chapter 1 Flashcards
define Social Psychology
the science that studies how people think about, influence, and relate to others
what may social thinking examine?
- how we perceive ourselves and others
- what we believe
- judgements we make
- our attitudes
what might social influence consider?
- culture and biology
- pressures to conform
- persuasion
- groups of people
what may social relations consider?
- helping
- agression
- attraction and intimacy
- prejudice
what is the difference between sociology an social psychology?
social psychology focuses more on individuals, , employing methods that more often use experimentation.
what is the different between personality psychology and social psychology?
social psychology focuses less on differences among individuals and more on how individuals, in general, view and affect one another.
what are the 4 major themes in social psychology?
1) social thinking
2) social influences
3) social relations
4) applying social psychology
describe what social thinking implies
- we construct our social reality
- our social intuitions are often powerful, sometimes perilous.
describe what social influences imply
- social influences shape behaviour
- dispositions shape behaviour
describe what social relations imply
- social behaviour is also biological behaviour
- relating to others is a basic need
describe applying social psychology.
- social psychology’s principles are applicable to everyday life
when someones behaviour is consistent and distinctive what do we attribute it to?
we attribute their behaviour to their personality
what do our intuitions shape?
Our fears, impressions, and relationships?
thinking, memory, and attitudes all operate on which two levels?
1) conscious and deliberate
2) nonconscious and automatic
“dual processing”
True or False?
Human beings, in particular, are remarkably good at predicting their behaviour and emotions.
False.
People often misread their thoughts and memories, and are bad at predicting how they may feel after time has passed.
true or false?
we think and speak in words we learned from others
true.
true or false?
your culture helps define your situation.
true.
true or false?
Similar situations will almost always affect different people the same way.
False.
Facing the same situation, different people may react differently, depending on how they perceive the world, themselves, and the situation.
what do evolutionary psychologists remind us?
our inherited human nature predisposes us to behave in ways that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce.
what do evolutionary psychologists ask?
how natural selection might predispose our actions and reactions when we are dating and mating, hating and hurting, caring and sharing
according to neuroscientists, what must we do to understand social behaviour?
we must consider under-the-skin (biological) and between-the-skin (social) influences
what do stress hormones affect?
how we feel and act
what does social ostracism do?
what does social support do?
- elevates blood pressure
- strengthens the disease fighting immune system
we are bio-psycho-organisms, what does that mean?
we reflect the interplay of our biological, psychological and social influences.
define culture
The enduring behaviours, ideas, attitudes, traditions, products and institution shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
define social representations
socially shared beliefs, widely held ideas and values, including our assumptions and cultural ideologies.
- our social representation help us make sense of the world
define naturalistic fallacy
the error in defining what is good in terms of what is observable
- ex: what’s typical is normal; what’s normal is good.
Where do values lie within social psychology?
- values lie hidden within our cultural definitions of mental health, our psychological advice for living, our concepts, and our psychological labels.
which two contradictory criticisms does social psychology face?
1) it is trivial because it documents the obvious
2) it is dangerous because its findings could be used to manipulate people
true or false?
it depends, but typically once we are paid to do something, we do not enjoy it as much.
True
define hindsight bias
the tendency to exaggerate, after learning and outcome, one’s ability to have foreseen how something turned out; also know as the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon :)
true or false?
social psychologists have found that the phrase “opposites attract” to be accurate for friendships and relationships.
False.
social psychologists have found that, whether choosing friends or falling in love, we are most accurate to people whose traits are similar to our own.
- There seems to be wisdom in the old saying “birds of a feather flock together”
true or false?
common sense is predictably wrong
false.
common sense is usually right “after the fact”
what may a social psychologist do to test a hypothesis?
- social psychologists may do research that predicts behaviour using correlational studies, often conducted in natural settings
- or they may seek to explain behaviour by conducting experiments that manipulate one or more factors under controlled conditions
what do social psychologists do once they have conducted a research study?
they explore ways to apply their findings to improve people’s lives.
define hypothesis
testable propositions that describe relationships that may exist between events
define operationalization
the process while testing theories with specific hypothesis, that translates variables described at the theoretical level into specific variable that we are going to observe
what components does a good theory accomplish?
- it effectively summarizes many observations
- it makes clear predictions that we can use to do the following
- confirm or modify the theory
- generate new exploration
- suggest practical applications
true or false?
when we discard theories, it is because they have been proven false.
