CH 1 Flashcards
Introduction to SCCP
What is social psychology?
Scientific investigation of how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the (actual, imagined, or implied) presence of others.
Define “behavior”.
It is what people actually do, that can be objectively measured. Feelings, thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, intentions and goals.
What is the “social” aspect in social psychology?
It studies how people are affected by other people’s presence.
Define “thought”.
It is an internalized and private activity that can occur when we are alone and is based on implied presence.
Explain why is social psychology considered a science?
It uses the scientific method using empirical research to arrive at conclusions which are based on data.
What disciplines are related to social psychology?
Environmental psychology, Cognitive psychology, Economics, Individual Psychology, Social Anthropology, Sociology,…
What is the difference between social psychology and sociology or social anthropology?
The latter 2 are social sciences, while social psychology is a behavioral science. - different approaches to research
Explain confirmation bias.
It is the tendency to seek, interpret, and create information that verifies existing explanations for the cause of the event.
What are subject effects?
Subject effects are effects that are not spontaneous due to demand characteristic/participants trying to please the experimenter.
Explain demand characteristics.
Features of an experiment that seem to demand a certain response.
Explain “experimenter effects”.
These are effects produced/influenced by clues to the hypotheses under examination, accidentally communicated by the experimenter.
What are field experiments? Name advantages and disadvantages.
Field experiments are experiments outside of the lab. Participants don’t know they are being studied. High external validity, low internal validity.
What is “discourse” as a non-experimental research method?
It is a communicative event located in situational and socio-historical context.
What are the most important ethical guidelines?
Protection from harm, right to privacy, deception, informed consent, debriefing.
What is social identity theory?
Explains how behavior of people in group relates to their self-conception as group members.
What is meant by “metatheory”?
Theory about what theory/type of theory is appropriate.
What is “radical behaviorism”?
It explains observable behavior in terms of reinforcement schedules, without taking into consideration any intervening unobservable constructs.
What is “neo-behaviorism”?
It attempts to explain observable behavior in terms of contextual factors and unobservable intervening constructs such as beliefs, feelings, and motives.
What does the behaviorist perspective emphasize?
The role of situational factors and reinforcement/learning in social behaviors.
Describe briefly the reinforcement-affect model of interpersonal attraction.
It states that people grow to like other people more with whom they associate positive experiences.
Describe social exchange theory.
Social interactions depend on people’s evaluation of the rewards and costs involved.
What is social modeling?
People learn indirectly social behaviors that they see reinforced/rewarded in others.
What is “drive theory”?
The strength of a learnt response influences how well you perform when perceiving the presence of others.
How do we explain behavior with cognitive theories?
In terms of the way people actively interpret and represent their experiences and then plan action.
What are attribution theories?
They focus on how people explain the causes of their/others’ behavior.
How do we explain behavior through “evolutionary social psychology”?
Extension of evolutionary psychology which views social behavior as adaptive. Argues that much of human behavior is grounded in the past of human species.
Explain reductionism.
It offers explanation of a phenomenon in terms of the language and the concepts of a lower level of analysis. Problem: can leave the original scientific question unanswered.
What are levels of explanation?
Types of concepts, mechanisms, and language used to explain a phenomenon. If level of explanation doesn’t match the level of research question - it remains unanswered.
What are the levels of explanation in social psychology?
Intrapersonal, Interpersonal and situational, Positional, Ideological
What is “Positivism”?
Non-critical acceptance of science as the only way to arrive at true knowledge - “science as religion”
What is “Völkerpsychologie”?
early predecessor of social psychology, study of the collective mind
Which study is Sherif famous for?
Norm formation.
Which study is Asch famous for?
Group pressure.
Which study is Festinger famous for?
Cognitive dissonance.
Which study is Milgram famous for?
Obedience.
Which study is Tajfel famous for?
Group categorization - enough for discrimination. Social identity theory.
Which study is Zimbardo famous for?
Prison experiment - deindividuation - impact of roles.
Define “culture”.
It refers to different aspects of our living environment and behavior, such as patterns in social behavior, habits/traditions, social norms and rules, the organization of societies.
What is the difference between social and cross-cultural psychology?
Social - looks for similarities in behavior, cross-cultural: looks for differences between cultures.
