question

Hindsight Bias

answer

the tendency for people to exaggerate how much they could have predicted an outcome after knowing that it occurred

question

Lantane and Darley Experiment Diffusion of Responsibility

answer

the more people who witness an emergency the less likely it is that any given individual will intervene. The bystander would help someone if they thought that person was alone.

question

Observational Method

answer

the technique whereby a researcher observes people and systematically records measurements or impressions of their behavior. does not assess relationships between variables

question

Ethnography

answer

The method by which researchers attempt to understand a group or culture by observing it from the inside, without imposing any preconceived notions they might have. Must avoid imposing your preconcieved notions on the group and try to understand the point of view of the people being studied. (ex- a group of midwesterners believed the world would come to an end)

question

Interjudge Reliability

answer

The level of agreement between two or more people who independently observe and code a set of data, by showing that two or more judges independently come up with the same observations. Researchers ensure that the observations are not the subjective, distorted impressions of one individual.

question

Archival Analysis

answer

A form of the observational method in which the researcher examines the accumulated documents, or achieved of a culture (diaries, novels, and newspapers). Enables researchers to describe the content of documents present in the culture. Can tell us a great deal about societies values and beliefs.

question

Limits of the Observational Method

answer

certain kinds of behavior are difficult to observe because they occur only rarely or only in private. Could look at archival evidence however researchers may not have included everything one needs.

question

Correlational Method

answer

the technique whereby two or more variables ares systematically measured and the relationship between them is assessed. (how much one can be predicted by the other)

question

Example of correlational method

answer

testing the relationship between childrens aggressive behavior and how much violent television they watch. they would observe children on the playground, however they are looking for the relationship between other factors.

question

Correlation Coefficient

answer

a statistical technique that assesses how well you can predict one variable form another-- how well you can predict people weight from their height-->positively correlated.

question

Survey

answer

Research in which a representative sample of people are asked questions about their attitudes or behavior. (which candidate they will vote for in elections) helps sociologist understand social behavior and attitudes.

question

Random Selection

answer

a way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

question

Problem with Survey

answer

Accuracy of the responses.

question

Richars and Tim telling more than you can know Study

answer

a number of studies showed that people often made inaccurate reports about why they responded the way they did. Their reports about the causes of their responses pertained more to their theories and beliefs about what should have influenced them than to what actually influenced them.

question

Limits of the Correlational Method

answer

It tells us only that two variables are related, whereas the goal of the social psychologist is to identify the causes of social behavior. Correlation does not equal causation. It is wrong to jump to conclusions that one variable is causing the other to occur.

question

Rosenburg STD Correlation study

answer

a study conducted in the early 1990s found a correlation between the type of birth control women used and their likelihood of getting an STD. those whose partners used condoms were more likely to have an STD than were women who used other forms of birth control. This does not necessarily mean that the use of condoms caused the increse in STDS.

question

Experimental Method

answer

The method in which the researcher randomly assigns participants to different conditions and ensures that these conditions are identical except for the independent variable (the one thought to have a causal effect on peoples responses).

question

Lantane Darley Seizure Experiment

answer

participants are told that they will hear personal problems that college kids face. one begins to have a seizure. only 31 percent of participants helped while 69 remained in the cubicle and did nothing. in one recording people were told they were the only ones hearing the seizure while in the other recording people believed three others were listening to the recording.

question

Independent Variable

answer

the variable a researcher changes or varies to see if it has an effect on some other variable.

question

Dependent Variable

answer

The variable a researcher measures to see if it is influenced by the independent variable; the researcher hypothesizes that the dependent variable will depend on the level of the independent variable.

question

Random Assignment to Condition

answer

A process ensuring that all participants have an equal chance of taking part in any condition of an experiment. Researchers can be relatively certain that differences in the participants personalities or backgrounds are distributed evenly across conditions.

question

Probability Level (p-value)

answer

a number that tells researchers how likely it is that the results of their experiment occurred by chance and not because of the independent variable. The convention in science is to consider results significant if the probability level is less than 5 in 100 that the results might be due to chance factors and not the independent variable studied. It tells us how confident we can be that the difference was due to chance rather than the independent variable.

