Psych 109 Unit 1
Fernando studies the relationship between emotions and behavior in social settings. Fernando's research epitomizes the ____ perspective in social psychology.
"hot"
. Marcia is unsure about whether Jan is her best friend. She thinks about how many times she has listened to Jan complain about her boyfriend, helped Jan study for difficult exams, and brought soup to Jan when she was sick. Marcia realizes that she speaks to Jan almost every night. After thinking about all this, Marcia concludes that Jan must be her best friend. This conclusion is based on a process described by
. self-perception theory.
Explain the difference between random sampling and random assignment, and indicate how these procedures affect a study's internal and external validity.
A random sample indicates that all members of the target population have an equal chance of being selected for the study. Representative samples allow one to generalize the findings of a study to the larger population, random sampling increases external validity. Random assignment is a procedure that is only relevant when conducting an experiment.This allows the researcher to infer that any differences between groups at the end of the study must be the result of the manipulation. In other words, it is random assignment that allows the researcher to conclude with confidence that the independent variable caused the changes in the dependent variable.
According to your textbook, one of the people who had the greatest impact on the developing field of social psychology was not a psychologist. Who was this person?
Adolf Hitler
Which of the following is most consistent with the facial feedback hypothesis?
Facial expressions can trigger and magnify emotional states.
Vernell is being interviewed for a job. Though it isn't really true, the interviewer suspects that Vernell is incompetent. Because the interviewer doesn't expect much from Vernell, he sits far away from her during the interview, interrupts her frequently, and seems distracted when she speaks. As a result, Vernell becomes nervous, starts to stutter, and loses her train of thought several times. The interviewer's final impression is that Vernell is, as he suspected, incompetent. This impression is most likely the result of
a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Define and give an example of three heuristics that are discussed in the textbook.
a. The representativeness heuristic: The tendency to judge the frequency or likelihood of an event by the extent to which it resembles the typical case. b. The availability heuristic: The tendency to judge the frequency or likelihood of an event by the ease with which relevant instances come to mind. c. The simulation heuristic: The tendency to judge the frequency or likelihood of an event by the ease with which you can imagine or visualize it. d. The anchoring and adjustment heuristic: The tendency to judge the frequency or likelihood of an event by using a starting point (anchor) and then making upward or downward adjustments
Social psychology is set apart from other ways of interpreting social behavior such as folk wisdom or literature because it is ______________.
an experimental science
. All of the following are considered "primary" emotions except
anxiety.
A study that examines existing records or databases is referred to as a
archival study.
In a well-designed experiment, all participants must
be treated in exactly the same manner except for the specific differences the experimenter wants to create.
Consuela has a positive self-image. She is likely to do all of the following except
blame herself if she fails.
A(n) _____ is someone who works for a researcher by serving as an "actor" in the research (e.g., pretending to be another research participant, and being mean to other research participants in order to see how participants respond to meanness).
confederate
Participants who are subjected to all of the experimental procedures except the experimental manipulation are called
controls.
Britney wonders if she would have been happier had she married Justin instead of Kevin. This illustrates
counterfactual thinking.
The attributional perspective that addresses behaviors that occur over time, place, and different actors and targets is the
covariation model
One way of defending our belief in a just world when we observe a victim suffering is to
disparage the victim.
The tendency for people to think of those worse off than themselves when faced with difficulties of their own is called
downward social comparison.
Dr. Taylor is conducting a study to test the effect of a new drug on people's ability to concentrate at work. His research sample consists of 100 US adults. During a 14-week period, half of the sample is administered the drug and the other half is administered a placebo, and participants' concentration abilities are continually tracked. In the context of this study, if Dr. Taylor uses random assignment, it means that
each research participant has an equal chance of being assigned to each level of the independent variable (e.g., the placebo group or the drug group).
A pluralistic approach to social psychology
encourages research outside of controlled settings.
Monica uses the availability heuristic much more frequently than does Ross. Therefore, Monica is more likely than Ross to
estimate the likelihood of an event in terms of the ease with which instances of it come to mind.
Jessica and Nick are behavioral researchers. Jessica believes that her sons have been aggressive from birth because she and her husband Nick have inborn aggressive tendencies. Nick, however, believes that their sons are aggressive because throughout history it has been adaptive for men to be aggressive so that they can protect their territory and possessions. Nick's beliefs reflect the influence of _____, whereas Jessica's beliefs reflect _____.
evolutionary psychology; behavioral genetics
Motivation that is driven by rewards and punishments is called
extrinsic motivation.
According to the looking-glass model of self-concept development, the self-concept develops
from the way one is viewed by others.
Missy always calls Delfina to discuss and coordinate her choice of clothes each morning before leaving for school. If Delfina disapproves or suggests an alternative outfit, Missy always changes her clothes accordingly. Missy is probably
high in public self-consciousness.
Social psychology is primarily concerned with the ways in which
individuals think, feel, and behave with regard to others.
According to self-perception theory, when people are uncertain about their thoughts or feelings regarding an activity, they will
infer their thoughts and feelings regarding that activity from their behavior.
