Ch 1: Intro To Social Psychology Flashcards
Theory
Scientific explanation that connects and organizes existing observations and suggests fruitful paths for future research
Social Psychology
The scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior’s are influenced by other people
Sociocultural Perspective
The theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in influences form lager social groups
Social Norm
A rule or expectation for appropriate social behavior
Culture
The beliefs, customs, habits, and languages shared by the people living in a particular place and time
Evolutionary Perspective
A theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and psychological predispositions that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce
Natural Selection
The process by which characteristics that help animals survive and reproduce are passed on to their offspring
Adaptation
A characteristic that is well designed to help an animal survive and reproduce in a particular environment
Social Learning Perspective
A theoretical viewpoint that focuses on past learning experiences as determinants of a person’s social behaviors
Social Cognitive Perspective
A theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, and remembering social experiences
Person
Features of characteristics that individuals carry into social situations
Situation
Environmental events or circumstances outside the person
Hypothesis
A researcher’s prediction about what he/she will find
Descriptive Method
Procedure for measuring or recording behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in their natural environment (including naturalistic observations, case studies, archival studies, surveys, and psychological tests)
Experimental Method
Procedure for uncovering casual processes by systematically manipulating some aspect of illusion
Naturalistic Observation
Recording everyday behaviors as they unfold in their natural settings
Observer Bias
Error introduced in2 measurement when an observer overemphasizes behaviors he/she expects to find and fails notice behaviors he/she doesn’t expect
Case Study
An intensive examination of an individual or group
Generalizability
The extent to which the findings of a particular research study extend to other similar circumstances or cases
Archival Method
Examination is systematic data collected for other purposes (such as marriages, licenses, or arrest records)
Survey Method
A technique in which the researcher asks people to report on their beliefs, feelings, or behaviors
Social Desirability Bias
The tendency for people to say what thy believe is appropriate or discussable
Representative Sample
A group of respoondants having characteristics that match those of the later population the researcher wants to describe
Psychological Test
Instrument for assessing a person’s abilities, cognitions, or motivations
Reliability
The consistency of the score yielded by a psychological test
Validity
The extent to which a test measures what it’s designed to measure
Correlation
The extent to which two or more variables are associated with one another
Correlation Coefficient
A mathematical expression of the relationship b/w two variables
Experiment
A research method in which the researcher sets out to systematically manipulate one source of influence while holding others constant
Independent Variable
The variable manipulated by the experimenter
Dependent Variable
The variable measured by the experimenter
Random Assignment
The practice of assigning participants to treatments so each person has an equal chance of being in any condition
Internal Validity
The extent to which an experiment allows confident statements about cause and effect
Confound
A variable that systematically hanged along with the independent variable, potentially leading to mistaken conclusion about the effect of the independent variable
External Validity
The extent to which the results of an experiment can be generalized to other circumstances
Demand Characteristics
Cue that makes participants aware of how the experimenter expects them to behave
Field Experimentation
The manipulation of independent variables using unknowing participants in natural settings
Debriefing
A discussion of procedures, hypotheses, & participant reactions at the completion of the study
