EXAM 1 Study Guide PDF

Chapter 1 1. Definition of Social Psychology​ Social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts. It focuses on the influence of actual, imagined, or implied presence of others on an individual's thoughts and actions. 2. Differences from Other D...

Chapter 1 1. Definition of Social Psychology​ Social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts. It focuses on the influence of actual, imagined, or implied presence of others on an individual's thoughts and actions. 2. Differences from Other Disciplines​ Social psychology differs from: ​ Personality Psychology: Focuses on individual differences rather than situational influences. ​ Sociology: Examines group behaviors and societal structures, while social psychology emphasizes individuals in social situations. ​ Evolutionary Psychology: Explains behavior through genetic and evolutionary processes rather than immediate social influences. 3. Levels of Analysis in Social Psychology​ Social psychology typically analyzes behavior at the individual level, in contrast to sociology (group level) and personality psychology (individual traits). This level of analysis examines how social influences affect personal behavior and cognition. 4. Fundamental Attribution Error​ This is the tendency to overestimate dispositional factors (personality traits) and underestimate situational factors in explaining others' behavior. 5. Liberman, Samuels, & Ross (2004) "Wall Street" Study​ Participants played a game labeled either the "Wall Street Game" or the "Community Game." Regardless of personality, those in the "Wall Street Game" acted competitively, while those in the "Community Game" cooperated. This study highlights how situational labels and construals influence behavior. 6. Social Psychology vs. Behaviorism​ Social psychology builds on behaviorism by acknowledging environmental influences but departs by considering subjective construals and cognitive interpretations. 7. Gestalt Psychology and Social Psychology​ Gestalt psychology emphasizes perception as a whole rather than its parts. Social psychology adopted this perspective to study how people perceive and interpret social information. 8. History of Social Psychology​ The field emerged in the early 20th century, influenced by figures like Kurt Lewin, who emphasized the importance of situational factors in behavior. 9. Lee Ross’ Concept of Naïve Realism​ Naïve realism is the belief that one’s perception of reality is objective, while others who disagree are biased. 10. Construals and Their Influence​ Construals are subjective interpretations of social situations. They are shaped by the need to maintain self-esteem and to be accurate. 11. Edward Snowden and Differing Construals​ Snowden can be viewed as a whistleblower (heroic act for transparency) or a traitor (compromising national security), demonstrating how construals shape perception. 12. Self-Esteem Motive and Self-Justification​ People have a strong need to maintain self-esteem, often leading to self-justification when their actions conflict with their self-concept. 13. Social Cognition Motive (Need for Accuracy)​ Humans strive for accurate information processing, though cognitive biases can interfere. 14. Conflict Between Self-Esteem and Accuracy​ When self-esteem is at stake, people may distort reality to feel better about themselves, even at the cost of accuracy. 15. Importance of Studying Social Psychology​ Understanding social psychology helps explain real-world behaviors, reduce biases, and improve social interactions. Key Terms and Definitions: ​ 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. Chapter 2 Research Methods in Social Psychology 1.​ Development of Hypotheses and Theories​ Researchers develop hypotheses by deriving testable predictions from broader theories. Theories provide a general framework, while hypotheses are specific statements that can be tested through empirical research. 2.​ Hindsight Bias​ The tendency to believe, after an event has occurred, that one would have predicted or expected the outcome beforehand. 3.​ Research Design Strengths and Weaknesses ○​ Observational Methods: Provide rich qualitative data but cannot establish causality. ○​ Correlational Methods: Identify relationships between variables but do not prove causation.  ○​ Experimental Methods: Allow for causal conclusions but may lack external validity. 4.​ Ethnography​ A qualitative research method involving immersive participation in a group to understand social dynamics. It differs from other methods by focusing on in-depth, firsthand experiences rather than detached observations or experiments. 5.​ Archival Research​ Involves analyzing pre-existing records and data sources to study past behaviors and trends. 6.​ Limits of Observational Methods​ Cannot determine causality, may be subject to observer bias, and depend on available contexts. 7.​ Correlational Research​ Measures relationships between two variables without manipulating them. ○​ Strengths: Can analyze naturally occurring relationships and large datasets. ○​ Weaknesses: Cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships. 8.​ Positive and Negative Correlations ○​ Positive Correlation: Both variables increase together (e.g., study time and exam scores). ○​ Negative Correlation: One variable increases while the other decreases (e.g., stress and sleep quality). 9.​ Surveys in Research​ Used to collect self-reported data from participants. They are efficient but susceptible to biases like social desirability. 10.​Experimental Research ○​ Strengths: Establishes causality through controlled manipulation. ○​ Weaknesses: May lack external validity and be affected by participant biases. 