question

Internal Validity

answer

Making sure that nothing besides the independent variable can affect the dependent variable this is accomplished by controlling all extraneous variables and by randomly assigning people to different experimental conditions.

question

External Validity

answer

The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people. (generalizations across situations) and (generalizations across people) . Scientist increase the generality of their results by making their studies as realistic as possible.

question

Psychological Realism

answer

The extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to psychological processes that occur in everyday life. If a study is high in this we can generalize the results to everday life.

question

Cover Story

answer

A description of the purpose of a study, given to participants, that is different from its true purpose and is used to maintain psychological realism.

question

Field Experiments

answer

Experiments conducted in natural setting rather than in the laboratory. People study behavior in its natural setting. A field setting has the same design as a laboratory experiment except that it is conducted in a real life setting rather than in the relatively artificial setting of the laboratory. Participants in this experiment are unaware of that the events they experience are in fact an experiment. External validity is high in these experiments

question

Lantane and Darley Theft Experiment

answer

Men went into the store and robbed beer. This experiment had the same inhibiting effect on helping behavior as in the laboratory seizure study: significantly fewer people reported the theft when there was another customer witness in the store than when they were alone.

question

The trade off between internal and external validity

answer

between being able to randomly assign people to conditions and having enough control over the situation to ensure that no extraneous variables are influencing the results and making sure that the results can be generalized to everyday life. Its hard to control all extraneous variables in real life studies. This tradeoff is referred to as the basic dilemma of the social psychologist.

question

Replications

answer

Repeating a study, often with different subject populations or in different settings. This is the ultimate test of external validity.

question

Meta analysis

answer

A statistical technique that averages the results of two or more studies to see if the effect of an independent variable is reliable. Similar to p-values--determining if a study is due to chance or the independent variable.

question

Basic Research

answer

Studies that are designed to find the best answer to the question of why people behave as they do and that are conducted purely for reasons of intellectual curiosity.

question

Applied Research

answer

studies designed to solve a particular social problem. examples- reduce racism and sexual violence

question

Lantane and Darley Bystander

answer

study has been replicated numerous times and has proved that increasing the number of bystanders inhibited helping behavior with many kinds of people including children, college students and future ministers.

question

Anderson and Bushman Aggression Experiment

answer

They repeated their experiment that showed causes of aggression with studies showed in the real world.

question

Kurt Lewin

answer

"There is nothing so practical as a good the theory" He meant that to solve such difficult social problems as urban violence or racial prejudice, one must first understand that underlying psychological dynamic of human nature and social interaction.

question

Cross Cultural Research

answer

research conducted with members of different cultures to see whether the psychological processes of interest are present in both vultures or whether they are specific to the culture in which people were raised.

question

Evolutionary Theory

answer

was developed by Charles Darwin to explain the ways in which animals adapt to their environments.

question

Natural Selection

answer

The process by which heritable traits that promote survival in a particular environment are passed along to future generations because organisms with those traits are more likely to produce offspring.

question

Evolutionary Psychology

answer

The attempt to explain social behavior in terms of genetic factors that have evolved over time according to the principles of natural selection.

question

EEG

answer

electrode s are place on the scalp to measure electrical activity in the brain

question

FMRI

answer

people are placed in scanners that measure changes in blood flow in their brains.

question

Informed consent

answer

agreement to participate in an experiment, granted in full awareness of the nature of the experiment which has been explained in advance.

question

Deception

answer

Misleading participants about the true purpose of a study or the events that will actually transpire

question

Institutional Review Board

answer

A group made up of at least one scientists, one nonscientists, and one member not affiliated with the institution that reviews all psychological research at that institution and decides whether it meets ethical guidelines; all research must be approved by the IRB before it is conducted.

question

Debriefing

answer

Explaining to participants at the end of an experiment, the true purpose of the study and exactly what transpired.

question

Utility of Social Psychology

answer

1. Makes sense of common sense 2. Appreciate power social influence

question

Social Psychology seeks to understand

answer

Causality, Moderation, and Mediation

question

Causality

answer

causal direction of effects

question

Moderation

answer

what differences in conditions/individuals matter

question

Mediation

answer

what is the underlying process of these effects

question

Impact of Google: Causality

answer

(Causal direction of effects) -does googling make us stupid? -do the stupid google more often?

