The scientific study of the feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors of individuals in social situations.
social psychology
This is what we call a variable that exerts a causal influence on two variables that are correlated
Third variable
define situationism
the social self changes across different contexts
The tendency for people to act in ways that bring about the very thing they expect to happen
Self-fulfilling prophecy
remember “bloomers” example from class
A theory proposing that there are five evolved, universal moral domains in which specific emotions guide moral judgments
Moral Foundations Theory
Domains: Care/harm, Fairness/cheating, Loyalty/betrayal, Authority, Purity/degradation
Commonly referred to as the understanding that other people have beliefs and
desires.
Theory of mind
This term refers to the degree to which the particular way researchers measure a given variable is likely to yield consistent results.
reliability
not to be confused with measurement validity = The correlation between some measure and some outcome the measure is supposed to predict.
compare and contrast independent versus interdependent self-construal
Independent self-construal– independent = the self is separate and distinct from others; promotes inward focus on self
Interdependent self-construal = the self is fundamentally connected to other people; this construal encourages an outward focus on the situation
Theory that states psychologically distant actions and events are thought about in abstract terms; actions and events that are close at hand are thought about in concrete terms
Construal level theory
This term refers to predicting future emotions, such as whether an event will result in happiness or anger or sadness, and for how long
affective forecasting
The ability to sing along to popular songs on the radio after hearing them repeatedly is an example of this
Implicit learning/nonconscious processing
The process of turning an empirical question into an experiment (and in order to do so, turning concepts we’re interested into an IV and DV)
The idea that self-esteem is an internal, subjective
index or marker of the extent to which a person is included or looked on favorably by others
Sociometer hypothesis
describe base-rate neglect
tendency to ignore or underutilize base-rate information when assessing whether someone belongs to a particular category-- judgments based on representativeness may ignore base rates
people adapt to both positive and negative conditions, returning to a stable baseline level of happiness; we adapt to things getting better or worse to maintain a constant level of happiness
Based on the German word meaning “form” or “figure,” this approach stresses the fact that people perceive objects not by means of some passive and automatic registering device but by active, usually nonconscious interpretation of what the object represents as a whole
Gestalt psychology
This aspect of research design increases the internal validity of a study and allows for causal interpretations, given the assumption that there should be no differences across experimental groups
random assignment
a state produced by acts of self-control, in which people lack the energy or resources to engage in further acts of self- control
ego depletion
Describe an example of someone using an availability heuristic
varies. example should describe the process whereby judgments of frequency or probability are based on how readily pertinent instances come to mind
Genuine smiles that involve the muscles around the eyes scrunching up involuntarily
Duchenne smiles
What are some costs of automatic thinking/schemas?
People can falsely lead us to believe they are playing along/following social scripts (“paying with paper” example + study in which people gave meaningless reasons when making requests)
Stereotypes can be inaccurate – ex. Weapons identification task (Tool more likely to be misidentified as a weapon when preceded by a Black face; participants more likely to shoot an unarmed Black man in a video game compared to unarmed White man)
Define the term "regression to the mean"
the tendency of extreme scores on a variable to be followed by, or associated with, less extreme scores
According to self-discrepancy theory, what distinct reactions will individuals have when they fail to live up to their ideal self and their ought self. (two different experiences)
self-discrepancy theory: A theory
that behavior is motivated by standards
reflecting ideal and ought selves.
When people think they fail to live up to their ideal self, they feel disappointed
When people think they fail to live up to their ought self, they feel anxious
Identify and describe two specific order effects
Primacy effect = when information presented first exerts most influence; often occur when some information is ambiguous (first item influences how later info is interpreted)
Recency effect = when information presented last is most influential; info. presented last may come to mind most easily
Five components: appraisal, distinct physiological response, expressive behavior, subjective feelings (what the emotion feels like), action tendencies