Chapter 1 learning objectives 1 What is social psychology How is it different from other sciences Other psychological fields Thoughts feelings and behaviors especially in relation to others Goal have an understanding of how humans think act and feel o Biological Psychology Focus on what happens in the brain nervous system and other aspects of body BP Focus on identifying which parts of brain contribute to specific behavior SP Look at behavior and social motives o Clinical Psychology Focus on abnormal behavior Most popular field of psychology CP Interested in abnormal human functioning SP Interested in normal human functioning o Cognitive Psychology Study through processes like memory CogP Interested in how people think SP Interested in how people think about other people and social situations o Developmental Psychology how people change across their lives DP studying what age children begin to show various patterns of social behavior has taken much from SP SP hasn t taken much from DP interested in self regulation emotion gender differences helping behavior and antisocial behavior o Personality Look at differences between individuals and traits that are stable PP Focus on about a how stable traits person predict their behavior SP Focus on how situations predict behavior 2 What is the ABC triad Building block of social psychology Affect how people feel Behavior what people do Cognition how people think Personal influences on ABC o How internal and personal changes lead to behavioral changes Ex How do people act when they are feeling Powerful Head up talk a lot confident Lonely Head down talk little Situational influences on ABC o How environmental changes lead to behavioral changes Ex How do people act when they are around Other people compared to when alone People who are Older Younger Of the same sex Of the opposite sex 3 What is the scientific method How does it apply to psychology All these questions are empirical based on objective and systematic observations can be answered through systematic observation and experimentation and it s the best way to objectively assess 4 What are the three types of explanations people use to acquire knowledge and what are the differences between these explanations Which of these ways is the most common way for researchers to acquire knowledge Belief based Santa Claus i Accepted as truth in the absence of evidence ii Often accepted on the basis of Indoctrination Upbringing parents Personal need social contact b Common sense Intuition going with your gut i ii Deduction trying to come up with an explanation iii Based on our own sense of what is true Not rigorously tested Based on our own knowledge iv Are people happier with more choices 1 Common sense answer yes 2 More likely to find a choice that satisfies them 3 People are less satisfied when they have more choices a Standards rise b Increase in expectations c Scientific i Most common to get accurate information ii Observation iii Based on scientific method 1 State problem Conduct literature review Hypothesis Run an experiment Analyze results Doesn t support hypothesis run another test Does support hypothesis share results 5 What are seven characteristics that define the scientific method How are these characteristics applied in scientific research a Empirical Based on objective systematic observations b Rational Follow rules of logic and consistent with facts determinism c Testable Verified through observation and can be disproved contrast with pseudoscience d Parsimonious Provide simplest explanation e General Apply beyond the original observations f Tentative Never accepted as absolutely correct g Rigorously evaluated Consistency with evidence generality and parsimony 6 What is the purpose of an ethics committee Ethics committees review the research and provide advice to ensure the research meets the required ethical standards The purpose of an ethics committee is to protect the dignity rights safety and well being of the individuals involved 7 What is the difference between a theory and a hypothesis Theory Unobservable constructs that are linked together in some logical way principles that explain predicted and observed results Hypotheses An idea about the possible nature of reality a prediction tested in an experiment 8 What is the difference between an experiment and a quasi experiment What is the difference between an experiment and correlational research Experiment Two Key Features Random assignment of participants Controlled manipulation of independent variable Two types of variables Independent variable manipulated Dependent variable Quasi Experiment IV not manipulated no random assignment Can infer cause and effect but not conclusively Ex Testing the hypothesis men take more risks than women o Gender Religion Skin color Correlational approach non experimental approach No attempt to control for other variables No random assignment relationship between two variables Correlation does not equal causation 9 What is the difference between a lab and a field setting Which is more controlled Which has greater external validity Which has more internal validity Field Setting experiments conducted in a real world settings outside a laboratory Lab experiments are more controlled strength Setting is less realistic weakness Field experiments have greater external validity Lab experiments have greater internal validity 10 What are three different kinds of non experimental correlational research Case study naturalistic observation survey 11 What is a correlational coefficient What is the range of possible values How can you tell a strong from a weak correlation A positive from a negative correlation Positive Correlation As one goes up other goes up Negative Correlation As one goes up other goes down No Correlation 0 Correlation Coefficient r Ranges from 1 to 1 Closer to 1 stronger Closer to 0 weaker 12 How are potential publications processed What happens if someone slips something through that is fabricated Peer review process top journals have it experts review methods and theory assess validity Self correcting nature of science emphasis on replication some top journals unofficially require at least two experiments per article shows data can be replicated if others can t replicate a finding that line of research will die out 13 What are the five main parts to a research paper publication Abstract Introduction Method Results Discussion 14 What is the purpose of an abstract Gives a brief overview
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