Psychological Terms and Concepts
Correlational Research
- Study assessing the relationship between two variables.
- Does not imply causation.
Key Concepts in Research Design
- Culture: Shared beliefs and practices of a group.
- Demand Characteristics: Cues that suggest how participants should behave.
- Dependent Variable: The factor measured in an experiment.
- Experimental Realism: The degree to which an experiment is engaging.
- Experimental Research: Involves manipulation of variables to determine causation.
- Field Research: Conducted in real-world settings outside of a laboratory.
Cognitive Biases and Heuristics
- Hindsight Bias: Believing an event was predictable after it has occurred.
- Hypotheses: Testable predictions.
- Independent Variables: The factor manipulated in experiments.
Psychological Constructs
- Informed Consent: Ethical requirement for participants' agreement to participate.
- Mundane Realism: The extent to which the experimental environment resembles the real world.
- Naturalistic Fallacy: Assumption that what is natural is inherently good.
Research Methods
- Observational Research: Involves careful observation of behavior.
- Random Assignment: Participants are assigned to conditions by chance.
- Random Sample: A subset of individuals chosen randomly from a larger population.
Social Psychology Constructs
- Social Neuroscience: Exploration of how biological and social processes interact.
- Social Representations Theory: The way people make sense of the world.
- Collectivism: Valuing group over individual needs.
- Defensive Pessimism: Strategy of anticipating failure to manage anxiety.
Self-Concept and Identity
- Self-Concept: How one perceives oneself.
- Self-Efficacy: Belief in one's capabilities.
- Self-Esteem: Evaluation of oneself positively or negatively.
- Self-Handicapping: Creating obstacles to success to protect self-esteem.
Attribution and Processing Biases
- Self-Serving Attribution: Tendency to attribute successes to oneself and failures to external factors.
- Attribution Theory: Explains how individuals determine the cause of behavior.
- Fundamental Attribution Error: Overemphasizing personal traits over situational factors.
Persuasion and Social Influence
- Central Route to Persuasion: Involves deep processing of information.
- Peripheral Route to Persuasion: Affects attitudes through superficial cues.
- Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon: Agreeing to a small request increases likelihood of agreeing to a larger request later.
- Door-in-the-Face Technique: Making a large request first to increase chance of compliance with a smaller request later.
Group Behavior
- Groupthink: Cohesive group's desire for unanimity overrides rational decision-making.
- Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups.
- Social Loafing: Reduced effort when working in a group.
Aggression and Prosocial Behavior
- Aggression: Behavior intended to harm.
- Frustration-Aggression Theory: Frustration leads to aggression.
- Bystander Effect: Individuals are less likely to help when others are present.
- Altruism: Selfless concern for the well-being of others.
Love and Relationships
- Need to Belong: Fundamental human motivation to form relationships.
- Two-Factor Theory of Emotion: Emotion is based on physiological arousal and cognitive label.
- Passionate Love: Intense emotional and sexual attraction.
Prejudice and Discrimination
- Racism: Belief in the superiority of one race over another.
- In-Group Bias: Favoring members of one's own group.
- Stereotype Threat: Fear of confirming negative stereotypes may hinder performance.
Conflict Resolution
- GRIT: A strategy for reducing tension in conflicts through reciprocation.
- Mediation: Intervention in a dispute to resolve it.
- Superordinate Goals: Goals that require cooperation and benefit all parties.