Psyc Exam 1

Question 1

Define social psychology

Answer 1

social psychology is the scientific method of how individuals think about, interact with, and influence each other. Or the scientific study of the way in which people thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people

Question 2

Differentiate sociology/psychology/social psychology

Answer 2

Psychology is more concerned with the scientific study of the mind while social psych is focused on the individual average person. It needs two or more people. Sociology on the other hand studies large groups of people instead of the individual

Question 3

ABCs of social psychology

Answer 3

Affect, Behavior, Cognition

Question 4

What does A stand for

Answer 4

Affect: experience of feeling or emotion (positive and negative valence)(motivational intensity – the urge to act)(arousal: activation of the sympathetic nervous system)

Question 5

What does B stand for

Answer 5

Behavior- Range of actions and mannerisms made by organism-response to stimulus-acting on thoughts and feelings and includes intent to act

Question 6

What does C stand for

Answer 6

Cognition – All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating – process of sensory input being transformed etc- used to explain attributions, attitudes, and group dynamics.

Question 7

What is a Schema

Answer 7

A network of ideas/mental structures that guide perception and categorize objects, concepts

Question 8

Automaticity v control

Answer 8

behaviors we assume are under conscious control, can arise from automatic cognitive processes. Ability and motivation are needed for controlled processes to happen

Question 9

Operationalizing variables (look at textbook)

Answer 9

transforms the variable from the abstract (conceptual) to the specific(operationalized. Conceptual variables are abstract or general variables. An operationalization states specifically how the conceptual variable will be manipulated/variable

Question 10

3 claims of research methods

Answer 10

1. Frequency claim: one measured variable and to what rate or degree
2. Association claim: One level of a variable is likely associated with a particular level of another variable – at least two measured variables
3. Causal Claim: 1 variable causes the other variable – at least one manipulated variable, at least one measured variable

Question 11

Research Methods: 5 types of Data Collection

Answer 11

1. Observation -stalker vibes
2. Self-report closed answer – 16 personalities style
3. Self report open answer: paragraph response
4. Biological measures: Hospital vibes
5. Content analysis: analyze already existing info

Question 12

4 design research methods - look up

Answer 12

1. Single case
2. Qualitative
3. Timespan
4. Groups: Experimental vs. control

Question 13

Problems of causation v correlation ?

Answer 13

possibility of a third variable

Question 14

Self-concept ?

Answer 14

• The self-concept is all the ideas, thoughts, and information we have about ourselves.
  Culture has difference- construal’s: Independent: Self above all US. Interdependent/collectivist: self has value through relationships – true to self less - Korea

Question 15

5 Sources of self-knowledge

Answer 15

Introspection – looking inward – answer is clearly and readily available

Self-perception – observing our own behavior – smile with pen example

Social comparison theory – observing others – learn about self by comparing ourselves to other people - festinger

Reflected appraisal – perception of reaction to us - depends on the circumstance

Personal attributes – individual characteristics – focus on differentiating characteristics

Question 16

Self-esteem & self-evaluation maintenance theory ?

Answer 16

how the behavior of others affects our self-esteem; particularly important when the behavior they are doing matters to our self-concept -we tend to rank self-enhancing information over accuracy or consistency

Question 17

6 Strategies for maintaining high self-esteem?

Answer 17

Reduce self-awareness
Self-serving bias - Attribute positive outcomes to internal, dispositional factors and negative outcomes to
external situational forces.
Rationalizing - thinking about things in a way that reflects positively (or less negatively) on you. Creating
excuses to explain behavior.
Self-handicapping - Creating performance excuses or obstacles for ourselves which can then be used to explain away failures.
Downward social comparison - Defensive tendency to compare ourselves with others
who are worse off than we are
Basking in reflected glory - Associating yourself with successful others – usually done with things that are less important

Question 18

Why does high self-esteem matter?

Answer 18

High self-esteem
* Good feelings, more resourceful
* Links to narcissism (lack of empathy + inflated sense of self)
* Is associated with negative behaviors
* Low self-esteem
* Associated with loneliness, anxiety, eating disorders

Question 19

Define social perception?

Answer 19

social processes by which we come to
comprehend the behavior words, and
actions of other people. How we
make meaning of/understand other
people.

Question 20

Explain self-fulfilling prophecy, example

Answer 20

You act based on a schema in such a way that the object of the schema is likely to conform to your expectations – for example IQ test w teachers

Question 21

Priming – define, example

Answer 21

the tendency for recently used words
or ideas to come to mind easily and
influence subsequent thoughts,
judgments, or behaviors Talking about apples in class than asking for something red- street magician.

Question 22

2 types of priming

Answer 22

Subliminal(unconscious) Supraliminal (at the conscious level

Question 23

Heuristics – define

Answer 23

Heuristics are mental shortcuts.
– They are like “if” … “then” rules. They are used when we are NOT motivated or able to engage in more careful and effortful processing

Question 24

3 types of heuristics?

Answer 24

Availability – if it feels easy to recall it is probably accurate – media agenda/mere exposure
Representativeness: Judge something by intuitively comparing to our mental representation of a category
Confirmation bias - tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions; why our beliefs are so stable

Question 25

Attributions – define

Answer 25

Process of assigning causes of behavior,
both your own and that of others
– An explanation people give for behavior.
Internal and external

Question 26

Types of attribution

Answer 26

Correspondent inference: assume a
person’s overt behavior is caused by
(corresponds with) the person’s
internal characteristics or beliefs
◆ Perceive the person freely chose the behavior
◆ Perceive the person intended to do what he or she did
Covariation: Covariation principle: if a response is present when a situation is present and absent when situation is absent, the
situation is presumed to be the cause of the response
◆ Consensus information
(Does everyone do it or just the person?)
◆ Distinctiveness information
(Is the situation special?)
◆ Consistency information
(Does the person do it in all similar situations?)
Dual Process Models : Attributions may be adjusted based on new info
o 2-step model: Categorize behavior. Inference and inferential adjustment
o 3-step model: Categorize. Make internal attribution. Correct by seeing situtational factors. (1st 2 are automatic)

Question 27

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

Answer 27

The fundamental attribution error
(FAE) is made when – we underestimate situational influences
and overestimate personality influences (it’s not what it looks like!)

Question 28

Belief in a just world, define, example

Answer 28

The belief that there is
justice in the world;
that good things
happen to good
people, and bad things
happen to bad people (lung versus breast cancer)

Question 29

Attitudes: definition

Answer 29

Mental and neural state of readiness, organized
through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence on the individual’s response
to all objects and situations with which it is related

Question 30

Attitude Structure, examples of bases

Answer 30

ABC > Attitude > ABC

Question 31

5 ways of measuring attitudes

Answer 31

Direct personal experience,
Mere exposure, conditioning, Observational learning, mass media,
Heritability,
Groups and Networks

Question 32

Conviction, rational & non rational actor

Answer 32

Convictions are central to person, not often studied, most theories assume we are rational, in reality Humans are not always rational in their behavior and their behavior can be inconsistent with their attitudes
o Attitudes may be totally irrelevant to behavior
o Automatic behaviors may not relate closely with
any attitude

Question 33

Theory of Planned Behavior

Answer 33

Proposed that attitudes do predict behavior, but only under certain conditions such as an attitude towards a specific behavior, Subjective norms, and perceived control=behavorial intention