question

Impact of Google:Moderation

answer

(what differences in conditions/individuals matter) - who might be most affected by googling? -when might googling have the impact on intelligence?

question

Impact of Google: Mediation

answer

(what is the underlying process of these effects) -why exactly does Googling have an impact? -what might the underlying process say about the impact?

question

Stanley Schacter and Leon Festinger Field Observation

answer

infiltrated a cult that prophesied a specific date for the end of the world. They wanted to observe groups reaction to the day after for signs of dissonance. The morning after a newspaper calls and says its a publicity sought and the message urgently spread.

question

Problems of Field Observations

answer

1. May be costly and time consuming 2. May introduce "demand" effects in the field 3. Not meant for conclusions about causality or even correlation due to small sample or lack of comparison

question

The Marshmallow Test (Walter Mischel)

answer

Behavioral observation a child was offered a choice between one small reward (sometimes a marshmallow, but often a cookie or a pretzel, etc.) provided immediately or two small rewards if he or she waited until the experimenter returned (after an absence of approximately 15 minutes). In follow-up studies, the researchers found that children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards tended to have better life outcomes, as measured by SAT scores,[2] educational attainment,[ body mass index (BMI)[4] and other life measures Another example of a behavioral observation in the lab LRDC at 50.

question

Survey Research

answer

Used to assess a wide range of psychological states, perceptions and behaviors. They can vary in form, content, and specificity.

question

Survey Questions: Multiple Choice

answer

selection among categorical options

question

Survey Questions: Dichotomous Choice

answer

selection from two alternatives. used to simplify question or when assessing speed of response.

question

Survey Questions: Response Ratings

answer

choices along a single or bipolar scale. Often used to or assess psychological states.

question

Benefits of Survey Research

answer

Efficient- in terms of time and expense Versatile- used to measure motivations, traits, states, behavior and emotions as well as states that would be hard to reproduce in experiments Broadly Utilized- allowing for comparisons over time and differing populations

question

Survey Research is limited by

answer

1. capacity and motivation to self report -Responders may not be able to accurately self assess. -Responders may not be motivated to accurately self-assess 2.causal inferences that can be drawn from responses. -Responses may show correlations without specifying causal direction (what causes what)

question

Causal Questions: The direction and determinants of correlations

answer

it is important to say what causes what. For example self esteem and achievement. Does self esteem increase achievement or is it vise vera. Media reports of research results often fail to make these distinctions.

question

Experimental Approach

answer

1. Random assignment of participants to experimental conditions 2. experimental manipulations meant to stimulate real world differences 3. measures of response to manipulations to gauge their impact.

question

Benefit of Experimental Approach

answer

Better control of situational factors and firmer conclusions regarding causality.

question

Challenges of Experimental Approach

answer

1. Stimulating real world conditions accurately 2. Sampling participants for the study appropriately 3. Specifying manipulations and measures precisely.

question

Internal Validity

answer

Are measurements/manipulations effective and precise?

question

Pragmatics

answer

Is the study costly/too time consuming?

question

Significance

answer

Does the study get at underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions

question

Ethics

answer

What are the risks involved?

question

Ethical Issues in Social Psychology

answer

although social psychologist need to construct realistic experiments, they need to do so in a way that avoids causing unnecessary distress or psychological harm

question

To be an ethical study

answer

1. outside review of studies 2. informed participants -consent beforehand -debriefing afterwards 3. Minimizing deception -though some may be necessary 4. Minimizing risk -to that no greater than what is ordinarily encountered in daily life

question

The IRB Process

answer

Proposal--> IRB APPROVES OR WANTS REVISIONS (if revisions then must go back to proposal)-->Research conducted

question

Challenging IRB decisions

answer

1. acceptable risk 2. informed consent 3. use of deception

question

Ethical Standards Reapplied

answer

Milgrim studies on obedience -examined how far people would go when instructed to shock another by an authority figure Milgrim revisited -changes included -careful prescreening of participants -lowering of perceived maximum voltage -immediate debriefing

question

Advances in Social Psych Research

answer

New Methods New Questions New Interventions New Ethical Considerations

Flashcards About Psychology Chapter 2

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards