W1 Flashcards
social psychology
‘scientific study of feelings, thoughts and behaviours of individuals in social settings’
dispositions
internal factors (eg. beliefs, values, traits, abilities) that guide behaviour
fundamental attribution error
placing too much emphasis on dispositions and not enough on external situational factors, when trying to understand human behaviour
nudge theory
subtle adaptations to an environment that guide someone to make a certain decision or act in a certain way (eg. having an email subscription offer box say ‘opt out’ rather than ‘opt in’, tends to make people more likely to stay opted in)
gestalt psychology
the idea that perception isn’t often an objective experience, but that there is usually nonconscious interpretation involved
construal
a subjective interpretation and inference of a stimulus
schema
a collection of knowledge which helps us understand what is going on in a social situation, and therefore how to behave and adapt accordingly
automatic processing
initial, nonconscious emotional reaction to a stimulus
systematic processing
rationalising a situation after the initial emotional response
natural selection
component of evolutionary theory by which certain traits and behaviours are adapted to be better suited to the environment, then passed down to subsequent generations
human universals
certain behaviours that seem to appear in almost every person and society (eg. bipedalism- walking upright on two legs)
parental investment
weighing up of cost vs benefit happens differently in males and females (eg. it is more common for a man with several wives than a woman with several husbands)
social neuroscience
study of the brain in terms of biological components relating to behaviour
thought experiment
mental exercise testing out a hypothesis, without actually conducting it in real life
external validity
how well a study’s results generalise to the wider world
internal validity
level of certainty that only the manipulated variable could have produced the results
reliability
same results for a variable are produced no matter if the measuring instrument changes or the time measured changes
measurement validity
how well a measure predicts outcomes it is supposed to
statistical significance
probability a result could have occurred by chance
replication
results can be achieved in another subsequent study, showing they are less likely to be produced by chance
informed consent
person agrees to participate in a study after being informed about the nature of the study as much as possible
deception research
studies where researchers intentionally mislead a participant (about study’s purpose, about conditions they will face, etc) as to simulate certain conditions to see how they will respond (eg. Milgram study)
debriefing
post-participation session allowing participant to give feedback about their experience, and to be educated more on the study now that they have completed participation
basic scientific research
research trying to understand about a social phenomenon in and of itself, which can lead to targeted interventions
