Social Psych & Methods
What is the main focus of social psychology?
How individuals think about, influence, and relate to others.
What is social cognition?
How people think about themselves and the social world.
What is the self-concept?
A person's knowledge and beliefs about who they are.
Define cognitive dissonance.
The discomfort felt when attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent.
What is an attitude?
An evaluation of a person, object, or idea.
How does social psychology differ from sociology?
Sociology focuses on groups and institutions; social psychology focuses on individuals in social contexts.
What is the Fundamental Attribution Error?
The tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational ones when explaining others’ behavior.
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
Intrinsic: doing something for internal satisfaction; Extrinsic: doing something for rewards or approval.
Name one way people reduce cognitive dissonance.
Change behavior, change attitude, or add additional cognitions.
What are the three components of attitudes?
Cognitive, affective, and behavioral components.
What is the difference between experimental and correlational research?
Experimental research manipulates variables to determine causation; correlational research measures relationships between variables.
What is the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
When expectations about a person lead them to behave in ways that confirm those expectations.
What is social comparison theory?
People evaluate themselves by comparing to others.
Provide an example of cognitive dissonance.
A smoker who values health feels tension and may justify smoking or quit.
What are the two routes of persuasion in the Elaboration Likelihood Model?
Central route (logic and evidence) and Peripheral route (superficial cues).
What do internal and external validity refer to?
Internal validity: control over variables for causal inference; External validity: generalizability of results.
What are the six "universal" emotions?
Happy, sad, fear, anger, disgust, surprise
What is the Overjustification Effect? Provide an example.
When external rewards reduce intrinsic motivation for an activity; e.g., Pizza Hut "book it" rewards.
How do self-esteem concerns affect dissonance?
People with higher self-esteem may experience stronger dissonance when acting inconsistently with values.
What is the Theory of Planned Behavior?
Behavioral intentions are influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control.
What are the two key motivations underlying most social psychological phenomena?
The need to be accurate and the need to maintain self-esteem.
What is a heuristic, and give an example.
A mental shortcut for quick judgments; e.g., Availability heuristic—judging likelihood based on ease of recall.
What is the two-factor theory of emotion?
Emotion = physiological arousal + cognitive interpretation of that arousal.
How can cognitive dissonance lead to positive or negative outcomes?
Positive - Ben Franklin Effect; Negative - Dehumanization.
How can self-esteem needs influence persuasion?
People may accept messages that protect or boost their self-esteem, even over accuracy.