Application Module 1: Social Psychology & Health

Application Module 1: Social Psychology & Health

• Stress: A psychosocial experience triggering a biological response.
• Rumination: Repetitive dwelling on negative thoughts, increasing stress and impacting health negatively.
• Catastrophizing: Exaggerating the negative consequences of events, increasing stress.
• Problem-focused coping: Addressing the source of stress directly.
• Emotion-focused coping: Managing emotional responses to stress, including self-distancing techniques.
• Stress Mediators: Factors influencing stress response, including:
  • Social support: Positive relationships reducing stress.
  • Perceived control: Feeling in control over one's life reducing stress.
  • Optimism: Positive outlook lessening stress impact.
• Race and Health: Race significantly impacts health outcomes.
• Using Social Psychology for Health Improvement: Applying social psychological principles to enhance health.

AM1.1 Evolution and Health: Short-Term and Chronic Stress

• Psychosocial stress: Stress resulting from social experiences.
• Biological response: Describes the body's physiological reactions to stress.

AM1.2 Culture and Health: Class, Stress, and Health Outcomes

• Neighborhood and social rank: Influence stress and health outcomes.

AM1.3 Situational Factors and Health: Benefits of Social Connection

• Social connections and social support: Reduce stress and protect health.

AM1.4 Construal and Health: Benefits of Perceived Control and Optimism

• Perceived control: Positive effect on health.
• Optimism: Positive impact on health.

Application Module 2: Social Psychology & Education

• AM2.1 Pygmalion in the Classroom: Teacher expectations influence student achievement, particularly affecting certain groups.
• AM2.2 Intelligence: Distinguish between growth (incremental) and fixed (entity) mindsets regarding intelligence. These mindsets impact academic behavior/performance.
• AM2.3 Culture and Achievement: Explore why Asian students often outperform American students academically.
• AM2.4 Blocking Stereotype Threat: Identify successful interventions in counteracting stereotype threat amongst female and minority students.
• AM2.5 Social Fears: Identify successful interventions addressing social concerns amongst minority students.
• AM2.6 Entertainment-Education: Define and discuss the impact of entertainment-education on behavior.
• AM2.7 Statistics, Social Science Methodology, and Critical Thinking: How statistics/methodology enhance critical thinking skills in social sciences.

Application Module 3: Social Psychology & the Law

• Scientific jury selection: Methods used to select jurors.
• Bias in the criminal justice system: Discuss biases affecting the criminal justice system.
• Eyewitness testimony: Examine factors affecting eyewitness accuracy (Encoding, Storage, Misinformation Effect, Retrieval, False Memories).
• False confessions: Identify factors impacting false confessions during interrogations.
• Framing effects: How question phrasing changes eyewitness testimony.
• Lineup identifications: Factors influencing the reliability of lineup identification.
• Expert testimony: Role/persuasiveness of expert testimony in court.
• Trial and Punishment Process: Discuss stages: jury selection (voir dire); group effects in jury decisions; theories of punishment (just desserts, deterrence).
• Discrimination and the Law: Explore instances where laws/decisions increase or decrease discrimination, how bias creates discriminatory outcomes.
• Heuristics, Biases and Constitutional Litigation: How biases affect constitutional decision-making; how framing effects influence constitutional interpretations.
• Reducing Bias in the Legal System: Using social psychological principles for reducing bias within the legal system.

AM3.1 Before a Case Goes to Trial

• Eyewitness testimony and false confessions: Review psychologist findings on these topics.

AM3.2 Inside the Courtroom

• Jury selection and jury deliberation: Review psychologist findings on these topics.

AM3.3 Punishment

• Just desserts vs. deterrence: Comparison of punishment theories.
• Biases in the criminal justice system: Explore biases in the criminal justice system.

AM3.4 Perceptions of Fairness of the Criminal Justice System

• Procedural justice: Definition and factors impacting perceptions of procedural justice.

This quiz explores the intersection of social psychology and health, examining concepts such as stress, coping mechanisms, and the impact of race on health outcomes. Key topics include stress mediators like social support and optimism, and how social psychological principles can improve health. Test your understanding of these critical ideas in health psychology.