Social Psychology

scientific study of the effects of social and cognitive processes on what individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others

2 fundamental axioms

construction of reality, pervasiveness of social influence

3 motivational principles

striving for mastery, seeking connectedness, valueing "me and mine"

3 processing priniciples

conservatism, accessibility, superficiality vs. depth

3 requirements of Scientific Study

About a construct, describes casual relations, general in scope

Steps of Scientific Method

construct/ focus on a theory -> form a hypothesis -> test the hypothesis ->analyze the results -> report the results

construct

abstract and general concepts that are not directly observable

variable

measurable version of a construct

construct example

intelligence, physical attraction, learning

variable example

IQ test, heart rate, task speed

observational

directly watching and recording peoples behavior, including online

self-report

asking the individuals about their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors

archival

allows researchers to study and interpret past events, behaviors, and phenomena by accessing and examining primary source materials

physiological

examines the role of the nervous system, particularly the brain, in explaining behavior and the mind.

performance

ask participants to perform some tasks

Positive (+)

moves together (up up or down down)

Negative

inverse relationship (up down or down up)

directionality problem

what causes what?

Identify Independent Variable, dependent variable, experimental condition, and control condition

IV: manipulated DV: outcome Control: No IV, comparison Experimental: IV

construct validity

how well variables/operational definitions correspond to constructs

internal validity

how sure we are that only the IV affected the DV

external validity

how much the results can be generalized

ecological validity

the extent to which research findings can be generalized to real-world settings and everyday life situations

random assignment

technique for assigning human participants or animal subjects to different groups in an experiment (e.g., a treatment group versus a control group) using randomization, such as by a chance procedure (e.g., flipping a coin)

random sampling

participants are selected from a population in such a way that each individual has an equal chance of being chosen

replication

refers to the process of repeating a research study to verify or bolster confidence in its results

WEIRD participants

western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic

Individualistic cultures

self as separate from others

collectivistic cultures

self as linked to others

ethical values to consider in psychological research

privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, deception, risks

superficial processing

rely on accessible info, automatic

systematic processing

effortful consideration, requires: motivation, ability

schema

mental representation of objects, situations, etc

salience

the ability of a cue to attract attention in its context

associations

link between 2 schemas

accessibility

ease and speed with which info comes to mind and is used

subliminal processing

processing information without a persons conscious awareness

priming

activation of a schema to increase accessibility, making it more likely to be used

how do physical appearance, nonverbal communications, and behavior influence impression formation?

Lies are hard to detect, beauty signals positive expectations

causal attributions

judgement about cause of a behavior or event

correspondent inference

infer personality from their behavior

fundamental attribution error

overemphasize personality traits, underestimate situational factors

what reduces fundamental attribution error

paying attention to the situation, cultural differences, individuals > collectivist

Single aspect

quick decision, rely on past judgement, slow to change -> superficial

multiple aspects

decision matters, integrating info (one aspect can impact others) -> systematic

primacy effect

initial info has a greater impact

perseverance bias

info has effect on judgement even after discredited

contribution bias

seek info that confirms thoughts

self-fulfilling prophecy

expectations become reality by behavior that confirms expectations

self-concept

all of an individuals knowledge about their personal qualities

4 ways we form impressions of ourselves

behaviors, thoughts and feelings, other's reactions to self, compare self to others

self- perception theory

make inferences or characteristics based on behaviors

looking glass self

learn about self when receive feedback from others

social comparison theory

learn about and evaluate self by comparing self to others; can be inaccurate depending on who is compared with

contrast

judge yourself as different from the comparison (extremely good/bad)

assimilation

judge self as more similar to the comparison (similar to you)

self-esteem

positive or negative evaluation of the self

state self-esteem

fleeting feelings

self- enchasing bias

gather/ interpret info about self in a way that leads to overly positive evaluations

self-handicapping

claim excuses or sabotage own performance

components of emotions

cognitive appraisal, subjective experience, physiological responses, and expressive behaviors

self-expression

the expression of one's own personality : assertion of one's individual traits

self-presentation

individuals attempt to control or influence how others perceive them through their behaviors, appearances, and communications

self-monitoring

the process of observing, recording, and regulating one’s own behavior, thoughts, or emotions to adapt to situations, achieve goals, or improve self-regulation.

ideal selves

person an individual aspires to be

ought selves

represents what one believes they should be or do

regulatory focus theory

how individuals pursue goals through two distinct motivational orientations: promotion focus for gains and advancement, and prevention focus for safety and obligation.

what is an attitude and its three components

peoples evaluations of objects, events, or ideas. Behavioral, cognitive, affective

intensity

moderate or extreme

direction

favorable, neutral, unfavorable

strong attitude

extremely positive/ negative, hard to change, more accessible, connectedness means

ambivalent attitude

based on conflicting posotive/negative, open-minded, doesn't help with needs

explicit attitude

consciously aware of

implicit attitude

influences at a conscious level

elaboration likelihood model

explains how people process persuasive messages through either a central route of careful evaluation or a peripheral route of superficial cues, influencing the durability and impact of attitude change.

4 steps involved with systematic processing

attending to info, comprehending info, reacting to info, accepting or rejecting

Mastery

people held accountable, people who love to do things complicated

connectedness

goal of pleasant interactions, goal to connect-process/pay attention more

Me and Mine

self-relevance, prevention vs. promotion focused

need-for-cognition

natural preference to puzzle over problems

affect-as-information

Positive: benign, no more processing needed Negative: something is wrong, need to process more Certainty: joy, anger -> superficial Uncertainty: surprise, fear -> systematic

how do we resist persuasion?

ignore info that challenges, focus on info that supports, reinterpret info, biased info processing