False.
When we discard theories, it is not because they have been proved false. Rather, like old cars, they get replaced by newer, better models.
define field research
research done in natural, real-life settings outside the laboratory
define correlational research
the study of naturally occurring relationships among variables
define experimental research
studies that seek clues to cause-effect relationships by manipulating one or more factors (independent variables) while controlling others (holding them constant)
what does psychological science reveal?
a fascinating non-conscious mind, or an intuitive backstage mind, that we don’t often realize is guiding out thoughts and behaviours.
true or false?
we are social creatures that respond to our immediate contexts.
true
- sometimes the power of a social situation overwhelms good intentions
- sometimes situations may elicit great generosity and compassion
what is social neuroscience?
An integration of biological and social perspectives that explore the neural and psychological bases of social and emotional behaviours
true or false?
every psychological event is simultaneously a biological event, therefore, we can examine the neurobiology that underlies social behaviour
true
would social psychology be considered more of a collection of findings, or a set of strategies for answering questions?
a set of strategies for answering questions
what are important time frames in social psychology?
- 1960s: aggression increase with riots and rising crime rates
- 1970s: feminist movement
- 1980s: offered a resurgence of attention to psychological aspects of the arms race
- 1990s: marked by heightened interest in how people respond to cultural diversity
- 2000s: saw substantial research on extermism and terrorism
what do certain time periods in history tell us about social psychology?
that social psychology reflects social history
when observing values, what might social psychologists investigate?
how values form, why they change, and how they influence attitudes and actions
define culture
the enduring, behaviours, ideas, attitudes. traditions, products, and institutions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
what are social representations?
socially shared beliefs; widely held ideas and values, including our assumptions and cultural ideologies
- our social representations help us make sense of our world
what is a naturalistic fallacy?
the error in defining what is good in terms of what is observable.
- ex: whats typical is normal, whats normal is good
which two contradictory criticisms does social psychology face?
1) it is trivial because it documents the obvious
2) it is dangerous because its findings could be used to manipulate people
true or false?
people have advanced skill in identifying the causes of their failure
false
- people are not very good at identifying the causes of their failure, and when they try to (and make mistakes) it can actually inhibit later performance
what is a theory?
an integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events
- a scientific shorthand
what is the difference between a fact and a theory?
facts are agreed-upon statements that we observe, theories are ideas that summarize and explain facts
what is an hypotheses?
testable propositions that describe relationships that may exist between events
true or false?
predictions give direction to research and the predictive feature of good theories can also make them practical
true
define operationalization
the process of translating variables that are described at the theoretical level into the specific variables that we are going to observe
what is field research?
research done in natural, real-life settings outside the laboratory
what is correlational research?
the study of naturally occurring relationships among variables
what is experimental research?
studies that seek to cause-effect relationships by manipulating one or more factors (independent variable) while controlling others (holding them constant)
true or false?
cause = correlation
false
what is a random sample?
a survey procedure in which every person in the population being studied has an equal chance of inclusion
to evaluate surveys, what are four potentially biasing influences?
unrepresentative samples, the order of the questions, the response options, and the wording of the questions
what are independent variables?
experimental factors that a researcher manipulates
what are dependent variables
the variable being measured, so-called because it may depend on manipulations of the independent variable
what two essential ingredients does every social-psychological experiment have?
- control
- random assignment
what is random assignment?
the process of assigning participants to the conditions of an experiment such as that all persons have the same chance of being in a given condition
what is an advantage and disadvantage to correlational research methods?
advantage: often uses real-world settings
disadvantage: causation is often ambiguous
what is an advantage and disadvantage to experimental research methods?
advantage: can explore cause and effect by controlling variables and by random assignment
disadvantage: some important variables cannot be studied with experiments
what are observational research methods?
where individuals are observed in natural settings, often without awareness, in order to provide the opportunity for objective analysis techniques to make inferences about cause and effect where a true experiment is not possible
what is mundane realism?
The degree to which an experiment is superficially similar to everyday situations
what is experimental realism?
the degree to which an experiment absorbs and involves its participants
what are demand characteristics?
cues in an experiment that tell the participant what behaviour is expected
explain informed consent
an ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough to enable them to chose whether they wish to participate