11.​Random Selection​ Ensures that every individual in a population has an equal chance of being chosen, enhancing external validity. 12.​Independent vs. Dependent Variables ○​ Independent Variable: The manipulated factor. ○​ Dependent Variable: The measured outcome. 13.​Internal vs. External Validity ○​ Internal Validity: The degree to which a study accurately establishes causation. ○​ External Validity: The extent to which results generalize to real-world settings. 14.​Random Sampling​ A method ensuring every member of a population has an equal chance of selection, improving representativeness.  15.​Random Assignment​ Ensures participants are randomly placed in experimental conditions, minimizing confounding variables. 16.​p-Value​ A statistical measure indicating the probability that results occurred by chance. A p-value < 0.05 is typically considered significant. 17.​Psychological Realism​ The extent to which an experiment reflects real-world experiences. 18.​Field vs. Lab Experiments ○​ Field Experiments: Conducted in real-world settings, increasing external validity. ○​ Lab Experiments: Controlled environments, increasing internal validity. 19.​Replication Studies​ Repeating studies to ensure findings are reliable and generalizable. 20.​Meta-Analysis​ A statistical technique that aggregates results from multiple studies to identify overall trends. 21.​Basic vs. Applied Research ○​ Basic Research: Aims to expand theoretical knowledge. ○​ Applied Research: Solves practical problems using psychological principles. 22.​Cross-Cultural and Social Neuroscience Research​ Examining cultural influences and neurological underpinnings of social behavior. 23.​Open Science Movement​ Promotes transparency, data sharing, and replication to improve research credibility. 24.​Ethical Considerations in Research ○​ Informed Consent: Participants must voluntarily agree with full awareness of risks. ○​ Deception: Sometimes used but must be justified and followed by debriefing. ○​ Debriefing: Explaining the study’s purpose to participants after completion. ○​ Institutional Review Board (IRB): Approves studies to ensure ethical standards. Three Purposes of Research 1.​ Exploratory Research – Seeks to investigate a topic with little existing knowledge, helping to define problems and formulate hypotheses for future research. 2.​ Descriptive Research – Focuses on accurately describing characteristics, behaviors, or phenomena, often through surveys or observational studies. 3.​ Explanatory (Causal) Research – Aims to determine cause-and-effect relationships by examining how one variable influences another, typically using experimental methods. Correlational Research Correlational research examines the relationship between two or more variables to determine if they are associated. It does not establish causation but identifies patterns and strengths of relationships, typically using statistical techniques such as Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Strengths and Weaknesses of Correlational Research Strengths: ​ Allows researchers to study relationships between variables in real-world settings. ​ Can be conducted using existing data, surveys, or observations, making it cost-effective and less time-consuming than experiments. ​ Useful when ethical or practical constraints prevent experimental manipulation. Weaknesses: ​ Does not establish causation; a third variable may be influencing both variables (third-variable problem). ​ Directionality issue—researchers cannot determine which variable influences the other. ​ Correlations may be spurious (coincidental rather than meaningful). Major Components of Experimental Designs 1.​ Independent Variable (IV) – The variable manipulated by the researcher to examine its effect. 2.​ Dependent Variable (DV) – The outcome or response measured in the study. 3.​ Control Group – A group that does not receive the experimental treatment, used for comparison. 4.​ Experimental Group – The group exposed to the independent variable. 5.​ Random Assignment – Participants are randomly assigned to groups to control for confounding variables. 6.​ Control of Extraneous Variables – Steps taken to minimize outside factors that could influence the results. Distinguishing Between Correlational & Experimental Research  ​ Correlational Research: Examines associations between variables without manipulation. It identifies whether a relationship exists but does not determine causation. ​ Experimental Research: Involves manipulation of an independent variable to observe its causal effect on a dependent variable. It establishes cause-and-effect relationships through controlled conditions and random assignment. Three Major Types of Validity 1.​ Internal Validity – The extent to which an experiment establishes a causal relationship by controlling confounding variables. High internal validity means the results are due to the IV rather than external influences. 2.​ External Validity – The degree to which research findings generalize to other settings, populations, and time periods. High external validity means results are applicable outside the study. 3.​ Construct Validity – The extent to which a study accurately measures the concept it intends to measure. It ensures that the variables truly represent the theoretical constructs being studied. Chapter 3 1. Characteristics of Automatic Thinking ​ Unconscious, fast, and effortless. ​ Based on past experiences and heuristics. ​ Helps with decision-making but can lead to biases. 