Social Psychology Principles Quiz

• The provided content includes study notes for an Introduction to Psychology course, specifically covering topics from lectures on theory and research methods, social psychology, and personality psychology.

Theory and Research Methods

• Theory is an idea based on observation.
• A scientific theory is a set of principles explaining observations, which is most important when it can be proven wrong, such as the law of gravity explaining apple movement.
• A hypothesis is a testable prediction.
• Testing is used to prove, revise, or reject a theory.
• An example of a hypothesis: people with high self-esteem are less likely to be depressed.

Research Methods

• Case studies involve in-depth examination of rare individuals/phenomena/events, like Hitler/Holocaust.
• Case studies are historically important, shed light on rare events, and develop ideas applicable to larger groups.
• Naturalistic observation involves observing behavior in natural settings without changes, such as Mead's examination of life on Samoa Island.
• Naturalistic observation provides real, unaltered data but may require long waiting times or not capture the desired data.
• Artificial observation involves observing behavior in a controlled lab setting, for example, observing infants in a room with a caregiver and a stranger.
• Artificial observation allows for replicating real-life situations and controlling factors.

Correlation

• Surveys are used to collect data.
• Surveys offer good control but are subject to sampling bias and people answering favorably about themselves.
• Correlation refers to the relationship between two variables (correlation coefficient).
• The sign of correlation indicates positive or negative affiliation.
• The number ranges from 0-1 and indicates the strength of affiliation.
• Spurious correlation is a third variable effect where ice cream sales and drowning have a positive correlation due to weather.
• Fire damage and the number of firefighters have a positive correlation due to population density.

Experiments

• Experiments manipulate one source of influence to find a casual relationship.
• Experiments include:
• A testable hypothesis.
• An independent variable that is manipulated.
• A dependent variable that is influenced.
• A control group is where nothing is changed.
• Random assignment of participants into groups.
• Variables must be kept constant and have the same standards.
• For example, to test “daily exercise keeps you fit,” the IV is exercise, the DV is fitness, and the control group does no exercise.

Social Psychology

• Crowds are large gatherings of people who don't know each other.
• Groups are smaller gatherings between people.
• Diffusion of responsibility means that in larger groups, individuals assume others will help, lessening individual responsibility.
• An example is the murder of Kitty Genovese, where many people watched but no one helped, waiting for others to do so.
• Bystander intervention is the act of helping others in a situation.
• Bystander intervention is less likely in larger groups.
• For example, in a smoke-filled room, participants alone were more likely to report the smoke than those with others, where only 10% reported it.

Categories of Social Influence

• Conformity is changing behavior to match others through observation without explicit pressure to copy.
• Asch's Research on Group Influence involved a line test to match a line.
• When tested alone, 95% picked correctly, but in groups, 75% went against the correct answer.
• It was concluded people against group consensus don't want to disagree, even if they know they are right.
• Informational influence is when people believe a group is right.
• Normative influence is when they don't want to be the odd one out.
• Conditions of conformity include feeling incompetent/insecure, the group having at least 3 people, group unanimity, admiration of the group, no commitment to response, group observation, and a culture that encourages respect for social standards.
• Protective factors against conformity include group identification and high self esteem.
• An example of someone with group identification, immigrants don't fell repressed around holiday time because it is not their culture.

Compliance

• Compliance is changing behavior upon direct request.
• Example: buying girl scout cookies even if you don't like sweets.
• Compliance tactics (or sales tactics);
• Reciprocity, feeling the need to repay a favor.
• Reagan's coca-cola study is an example of reciprocity.
• Commitment/consistency, acting in accordance with past behavior.
• Authority, being more likely to listen to an authority figure.
• Social validation, the need to validate behavior by looking at other.
• Scarcity, things are valued more in short supply.
• Liking and things associated between people that they like.

Obedience

• Obedience is changing behavior in response to an order from authority.
• Milgram's Shocking Experiment was started to understand why people did what they did during the Holocaust.
• Participants were middle-aged men in partners with confederates.
• Participants acted as "teachers", and would deliver shocks to the "students" in mistakes.
• Experimenter was the authority figure that ordered them to continue when they stopped, with 66% of participants staying obedient, showing the power of social situations.

Close Relationships

• The mere exposure effect means people like things that they seen more often.
• Physical attractiveness matters, such as Walter's computer dance study.
• Similarity matters and such as Newcomb's study.
• Triangle Love Theory;
• Passion is physiological arousing, longing to be with them.
• Intimacy is a close bond, sharing and supporting one each other.
• Commitment is the will to define the relationship as spend a long time with the partner.
• Aggression: Behaviour that is intened to injudre others.

Personality Psychology

• Psychodynamic Theory (Freud) consists of the levels of consciousness and three main structures.
• The levels of consciousness are conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.
• The three main structures are Id, Ego and Superego.
• The Id's motivation is to satisfy basic needs and it is a natural unlearned instinct.
• The Ego balances the Id with opportunities and rules of the world.
• The Superego provides morals and ethics.
• Psychosexual stages are oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital.
• Mental energies include life energies, death energies and the Anxiety- energy flow is blocked.

Methods to prevent anxiety

• Denial- can't accept existence of info
• Repression- can't remember
• Rationalization- use logical reason to hide motives
• Projection- conclude that other people have the bad qualities that we have
• Reaction formation- express thoughts opposite to true motive
• Sublimation- expression bad motives in an acceptable way
• Displacement- redirecting mental energy to others
• Methods in psychoanalysis include free association, word association and projective test.

Humanistic Theory (Rogers)

• Humanistic theory focuses on thoughts and feelings which shape relationships.
• The self concept is a set of self perceptions of personal qualities.
• Actual self- people's perception of current qualities.
• Ideal self- people's perception of wanted qualities.
• Self-actualization- motivation to realize inner potential.
• Condition of worth- condition of being valued.

• Humanistic therapy- to help improve condition of worth
• Uses a Therapist to plays the role of approving a parental figure
• This incorporates Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Trait Theory

• Trait- person's typical style of behavior and emotion
• Lexical approach- traits that will be shown through individual differences
• Traits that will be represented by words
• Factor analysis- statistical approach to identify patterns in sets of correlation-> found 5 cluster
• Big 5:
• Openness-need for motivation, variety and cognition
• Conscientiousness- responsible
• Extraversion- sociable
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism
• Assessment measures individual differences
• Self report questionnaires-: NEO-PI-R measure difference in big 5

Test your knowledge of social psychology principles, including scarcity, obedience, social validation, and the mere exposure effect. Explore how these concepts influence behavior, relationships, and marketing strategies. Questions cover key studies and applications.