Exam 1 (Chapters 2-4) Flashcards
Define Basic Research
Studies designed to understand nature of human behavior
What is an example of basic research?
Why people may not help in a situation
Define Applied Research
Studies designed to solve social problems
What is a hypothesis?
Prediction of what will be found in study (must be testable)
Where do research ideas come from?
-Inspiration from previous research + theories
-personal Observations
Define Diffusion Responsibility
The more ppl are around, the less likely for sum1 to get help or help
What causes diffusion responsibility?
the thought that someone has alr gotten help and bc they don’t feel responsible
What are the three types of research methods?
-Observational
-Correlational
-Experimental
Define Observational Research
A study design/method where researcher observes ppl + systematically records measurements/impressions of their behavior
What are two types of observational research?
-Ethnography
-Archival Analysis
Define Ethnography
Method where researchers attempt to understand a group/culture by observing them from inside w/o imposing any notions
Define Archival Analysis
Form of observational research where researcher examines the accumulated documents/archives of culture (not observing real-time but studies records of ppl)
What are some examples of Archival Analysis?
-Diaries
-Novels
-Magazines
-Records/Documents
What are some limitations of the observational research method?
-Some behaviors/social situations are difficult to observe
-can’t predict/explain causes of behavior
Define Correlational Research
Study design/method where researcher systematically measures 2 or more variables + asses the relation btwn the variables
What are the 4 types of correlations?
-Positive
-Negative
-No
-Correlation Coefficient
Define Positive Correlations
Increase in 1 variable, causing the other variable to also increase
Define Negative Correlations
Increases in one variable, while the other goes down
Define No Correlation
No relation btwn two variables (no Pattern)
Define Correlation Coefficient
Statistical technique that assess how well you can predict one variable from another (coefficients range from -1.0 to 1.0)
Define Survey
Research in which a representation sample of ppl are asked questions abt attitudes/behaviors (often anonymously)
what are some advantages of surveys?
-studies variables that are difficult to observe
-can sample representative segments of the population
Define Random Selection
Every one has the chance to be in the study (all population has an equal chance of being selected for a sample)
What are some disadvantages of Surveys?
-Sampling Errors
-Problems w/ accuracy on responses
What are limitations of correctional method?
Correlation does not = Causation
Define Experimental Research
Study design in which the researcher randomly assigns participants to diff. Conditions + ensures conditions are identical except for independent variable
Define an experiment
Researchers must have all following criteria in an experiment to manipulate a variable
Define Internal Validity
making sure nothing but independent variable affected dependent variable
How can one increase internal validity?
-Randomly assign ppl in different conditions
-Keeping everything the same
Define External Validity
Extended which results of study can be generalized to other situations + ppl
What are 2 types of generalizability?
-Across Situations
-Across People
Define Generalizability across situations
Extent to which we can generalize from the situation constructed by experiment to real life
Define Psychological Realism
Psychological process triggered in experiment are similar to psychological process that occur in everyday life
Define Generalization across people
Where we can generalize from ppl who participate in experiments to ppl in general
Define replication
Repeating study w/ different populations or different settings
Define Field Experiments
Conducted in natural settings rather than in a laboratory
Define informed consent
An agreement to participate in an experiment, granted in full awareness of nature of the experiment which they were explained in advance
Define Deception
Researches mislead participants abt the true purpose of a study or events that will transpire
Define Debriefing
Explaining to participants at the end of the experiment the true purpose and what happened f
Define Social Cognition
How people select, use remember and interpret info to make judgements and decisions
What are the types of cognition?
-Automatic
-Controlled
Define Automatic thinking
Thinking that is non-conscious, unintentional, involuntary and effortless
What are some examples of Automatic thinking?
Brushing teeth, showering, and getting dressed
Define Schemas
Mental structures that organize knowledge abt social world and can influence the info we notice, think about and remember
Why do we have schemas?
-make life easier
-Help reduce confusion or ambiguity
Define Accessibility
Extend which schema + concepts are at forefront of ppl’s mind and therefore likely used when making judgement abt social world
What are the two types of accessibility?
