History of Social Psychology

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Questions and Answers

What is a potential consequence of low statistical power in research?

Increased accuracy of results

Greater replicability of findings

Higher likelihood of false positives (correct)

Improved methodological training

Why is pre-registration of studies beneficial in research?

It eliminates cognitive biases

It enhances methodological training

It guarantees positive results

It promotes transparency in reporting research (correct)

How can collaboration in research improve generalizability?

By employing lower-powered designs

By reducing the sample populations involved

By increasing the diversity of methodologies used (correct)

By limiting the types of analysis performed

What is one major issue with the current incentives in publishing research?

Novel and significant results are more likely to get published Signup and view all the answers

What method can researchers use to protect against cognitive biases in study results?

Using Blinding techniques during testing Signup and view all the answers

What defines an exact or direct replication?

Reproducing the methodology and conditions of the original study closely Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the replication crisis?

High levels of social assurance among researchers Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of replications in research?

To prevent false positives and enhance result accuracy Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes conceptual replication from direct replication?

It confirms findings with a different methodology. Signup and view all the answers

In Daryl Bem's studies, what controversial phenomenon did he suggest existed?

Anomalous retroactive influences Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following practices is encouraged under open science principles?

Transparent sharing of data and methodologies Signup and view all the answers

What common issue can contribute to a failure to replicate a study?

Falsification of original data. Signup and view all the answers

What was a criticism aimed at Daryl Bem regarding his statistical methods?

He relied on liberal statistical analysis to enhance results Signup and view all the answers

How can sample size affect an experiment's replication success?

Low sample sizes can lead to unrepresentative results. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements is true regarding the Open Science Collaboration's 2015 replication study?

47.4% of effect sizes differed from the original studies. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes liberal statistical demonstrations?

Offering multiple analytical options to manipulate the results Signup and view all the answers

What is the implication of the reproducibility crisis in research?

That very few studies can consistently yield the same results Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant consequence of the 'publish or perish' culture in research?

It can lead researchers to falsify data. Signup and view all the answers

Which methodological issues can prevent a successful replication of a study?

Failing to follow the original study's methodology closely. Signup and view all the answers

What effect does a liberal statistical approach have on research findings?

It can make results appear more significant than they are. Signup and view all the answers

In replication studies, what is a common reason for differing confidence intervals?

Different methodologies may yield varying confidence intervals. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Aristotle: Society shapes human development
Comte: People cause and are the products and producers of society
1879: Wilhelm Wundt established first psychology lab, separating psychology from philosophy and biology.
1898: Norman Triplett began social psychology, writing the first paper on Social Facilitation theory.
John Dewey founded social psychology via collectivist work, benefiting masses by shaping society.
1908: McDougall published first social psychology textbook
1920-1930: Floyd Allport considered the father of social psychology and experimental psychology, focused on individual dispositions, not society
Allport's work included Great Depression research, where community ties were found to be a protective factor against hardship.
Summers criticized treatment/testing of African Americans, criticizing Western IQ tests for applicability to other cultures, being the father of Black psychology
1930-1950: Festinger's work focused on conformity, obedience, and authority during World War 2, studying experimental lab research and the impact of WWII on ethical social psychological research
1970-2000s: Increased use of correlations in Pluralism research, diversity and inclusion, and focus on oppressed groups.

Global Events

Examples of global events studied by social psychologists include war in Ukraine, the Black Lives Matter movement, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings span from psychological consequences of war, to mental health effects, to impacts on societal issues or behaviours.

Skinner and Cognitive Revolution

Skinner: Behaviourist, believed mental states preconditioned human behavior
Cognitive Revolution challenged behaviorism, emphasizing the influence of thoughts and ideas on actions
The text explores how social psychology shifted beyond behaviorism.

Lewin's Interactionalism

Lewin's interactionalism perspective: Behavior and attitudes interact between a person and environment.
Lewin's work included social psychology research outside the lab.
Lewin's studies showed subjective experience impacts people more significantly than objective realities.
Social psychology work affected government/military/law enforcement.

1960-70s and beyond

Increased changes in social psychology with the Milgram prison experiment, Zimbardo's obedience simulation, and questioning of ethical practices, where ethical concerns were raised about social psychology experiments.
Increased use of lab research combined with correlation research for more comprehensive measurements and study populations.

Introduction of Social Facilitation theory via Norman Triplett
Explanation that the presence of others enhances performance, supported by studies involving cyclists and fishing.
Aerodynamic, psychological, and encouragement theories explored
Triplett conducted specific studies to find and answer the cause for cyclists being faster in paced racing when comparing them to solo cyclists. These studies included different forms of research such as the "fishing line kids" test.

Robert Zajonc's Drive theory (1965).
Presence of others causes arousal which helps dominant responses but hinders non-dominant ones.
Performance depends on the difficulty of the task, with high performance in simple tasks/familiar environments and poor performance in new or complex tasks.
Drive theory criticized for lacking objective criteria, and having limited meta-analytic support, showing inconsistencies and contradictory results.
Michaels et al (1982) studied pool players' performance, showcasing better performances from experts with an audience and poor performances by novices with an audience

Individual and Dispositional Factors

Uziel's (2007) Personality theory that individuals with positive social orientations performed better among others, while those with negative orientations performed better alone.
Demonstrates that individual personality factors influence social facilitation, not just environmental factors.

Replication Crisis

Bem's (2011) ESP studies.
Ioannidis (2005) found that many published research findings are false due to flaws in scientific practices
Replication crisis identified many published research findings were false because of methodological flaws.
Critiques of published studies, and the need for proper methodology.

Ways to Improve Research

Improve methodology training.
Use multidisciplinary team support, removing conflict of interests.
Collaboration across groups for more comprehensive research methods/testing, improving generalisability.
Pre-registration of studies, promoting quality. Improve transparency in reporting research
Describing methods clearly allows for correct replication
Establish incentives to encourage replicability and accuracy in research.

Deception in Experiments

Importance of informed consent.
Debriefing participants after the study.
Participants being able to withdraw consent at any time.

Measure to Ensure Replicability

Utilizing proper methodology for reporting and disseminations and using proper evaluation methods. Methods need to be well described in order to successfully replicate them. Correct interpretation methods should be employed.

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Description

Explore the evolution of social psychology from Aristotle to the mid-20th century. Learn about key figures such as Wilhelm Wundt, Norman Triplett, and Floyd Allport, and their contributions to understanding human behavior within social contexts. This quiz highlights the foundational theories and criticisms that shaped the field.