Terms from Class Sessions before Exam 1

WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCH?

● Social Psychology: The scientific study of the ways in which people's thoughts,
feelings and behaviors are influenced by the real or perceived presence of others.
(It includes how we perceive other people and situations; how we respond to other
people and they respond to us; how we are affected by social situations.)

● Matching Principle: People tend to befriend or find life partners with people
who are more similar to them

● Intrapersonal Phenomena: Occurs within a person.

● Interpersonal Phenomena: Interactions between two people.

● Group Phenomena: How we act in groups, and how it affects our

attitudes/behaviors.

RESEARCH METHODS

● Variable: A factor that is able to take on at least 2 different values

● Independent variable: The variable that affects the dependent variable (the
variable that is manipulated); The input

● Dependent variable: The variable affected by the independent variable; The

outcome

● Confirmatory Research: When a testable hypothesis can be formed

● Exploratory Research: No hypothesis; venturing into a topic

● Correlational Study: Observed associations between variables without

manipulation; correlations do not imply causation

● Positive correlation: Relationships going in the same direction. Perfect positive

correlation = +1.00. X increases and Y increases; X decreases and Y decreases

● Negative Correlation: Relationships going in opposite directions. Perfect

negative correlation = -1.00. X increases and Y decreases; X decreases and Y
increases

● 0 Correlation- No relationship.
● Reverse causality: When thought that X causes Y, it might be the case that Y
causes X

● 3rd Variable: other factors that may explain why X is correlated with Y

● Random assignment: When participants have an equal chance of being assigned

to the different conditions of an experiment

● Experiment: Requires both manipulation of a variable and random assignment to

conditions

● Field studies: conducted in people's natural environment. High mundane realism

(realistic), high external validity (external validity = generalizability)

● Lab studies: Participant comes to researcher; usually an artificial environment.

Allows for more controlled conditions, high experimental realism (engages &
absorbs participants), high internal validity (confidence that independent variable
caused dependent variable)

● Internal validity: confidence that the IV caused the DV within an experiment

● External validity: generalizability of experiment to other situations, people, etc.

● Experimental realism: extent to which a study is engaging to the participants;

higher in internal validity

● Mundane realism: similarity to actions/events in the real world; higher in

external validity

● Social desirability: wanting to look good in front of an experimenter so either

lying or saying what they think the experimenter wants to hear; also may want to
feel like a good person so may not admit to having done bad things.

● Observational data: data that researchers see directly; pros: high authenticity;
cons: potentially more time-consuming, may be hard to interpret

● Self-report data: collected through surveys, face-to-face interviews, telephone

screenings; pros: can measure internal states (e.g. loneliness); cons: potentially
biased responses, social desirability is a concern

● Archival research: Previously collected research; cons: one is unable to control

what is asked, who the participants were, the origin of data

● Subject (or Participant) Bias: you can never study every member of the larger
group that we are interested in understanding. Most of the time we want to have a
 representative sample of people but we can’t randomly select from all of the
people. (would have to be from all over the world, every country, every
background… impossible!!!

● Experimenter bias: since the experimenter knows what results they want to see
they might give unintentional cues or hints to participants (blinding counters this)

● Participant bias: participants respond in a way that corresponds to what they

believe the researcher is hoping to observe

● Demand Characteristics: Cues/features of a study that inadvertently tip off the

participant
○ Proposed Solution: keep participants and experimenters blind to study
purpose and hypotheses, conducting studies where participants are
unaware they are being observed

● Convenience Sample: rely on whatever people are convenient to participate in

studies (often college students). Can also be people from the community (but
usually not representative, usually white, financially comfortable etc.)

SOCIAL COGNITION

● Social Cognition: The ways people make inferences/judgements from the social
information in the environment. Research in social cognition investigates how
people use complex information to form judgments.

● Social Inference: How we gather and integrate information into an inference or

judgment.

● Statistical Information: Information about a large number of individuals.

(Numeric, quantitative)

● Case History Information: Information about a few specific individuals. Case

history information is more influential in our judgements, even though statistics
are objectively more correct (paradox).

● Judgments of Covariation/Covariance: Ideas people hold about associations

between different things or different people; what goes with what

● Illusory Correlation: A phenomenon where we impose a relationship between 2

things where no relationship exists. Often occurs when 2 variables are seen as
“belonging together” or when 2 variables share similar features.

● Cognitive Miser: People who are frugal with their cognitive resources; we try to
process massive amounts of information as efficiently as possible. We are all
cognitive misers!
● Schemas: Organized, structured sets of cognitions/thoughts about a concept or
stimulus. They have hierarchical organization and are different between each
person. Helps us fill in gaps and interpret new information. Prior expectations are
an example of schemas.

● Hierarchical Organization (of Schemas): Schemas range from being broad,

general sets of thoughts to being more specific, down to our own experiences. For
example, a general New Year’s Eve party schema and the New Year’s Eve party
you attended last year schema.

● Natural Contours: Determine which schemas are going to be used depending on

what the situation looks like.

● Salience: Refers to how pronounced or noticeable a feature is in the environment.

More salient stimuli or information is influential on what schemas are used.

● Priming: Schemas that we recently used are more likely to get used again; can
affect inferences we make about a person.

● Confirmatory Hypothesis Testing: We behave towards other people in a way

that tends to confirm our beliefs/schemas about them. We can selectively elicit
information that supports our schemas about them

● Domino Theory: the historical idea that the U.S. should not let communism take
over in countries, or else they will “fall like dominos.” An example of how
schemas caused false grave errors in history.

● Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Expectations or schemas about others can lead us to

treat them in ways that causes them to adopt those behaviors.

ATTRIBUTION

● Attributions: Explanations for behavior. We make attributions especially when

something unexpected or negative happens. Can affect our feelings, attitudes, and
emotions.

● Locus: Extent to which we believe something happened because of an internal

factor or an external factor.

● Internal/dispositional factors: characteristics of an individual (moods, attitudes,

personalities, etc.)
● External/situational factors: factors that are external to a person that might
influence their behavior (social pressure, money, etc)

● Principle of Covariation: if the cause is present, then we can expect to observe

the effect; if the cause is not present, then we can expect not to observe the effect

● Discounting Principle: If many potential causes are plausible, then we are less
likely to attribute an effect to any particular cause.

● Distinctiveness: Does a person act this way only in response to this situation and
not to other situations? How salient the situation is compared to other situations

● Consensus: Do other people act in the same way in response to this stimulus?

● Consistency: Does the person act this way in response to this situation at other
times?

● Salience: anything that captures our attention and is more salient to us tends to be
more influential or noticeable

● Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to over-attribute other people’s

behavior to dispositional (internal) factors and under-attribute their behavior to
situational (external) factors

● Actor-Observer Bias: each party has different perspectives on and information

about an event. The Actor will likely attribute their own actions to situational
(external) factors, the Observer will attribute the Actor’s actions to dispositional
(internal) factors.

● False Consensus Effect/Bias: The tendency to exaggerate the extent to which

others agree with our behaviors and attitudes and others will think/react the same
way as us, Makes us feel better that we are not the only ones with these ideas.

● Self-Serving Bias: Tendency to attribute our own success to internal factors and
our failures to external factors.

● Self-Handicapping: Creating an obstacle to success so that when we fail we can

attribute the failure to the obstacle rather than to our own ability or disposition.

● Egocentric Bias: The tendency to exaggerate our own contributions to shared

activities.

● Illusion of control: Believing we have more control than we actually do and

underestimating the role of chance
● Characterological self-blame: blaming negative situations on our own character
and traits. Not adaptive, since our character cannot be changed.

REACTIONS TO VICTIMS

● AIDS: caused by a virus that can be transmitted through blood and bodily fluids

● Belief in a just world: belief that we have control over our circumstances and
that good things happen to good people, and bad people deserve what is coming
to them.

● Controllability: how much control is perceived to exist

● Onset Responsibility: the belief that a person is responsible for the cause of their
condition. Are they doing anything to prevent this condition? For example, are
people using condoms to prevent AIDS?

● Offset Responsibility: the belief that a person has the responsibility to work
towards a solution for their condition. Are they seeking help for their condition?
Are they taking action or coping?

ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR DISCREPANCIES

● Stability of Attitudes: Attitudes measured now do not necessarily predict

behaviors later, as attitudes change over time due to situations or people changing.

● Strength of Attitudes: When someone's attitude is weak/ambivalent, then we

find more inconsistency between their attitudes and behaviors.

● Relevance of Attitudes: Behavior is most consistent with attitudes that are

specifically relevant to them.

● Salience of Attitudes: When an attitude is made salient, we’re more likely to act in a
way that’s consistent with the attitude.

● Situational Pressures: When situational pressures are very strong, attitudes are
not as likely to determine people’s behaviors, the situation is

● Cognitive Dissonance Theory: When there is inconsistency between behavior

and attitude, and behavior cannot be changed or revoked, we experience
tension/discomfort and reduce dissonance by changing attitude. HOT theory.