2. Definition and Functions of Schemas ​ Schemas: Mental frameworks that help us organize and interpret information. ​ Functions: Aid memory, guide expectations, and influence behavior. ​ Influence: Affect perception, decision-making, and responses to new information. 3. Schema Accessibility and Interpretation of Ambiguous Stimuli ​ Schema Accessibility: The ease with which a schema is activated. ​ Influences perception by shaping how we interpret unclear situations. 4. Three Reasons Schemas Become Accessible 1.​ Chronic Accessibility – Frequently used schemas become habitual. 2.​ Recent Activation (Priming) – Exposure to stimuli temporarily increases accessibility. 3.​ Related to Current Goals – Schemas linked to current objectives become active. 5. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and Schema Resistance ​ Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: When expectations influence behavior, causing the expected outcome. ​ Makes schemas resistant to change by reinforcing pre-existing beliefs. 6. Rosenhan & Jacobson (1968/2003) Study & Implications ​ Study: Teachers were told certain students were "bloomers," leading to improved student performance due to teacher expectations. ​ Implication: Expectations shape reality through behavior. 7. Automatic Goal Pursuit ​ Subconscious goals influence behavior. ​ Activated by environmental cues and past experiences. 8. Automatic Thinking and Body-Mind Metaphors ​ Physical sensations influence thought processes (e.g., warmth = trust, cold = distance). 9. Judgmental Heuristics ​ Mental shortcuts used for quick decision-making. ​ Can be efficient but lead to biases. 10. Availability Heuristic & Faulty Judgments ​ Judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind. ​ Can lead to errors by overemphasizing recent or dramatic events. 11. Representativeness Heuristic & Example ​ Classifying something based on similarity to a prototype. ​ Example: Assuming someone in a suit is a lawyer without considering base rates. 12. Use of Base Rate Information ​ Base rates: General statistical information. ​ Often ignored in favor of heuristics. 13. Barnum Effect ​ Accepting vague, general personality descriptions as personally meaningful. ​ Example: Horoscopes or personality tests. 14. Cultural Influences on Social Thinking ​ Individualistic Cultures: Emphasize personal traits. ​ Collectivist Cultures: Emphasize situational factors. 15. Analytic vs. Holistic Thinking Styles ​ Analytic Thinking: Focus on objects and details, common in Western cultures. ​ Holistic Thinking: Emphasizes context and relationships, common in Eastern cultures. 16. Drawbacks & Improvement of Controlled Thinking ​ Drawbacks: Time-consuming and mentally taxing. ​ Improvement: Practice mindfulness, avoid overanalyzing. 17. Characteristics of Controlled Thinking ​ Conscious, slow, and effortful. ​ Requires cognitive resources. 18. Research on the Illusion of Free Will ​ Studies suggest subconscious influences drive decisions before conscious awareness. 19. Counterfactual Thinking & Personal Example ​ Imagining alternative outcomes. ​ Example: “If I had left earlier, I wouldn’t have been late.” 20. Planning Fallacy & Reduction Strategies ​ Underestimating time needed for tasks. ​ Solutions: Break tasks into steps, review past completion times. 21. Humans as "Flawed Scientists" ​ We strive for accuracy but rely on cognitive shortcuts, leading to biases. 1.​ Social Cognition: The study of how people process, store, and apply information about others and social situations. It involves understanding how we form impressions, make judgments, and interact in social contexts. 2.​ Automatic Thinking: Thinking that is quick, unconscious, and effortless. It's driven by habits or immediate responses to environmental cues, rather than deliberate analysis.  3.​ Schemas: Mental frameworks or structures that help us organize and interpret information. They guide our understanding of the world based on past experiences and expectations. 4.​ Accessibility: Refers to how easily information can be brought to mind. Information that is more accessible is more likely to influence our judgments and decisions. 5.​ Priming: The process by which exposure to one stimulus influences the response to a subsequent stimulus, often unconsciously. For example, seeing a word related to kindness might make someone act more kindly afterward. 6.​ Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: When a person’s belief or expectation about someone leads to behaviors that cause that belief to come true. For example, if a teacher expects a student to do well, they might provide more support, which leads the student to succeed. 7.​ Judgmental Heuristics: Mental shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently, though not always accurately. 8.​ Availability Heuristic: The tendency to judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. If we can easily recall instances of something, we might overestimate how common it is. 9.​ Representativeness Heuristic: The tendency to judge the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a prototype or stereotype, often ignoring statistical likelihoods. 10.​Base Rate Information: Information about the general frequency of an event or characteristic. People sometimes ignore base rate information in favor of more specific details, leading to biased judgments. 11.​Analytic Thinking Style: A cognitive style that emphasizes breaking down a situation into its components and focusing on the details, often associated with Western cultures. 12.​Holistic Thinking Style: A cognitive style that focuses on the overall context and relationships among objects, often associated with Eastern cultures. 13.​Controlled Thinking: Deliberate, effortful, and conscious thinking. It involves more cognitive resources and attention, such as when making a complex decision or solving a problem. 