Chapter 1 - Introduction to Social Psychology

Question 1

Social Psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people

Question 2

Social Influence

Answer 2

the effects that the words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior

Question 3

Evolutionary Psychology (evolutionary theory)

Answer 3

attempts to explain social behavior in terms of genetic factors that have evolved over time according to the principles of natural selection

Question 4

Construal

Answer 4

how people perceive, comprehend, and interpret the social world

Question 5

What is the level of analysis in social psychology

Answer 5

the individual in the context of a social situation (the individual’s construal of the situation)

Question 6

What is the goal of social psychology

Answer 6

to identify psychological properties that make almost everyone vulnerable to social influence, regardless of social class or culture

Question 7

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 7

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which people’s behavior is due to internal, dispositional factors and to underestimate the role of situational factors

Question 8

Who is the founding father of modern experimental social psychology

Answer 8

Kurt Lewin

Question 9

What 2 central motives steer people’s construal

Answer 9

• the need to feel good about ourselves (self-esteem)
• the need to be accurate (social cognition)