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• Social psychology studies how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts, focusing on the influence of others.
• Social psychology differs from personality psychology by considering situational influences rather than individual differences.
• It differs from sociology by focusing on individuals within social situations rather than group behaviors and societal structures.
• And it differs from evolutionary psychology by considering immediate influences instead of genetic and evolutionary processes.
• Social psychology analyzes behavior at the individual level, examining how social influences affect personal behavior and cognition.
• The fundamental attribution error is overestimating dispositional factors and underestimating situational factors in others' behavior.
• Liberman, Samuels, & Ross's "Wall Street" study showed that situational labels influence behavior, overriding personality.
• Social psychology acknowledges environmental influences but considers subjective construals and cognitive interpretations, departing from behaviorism.
• Gestalt psychology's emphasis on perception influences social psychology's study of how people perceive and interpret social information.
• Social psychology emerged in the early 20th century, with Kurt Lewin emphasizing situational factors in behavior.
• Naïve realism is the belief that one's perception of reality is objective, while differing views are biased.
• Construals are subjective interpretations of social situations, shaped by the need to maintain self-esteem and be accurate.
• The differing views of Edward Snowden shows how construals shape perception.
• There is a strong need to maintain self-esteem, which can lead to self-justification when actions conflict with self-concept.
• Humans strive for accurate information processing, though cognitive biases can interfere.
• People may distort reality to feel better when self-esteem is at stake, even at the cost of accuracy.
• Studying social psychology helps explain real-world behaviors, reduce biases, and improve social interactions.

Key Terms

• Social Psychology: The study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others.
• Social Influence: The effect that words, actions, or presence of others have on an individual's behavior.
• Folk Wisdom: Common sense explanations for human behavior, often untested scientifically.
• Evolutionary Psychology: A field that explains psychological traits as adaptations shaped by natural selection.
• Personality Psychology: The study of individual traits and characteristics that shape behavior.
• Sociology: The study of society, social institutions, and group interactions.
• Levels of Analysis in Social Psychology: The study of behavior at the individual level, influenced by social context.
• Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to attribute others' behaviors to internal traits rather than external factors.
• Behaviorism: A psychological approach focusing on observable behavior and external stimuli.
• Construal: The way in which people perceive, interpret, and understand social situations.
• Gestalt Psychology: A psychological perspective emphasizing holistic perception.
• Naïve Realism: The belief that one's perception of reality is objective and that others are biased.
• Kurt Lewin: A pioneer of social psychology known for the concept that behavior is a function of the person and environment.
• Self-Esteem: The degree to which one views themselves positively.
• Self-Justification: The tendency to rationalize one's actions to maintain self-esteem.
• Social Cognition: The study of how people perceive, remember, and interpret social information.
• WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) Societies: A term referring to the common research sample bias in psychology studies, predominantly from Western societies.

Research Methods in Social Psychology

• Hypotheses are developed by deriving testable predictions from broader theories.
• Theories provide a general framework; hypotheses are specific statements tested empirically.
• Hindsight bias is the belief, after an event, that one would have predicted it beforehand.
• Observational methods provide qualitative data but cannot establish causality.
• Correlational methods identify relationships between variables but do not prove causation.
• Experimental methods allow causal conclusions but may lack external validity.
• Ethnography is a qualitative method involving immersive participation to understand social dynamics.
• Archival research analyzes pre-existing records and data sources to study past behaviors and trends.
• Observational methods have limitations as they cannot determine causality, may be subject to observer bias, and depend on available contexts.
• Correlational research measures relationships between two variables without manipulating them.
• Its strengths include analyzing naturally occurring relationships and large datasets.
• Positive correlation means both variables increase together.
• Negative correlation one variable increases while the other decreases.
• Surveys collect self-reported data, are efficient but are susceptible to biases (e.g., social desirability).
• Experimental research establishes causality through controlled manipulation.
• Random selection ensures every individual has an equal chance of being chosen, enhancing external validity.
• Independent Variable: The manipulated factor.
• Dependent Variable: The measured outcome.
• Internal validity is the degree to which a study accurately establishes causation.
• External validity is the extent to which results generalize to real-world settings.
• Random sampling ensures all members of a population have an equal chance of selection, improving represtentativeness.
• Random assignment ensures participants are randomly placed in experimental conditions, minimizing confounding variables.
• p-value: A statistical measure of the probability that results occurred by chance; <0.05 is typically considered significant.
• Psychological realism: How well the research reflects real-world experience.
• Field experiments are conducted in real-world settings, increasing external validity.
• Lab Experiments: Controlled environments, increasing internal validity.
• Replication studies repeat studies to ensure reliable, generalizable findings.
• Meta-analysis aggregates results from multiple studies to identify overall trends.
• Basic research aims to expand theoretical knowledge.
• Applied research solves practical problems using psychological principles.
• Cross-cultural and social neuroscience research examines cultural and neurological underpinnings of social behavior.
• The Open Science Movement promotes transparency, data sharing, and replication to improve research credibility

Ethical Considerations in Research

• Informed consent for participants
• Minimize deception, with debriefing
• Deception is allowable but must be followed by debriefing.
• Debriefing: Explain the study’s purpose
• Get IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval

Purposes of Research

• Exploratory research investigates a topic with little existing knowledge to help define problems and formulate hypotheses.
• Descriptive research accurately describes characteristics, behaviors, or phenomena, through surveys or observational studies.
• Explanatory (Causal) Research aims to determine cause-and-effect relationships, typically using experimental methods.

