Chapter One Flashcards
(19 cards)
Social Psychology
The scientific study of the causes and consequences of people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, regarding themselves and other people
The 3 Theories of What Causes Human Behaviour
Instincts, unconscious drives and the environment (behaviourism)
Social Cognition
The way an individual understands his or her own social world
Social Cognition Perspective
How people perceive, remember, and interpret events and individuals, including themselves, in their social world
The 4 Core Assumptions of Behaviour
- Behaviour is a joint product of the person and the situation
- Behaviour depends on a socially constructed view of reality
- Behaviour is strongly influenced by our social cognition
- The best way to understand our behaviour is to use the scientific method
Attribution Theory
People act as intuitive scientist when they observe other people’ behaviour and infer explanations as to why those people acted the way they did
Casual 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
Introspection
Asking ourselves or others about the causes of behaviour may provide insight into behaviour
Intuitive Observation
Some people are cognitive misers, there are major pitfalls in relying on intuitive observation as our observations are unique and have limited perspectives, our reasoning can lead to confirmation bias (what we wanted it to be)
Scientific Method
Theory (possible explination), research (evaluation of theories), and hypothesis (why the theory is correct or not)
Stereotype Threat Theory
Conditions that bring a stereotype to mind contribute to poor performance among members of various stigmatized groups
Two Hypotheses From Stereotype Threat Theory
The more the person is conscious of their group’s negative stereotype, the worse they will perform in areas related to the stereotype. Situations that call to mind a negative stereotype of a person’s group will lead that person to perform worse than situations that do not.
Correlational Method
Research in which two or more variables are measured and compared to determine to what extent, if any, they are associated
Correlation Coefficient
A positive or negative numerical value that shows the direction and strength of a relationship between two variables
Experimental Method
A study where a researcher manipulates a variable, measures possible effects on another variable, and tries to hold all other variables constant
Internal Validity
A judgement that, for a particular experiment, it is possible to conclude that the manipulated independent variable caused the change in the measured dependent variable
Causal Inferences of the Experimental Method
-Controlling impact of individual differences by random assignment
-Eliminates a causal sequence problem by design
-Holds other variables constant removes a third-variable problem
-Controls for individual differences
What Are The Limitations To Science
- There are aspects of reality that humans cannot know
- The scientific method may be objective; human researchers who apply may not be objective
- Not all questions can be answered scientifically
- Human values exert influence on the condition of science
