Intro to Social
Psychology
Psychology
This concept refers to a
broad explanation that
organizes findings and
generates new predictions.
a theory
A researcher’s prediction
about what they will find in
a study is called this.
a hypothesis
The driving force that moves
us towards desired
outcomes.
Motivation
Favorable or unfavorable evaluations of particular people, objects, events or ideas
Example: you might have a positive ____ when someone complements you.
Attitude
One major perspective in
social psychology focuses on
universal human tendencies
shaped by survival and
reproduction.
evolutionary perspective
In experiments, this variable
is manipulated by the
researcher.
Independent Variable
When you do something that is well practiced, you can do it even without paying much attention, which is known as...
automaticity
Relatively long lasting feelings that are less focused than emotions and not directed toward a particular target
Example: feeling happy or cheerful all day without knowing why, or feeling irritable after a long day.
Mood
As one variable goes up
(e.g. time spent studying)
the other also goes up (e.g.
grade) means this
relationship exists between
two variables.
a positive correlation
Social psychology suggests
that our social behavior is
the result of a constant
interaction between these
two things
The person and the situation
These "rules" define what is
typically approved and
disapproved of in a
particular situation
Injunctive norms
Relatively intense feelings characterized by physiological arousal and complex cognitions (____ are more intense than attitudes)
Example: feeling fear when you see something scary or dangerous, triggering your heart to race and think "that was dangerous"
Emotion
According to this
perspective, our social
behaviors are in part
determined by past learning
experiences.
Social learning perspective
In this kind of research, one
individual (or one group) is
studied
Case study
This occurs when people
misperceive the beliefs or
feelings of others because
everyone acts inconsistently
with their beliefs or
feelings
Pluralistic ignorance
If you take and then retake
a test and get the same
score both times, the test
has this quality.
Reliability
This kind of research occurs
in a natural setting, but also
involves manipulation of an
independent variable
Field study
Not everyone is going to
want to join a bookclub. This
shows that...
People choose their
situations