Major Components of Experimental Designs

• Independent Variable (IV): Manipulated by the researcher.
• Dependent Variable (DV): The outcome or response measured.
• Control Group: Does not get experimental treatment, comparison.
• Experimental Group: Exposed to the independent variable.
• Random Assignment: Participants randomly get assigned to groups to control for any possible confounding variables.
• Control of Extraneous Variables: Steps taken to minimize outside factors that could influence the results

Types of Validity

• Internal Validity: Establishes a causal relationship by controlling confounding variables.
• External Validity: Findings apply outside the study.
• Construct Validity: Accurately measures the concept.

Chapter 3: Automatic Thinking Characteristics

• Characteristics: Unconscious, fast, and effortless.
• Based on mental shortcuts and past experiences
• Assists with decision-making, but can lead to biases.

Schemas

• Schemas: Frameworks to organize/interpret information.
• Functions: Aid memory, guide expectations, behavior influence.
• Influence: Affect perception, decision-making, responses to info.
• Schema Accessibility: How easily a schema is activated.
• Schema influences perception which shapes how we interpret unclear situations.

3 Reasons for Schema Accessiblity

• Chronic Accessibility: Frequently used
• Recent Activation (Priming): Temporarily increases accessibility, influenced by exposure to stimuli.
• Related to Current Goals: Linked to current objectives become active.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

• When expectations influence behavior, causing the expected outcome.
• Makes schemas resistant to change by reinforcing pre-existing beliefs.
• The Rosenhan & Jacobson study found educators told that certain students were “bloomers” which led to improved student performance due to teacher expectations.
• Expectations shape reality through behavior.
• Automatic Goal Pursuit is where subconscious goals influence behavior with environmental cues and past experiences.
• Automatic Thinking and Body-Mind Metaphors are influenced by physical sensations, like warmth = trust, cold = distance.
• Judgmental Heuristics are shortcuts for quick decision-making and can be efficient but lead to biases.

Heuristics

• Availability Heuristic: Judging likelihood based on easily recalled examples which can lead to overemphasizing recent/dramatic events.
• Representativeness Heuristic: Classifying something based on similarity to a prototype.
• Use of Base Rate Information: General statistical information often ignored in favor of heuristics.
• Barnum Effect: Accepting personality descriptions as personally meaningful, use horoscopes or personality tests.

Social Thinking Differences

• Individualistic Cultures: Emphasize personal traits.
• Collectivist Cultures: Emphasize situational factors.
• Analytic Thinking: Focuses on objects and details, common in Western cultures.
• Holistic Thinking: Emphasizes context and relationships, common in Eastern cultures.
• Drawbacks to controlled thinking include time-consuming and taxing.
• Practice mindfulness to avoid overanalyzing for improved results.
• Characteristics of Controlled Thinking: Conscious, slow, and effortful with high cognitive resources uses.
• Research on the illusion of Free Will suggest subconscious influences drive decisions before conscious awareness.
• Counterfactual: Imagining alternative outcomes.
• Planning Fallacy: Underestimating time needed and needs task breakdown/review.
• Humans are "Flawed Scientists" so accuracy can be biased cognitive shortcuts.

Terms

• Social Cognition: People process, store, and apply information about others and social situations. Involves understanding how we form impressions, make judgments, and interact.
• Automatic Thinking: Quick, unconscious, and effortless, driven by habits, responses to environmental cues versus deliberate.
• Schemas: Frameworks to organize/interpret which guides experiences.
• Accessibility: How easily information can be brought to mind.
• Priming: Exposure to stimulus influences the response to a later stimulus, unconsciously.
• Priming: Self Fulfilling Prophecy When belief about someone leads to behaviors that cause that belief to prove true.
• Judgmental Heuristics: Mental shortcuts people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently.
• Availability Heuristic: Tendency to judge event’s likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind.
• Representativeness Heuristic: Tendency to judge event’s probability based on how similar it is to a prototype/stereotype, ignoring statistical likelihoods.
• Base Rate Information: General frequency of an event or characteristic People sometimes ignore.
• Analytic Thinking Style: Cognitive style for breaking down to focus on the details often in Western cultures.
• Holistic Thinking Style: Cognitive style that focus on the context and relationships usually Eastern Cultures.
• Controlled Thinking: Deliberate, effortful, and conscious thinking. It involves more Cognitive resources and attention such as complex decision and problems.
• Counterfactual Thinking: Thinking about alternative outcomes to past events.
• Planning Fallacy: Underestimating how long the completion of a task will be.

Chapter 4

• Nonverbal Cues are the way that people use communication without speaking (facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and eye contact)
• Darwin suggested that facial expressions of emotion are universal and innate, which evolved to help humans communicate emotions, promoting social bonds.
• Studies show that people across cultures recognize facial expressions of emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, surprise) similarly, suggesting universal
• Culture influences expression interpretation and display, where some emphasize control, while others express emotions openly.
• Decoding is difficult because people often display "affect blends", so someone might show a blend of sadness and anger.
• Culture Nonverbal Communication interpretation and display influences.
• People explain others internal and external attribution.
• 3 types of information consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness
• Fundamental is when people internal behavior and external factor personality
• Two steep it takes and external behavior
• Self serving you would make internal and external behavior for success and your
• Bias mind you will make bias for others not yourself
• Holistic Vrs and a Social
• Culture and attribution

Key Terms

• Social Perception: The process by which we form impressions and judgements about others based on behavior.
• Nonverbal Communication: Facial Gestures and so on
• Encode: Process sending
• Decode: Process reseciving
• Affects
• Diplay Rules
• emblems
• Thinslicing
• Primacy Effeect Tendency for initail to have greater impact
• Belief you will remain to belevie Attribution: causes of internal and external
• Internal attribution: Attributing that person interal
• External Attribution: External situation to cause that behavior