Introducing Social Psych (1) Flashcards
define social psych
the study of how individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by other people`
other people effect how we
1.
2.
3.
- Interpret events
- Feel about ourselves
- Behave
give example and explain how others effect how we interpret events
The bystander effect
demonstrates how the presence of others can determine the way we interpret an event
give example and explain how others effect how we feel about ourselves
social comparions theory
we compare ourselves to our peer to decide how smart, pretty, etc we are
give example and explain how others effect how we behave
The presence vs absence of other can change how we act in a situation
Ex - deindividuation, where you lose your sense of self-awareness and identity in a crowd
leads to a decrease in inhibitions
explains mob mentality like fans in large crowds heckling an athlete at a sporting event
Social phenomena are not as _______ as they appear
they are sometimes _______
obvious
counterintuitive
why is this social phenomena counterintutive:
“Blowing off steam” - A way to purge anger and feel better also called _______
destructotherapy
not actually effective, rather feeds the flame
Venting activates the rewards areas of the brain but still is ineffective
why is this social phenomena counterintutive:
“Opposites attract”
Couples are more successful when they share common traits and beliefs
why is this social phenomena counterintutive:
“People’s attitudes are always highly predictive of their behaviour”
there are many circumstances in which a person’s attitude is actually a poorpredictor of their behaviour
why is this social phenomena counterintutive:
“Best way to get something off your mind is to suppress your thoughts”
Actively suppressing can make you think about the thought more
Best to allow yourself to think about it
eg. dont think of a purple elephant rn
why is this social phenomena counterintutive:
“The more options you have to choose from, the better”
Choice overload effect - As alternative choices increases, so does decision paralysis
Common themes in social psych:
We construct our social _____
give examples
We construct our social reality
friendly vs flirty behaviour is easily mistaken
Confirmation bias
Common themes in social psych:
Our social _______ are powerful, sometimes perilous
explain/example
Our social intuitions are powerful, sometimes perilous
Automatic vs controlled thinking
Ex - gut feelings are not always accurate
Common themes in social psych:
We have a strong motivation to feel ______ about _______
we tend to ______ our behaviour
explain/example
We have a strong motivation to feel good about ourselves
we tend to rationalise our behaviour
EX - someones who cheats may say “a lot of people cheat” or “it was just one time”
Common themes in social psych:
_______ can have powerful influences on people’s behaviour
failing to recognize this is know as what?
situations
the fundimental attribution error
Darley and Batson good semaritan experiment:
explain the setting/background
Had just read the good samaritan story from bible where one dude stopped and helped someone on the road to jerusalem
Were told they would be delivering sermon of other building
Came across a confederate lying on ground in need of help
Darley and Batson good semaritan experiment:
Indep and Dep variables?
Independent variable - time pressure
Some told they were late
Some told they had time
Dependent variable - whether or not they helped
Darley and Batson good semaritan experiment:
Results?
Those who had time mostly stopped
Those who were late did not stop to be a good samaritan even tho the dipshits were on their way to give a sermon on the topic
Darley and Batson good semaritan experiment:
moral of the story?
Moral of story - you act differently depending onthe situation/context
Common themes in social psych:
_______ shapes people’s view of the world
__________ sense of self vs ___________ sense of self
Culture shapes people’s view of the world
Independent sense of self vs interdependent sense of self
Experiment at airport (Kim and Markus) - culture shaping our view of the wolrd:
Some passengers were asians visiting us, some white visiting asia
Given the choice of ____ to keep after completing survey
explain experiment and results
Given the choice of pen to keep after completing survey (pen was the real test)
4 green pens, 1 different
Americans - unique pen
East asians - majority pen
Experiment at airport (Kim and Markus) - culture shaping our view of the wolrd:
what does this study show
learned preference for conformity in collectivistic cultures
the desire to be uniqueemphasized within individualistic cultures
Common themes in social psych:
Social behaviour is also _______ behaviour
We all share common ______
explain/example
Social behaviour is also biological behaviour
We all share common genes
Evolutionary psychology —> human social behaviours are rooted in physical and psychological behaviours that aided our ancestors to survive (nat sel)
Evolutionary theory has shown that human behaviours are ________ -found in every culture
universal
Eg. Easily recognizable facial expressions, dancing to music,warriness around snakes etc.
Common themes in social psych:
________ is a basic human need
Interacting is a basic human need
- Lack of social interaction has devastating effects on our well-being
Common themes in social psych:
Social psych’s principles are applicable to __________ ______
how so?
Social psych’s principles are applicable to everyday life
At the individual level - health, happiness, relationships
Societal level - prejudice, violence, environmental degradation
_______- a set of principles that explains, organises and predicts behaviour and events
Yield testable _______
gains acceptance when alternatives are _______
Theory - set of principles that explains, organises and predicts behaviour and events
Yield testable hypotheses
gains acceptance when alternatives are falsified
define Cognitive dissonance theory
was coined by _______
explains how people react when made aware that they are being hypocritical
Believed that when someone is made aware they they are hypocritical, they will try to change it
Coined by Festinger
name that type of study:
describing a sample or population to document their characteristics
Not concerned with cause and effect
What is happening? Not, why is it happening
Observational studies
name that type of study:
researcher observes and records behaviours without interference
Naturalistic observation
what is a disadvantage of naturalistic observation
harder to obtain consent
name that type of study:
analysing content such as media, books, files
Archival Research
___________ Research - measuring two or more non-manipulated variables and examining the relationship between them
does not prove causation
Correlational Research
_________ Research - manipulation of one or more independent variable, each I.V must have two levels
Most reliable when trying to prove causation
Experimental Research
Experimental Research
why is it best to prove causation
More control over extraneous variables (things that affect the DV that are not the I.V)
Dependent variable usually some type of _______ in experimental research
Dependent variable usually some type of behaviour
name what type of study was used!
Assessing motivations of mass shooters by looking at media
Many motivated by fame and media coverage
Problem - contagion effect, might fuel others who want the same fame
Archival Research -
name what type of study was used!
observing how drivers behave in traffic
Observational studies
name what type of study was used!
tape recording conversations in public places and observing if men or women interrupted more conversations
96% of interruptions were made by men
Naturalistic observation
name what type of study was used, and explain the study
Zimbardo wanted to see if making people feel anonymous would make when more aggressive than if they were identifiable
Experimental Research
Some had name tags, some wore disguises
I.V- whether they were identifiable or not
D.V - the effect of anonymity on aggression while delivering shocks
The anonymous participants gave more shocks / acted more aggressively
__________ ____________ - each participant has an equal chance of being assignment to any condition in experiment
Helps cancel out ______ due to individual differences
Random assignment - each participant have an equal chance of being assignment to any condition in experiment
Helps cancel out variation due to individual differences
define internal vs external validity
Internal validity - ensuring that only the IV’s influence the D.V’s
External Validity - the degree to which the conclusions in your study generalise to the rest of the population
what problem often occurs reguarding internal and external validity
challenging to conduct an experiment in which both internal and external validity are high are the same time
when conducting research _______ if also often an issue
how do we know this? what had it led to?
Replication
Social psychs tried to replicate 100 published studies and more than 50% did not replicate
Has led to more rigorous experiments