● Post-Decisional Dissonance: The tension that we experience due to our

commitment to a particular course of action over another. To reduce dissonance,
we either decrease our evaluation of the alternative we didn’t choose or increase
our evaluation of the alternative we did choose. If both choices are equally good,
there is more dissonance.
● Consistency of Attitudes and Behavior: Based on strength of attitude, stability
of attitude, relevance of attitude to behavior, salience of the attitude, and
situational pressures

● Attitude-Discrepant Behavior: When you perform some action inconsistent with

your attitude.

● Extrinsic Justification: An outside motivation for performing a task, which can

be force, coercion, or a reward. A lack of extrinsic justification may lead to a
search for intrinsic justification.

● Intrinsic Justification: An internal motivation for performing a task.

● Self Perception Theory: Behavior leads to attitude. Self perception occurs often
when attitudes are vague or ambiguous and dissonance is absent (no tension
involved). Suggests that attitudes are at the top of the head, not deeply felt. COLD
theory.

● Hot Theory: Describes the type of theory that cognitive dissonance is, which
suggests that people experience tension internally. It seems illogical.

● Cold Theory: Describes the type of theory that self perception theory is, which
suggests our attitudes come from reviewing our behavior. It is very rational.

● Top-of-the-Head Phenomena: Individuals determine their attitudes by reviewing

their behaviors, which is whatever is at the “top of the head”. A feature of self-
perception theory.

SOCIAL INFLUENCE

● Social Influence: Influence that people have on the beliefs and behavior of others

● Conformity: Type of social influence where we do something simply because

other people are doing similar things. A voluntary action (e.g. Sherif study, Asch
Study)

● Compliance: Doing what we are asked to do. Response to a request in hopes of a

reward, for fear of punishment, or due to social norms; a form of social influence

● Obedience to authority: Form of compliance where we perceive a person or

group to have the legitimate authority/right to influence us (e.g. listening to a
police officer).
● Autokinetic Effect: Optical illusion where a stationary light in a dark room
makes the light appear to move. Personal perceptions vary greatly; used in the
Sherif Study

● Informational Influence: Conforming for the desire to be right, especially if we

believe a group has more information than us.

● Confederate: Actors who are part of the study but are perceived by participants
to be just another participant.

● Normative Influence: Conforming to gain the approval of a group or to avoid a

group’s disapproval.

● Cohesive Group: A group that is highly committed with high morale; is prone to
pressures of conformity

● Group Unanimity: Even one dissenter makes conformity in a group setting

decrease (regardless of group size and validity of dissent); suggests that the
majority is wrong.

● Dissenter: a person who disagrees with a group’s unanimous thought.

● Minority Influence: A dissenting minority is especially influential when they are

similar to the majority except the one behavior or attitude that they are trying to
change. Shows that the minority has no self-interest in the dissenting opinion.

● Mindlessness: the concept of people complying with little serious thought about
their behavior or no apparent reason (e.g. complying to a person who cuts in front
of you in line).

● Bases of social power: rewards, coercion, expertise, information, referent power,

legitimate authority

● Referent Power: A basis of social power that involves our desire to be similar to
the people we like or admire.

● “Power of the Powerless”: Social responsibility to help those who are

disadvantaged or in need and could clearly use our help

● Foot-in-the-door: A compliance technique where causing a person to agree to a

small request makes them more likely to agree to a larger request.

● Door-in-the-face: A compliance technique where asking a large request of a

person makes the person more likely to comply with a second smaller request.
● Low-balling: A compliance technique that involves withholding information in
order to get someone to agree to an initial request and then letting them know the
whole story later. Usually illegal when selling products/services.

● That’s-not-all: A compliance technique that involves “sweetening” the deal with

extras, which were probably going to be included in the deal anyway (“Not only
will you get the microwave, but you’ll get the dishes too!”)

● Reactance: Too much pressure to comply may cause one to do the opposite of
what is desired in order to maintain personal freedom.

● Overjustification: Frequent rewards provide extrinsic motivation for a behavior,

and over time we lose intrinsic motivation to continue the behavior, only doing it
for the sake of the reward.

MILGRAM OBEDIENCE FILM & DISCUSSION

● Institutional Review Board (IRB): a committee that reviews research studies

involving human participants to ensure they meet ethical, safety, and other
standards. Often called an Ethics Board in European countries.

● All other terms used in this class session are already listed.