14.​Counterfactual Thinking: Thinking about alternative outcomes to past events, especially those that didn’t happen, often in the form of "what if" scenarios. 15.​Planning Fallacy: The tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete a task, despite knowing that similar tasks have taken longer in the past. Chapter 4 1.​ Nonverbal Cues: People use nonverbal communication (such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and eye contact) to understand others’ emotions, intentions, and reactions. These cues are often unconscious but can provide powerful insights into a person’s thoughts and feelings, even if they don’t verbally express them. 2.​ Darwin’s Theory of Universal Facial Expressions of Emotion: Darwin suggested that facial expressions of emotion are universal and innate, not learned. He argued that these expressions evolved because they helped humans communicate emotions to others, promoting social bonds and survival. 3.​ Research on Universal Facial Expressions: Studies show that people across cultures recognize facial expressions of emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust similarly, suggesting that some facial expressions are universal. However, culture influences how expressions are interpreted and displayed. For example, some cultures emphasize controlling facial expressions, while others may express emotions more openly. 4.​ Decoding Facial Expressions: Decoding facial expressions can be difficult because people often display "affect blends" — a combination of multiple emotions expressed on the face at the same time. For example, someone might show a blend of sadness and anger, which can be challenging to interpret without context. 5.​ Culture and Nonverbal Communication: Culture influences how nonverbal communication is interpreted and displayed. For example, certain cultures use gestures (emblems) to convey specific meanings, while others avoid direct eye contact as a sign of respect. Display rules, which vary by culture, dictate when, where, and how emotions should be expressed. 6.​ Implicit Personality Theories: Implicit personality theories refer to the assumptions people make about how certain traits or behaviors are linked. For example, if someone is perceived as kind, we may assume they are also trustworthy. Cross-culturally, these theories vary; for example, Western cultures may emphasize individual traits, while Eastern cultures may focus on how traits interact in social contexts. 7.​ First Impressions: First impressions often form quickly and tend to persist because they are based on initial, often automatic judgments. These impressions are influenced by factors like physical appearance, behavior, and how someone’s traits align with stereotypes. Once formed, they can be hard to change due to cognitive biases like belief perseverance. 8.​ Fritz Heider’s Attribution Theory: Heider proposed that people try to explain others’ behavior by attributing it to either internal factors (like personality) or external factors (like situational influences). People naturally seek to make sense of the world by identifying the causes of actions. 9.​ Internal vs. External Attributions: Internal attributions assign behavior to a person's characteristics (e.g., personality, disposition), while external attributions consider external factors or situational influences (e.g., stress, environment). 10.​Kelley’s Covariation Model: Kelley’s model suggests that people use three types of information to make attributions: consensus (how others behave in similar situations), distinctiveness (whether the person behaves differently in different situations), and consistency (whether the person behaves the same way over time). 11.​Consensus, Distinctiveness, and Consistency: ​ Consensus: How others behave in the same situation. ​ Distinctiveness: Whether the person behaves differently in other situations. ​ Consistency: Whether the person behaves the same way across time in similar situations. Attribution depends on how these factors relate — for example, if consistency is high, the attribution is likely internal; if consensus and distinctiveness are high, it may be external. 12.​Fundamental Attribution Error (Correspondence Bias): The fundamental attribution error occurs when people overemphasize internal factors and underestimate external factors in explaining others' behavior. For example, assuming someone is rude because of their personality, without considering external influences like stress. 13.​Jones & Harris (1967) Study: In their study, participants assumed that people who were assigned to write pro-Castro essays must support Castro, even when they knew the writers were told to write that way. This reflects the fundamental attribution error: people ignored situational influences (the assignment) and assumed behavior reflected personal attitudes. 14.​Perceptual Salience: Perceptual salience refers to the tendency to focus on the most noticeable features of a situation or person, which can lead to biases. In the context of the fundamental attribution error, people focus on the person (who is most salient) and ignore the situational context. 15.​Two-Step Attribution Process: In this process, people first make an automatic internal attribution (based on the behavior they observe) and then adjust this attribution by considering situational factors, though this adjustment is often insufficient. 16.​Self-Serving Attributions: People tend to make internal attributions for their successes (e.g., "I did well because I am smart") and external attributions for their failures (e.g., "I did poorly because the test was unfair"). 