Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is social psychology?
A branch of psychology dedicated to the study of how people think about, influence and relate to each other.
What is a theory?
A set of principles that aim to explain a phenomenon.
What is critical social psychology?
An alternative to mainstream social psychology arguing that mainstream social psychology is limited by its focus on “universals” of human nature, which do not exist.
What is volkerpsychologie?
The late 19th century precursor to social psychology; study of the collective mind.
What is gestalt psychology?
Approach proposing that objects are views in a holistic sense.
What is force field analysis?
Gestalt framework developed by Kurt Lewin to explain human dynamics.
What is positive social psychology?
Branch of social psychology that focuses on what makes people happy and what contributes to life satisfaction.
What is the hindsight bias?
The tendency for people to see an outcome as inevitable once the actual outcome is known.
What is discursive psychology?
Language is viewed as social action, through which people construct their social world.
What is social constructionism?
Approach emphasizing the way social phenomena develop in social contexts.
What is postmodernism?
An intentional departure from previously dominant approaches of enquiry, emphasizing that apparent realities are only social constructs and are therefore subject to change.
What is social representation?
Socially shared beliefs or widely shared ideas and values associated with our cultures.
What are demand characteristics?
Aspects of a study that participants may interpret as “demanding” a particular response.
What is a field experiment?
An experiment that is set up in the “real world”. Participants are typically unaware that they are participating in an experiment.
What is participant observation?
Research technique in which researchers observe natural behaviour without intervening. It is often referred to as the field study method.
