Fundamentals of social psychology Flashcards
define social psychology
Scientific study of the causes and consequences of people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, regarding themselves and others
what is the “knew it all along” phenomenon
People question how social psychology is different from common sense or traditional folk wisdom
what did Darwin believe about behaviour
Proposed instinct drive social behaviour
Humans driven by innate tendencies
what do psychoanalytic views believe about social behaviour
Human behaviour was directed by aggression and sexual drives drives are kept unconscious by repression, until transformed into socially acceptable behaviours
Behaviourist views about social psychology
determined by experiences to environmental demands
Associative learning
Operant conditioning
Cognitive views about social behaviour
Understanding of processes in the mind
Development of social cognition
How people perceive, remember, and interpret events and individuals, including themselves, in their social world
what is the dominant perspective in social psychology today
Cognitive
what are cognitive misers
Humans avoid expending effort and cognitive resources when thinking and making decisions
Rely on quick and easy answers to questions and solutions to difficult situations
what do cognitive misers result in
Heuristics
Stereotypes
what is introspection in reference to social psychology
- Asking ourselves or others about the causes of behaviour
However explanations for our own behaviour can be misleading
what is an issue with using observation
Our observations come from our unique and limited perspective
We may be biased in our interpretation of a situation
what is confirmation bias
Our reasoning may confirm what we set out to assess
define theory
an explanation for how and why variables are related to each other
define research
A process whereby scientists observe events, look for patterns, and evaluate theories proposed to explain those patterns
define hypothesis
An “if-then” statement that follows logically from a theory and specifies how certain variables should be related to each other if the theory is correct
what is stereotype threat theory
Conditions that bring a stereotype to mind contribute to poor performance among members of various stigmatized groups
what is the correlational method
Two or more variables are measured and compared to determine to what extent they are associated
what is a correlation coefficient
A positive or negative numerical value that shows direction and strength of a relation between 2 variables
why is combining theories important
- Observed behaviour is more complex than a single theory can account for
e.g. university women more likely to drink in excess than university women
how do we control the impact of individuality
random assignment
what is ecological validity
Modelling social behaviour in a controlled lab environment means not always accurate representation of normal contexts
what is a confederate
actor playing a role in a study
issue of using confederates
not always convincing - results in demand characteristics
when are confederates seemed to be more reliable
when online rather in person
is it better to use experiments or correlations
The correlational method and the experimental method provide complementary information - best used together
what is a quasi experimental design
groups of participants are compared on some dependent variable, but—for practical or ethical reasons—the groups are not formed on the basis of random assignment e.g. race or gender
what poses issues for generalising findings
External validity
WEIRD participants
Random sampling
issues with replicating findings
Direct replication
Power analysis
Moderator variables
examples of when sensitive information may be measured
Stereotypes and prejudices
Experiences of discrimination
Sexual identity
controls for measuring sensitive information
ensure responses, reiterate to participants about resources available
Avoid additional sensitive info if possible
ensure anonymity
