Psychology/Sociology Flashcards
experimental design
technical term for a specific type of research
ex) to show that consuing a healthy diet helps cause or lead to heart health and longevity, an exp design is needed
steps to a good experimental design
1) select a population
2) operationalize variables
3) divide into groups
4) random sampling
5) random assignment
6) measuremnt
7) test the hypothesis
group polarization
people’s attitudes toward some attitude object become more extreme after interacting with like-minded individuals
- a group of risk averse individuals would become more risk averse after interacting with each other
behaviorist theory
focuses on the role of reinforcement and punishment in shaping behavior
valid measure
actually measures what it is intended to assess
assimilation
related to the process of social integration and generally refers to when new members adopt the main elements of a culture
aspect of definition: cultural adaptation, adopting new norms, and relinquishing old norms - all possible consequences
linguistic relativity
Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
the benefits of bilingualism are related to the idea that the structure of language affects the perceptions of its speakers
social support
refers to social network ties (friends, family, and other relationships) that provide an individual with various types of assistance, which are associated with improving health or reducing harm
capacity of working memory
between 5 and 9 items (early memory research with adults led to this)
so-called “magic number 7 ± 2” was the name George Miller (1956) gave to this estimate
chunking
encoding process that requires effortful processing and therefore involves selective attention and conscious effort
group together (connected items or words) so that they can be stored or processed as single concepts
content analysis
sociological method that is used to make inferences about communication
As applied to studying a website, content analysis could help determine which beliefs the organization publically emphasizes
Reference group
Individuals often emulate the attitudes and behaviors of groups that they admire and would like to join
important for self-evaluation and identity formation
example of reference group: An immigrant teen stops participating in the ethnic customs of his family and instead identifies with the dominant culture of the new country by dressing, speaking, and acting like teens from that culture (teens of the new country’s dominant culture = reference group)
procedural memory
memory for the performance of particular types of action
role strain
occurs when there is tension in the expectations of a single social position; tension that results from competing demands within the context of a single role (example: tension from different responsibilities within the same occupational role)
vs role conflict: conflict among the expectations for multiple social positions (example: If the tension existed between different roles that a single individual held)
in-group
Members of in-groups share common backgrounds and similar identities, which generally result in high levels of trust among in-group members. Racial/ethnic identity can be an important characteristic of an in-group, resting in a shared culture, language, or community.
triadic vs dyadic group
from perspective of group dynamics in sociology: larger groups are generally considered more stable but less intimate, whereas smaller groups are usually considered less stable but more intimate.
Dyads = two-person groups = are unstable because either party can break the single social tie.
The triad = three person groups = is considered relatively more stable because of the additional social ties.
How are neighborhood-level socioeconomic inequalities most likely to affect physician–patient interactions?
Physical boundaries create social boundaries and closed networks which develop their own cultures.
- Neighborhoods that are segregated by socioeconomic status create increased social distance to the extent that people from different backgrounds have trouble relating to each other’s experiences.
qualitative vs quantitative study
qualitative: in-depth analysis of a subset of cases
quantitative: statistical analysis of the total claims
mixed-methods study
Bringing together quantitative methods and qualitative methods
conflict theory (EDIT FOR MORE INFO)
emphasizes the competition between groups over the allocation of societal resources; assumes that power and authority are unequally distributed across a society, and that groups attempt to maintain their advantages.
bystander effect
individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when there are other people present; the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that one of them will help.
example: A student is investigating the bystander effect and receives permission to conduct the study in the school cafeteria. What is a potential dependent variable that can be measured by the student?
- The amount of time a student takes to assist another student in distress
ethnographic methods
involves the extended, systematic observation of a complete social environment
social stratification: caste system vs class system vs meritocracy
caste system:
closed status positions that hinder social mobility
less dependent on effort
social status defined by birth
class system:
some degree of social mobility
social status determined by birth and individual merit
meritocracy:
higher social mobility
more dependent on effort
social status based on individual merit