In an experiment, the independent variable is _______ while the dependent variable is _______.
manipulated; measured
The trait negativity bias refers to the tendency for
negative trait information to have a greater impact on impressions.
According to the false consensus effect, most people
overestimate the degree to which others share their attitudes and opinions
The primacy effect refers to the tendency for
people's impressions of others to be more affected by information that is learned early rather than late in a sequence.
The work of Muzafer Sherif was important for the development of social psychology because he
showed that complex social behavior could be examined scientifically
According to social comparison theory, people are most likely to compare themselves to others who are
similar.
The term self-concept refers to the
sum total of a person's beliefs concerning his or her own personal characteristics
The most important aspect of sampling in a survey study is
the extent to which the sample in this study matches the population proportionally in terms of demographic variables.
. Ringelmann and Triplett are best labeled as
the founders of social psychology.
The stronger the relationship between two variables
the further from zero the correlation coefficient will be
. Dr. Tsuei is studying the effects of sleep deprivation on interpersonal skills. He is testing the interpersonal skills of 20-25 year-old males who have been sleep deprived for 24 hours, 36 hours, or 48 hours. In this study the dependent variable is
the interpersonal skills of the research participants.
Construct validity is best defined as the extent to which
the operational definitions reflect the conceptual variables of interest.
Causation cannot be inferred from correlation studies because
they do not involve the manipulation of variables
When people make the fundamental attribution error they tend to
underestimate the situational influences on people's behavior
. People enhance their self-esteem in all of the following ways except
upward social comparison
April was born and raised in an Eastern culture. She is more likely than people raised in Western cultures to
view relationships as an important part of her self-concept.
William McDougall, Edward Ross, and Floyd Allport each played an important role in the history of social psychology by
writing the first social psychology textbooks
What are the advantages and the primary disadvantage of doing correlational research rather than experiments? Give an example of two variables that you think probably are negatively correlated with each other. Explain why you think so.
An important advantage of doing correlational research rather than experiments is that correlational research can study associations of naturally occurring variables that cannot be manipulated or induced due to practical constraints, such as participants' gender, age, race, height, etc. Cor relational research can also examine phenomena that would be difficult or unethical to create for research purposes, such as certain kinds of violence, love, abuse of alcohol, etc. Correlational research also offers more flexibility than experiments because a wide range of variables can be measured, including those obtained in the field, using archives, through national surveys, etc. The primary disadvantage of doing correlational research rather than experiments is that a correlational study cannot demonstrate causation. That is, correlations cannot demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships between variables.A well-designed experiment, in contrast, can demonstrate that changes in one variable can cause a change in another variable. Two variables are negatively correlated if as one variable increases the other decreases (and vice versa). One pair of variables that should be negatively correlated with each other is the amount of time spent studying and the number of courses failed. As the amount of time one spends studying increases, the number of courses one fails should decrease.
Which of the following best exemplifies self-handicapping?
Procrastinating in writing a paper
What is informed consent? What is debriefing? Why are they important in conducting research in social psychology? What is the responsibility of institutional review boards?
Informed consent is the individual's deliberate, voluntary decision to participate in research, based on the researcher's description of what will be required during such participation. Individuals must be given enough information about the research in order to make an informed decision about whether or not they wish to participate. Debriefing is a disclosure, made to participants after research procedures are completed, in which the researcher explains the purpose of the research, attempts to resolve any negative feelings, and emphasizes the scientific contribution made by individuals' participation. Both informed consent and debriefing are very important in protecting the welfare of the individuals who participate in the research. Informed consent, for example, is critically important from an ethical perspective. Human participants should know what the possible risks and dangers are of participating in some research before they agree to do so. The debriefing is also important from an ethical perspective. During the debriefing the researcher should attempt to make the participants feel good about having participated in the research, and any possible negative effects of having been in the study should be eliminated. Institutional review boards exist at all institutions that seek federal funding for research involving human participants. Their responsibility is to review research proposals to ensure that the physical and psychological welfare of the individuals who participate in the proposed research will be protected, both in the short-term and long-term.
How does social psychology differ from each of the following: (a. sociology, (b. the other subdisciplines of psychology, and (c. the approach taken by a journalist who examines the social behaviors of various individuals?
It is different because of the level of analysis involved with each. sociologists classify people within groups such as socioeconomic , nationality , and race. Social psychologists focus more on the individual in the context of group. Social psychologists also perform experiments to study human behavior. Compared to the other sub disciplines of psychology, social psychology is more concerned with human behavior in social situations and how the psyche behind the behavior. A critical difference between social psychology and a journalist is that social psychologists primarily use scientific study and application whereas journalists rely more on observation and speculation.
. Different people see the same situation differently and personality interact with the social context and producing behavior. These fundamental principles of social psychology are best attributed to
Kurt Lewin
What are the two essential characteristics of an experiment? Why, and how, is each of these important for the internal validity of the experiment?
