Social Psychology

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Social Psychology

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How people's thoughts, feelings, behaviors affect and are affected by other people.

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Cross- Cultural research

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Research that compares and contrasts people of different cultures.

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Interactionist Perspective

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Both personality and environment affect behavior.

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Behavioral Genetics

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Role of genetics in behavior.

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Evolutionary Psychology

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The use of evolution principles to understand human behavior.

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Social Cognition

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Study of how people perceive,remember, and interpret information about themselves and others.

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Multicultural Research

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Examines racial and ethnic groups within cultures.

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Social Neuroscience

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Study of the relationship between neural and social processes.

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Internal Validity

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Reasonable certainty that the independent variables caused the effects obtained on the dependent variables.

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Theory

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An organized set of principles used to explain observed phenomena.

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Debriefing

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A disclosure, made to participants after research procedures are completed. The researcher explains the purpose of the research, attempts to resolve any negative feelings, and emphasizes the scientific contribution made by participants' participation.

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Experimental Realism

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The degree to which experimental procedures are involving to participants and lead them to behave naturally and spontaneously.

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Correlational Research

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research designed to measure the association between variables that are not manipulated by the researcher (not in an experimental situation)

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dependent variables

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in an experiment, the factors experimenters manipulate to see if they affect the dependent variables

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mundane realism

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the degree to which the experimental situation resembles places and events that exist in the real world

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interrater reliability

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the degree to which different observers agree on their observations

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meta-analysis

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a set of statistical procedures used to review a body of evidence by combining the results of individual studies to measure the overall reliability and strength of particular effects

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hypothesis

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a testable prediction about the conditions under which an event will occur

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experiment

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a form of research that can demonstrate causal relationships

because: (1) the experimenter has control over the events that occur and (2) the participants are randomly assigned to conditions

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random sampling

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a method of selecting participants for a study so that everyone in a population has an equal chance of being in the study. (properly represents population)

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basic research

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research whose goal is to increase the understanding of human behavior, often by testing hypotheses based on a theory.

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experimenter expectancy effects

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the effects produced when an experimenter's expectations about the results of an experiment affect his or her behavior toward a participant and thereby influence the participant's responses.

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random assignment

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a method of assigning participants to the various conditions of an experiment so that each participant has an equal chance of being in any of the conditions.

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subject variables

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variables that characterize pre-existing differences among the participants in a study

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deception

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research methods that provide false information to participants

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external validity

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the degree to which one can be reasonable confident that the same results would be obtained for other people and in other situations.

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correlation coefficient

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a statistical measure of the strength and direction of the association between two variables. The correlation coefficient can range form -1.0 to 1.0

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informed consent

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an individual's deliberate, voluntary decision to participate in research, based on the researcher's description of what will be required during such participation.

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independent variables

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in an experiment, the factors experimenters manipulate to see if they affect the dependent variables

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construct validity

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the extent to which the measures used in a study measure the variables they were designed to measure and the manipulations in an experiment manipulate the variables they were designed to manipulate.

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applied research

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research whose goal is to enlarge the understanding of naturally occurring events and to find solutions to practical problems.

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confederates

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accomplices of an experimenter who, in dealing with the real participants in an experiment, act as it they also are participants.

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operational definition

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the specific procedures for manipulating or measuring a conceptual variable

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main effect

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a statistical term indicating the overall effect that an independent variable has on the dependent variable, ignoring all other independent variables.

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interaction

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a statistical term indicating that the effect that an independent variable has on the dependent variable is different as a function of another independent variable.

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overjustification effect

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the tendency to compare ourselves to others who are successful

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self-monitoring

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the tendency to change behavior in response to the self-presentation concerns of the situation

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downward social comparison

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defensive tendency to compare ourselves to others who are worse off than we are

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self-presentation

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strategies people use to shape what others think of them

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facial feedback hypothesis

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the hypothesis that changes in facial expression can lead to corresponding changes in emotion

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bask in reflected glory (BIRG)

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increasing self-esteem by associating with others who are successful

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private self-consciousness

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a personality characteristic of individuals who are introspective, often attending to their own inner states.

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self-esteem

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an affective component of the self, consisting of a person's positive and negative self-evaluations

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self-concept

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the sum total of an individuals beliefs about his or her own personal attributes.

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self-perception theory

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the theory that when internal cues are difficult to interpret, people gain self-insight by observing their own behavior.

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social comparison theory

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the theory that people evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves to others

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public self-consciousness

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a personality characteristic of individuals who focus on themselves as social objects, as seen by others

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two-factor theory of emotion

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the theory that the experience of emotion is based on two factors: physiological arousal and a cognitive interpretation of that arousal.

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self-awareness theory

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the theory that self-focused attention leads people to notice self-discrepancies, thereby motivating either an escape from self-awareness or a change in behavior.

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self-handicapping

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behaviors designed to sabotage one's performance in order to provide a subsequent excuse for failure

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affective forecasting

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people's difficulty projecting forward and predicting how they would feel in response to future emotional events

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implicit egotism

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a nonconscious and subtle form of self-enhancement

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base-rate fallacy

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people ignore consensus information presented in the form of numbers

(guessed GPA based on description of student, not numbers)

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central traits

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traits that exert a powerful influence on overall impressions (hot v. cold implies other descriptive traits)

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situational attribution

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attribution to factors external to an actor, such as ability, personality, mood, or effort.

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belief in a just world

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the belief that individuals get what they deserve in life, an orientation that leads people to depreciate victims

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primacy effect

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the tendency for information presented early in a sequence to have more impact on impressions that information presented later

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false-consensus effect

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the tendency for people to overestimate the extent to which others share their opinions, attributes, and behavior.

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social perception

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a general term for the processes by which people come to understand one another.

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correspondent inference theory

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a theory holding that we make inferences about a person when his or her actions are freely chosen, are unexpected, and result in a small number of desirable effects

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information integration theory

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the theory that impressions are based on perceiver dispositions and a weighted average of a target person's traits.

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availability heuristic

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a tendency to estimate the likelihood that an event will occur by how easily instances of it come to mind

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personal attribution

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attribution to internal characteristics of an actor, such as ability, personality, mood, or effort.

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implicit personality theory

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a network of assumptions people make about the relationships among traits and behaviors

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covariation principle

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a principle of attribution theory holding that people attribute behavior to factors that are present when a behavior occurs and absent when it does not

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fundamental attribution error

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tendency to underestimate the impact of situations on other people's behavior and to focus on the role of personal causes

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confirmation bias

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the tendency to seek, interpret, and create information that verifies existing beliefs

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impression formation

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the process of integrating information about a person to form a coherent impression

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actor-observer effect

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the tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational causes and underestimate the impact of situations on other people's behavior

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nonverbal behavior

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behavior that reveals a person's feelings through facial expressions, body language, and vocal cues

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counterfactual thinking

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a tendency to imagine alternative events or outcomes that might have occurred but did not.

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priming

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the tendency for recently used words or ideas to come to mind easily and influence the interpretation of new information

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self-fulfilling prophecy

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the process by which one's expectations about a person eventually lead that person to behave in ways that confirm those expectations

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attribution theory

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a group of theories that describe how people explain the causes of behavior

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belief perseverance

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the tendency to maintain beliefs even after they have been discredited

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need for closure

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a desire to reduce cognitive uncertainty, which heightens the importance of first impressions

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Scripts

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preconceived notions about a sequence of events likely to occur in a particular situation

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confirmatory hypothesis testing

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hypothesize first, then ask question likely to elicit confirmation

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weapons-focus effect

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the tendency for the presence of a weapon to draw attention and impair a witness's ability to identify the culprit

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inquisitorial model

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a dispute-resolution system in which the prosecution and the defense present opposing sides of the story

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sentencing disparity

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inconsistency of sentences for the same offense from one judge to another

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peremptory challenge

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a means by which lawyers can exclude a limited number of prospective jurors without the judge's approval

