sociocultural Flashcards
Confederate
An actor who participates in a psychological experiment pretending to be a subject but in actuality working for the researcher
Content analysis
a method used to analyze qualitative data in which the research looks for “themes” or trends that emerge from the data.
Covert observation
a type of participant observation in which the identity of the researcher, the nature of the research project, and the fact that participants are being observed are concealed from those who are being studied.
Cross-sectional design
Comparing two or more groups on a particular variable at a specific time. The opposite is a longitudinal design where the researcher measures a change in an individual over time.
Longitudinal study
research over a period of time using observations, interviews, or psychometric testing. (Similar to a repeated measures design in an experiment).
Meta-analysis
Pooling data from multiple studies of the same research question to arrive at one combined answer.
Method triangulation
using more than one method to gather data, such as interviews, observations, and questionnaires.
Participant observation
When a researcher joins a group in order to better observe and understand their behavior.
Prospective research
A study that attempts to find a correlation between two variables by collecting data early in the life of participants and then continuing to test them over a period of time to measure change and development.
Retrospective research
A study of an individual after an important change or development. For example, the study of a person after a stroke. This requires the research to “reconstruct” the life of the individual prior to the event.
Acculturation
The process by which someone comes into contact with another culture and begins to adopt the norms and behaviors of that culture.
Acculturation gaps
generational differences in acculturation and how this leads to conflict within the family.
Acculturative stress
a reduction in the mental health and well-being of ethnic minorities that occurs during the process of adaptation to a new culture. It is often referred to as “culture shock.”
Assimilation
when an individual abandons their original culture and adopts the cultural behaviors and values of a new culture.
Confirmation bias
when people tend to seek out or remember information that supports their currently held beliefs or expectations - and ignore information that contradicts these beliefs.
Cultural norm
a set of rules based on socially or culturally shared beliefs of how an individual ought to behave to be accepted within that group.
Cultural dimension
the trends of behavior in a given culture that reflect the values of that culture.
Dispositional factors
individual characteristics that influence behavior and actions in a person - such as personality or temperament.
Emic approach
looking at behaviors of a group from the perspective of one member of that group.
Enculturation
the process of adopting or internalizing the schemas of your culture.
Etic approach
typically taken within cross-cultural psychology where behavior is compared across specific cultures. Etic study involves drawing on the notion of universal properties of cultures, which share common perceptual, cognitive, and emotional structures.
Global culture
the culture that we come to learn and perhaps adapt to by contact with other cultures - via travel, working in international companies, or through the media and social networking.
Globalization
the process of interaction and integration among people of different nations and cultures.
Illusory correlation
people see a relationship between two variables even when there is none.
