudes?

Affective, cognitive, and behavioral.

What is the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)?

A model describing two routes to persuasion.

What is the central route to persuasion?

Persuasion through careful thought and argument evaluation.

When is the central route most likely?

When motivation and ability are high.

What is the peripheral route to persuasion?

Persuasion through cues unrelated to message quality.

When is the peripheral route most likely?

When motivation or ability is low.

What source characteristics increase persuasion?

Credibility, expertise, and likability.

What message characteristics increase persuasion?

Strong arguments and emotional appeals.

What audience characteristics increase persuasion?

High involvement and relevance.

Is subliminal persuasion effective?

Only weakly and primarily at the affective level.

When is subliminal priming most effective?

When stimuli are relevant to current goals.

How is fear used in persuasion?

To increase motivation to process messages.

When do fear appeals backfire?

When people feel unable to effectively respond.

What theory links fear and efficacy?

Protection Motivation Theory

What is cognitive dissonance?

Psychological discomfort from holding inconsistent beliefs or behaviors.

When is dissonance strongest?

When behavior is freely chosen and insufficiently justified.

What did Festinger and Carlsmith's study show?

People change attitudes to justify behavior when external justification is low.

What is effort justification?

Valuing outcomes more when effort is high.

What is self-perception theory?

Inferring attitudes from behavior when arousal is low.

How does self-perception differ from dissonance theory?

It does not require discomfort.