Chapter 2: Social Psychology Methodology

Vocabulary flashcards covering social psychology research methods, experimental variables, validity, intervention science, and research ethics.

Scientific Method

A cumulative process where observations, past studies, and speculations lead to theories, which are used to generate specific testable hypotheses tested through systematic data collection and analysis.

Diffusion of Responsibility

A phenomenon studied by Latané and Darley (inspired by the Kitty Genovese incident) using observational, correlational, and experimental methods to explain bystander apathy and how to overcome it.

Hypothesis

Specific predictions about what the answer to a research question will be.

Operationalization

The process of identifying how you will observe, measure, or manipulate the concepts in research questions.

Observational Method

A research technique where a researcher observes people and systematically records measurements or impressions of their behavior to describe the nature of a phenomenon.

Correlational Method

A research design where two or more variables are systematically measured to assess the relationship between them and determine how much one variable can be predicted from another.

Correlation Coefficient

A numerical statistic quantifying the relationship between two variables, ranging from $-1$ to $+1$, where the sign indicates direction and the magnitude indicates strength.

Experimental Method

A research method in which participants are randomly assigned to different conditions that are identical except for the independent variable, allowing researchers to draw conclusions about causality.

Independent Variable

The variable a researcher changes or varies in an experiment to determine if it has an effect on another variable.

Dependent Variable

The variable a researcher measures to see if it is influenced by changes in the independent variable.

Internal Validity

Ensuring that nothing besides the independent variable can affect the dependent variable, achieved by controlling extraneous variables and randomly assigning participants to conditions.

External Validity

The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations (real life) and other people.

Cross-Cultural Research

Research conducted with members of different cultures to determine whether specific psychological processes are universal or culture-specific.

Field Experiments

Experiments conducted in natural, real-world settings rather than in a laboratory, where participants are typically unaware that they are taking part in a study.

Basic Dilemma of the Social Psychologist

The trade-off described by Aronson and Carlsmith (1968) noting the difficulty of conducting a single experiment that is both high in internal validity and generalizable to other situations and people.

Replications

Repeating a study, often with different subject populations or in different settings, serving as a primary test of external validity.

Meta-Analysis

A statistical procedure that averages the results of two or more studies to evaluate whether the effect of an independent variable is reliable, serving as a test of internal validity.

Intervention Science

A systematic approach for applying knowledge from social psychology and other sciences to address real-world social problems.

Basic Research

Studies designed to find out why people behave as they do, conducted purely for intellectual curiosity.

Applied Research

Studies specifically designed to solve a particular social problem.

Intervention Tournaments

A methodology for rapidly comparing the effectiveness of multiple interventions simultaneously by evaluating multiple experimental conditions against a single control condition.

Wise Interventions

Interventions aimed at altering the meaning people ascribe to themselves and their environments to foster permanent psychological change and self-sustaining behavioral shifts.

Informed Consent

Agreement to participate in an experiment given with full awareness of the nature of the study, explained to participants in advance.

Deception

Misleading participants about the true purpose of a study or the events that will occur, used only when essential to test a hypothesis.

Debriefing

The procedure at the conclusion of an experiment where researchers explain the true purpose of the study and exact procedures to the participants.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A panel consisting of at least one scientist, one nonscientist, and one non-affiliated member that reviews and approves research protocols before execution to protect participant safety and dignity.