Chapter 1 Flashcards
Social Psychology
The scientific study of the causes and consequences of people thoughts, feelings, and actions regarding themselves and other people
Social cognition
the way an individual understands his or her own social world
Social cognition perspective
A view that focuses on how people perceive, remember, and interpret events and individuals, including themselves, in their social world
Evolutionary perspective
A view that humans are a species of animal and that their social behavior is a consequence of particular evolved adaptions
Cultural persepctive
a view that focuses on the influence of culture on thought, feeling, and behavior.
Cultural animals
Humans are animals who view reality through a set of symbols provided by the culture in which they are raised
Existential perspective
A view that focuses on the cognitive, affective, and behavioral consequences of basic aspects of the human condition such as the knowledge of mortality, the desire for meaning, and the precarious nature of identity.
Neuroscience perspective
The study of the neural processes that occur during social judgment and behavior. Neuroscience involves assessments of brain waves, brain imaging, and cardiovascular functioning.
Dispositions
Consistent preference, ways of thinking, and behavioral tendencies that manifest across varying situations and over time.
Scientific method
The process of developing, testing, and refining theories to understand the determinants of social behavior
Attribution theory
The view that people act as intuitive scientist when they observe other people behavior and infer explanations as tho why those people acted the way they did.
Causal attributions
Explanations of why an individual engaged in a particular action
Cultural knowledge
A vast store of information, accumulated within a culture, that explains how the world works and why things happen as they do
A priori casual theories
Preexisting theories, acquired from culture or factors that are particularly prominent in conscious attention at the moment.
Cognitive misers
A term that conveys the human tendency to avoid expending effort and cognitive resources when thinking and to prefer seizing on quick and easy answers to questions.
Confirmation bias
The tendency to view events and people in ways that fit how we want and expect them to be
Confederate
A supposed participant in a research study who actually is working with experimenters, unknown to the real participant.
Theory
An explanation for how and why variables are related to each other
Research
the process whereby scientist observe events, look for patterns, and evaluate theories proposed to explain those patterns
Hypothesis
An “if then” statement that follows logically from a theory and specifies how certain variables should relate to each other if the theory is correct
Correlational method
Research in which two or more variables are measured and compared to determine to what extend if any they are associated
Correlational coefficent
A positive or negative numerical value that shows the direction and strength of a relationship between two variables
Reverse causality problem
A correlation between variables x and y may occur because one causes the other, but it is often impossible to determine if x causes y or if y causes x.
Third variable problem
The possibility that two variables may be correlated but do not exert a causal influence on one another;rather, both are caused by some additional variable
Longitudinal studies
Studies in which variables are measured in the same individual over two or more periods of time, typically over months or years.
Experimental method
a study in which a researcher manipulates a variable IV, measures possible effects on another variable DV, and tries to hold all other variable constant
Internal validity
The judgement that for a particular experiment it is possible to conclude that the manipulated independent variable caused the change in the measured dependent variable.
Interaction
A pattern of results in which the effect of one independent variable on the dependent variable depends on the level of a second independent variable.
Random assignment
A procedure in which participants are assigned to conditions in such a way that each person has an equal chance of being in any condition of an experiment.
Field research
Research that occurs outside the laboratory, for example, in schools, office building, medical clinics, football games, or even in shopping malls or on street corners
Quasi-experimental designs
Type of research in which groups of participants are compared on some dependent variable, but for practical or ethical reason, the groups are not formed on the basis of random assignment.
Operational definition
A specific, concrete method of measuring or manipulation a conceptual variable
Construct validity
The degree to which the dependent measure assess what it intends to assess or the manipulation manipulates what it intends to manipulate
Confound
A variable other than the conceptual variable intended to be manipulated that may be responsible for the effect on the dependent variable, making alternative explanations possible.
Conceptual replication
The repetition of a study with different operationalizations of the crucial variables but yielding similar results
External validity
The judgment that a research finding can be generalized to other people, in other settings, at other times.
Cover story
An explanation of the purpose of the study that is different from the true purpose.
Demand characteristics
Aspects of a study that give away its purpose or communicate how the participant is expected to behave
Experimenter bias
The possibility that the experimenter’s knowledge of the condition a particular participant is in could affect her behavior toward the participant and thereby introduce a confounding variable to the independent variable manipulation.
Debriefing
At the end of a study, the procedure in which participants are assess for suspicion and then receive a gentle explanation of the true nature of the study in a manner that counteracts any negative effects of the study experience.
