Psych/Soc

Question 1

Define: Social desirability

Answer 1

Social desirability is a response bias that reflects the tendency to answer self-report questions in a manner that will be viewed favorable by others.

Question 2

Expectancy violation theory

Answer 2

A theory of communication that analyzes how individuals respond to unanticipated violations of social norms and expectations.

The theory predicts that expectancies influence the outcome of the communication interaction as either positive or negative and predicts that positive violations increase the attraction of the violator and negative violations decrease the attraction of the violator.

Question 3

Drive Reduction Theory

Answer 3

A theory of motivation that suggests states of tension or discomfort motivate or drive organisms to engage in behaviors that will reduce these feeling of discomfort, bringing them back to a state of comfort and homeostasis.

Question 4

Ego depletion

Answer 4

Ego depletion refers to the idea that self-control or willpower draws upon a limited pool of mental resources that can be used up. When the energy for mental activity is low, self-control is typically impaired, which would be considered a state of ego depletion.

Question 5

Social facilitation

Answer 5

Describes the phenomenon whereby people tend to perform better on simple or well-rehearsed tasks when in the presences of other people versus alone.

Question 6

Incentive theory

Answer 6

Related to external, as opposed to internal, rewards as a source of motivation

Question 7

Eidetic memory

Answer 7

Refers to very detailed memories of a given visual display.

AKA photographic memory.

Question 8

Desensitization

Answer 8

Desensitization is the down-regulation/decrease in response of receptors, which causes less sensation (you become desensitized to very low levels of light because rods become inactivated in extremely bright environments). This ultimately results in a decrease in awareness of the stimulus because less input is being generated.

Question 9

Shaping

Answer 9

A process by which an individual is reinforced for successive approximations of a target behavior.

Question 10

Generalization

Answer 10

Involves the broadening of conditioned responses to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.

Question 11

Habituation

Answer 11

Habituation refers to the mental processes that make you no longer consciously notice a stimulus (background noise is still there, and your ears pick them up, but your brain ignores them after a while).

Involves continuous exposure to a stimulus in order to eliminate responses elicited by the stimulus.
So basically learn to ignore a stimulus because of repeated exposure to it.

Question 12

Thorndike’s Law of Effect

Answer 12

Stated that any behavior that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and any behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be stopped.

Question 13

What does “r” represent in statistical analysis?

Answer 13

“r” is the correlation coefficient. It ranges from -1.0 to +1.0.
The closer “r” is to +1 or -1, the more closely the two variables are related. If “r” is close to 0, it means there is no relationship between the variables.
A positive “r” is a positive correlational relationship and a negative “r” would therefore be negatively correlated.

Question 14

Different components of Working Memory

Answer 14

Visuo-spatial sketchpad accomplishes mental rotation and navigation tasks.

The phonological loop is involved in verbal tasks.

The episodic buffer is involved in working with information from episodic memory.

The central executive controls all of the above processes.

Question 15

What is the difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty?

Answer 15

Absolute poverty is a measure of poverty that takes into account a life-threatening lack of resources.

Relative poverty is a measure of poverty that takes into account the lack of resources of some in comparison to those who have more.

Question 16

Absolute poverty

Answer 16

Refers to a set standard which is the same in all countries and which does not change over time.

There are minimum standards below which no one anywhere in the world should ever fall.

Question 17

Relative poverty

Answer 17

Refers to a standard which is defined in terms of the society in which an individual lives and which therefore differs between countries and over time.

In a rich country, there are higher minimum standards below which no one should fall, and these standards should rise if and as the country becomes richer.

Question 18

Self-image

Answer 18

Self-image is one’s persistent mental picture of one’s own appearance, especially observable physical traits such as height, weight, hair color, etc.

It is specifically defined by focus on physical characteristics and appearance.

Question 19

Self-efficacy

Answer 19

Related to one’s conception of one’s own abilities. So how capable/incapable you believe you are at doing something.

Question 20

Self-esteem

Answer 20

A sense of one’s own value.

Question 21

Self-concept

Answer 21

An all-encompassing term that includes one’s self-image and self-esteem.

Question 22

Reference Group

Answer 22

A collection of people that are used as a standard of comparison for oneself.

