Psych Midterm
Social Psychology embraces ______ as core scientific values
accuracy, objectivity, skepticism, and open-mindedness
Sue is conducting an experiments in which she is trying to determine the influence of staring at a speaker on how much different speakers stutter . . . . the dependent variable is the ___________.
amount of stuttering that occurs
Social psychologists are primarily interested in understanding the many factors and conditions that shape the social _____ and _____ of individuals.
behavior; thought
A correlation exists between two variables when _________.
changes in the two variables are related to each other
. . . Jana may infer that Radha was late because she had a confusing day, or Jana may decide that Radha doesn't really have much respect for her schedule. This is best explained as an example of a _____
cognitive process
Why take a scientific approach? Part of the answer lies in the _______ nature of proverbs, axioms, maxims and the like.
contradictory
The divorce rate in the US has changed dramatically since the 1950s. This change may be explained in party by the effect that _____ have on behavior
cultural beliefs
In experimental research, one variable is measure. This variable is known as the ___________.
dependent variable
People tend to become more irritable and aggressive when the weather is hot and humid. This fact is an example of the effects of ______ on social behavior
environmental variables
The branch of psychology that seeks to examine the potential role of genetic factors in different aspects of human behavior is known as _____
evolutionary psychology
Researchers who systematically change one variable in order to determine what this has on another variable are using __________.
experimental methods
_____ processes represent those factors and processes which influence thought, feelings, or behaviors and of which we are either not aware or only dimly aware
implicit
A researcher is interested in the relationship between courtship behaviors and physical characteristics of people. If the researcher should establish that there is a correlation of +.37 between physical attractiveness and dating frequency, we can conclude that ________.
more attractive people date more often than less attractive people
A(n) ______ in social psychology ______ in the US
multicultural perspective; recognize a widening of diversity
The observation of behavior as it occurs in natural settings is known as _________.
naturalistic observation
Research has, in adults, documented a negative correlation between 1) obesity and 2) participation in physically demanding leisure activities. One possible interpretation of these results is that ________.
obese people tend to exercise less than non-obese people
Which of the following categories is NOT one of the five categories mentioned in your text regarding factors affecting social interaction?
perceptual processes
Suppose smoking and drinking alcohol are found to be correlated at +.65. We can conclude that ____________.
smoking is probably related to drinking
In order to determine whether people have a strong or weak preference for the color of their cookware, a company wants to collect information of its past consumers. If the number of past customers is very large, the company may want to consider using _________ methods.
survey
Researchers believe that experiencing strong negative emotions such as fear or anxiety will increase people's need to affiliate . . . . (long ass one)
that strong negative emotions will increase people's need to affiliate with others
The focus of social psychology is on ______
the behavior and thoughts of individuals
Researchers believe that experiencing strong negative emotions such as fear or anxiety will increase people's need to affiliate . . . . (long ass one) . . . the independent variable is ________.
the level of anxiety induced in the participants
In an experiment, researchers wanted to know whether changing the level of lighting in a factory would have an effect on the productivity of employees . . . . . the independent variable is ___________.
the level of lighting
One reason that social scientists put their faith in the scientific method is that _______ .
the scientific method produces more conclusive evidence than other methods
Professor White is studying how cancer patients are coping with their illness by giving them one one of the following sets of instructions: . . . . . the independent variable is _______ and the dependent variable is ________.
the type of diary kept, if any; the self-reported level of depression
