Social Psychology

Front 1

According to Lucas (2003), what are the five ways that external validity is assessed?

Back 1

1. construct validity
2. relevance
3. reproducibility
4. consistency
5. confirmatory status

=> EV is a theoretical issue

Front 2

What are two common critiques of experimental methods?

Back 2

1. cannot generalize to a larger population

2. cannot generalize to a new setting or population

Front 3

What are some advantages to the artificiality of experiments?

Back 3

1. simplify naturally occurring situations, only incorporating theoretically relevant items

2. you can examine only the elements of the situation that are relevant to the theory

Front 4

What are the three faces of Social Psychology according to House (1977)?

Back 4

1. Psychological Social Psyc
more 'psychological'; lab experiments;micro

2. Symbolic Interactionism
face-to-face; observation/interviews; micro

3. Psychological Sociology
quantitative/survey; structure; macro

Front 5

Explain the tenets of Structural Social Psyc:
actors, microstructure, macrostructure, encounter, interdependence

Back 5

SSP has a theoretically minimal actor.

Encounters are relationships, etc between two or more actors.

Macrostructures frame the encounters in which individuals relate to one another.

Microstructures emerge within these encounters and organize future encounters.

*Microstructures forge the link between macrostructures and encounters and are also the mechanism by which macrostructures can evolve and change.*
==> Interdependence.

Front 6

Summarize Markovsky's (1995) argument about common sense and theory. What are some weaknesses of common sense?

Back 6

Common sense is not bad per se. It can be used as a springboard for scientific theory, but its weaknesses need to be acknowledged.

Weaknesses:
-ad hoc
-limited to a particular time & space
-post hoc
-speculation
-not precise
-not systematically tested
-subjective validation
-unorganized/vague

Front 7

What are the two roles that scientific theories have according to Markovsky (1995)?

Back 7

1. Repeatability
2. Testability (falsification)

==> Theories can improve upon common sense by overcoming the weaknesses of common sense.

Front 8

What are some elements of theory according to Markovsky (1995)?

Back 8

1. Concepts: abstractions of phenomena being studied
2. Statements: propositions, linking concepts in logical way
3. Scope Conditions: conditions under which propositions are theorized to occur
4. Link to Reality: instantiation of the concept

Front 9

Cohen (2003) agrees with Markovsky about common sense. What does he say are the issues of empirical theory testing and what responses does he offer (2)?

Back 9

Cohen says that the issues with empirical theory testing are that the results can always be attributed to factors outside of the theory.

Two responses are:
1. Conceptualize theory testing as a process (using multiple methods)
2. View theory testing as comparative

*Think about theory as a way as a way of problem solving.*

*Theory is not a by-product of other activities.*

Front 10

Summarize both sides of The Deception Debate (2008, SPQ).

Back 10

The debate surrounds the use of deception in scientific research.

Hertwig & Ortmann follow the beliefs of the economists, who strictly forbid the use of deception in their research. They claim that deceoption causes participants to believe they will *always* be deceived in the future which can cause them to not believe in the manipulation which affects the strength of the experiment. They claim that deception is supposed to be a last resort but 50% of experiments were using deception.

Cook & Yamagishi, however, state that some research questions cannot be answered without the use of deception. This also affects some research fields more than others. If researchers waited for things to happen "naturally in the real world" then some things would never get studied. They agree that deception should be limited to use of necessity but do not agree that use of deception should be sanctioned.

Front 11

What is an experiment? (Webster & Sell 2007)

Back 11

A research design in which an investigator controls the level of independent variables before measuring the level of dependent variables. The time ordering is what makes an experiment.

Front 12

Draw and explain Burke's (1991) ICT control system model (cybernetic loop)

Back 12

Four components:
1. Standard/Setting (set of self-meanings)
2. Input from the environment/social situation (includes reflected appraisals)
3. A process that compares input with standard (a comparator)
4. Output to the environment (meaningful behavior) that is a result of the comparison

Goal: matching the environmental inputs to internal standards.

Thermostat Analogy
Standard: 70 degrees
Input: 65 degrees
Comparator: comparison results show that temperature is below standard
Output: function of comparison; turn on heater; continued until the input (current temp) reaches the standard (70 degrees).

Front 13

Draw and explain Graph Theory Model of Diffuse Status Setting.

Back 13

Two actors, p & o.
D = DSC
T = task
C = task ability
general expectation

Shorter more direct paths are stronger.

Front 14

Draw and explain Graph Theory Model of Specific Status Setting

Back 14

two actors, p & o
C = specific ability
t = specific task outcome
Y = abstract ability
T = task

Front 15

Name and explain the 5 assumptions of Status Characteristics Theory.

Back 15

1. Salience: status info salient if it is initially defined as relevant to the task
2. Burden of Proof: status advantages are generalized from one situation to another unless their applicability is questioned/challenged
3. Sequencing: if new status info/actors are introduced those in the group will restructure their situation in sequence
4. Aggregation: actors combine all status info that is salient and relevant to the task
5. Behavior: specific behaviors (OPP) are direct functions of an actor's expectation advantage relative to another

Front 16

What are the two scope conditions for EST?

Back 16

1. Collective Orientation
--group considers it necessary to take into account each others contributions
2. Task Orientation
--motivated towards solving a problem

Front 17

Within EST, what does having a greater performance expectation show in terms of compliance?

Back 17

1. More chances to perform in the group
2. More chances to speak up and offer suggestions
3. More likely his/her suggestions will be positively evaluated
4. More likely s/he will be able to be influenced if there are disagreements

Front 18

What are the three differential expectations in EST?

Back 18

1. Performance Expectations
2. Reward Expectations
3. Valued Status Expectations

Front 19

Define an actor model. Give two theoretical examples of a complex actor model and two of an minimal actor model.

Back 19

The actor model refers to how the social actor is conceptualized in a theory-it specifies certain parameters of the actor for that theory.

Theories that have a complex actor model:
ICT, SRB, SVT, SIT, IT (?)

Theories that have a minimal actor model:
EST, SCT, ACT [focus on structure]

Front 20

What are the four general conditions that should lead to feelings of distress caused by identity disruption as outlined by Burke (1991)?

Back 20

1. Broken loop (two ways)
--By external events such as ineffective behavior (output to environment)
--By inability to read/receive feedback (input into the environment)

2. Interference from other identities
--Makes the maintenance of one identity come at the cost of interrupting others

3. An over-controlled identity system
--Meaning that situational inputs must match the identity standard very closely, the actor experiences incongruence more frequently ad must make frequent adjust to behavior (output)

4. Episodic identities
--More likely to encounter interruption (distress) due to our lack of practice in them, and therefore the lack of ease with which we can present ourselves and understand feedback pertaining to our standard for this identity

Front 21

What are the two sources of systematic identity change in ICT according to Burke (2006)?

Back 21

1. Persistent problems with the verification of a particular identity

2. Multiple identities activated together, whose verifications require opposing meanings to be manifested in the individual’s behavior

Front 22

Name the four reasons rewards fail according to Kohn (1993).

Back 22

1. Rewards punish
--Reward & punishment are opposite sides of the same coin. Not only are they both means of control (naturally a form of punishment) but the lack of rewards are experienced in directly the same way as administering punishment

2. Rewards rupture relationships
--They prohibit collaborative work between peers and create an antagonistic power relationship (rather than a trusting one) between those in higher and lower status positions

3. Rewards ignore reasons
--Rather than focusing on why individuals perform poorly (or well) at some activity, the focus skips to the final outcome—acting as a band-aid solution which ignores deeper issues

4. Rewards discourage risk-taking
--When trying to get an award, individuals do just that—try to get the reward and nothing else

Front 23

Concerning rewards (Kohn 1993):
1. For whom are rewards effective?

2. For how long are rewards effective?

3. At what, exactly, are rewards effective?

Back 23

1. For whom are rewards effective?
--Those who are dependent upon the reward (and/or dependent upon the controller of the reward) and for those who are alienated from their work (ie those who would have no motivation towards to activity to begin with)

2. For how long are rewards effective?
--For as long as the reward lasts—and even then the amount of the reward must continually increase to remain effective

3. At what, exactly, are rewards effective?
--Simple mindless tasks. They have a positive effect only on quantity, not quality.

Front 24

What are the conditions under which rewards can positively effect intrinsic motivation according to Pierce, Cameron, Banko & Su (2003)? Also, what is learned industriousness and what does it have to do with rewards?

Back 24

Pierce et al conducted a study where those that were progressively rewarded spend more time on the task in a "free-choice" session than those in other conditions.

Rewarding individuals for meeting a graded level of performance increases their intrinsic motivation. This is due to *learned industriousness* which states that participates are conditioned to associate the sensation of increased effort with increased reward which maintains motivation for increased effort even when the reward is taken away.

Front 25

According to Wilson & Dunn (2004), what are the three ways that we can increase self-knowledge?

Back 25

1. Introspection: We can try and learn about ourselves. However, the mind makes discovery somewhat impossible. Introspection is important for construction, which is important for making sense of traumatic events, but can also lead to inaccurate information and rumination.

2. Seeing yourself through other's eyes. May be too unreliable (others might not show true assessments, we might misread them). Also, other's assessment are not guaranteed to be more accurate than your own.

3. Closely examine your own behavior. Also has limitation, as the reason behind behavior may be inaccessible.

Front 26

What are the two larger significant points of Pager & Quillian's (2005) research?

Back 26

1. It calls into question the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

2. It calls into question the notion of decreasing discrimination whiting the US since the claims have been made based on self-reported data.

Front 27

Under what conditions do attitudes predict behavior according to Fazio & Roskos-Ewoldsen (2004)?

Back 27

1. When the attitude and the behavior are on the same level: general attitudes predict general behaviors; specific attitudes specific behaviors

2. When the person is the kind of person who is aware of and guided by internal feelings

3. When there are strong norms in the situation and when the situation presents strong time pressure

4. When the attitude is derived from direct experience and related, when the attitude is readily accessible.

Front 28

HOW do attitudes guide behavior (Fazio & Roskos-Ewoldsen 2004)? What are the two mechanisms/models?

Back 28

1. Deliberate behavior
--Theory of reasoned action (Ajzen & Fishbein 1980): indivs take into account various factors (attitude and its precursors and consequences) in forming behavioral intentions, which then most accurately predict behavior
--Indiv considers a) his/her attitude toward the behavior and b) subjective norms regarding the behavior

2. Spontaneous behavior
--Fazio’s attitude-to-behavior model: suggests that attitudes (especially accessible attitudes) determine behavior by shaping the definition of the situation, which acts as a guide to action
--Precursor of behavior is an individual’s definition of the event that is occurring (indiv’s interpretation of what is happening is assumed to determine how s/he responds)

Front 29

What is the M.O.D.E. model?
(Fazio & Roskos-Ewoldsen 2004)

Back 29

MODE (Motivation and Opportunity and Determinants): a model that integrates deliberate & spontaneous behavior models, delineating the conditions under which each model is appropriate for predicting attitude-behavior relations.
--Research shows that when people are making spontaneous decisions, accessible attitudes will be more predictive of their behavior
--When people are making deliberate decisions, accessible attitudes will not necessarily be as predictive of their behavior
--Theory of reasoned action applies when there is strong motivation to make a good decisions and when there is opportunity to spend time deliberating
--The process model will have more predictive value when motivation and/or opportunity is low

Front 30

What is an attitude?

Back 30

An attitude is not a personality disposition, as is often used colloquially, but a value judgment (favorable or unfavorable).