Question 23

Role models

Answer 23

Individuals we look up to as examples of how to behave in the performance of a role.
Key difference between this and reference group is group vs. individual where this is focused on an individual.

Question 24

Significant other

Answer 24

Those we have some degree of special knowledge about and as a result pay special attention to their thoughts, emotions, and expectations.

Question 25

Why do sociologists disagree with the term “melting pot” as it is applied to people living in the United States?

Answer 25

The melting pot is a metaphor that has been used to describe the cultural accommodation model in the United States.

The melting pot idea represents an image of an Americanized culture that is superior, and immigrants must “rise” to this level to be accepted by the core culture.
This represents ethnocentric thinking; ethnocentrism is defined as a belief in the superiority of one’s own cultural standards and traditions over all others.

Question 26

Compare/contrast a trait theorist and a type theorist.

Answer 26

A trait theorist views personality as a function of measurable personality traits, which are relatively stable patterns in thought and behavior over time.

A type theorist views personality more as a set of universal categories into which all individuals can be placed (e.g., extroverted, introverted, Type A personality, Type B personality).

Question 27

Social psychology

Answer 27

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to others.

Question 28

Developmental psychology

Answer 28

The study of physical, cognitive, and social development across the lifespan.

Question 29

Humanistic psychology

Answer 29

Focuses on human growth potential.

Question 30

Behaviorism

Answer 30

The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes

Question 31

Health psychology

Answer 31

Provides a psychological contribution to behavioral medicine.

An emphasis on how stressors influence health and well-being is a common issue in health psychology.

Question 32

Positive psychology

Answer 32

The study of human flourishing and an applied approach to optimal functioning.

Also defined as the study of strengths and virtues that enable individuals, communities and organizations to thrive.

Question 33

Cross-sectional study

Answer 33

Occurs when people of different ages are compared to one another.

Question 34

Cross-sequential study

Answer 34

Combines both longitudinal and cross-sectional designs in a research study.

Question 35

Meta-analysis

Answer 35

Combines the results of multiple studies on the same topic.

Question 36

Emic approach to data interpretation:

Answer 36

To gain the emic perspective on a culture means to view the world as a member of that culture views it.

So it is defined as one that takes the interpretations of situations by the individuals under study as matters of fact.

Question 37

Etic approach to data interpretation:

Answer 37

It is an “outsiders” view in the sense that it requires one to become a detached, objective, scientific observer of that culture. You must be able to emotionally detach yourself from that culture.

Most people from outside a culture will not have an etic perspective about it; they will have an ethnocentric perspective, interpreting behavior and beliefs in light of their own culture.

Question 38

Anhedonia

Answer 38

It is the inability to feel pleasure and it is a negative symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Negative symptoms are symptoms usually present in unaffected individuals, but not present in affected individuals.

Positive symptoms are symptoms that usually are not present in unaffected individuals, but are present in affected individuals.

Question 39

Mysophobia

Answer 39

A disorder that refers to the fear of germs or contamination.

Question 40

Heritability in relation to r^2

Answer 40

Heritability refers to the variability in a given trait that can be attributed to genetic factors. The r^2 value given can be obtained by squaring the correlation coefficient, r, and provides an estimate of the amount of variance in a relationship that can be accounted for by the independent variable.

So if research suggested that the heritability estimates of male sexual orientation are about 0.2 (r^2) this information indicates that twenty percent of the variability in male sexual orientation can be attributed to genetic factors.

Question 41

Explain the differences between applied, basic, experimental, and correlational research.

Answer 41

Applied research is a methodology used to solve a specific, practical problem of an individual or group. The study and research is used in business, medicine and education in order to find solutions that may cure diseases, solve scientific problems or develop technology.

Basic research also called pure research or fundamental research, has the scientific research aim to improve scientific theories for improved understanding or prediction of natural or other phenomena.

Experimental research designs are the primary approach used to investigate causal (cause/effect) relationships and to study the relationship between one variable and another. This is a traditional type of research that is quantitative in nature. In short, researchers use experimental research to compare two or more groups on one or more measures.

Correlational research is designed to show a relationship that exists between variables