Chapter 1 – Social Psychology- Why do we need to use scientific methods? – shows reliability/validity of the research and what implications can be drawn from the studyo Availability Heuristic – drawing conclusions from readily available/common knowledgeo Hindsight Bias – looking at the answer, we believe that we knew the answer all along, but probably didn’t- Fundamental Attribution Error – when you assume that the way someone is acting is based solely on their personality, but forget to take into account situational factors- Construal – how we perceive, comprehend, and interpret the world around us (especially the behavior or actionsof others towards us)- Human Universals (Universal Behaviors) – emotional expressions, dances, gender split roles, marriage, and fear of certain thingso Natural Selection – traits that will aid in survival and are passed along to the next generationo Evolutionary Psychology – tries to explain useful mental/psychological traits (like memory, perception, or language) as adaptations and why they have survived for so longo Cultural Differences Collectivist Culture – culture where the relationship with each other and the dependence on each other matters more than the individual self (Asians) Individualist Culture – culture where individual success and uniqueness matters more than the group experience, in many cases (Americans)o Gender Differences – the way in which we are socialized from birth to act in certain ways that reflect with our societal gender expectationsChapter 2 – Research Methods- Correlational Research – the degree with which two variables have a relationship, cannot show CAUSATIONo Positive Correlation – as one increases, the other also increaseso Negative Correlation – as one increases, the other decreaseso No Correlation – no definitive relationship between variables Illusory Correlations – the illusion that there is a correlation/causation Pros – good start to lead to causation, shows trends Cons – not for causation, can show false and illusory correlation- Descriptive Research – observing and describing the behavior of the subjecto Case Study – study of specific and unique situations that are uncommon and we want to understand it (doesn’t apply to real life in most situations)o Naturalistic Observation – watching subjects in the most natural environment with little or no influence by the researcher Pros – great for external validity if provable Cons – can be biased by the researcher observing it- Experimental Research Design – an experiment with the control over variables to find the real reasons for causation of certain resultso Independent variable – the variable that you can controlo Dependent variable – the output result of when you control the variableo Control Group – the group not being influenced by any specific variables (natural result)o Experimenter Bias – when the researcher giving the experiment influences the outcome of the experimento Demand characteristics – experimental artifact where participants form an interpretation of the experimenter’s purpose and subconsciously change their behavior- Ethics in Social Psychology Research – aspects that we need to better understand and abide byo IRB – Institutional Review Board, examines research proposals and makes judgements about ethical appropriatenesso Informed Consent – participants willingness to participate in a study after being able to fully understand it and ask questionso Deception Research – participants are misled about the purpose of the research or some other aspects- Psychometrics o Standardization – the way in which aspects of research are made constant across the boardo Reliability – the extent to which the research can be believedo Validity – whether or not the research can be replicated in all situations Internal Validity – valid when in the lab or specific situations External Validity – valid outside of the lab and in real lifeChapter 3 – The Social Self- Three Components of the Selfo Individual Self – beliefs about our unique personal traits, abilities, preferences, tastes, talents, and so fortho Relational Self – beliefs about our identities in specific relationshipso Collective Self – beliefs about our identities as members of social groups to which we belong- Reflected Self Appraisal – the “looking glass self” where what others think of us affects how we view ourselves- Socialization Agents – aspects of the world that socialize us in different wayso Brain imaging study of adults vs teens – MRI/fMRI, asked the participants to think about who they are, adults = prefrontal cortex (executive functioning) highlighted, teens = TPJ, emotional area, lights up in relation to what others think about us- Working Self Concept – subset of self knowledge that is brought to mind in particular context (malleable but alsostable)- Independent self-construal – asserting uniqueness and independence and focusing on internal causes of behavior- Interdependent self-construal – connected to other people and there is a deep need to find our place in a groupo 6th graders tended to talk about their dogs about their most important part of their selves- Social Comparison Theory – hypothesis that people compare themselves to other people in order to obtain an accurate assessment of their own opinions, abilities, and internal stateso Downward Comparison – comparing to others like us but are a little worse than us, increases our self esteem but hurts our work ethico Upward Comparison – comparing to others like us but are better than us, makes us want to work harder and do better, but can make us more sensitive- Self-Schemas – mental infrastructure representation that shows how we view or see ourselves in specific domains/ areas based on past experienceso Self-reference effect – information/stimuli that are related to the self is more integrated and processed into memory so more memorableo Self-complexity theory – when the views of yourself don’t overlap so that you are resilient when bad things happen (if they overlap too much they influence all aspects of your life)- Self-Esteem – how we feel about ourselves in the relation to the social worldo Trait self-esteem – stable over time, and general view of selfo State self-esteem – effected by emotional state at the time Contingencies of self worth – based on successes and
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