PSY 360 Final Exam Reflection

Thursday, May 14th, 2026

Ch. 1 Introduction to Social Psychology

naive realism (fault construal) - the common conviction we percieve things accurately, underestimating how much we are interreting

self esteem directs construals because we have a strong need to feel good which may lead to distored construals and this may justify behavior

social conition (the need to be accurate) also directs construals because we want to be accurate but information is incomplete and there’s naive realism

Ch. 2 Methodology

observational method - observe and systematically record (case study)

correlational method

• two or more variables systematically measure, along with confounds

• relationship between varaibles is mathematically predicted

• if X is ____, what can we predict Y will be _____

experimental method

• random assignment to different conditions

• conditions idential except of independent vriable

• independent variable gets manipulated to see if it has an effect on the dependent variable or outcome

Ch. 3 Social Cognition

self-fulfilling prophecy

• expecttions or schemas influence how we act toward another person

• that person behavs consistely with our expectations making the “prohpecy” come true

• “Bloomer” effect where teacher was told a certain number of students were “bloomers” and therefore the students performed beter

Ch. 4 Social Perception

attribution theory - the way in which people explain causes of their own or other people’s behavior

internal (dispositional) - attitude, character, personality

father yelling at his daughter because he’s impatient and aggressive

external (situationla) - most people would behave simiarly

father yelling at his daughter because he was keeping her from walking into the road

Ch. 5 The Self

self conceot - the overall set of beliefs people have about their personal attributes

evolves over time: 18-24 months mirror test where a child begins to touch their cheek and realize they are their own person

begins as concrete and simplistic (age, hobbies) and with age more emphasis on psychological states

Ch. 6 Cognitive Dissonance

justification of effort - the tendency for indivudals to icnrease their likin for something they have worked hard to attain, especially if they have freely chosen to exert the effort. only works if you obtain the thing you worked for

example: backpacking vs driving to the scenic veiew

Ch. 7 Attitudes

attitudes - evaluations of people, objects, ideas. not neutral or objective and may be indirectly influenced by gene

three components

• cognitive - thoughts and beliefs

• affective - emotional reactions

• behavioral - actions or observable behavior

Ch. 8 Conformity and Obedience

conformity - change in behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people. we conform due to social pressure, fear of being punished/ostrcized/ridiculed, and ambiguity of the sitution

factors increasing conformity

• situation is ambugious (most influencial)

• crisis or limited time to think

• other people percieived as experts

normative social influence - the need to be accepted, belonging is important for well-being

Ch. 9 Groups

groupthink - when maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more importnt than considering the facts in a realistic manner

predictors of group think

• highly cohesive groups or the value of group membership

• isolation from outside perspective

• directive leader

• high stress

• lack of standard methods to evaluate decisions

people are often unaware

Ch. 10 Attractions and Relationships

propinquity (proximity) - the more we see and interact with people, the more likely they are to become our friends

mere exposure effect - the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more likley we re to like it (eg. top songs on radio)

only words if the person is likeable, if exposures are unpleaant more exposure predicts greter disliking

Ch. 11 Prosocial Behavior

situational factors predicting helping behaviors

• small town vs metropolitan area

  • urban overload hypothesis: overstimulation in busier enviornments

• lower residenital mobility: attachment, interdependence, reputation

• number of bystanders (bystander effect)

bystander effect (Barley & Latane, 1968)

• discussing personal problems over intercome

• actor feigned seizure

• group size predicted helping behavior

  • bigger group, less people acted

Ch. 12 Aggression

weapons effect

• the increase in aggression due to the mere prescence of a gun orh other weapon

weapons effect replications

• play with a gun (vs a child’s toy) increased tesotsterone and the amoung ot hot sauce added to a partners drin

  • after playing with the gun more likely to put more hot sauce in their partner’s drink

  • testosterone partially mediated the effect of the gun

• driving with a gun in a passanger seat increased aggressive driving vs a tennis racket (Bushman et al., 2017)

Ch. 13 Prejudice

prejucide: a hostile or negative attitude toward people solely on their membership in a group

self-fulfilling prophecy

• experiment 1: particpants interviewed White and Black job candidates

  • more discomofort, less interest in Black candidates

• experiment 2: confederates interviewed White candidates, copying experiment 1 participants’ demeanor toward Black interviewees

  • all white interviewees rated as more nervous and less effective; conformed to low expectations