One essential characteristic of an experiment is that the researcher has control over the experimental procedures. The researcher manipulates the variables of interest and keeps all else uniform. That is, all participants should be treated exactly the same way--except for the manipulations that the experimenter is investigating. The other essential characteristic of an experiment is that all participants are assigned randomly to the different conditions. Because of random assignment to condition, at the beginning of the study there should be no systematic differences between the groups of participants. Internal validity is the degree to which there can be reasonable certainty that the independent variables in an experiment caused the effects obtained on the dependent variable. By having a great deal of control over the experimental procedures, researchers can help ensure that the only differences between conditions are the manipulations themselves and not some other factors. If other factors vary along with the independent variables, then it is less clear that the independent variables are the cause of any differences found in the dependent variable, thereby reducing the internal validity of the experiment. Even if the researcher has a great deal of control and ensures that the only differences in the treatment received by the participants across conditions are the manipulations of the independent variables, it is possible that the participants in one condition are different from the participants in other conditions in important ways just by random chance. If this is the case, the differences found in the dependent variable may be a function of these other differences rather than the result of the manipulations. If the participants are randomly assigned to the conditions, however, the chances that the participants differed in ways other than those created by the manipulations become very improbable, especially with larger samples. Differences found in the dependent variable can thus be attributed to the manipulations of the independent variables rather than to pre-existing differences among the participants, thereby creating internal validity.
Which of the following is supported by research on deception?
People are more accurate at detecting deception if they focus on body movements rather than facial expressions
On what cues should social perceivers focus in order to try to detect if someone is trying to deceive others? Conversely, on what cues do social perceivers typically focus, and why are these cues less revealing?
Research has shown that of the four channels of communication (i.e., words, the face, the body, and the voice), the voice is the least controllable by the deceiver, and thus is the most revealing cue. The voices of people who are lying, particularly when they are highly motivated to deceive, tend to rise in pitch, and there is an increase in speech hesitations. The next most revealing cue is the body. Fidgety movements of the hands and feet and restless shifts in posture tend to be evident in someone who is lying. Perceivers, however, typically focus on the less revealing cues. Perceivers tend to focus on the words that people say, as well as on the face. This strategy is likely to fail because people can control these channels of communication fairly well, even when they are lying.
Discuss the relationship between self-presentation and self-monitoring.
Self-presentation is the portrayal of oneself to others in an effort to put forward a positive image. Self-monitoring refers to the ability to read the situation one is in and to adjust behavior accordingly. High self-monitors seem to have a repertoire of selves from which to draw and are especially sensitive to strategic self-presentation concerns that vary from one situation to the next, whereas low self-monitors express themselves more consistently across different situations. Therefore, self-monitoring can be an important ingredient of effective self-presentation.
Which of the following is an example of a negative correlation?
The more alcohol you consume, the lower your GPA tends to be.
What is the main advantage of an experiment over a correlational study?
The researcher is better able to draw conclusions about cause and effect.
. Describe the self-fulfilling prophecy. What factors can help prevent a self-fulfilling prophecy from occurring?
The self-fulfilling prophecy is the process by which a perceiver's expectations about a person can eventually lead that person to behave in ways that confirm those expectations. Self-fulfilling prophecies are less likely to occur if the perceiver is highly motivated to seek the truth and form an accurate assessment of the target, or if the perceiver is primarily motivated to make a good impression and be liked. If targets are aware of the perceiver's expectations about them, they may be able and motivated to disconfirm these expectations and thus avoid the self-fulfilling prophecy. Also, if the perceiver's expectations clash with the target's self-concept, the target's behavior may be less likely to be influenced by expectation.
Describe three biases that lead to self-enhancement. Explain how these biases bolster the self-concept
The textbook describes four biases that lead to self-enhancement: self-serving cognitions, self-handicapping, basking in reflected glory, and downward social comparisons. Self-serving cognitions are unjustified positive beliefs that people hold about themselves. For example, people may exaggerate their actual performance on the SAT or be much more optimistic about their chances of avoiding a divorce or getting cancer than the rates corresponding to these events justify. Self-serving cognitions provide evidence of the robust nature of the self-concept and comprise the means by which positive self-conceptions are maintained even when they are not accurate. Self-handicapping is the purposeful engagement in actions that will undermine a later performance. These actions provide the self-handicapper with a reasonable excuse for poor performance on the later task, thereby bolstering his or her self-concept from the negative implications of failure (as well as making actual success all the more impressive). Basking in reflected glory refers to the desire to affiliate with individuals or groups that are successful. For example, people are much more likely to wear team colors after the team wins a game than after it loses. By associating with the winning group, people can claim some of its success, thus bolstering their self-concepts. Finally, downward social comparisons are comparisons with others who are doing worse than you are. These comparisons can bolster the self-concept by placing the self in a context where it appears to be doing relatively well.
On his first day of class, Professor Saccamano thinks he is nervous because his blood pressure is up and his hands are shaking. He continues to feel this way, however, before every class meeting of the semester, and eventually realizes that his arousal is due to the five flights of stairs he must climb up to the classroom. Which theory best explains his misattribution?
Two-factor theory of emotion
In Jones and Davis's correspondent inference theory, observers trying to infer whether a particular behavior corresponds to an enduring personal characteristic of the actor would ask all of the following questions except
What is the actor's perception of the behavior?