17.​Belief in a Just World: This is the belief that people get what they deserve — good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. This belief can lead to victim-blaming, as people may attribute unfortunate events to the victim’s behavior. 18.​Bias Blind Spot: The bias blind spot is the tendency to recognize cognitive biases in others but not in oneself. For example, people may recognize the fundamental attribution error in others but fail to notice it in their own judgments. 19.​Culture and Social Perception/Attribution: Culture plays a key role in how people perceive others and attribute behavior. For example, individualistic cultures (e.g., the U.S.) tend to focus on internal attributions, while collectivist cultures (e.g., Japan) are more likely to consider external factors and social context. 20.​Holistic vs. Analytic Thinking: Holistic thinking focuses on the context and relationships among things, while analytic thinking focuses on individual components. Social neuroscience research suggests that different brain regions are activated in these two thinking styles, with holistic thinking associated with more activity in the prefrontal cortex in Asian cultures.  21.​Culture and the Fundamental Attribution Error: People from individualistic cultures are more likely to commit the fundamental attribution error because they focus on personal traits, whereas people from collectivist cultures are more likely to consider situational influences. 22.​Cross-Cultural Variability in Self-Serving Bias and Just-World Beliefs: In individualistic cultures, self-serving attributions are more common because of a focus on personal achievement. In contrast, collectivist cultures may emphasize situational factors more. Similarly, belief in a just world may be stronger in cultures that emphasize personal responsibility. Key Terms 1.​ Social Perception: The process by which we form impressions and make judgments about other people based on their behavior, appearance, and other social cues. 2.​ Nonverbal Communication: The transmission of messages or information without using words, often through facial expressions, body language, gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice. 3.​ Encode: The process of expressing or sending nonverbal messages (e.g., a person making a facial expression to convey an emotion). 4.​ Decode: The process of interpreting and understanding the meaning of nonverbal messages received from others. 5.​ Affect Blend: A combination of different emotions expressed on a person’s face at the same time, making it harder to interpret the person’s exact feelings. 6.​ Display Rules: Culturally determined guidelines for when, where, and how emotions should be expressed. These rules vary across cultures and dictate the appropriateness of different emotional expressions. 7.​ Emblems: Nonverbal gestures that have specific, widely understood meanings within a culture (e.g., a thumbs-up gesture signaling approval). 8.​ Thin-Slicing: The ability to make quick judgments about someone based on very limited information (e.g., judging someone's personality based on a brief interaction). 9.​ Primacy Effect: The tendency for initial impressions to have a greater impact on our overall perception of someone than later information. 10.​Belief Perseverance: The tendency to hold onto one’s beliefs, even when presented with evidence that contradicts those beliefs. 11.​Attribution Theory: The study of how people explain the causes of behavior, typically distinguishing between internal (personal) and external (situational) causes. 12.​Internal Attribution: Attributing a person’s behavior to their internal characteristics, such as their personality, attitudes, or motives. 13.​External Attribution: Attributing a person’s behavior to external factors or situational influences, rather than their internal characteristics. 14.​Covariation Model: A theory proposed by Harold Kelley that suggests we use consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information to make attributions about the causes of behavior. 15.​Consensus Information: Information about how others behave in similar situations. High consensus means others behave similarly, suggesting external factors are at play. 16.​Distinctiveness Information: Information about whether a person behaves differently in different situations. High distinctiveness means the person behaves differently across situations, suggesting external causes. 17.​Consistency Information: Information about whether a person’s behavior is consistent over time in the same situation. High consistency suggests internal factors are responsible for the behavior. 18.​Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to overestimate the role of internal factors (e.g., personality) and underestimate the role of external factors when explaining others' behavior. 19.​Perceptual Salience: The idea that we focus more on the most noticeable or prominent features of a situation or person, which can lead to biased attributions. 20.​Two-Step Process of Attribution: A two-phase model of attribution where, first, we make an automatic internal attribution, and then, if necessary, we adjust this attribution by considering external factors. 21.​Self-Serving Attributions: The tendency to take credit for successes (internal attribution) and blame external factors for failures (external attribution). 22.​Bias Blind Spot: The tendency to recognize cognitive biases in others but fail to see them in oneself. 23.​Belief in a Just World: The belief that people get what they deserve — good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people.