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leniency bias

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the tendency for jury deliberation to produce a tilt toward acquittal

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scientific jury selection

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a method of selecting juries through surveys that yield correlations between demographics and trial-relevant attitudes

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polygraph

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a mechanical instrument that records physiological arousal from multiple channels; it is often used as a lie-detector test

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misinformation effect

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the tendency for false postevent information to become integrated into people's memory of an event

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adversarial model

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a dispute-resolution system in which the prosecution and the defense present opposing sides of the story

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voir dire

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the pretrial examination of prospective jurors by the judge or opposing lawyers to uncover signs of bias

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death qualification

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a jury-selection procedure used in capital cases that permits judges to exclude prospective jurors who say they would not vote for the death penalty

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jury nullification

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the jury's power to disregard, or "nullify," the law when it conflicts with personal conceptions of justice.

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cross-race identification bias

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the tendency for people to have difficulty identifying members of a race other than their own.

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performance appraisal

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the process of evaluating an employee's work within the organization

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integrity test

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paper-and-pencil questionnaire designed to tests a job applicant's honesty and character

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contingency model of leadership

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the theory that leadership effectiveness is determined both by the personal characteristics of leaders and by the control afforded by the situation

task-oriented leaders who are single- mindedly focused on the job are more effective

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industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology

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the study of human behavior in business and other organizational settings

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structured interview

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interview in which each job applicant is asked a standard set of questions and evaluated on the same criteria

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Hawthorne effect

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the finding that workers who were observed increased their productivity regardless of what actual changes were made in the work setting

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transformational leader

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leader who inspires followers to transcend their own needs in the interest of a common cause.

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assessment center

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structured setting in which job applicants are exhaustively tested and judged by multiple evaluators

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transactional leader

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leader who gains compliance and support from followers primarily through goal setting and the use of rewards

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escalation effect

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the tendency for investors to remain committed to a losing course of action

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expectancy theory

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the theory that workers become motivated when they believe that their efforts will produce valued outcomes

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sunk cost principle

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the economic rule of thumb that only future costs and benefits, not past commitments, should be considered in making a decision

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normative model of leadership

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the theory that leadership effectiveness is determined by the amount of feedback and participation that leaders invite from workers

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health psychology

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the study of physical health and illness by psychologists from various areas of specialization

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Type A behavior pattern

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a pattern of behavior characterized by extremes of competitive striving for achievement, a sense of time urgency, hostility, and aggression

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stress

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an unpleasant state of arousal in which people perceive the demands of an event as taxing or exceeding their ability to satisfy or alter those demands

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general adaptation syndrome

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a three-stage process (alarm, resistance, and exhaustion) by which the body responds to stress.

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immune system

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a biological surveillance system that detects and destroys "nonself" substances that invade the body

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posttraumatic stress disorder

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a condition in which a person experiences enduring physical and psychological symptoms after an extremely stressful event

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emotion-focused coping

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cognitive and behavioral efforts to reduce the distress produced by a stressful situation

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learned helplessness

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a phenomenon in which experience with an uncontrollable event creates passive behavior toward a subsequent threat to well being

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depressive explanatory style

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a habitual tendency to attribute negative events to causes that are stable, global, and internal

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placebo effect

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the tendency for an ineffectual drug or treatment to improve a patient's condition because he or she believes in its effectiveness

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self-efficacy

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a person's belief that he or she is capable of the specific behavior required to produce a desired outcome in a given situation

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proactive coping

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up-front efforts to ward off or modify the onset of a stressful event

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psychoneuroimmunology

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a subfield of psychology that examines the links among psychological factors, brain and nervous system, and the immune system

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coping

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efforts to reduce stress

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problem-focused coping

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cognitive and behavioral efforts to alter a stressful situation

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appraisal

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the process by which people make judgments about the demands of potentially stressful events and their ability to meet those demands

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stressor

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anything that causes stress

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social support

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the helpful coping resources provided by friends and other people

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subjective well-being

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a term used by social psychologists to describe the pursuit of happiness