-Chronic Accessibility
-Temporary Accessibility
Define Chronic Accessibility
Constantly active and ready to use to interpret ambiguous situations (always at forefront of your mind)
Define Temporary Accessibility
-not always accessible
-triggered/activated by something the person has been thinking/doing before encountering event
Define Priming
The process by which recent experiences increases the accessibility of a schema, trait or concept
Define Judgmental Heuristics
Mental shortcuts or rules people often use to make judgment quickly and efficiently
What are two types of judgmental heuristics?
-Availability
-Representative
Define Availability Heuristic
A mental rule of thumb whereby people base a judgement on the ease w/ which they can bring something to mind
Define Representative Heuristic
A mental shortcut whereby people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case
Define underestimate base rate info
Info about the frequency of members of different categories in the population
Define Analytic thinking
Type of thinking in which people focus on properties of objects w/o considering surrounding context
Define Holistic thinking
Type of thinking in which people focus on overall context, particularly the ways that objects relate to each other
Define Controlled thinking
Thinking that is conscious, intentional, voluntary, and effortful
What is the purpose of controlled thinking?
-to provide checks + balances for automatic thinking
-controlled thinking requires effort and motivation
Define Counterfactual Thinking
Mentally changing some aspect of the past as a way of imagining what might have been
What is an example of counterfactual thinking?
Comparing Olympic athletes that won bronze were happier than the ones who won silver
Is counterfactual thinking completely controlled?
Not always intentional or voluntary
What are some negative aspects of counterfactual thinking?
-can lead to rumination
Define Rumination
When people negatively focus on bad things (contributes to depression)
What are some positive aspects of counterfactual thinking?
Can motivate people to do better the next time
How to improve thinking?
Make people more humble about reasoning abilities
Define Overconfidence Barrier
Fact that people usually have too much confidence in accuracy of their judgements
Define Social Perception
The study of how we form impressions of other people + make inferences abt their behavior
Define Non-verbal Behavior
The way in which people communicate w/o words (can be intentional/unintentional)
What are the primary uses of nonverbal behavior?
-express emotions, attitudes, and personality traits
-facilitate verbal communication
Define Encode
Express or emit nonverbal behavior
Define Decode
To interpret the meaning of nonverbal behavior other people express
Define Affect Blends
A facial expression in which part of face registers one emotion while another part registers a different emotion
What are other types of nonverbal behavior?
-eye contact
-personal space
-gestures
-emblems
Define Emblems
Nonverbal gestures that have well-understood with given cultures (ex: peace sign means fuck you in other countries)
How fast do first impressions happen?
1/10 of a second
Define Thin-Slicing
Drawing meaningful conclusions about others personalities or skills on an extreme brief sample of behavior (can be surprisingly accurate)
Why do first impressions linger?
-ppl use schemas to fill in gaps
-Primacy effect
-confirmation bias
-belief perseverance
Define Primacy Effect
1st info we perceive in others influence how we view info that we learn abt them later
Define Confirmation Bias
Tendency to pay attention to information that confirms our initial belief
Define Belief Perseverance
Tendency to stick w/ an initial judgement even in the face of new info that should prompt us to reconsider
Define Casual Attribution
Figuring out why ppl behave the way that they do
Define Attribution Theory
Study of how we explain the causes of our own + other’s behaviors
What are two types of attributions?
Internal and External
Define Internal Attributions
Inferring that a person behaved in a certain way bc of something about the person
Define External Attribution
Inferring that a person behaved in a certain way bc of the situation they are in
Define Fundamental Attribution Error
Tendency to make automatic internal attributions when judging other + ignoring the situation/environment
Why we commit Fundamental Attribution Error?
-info availability
-perceptual salience
Define Perceptual Salience
The seemingly important info that people focus their attention on
What does the two step attribution require in order to make an external attribution?
Effort + Motivation
Define Self-Serving Attributions
Explanations for one’s successes that credit internal, dispositional factors + explanations for one’s failures that blame external situational factors
Success is ______.
Internalized
Failures are _____.
Exteranlized
What is the reasoning behind making self-serving attributions?
-self esteem maintenance
-impression management
-Information availability
Define Belief in a Just World
Where people assume that bad things happen to bad people + good things happen to good people (ex: blaming the victim)
Define individualistic cultures
-stress individual autonomy
-emphasis on independence
-make internal attributions on other’s behaviors
Define Collectivistic Culture
-make more external attributions on other’s behaviors
-more likely to commit fundamental attribution error
