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Psych 235 1
Exam 1
89
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
01/24/2010

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Term
Social Psych
Definition
The scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people
Term
Sociocultural Perspective
Definition
The theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in influences from larger social groups
Term
Evolutionary Perspective
Definition
A theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and psychological predispositions that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce
Term
Social Cognitive Perspective
Definition
A theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, and remembering social experiences
Term
Descriptive Method
Definition
Procedure for measuring or recording behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in their natural state (including naturalistic observations, case studies, archival studies, surveys, and psychological tests)
Term
Experimental method
Definition
Procedure for uncovering causal processes by systematically manipulating some aspect of a situation
Term
Naturalistic Observation
Definition
Recording everyday behaviors as they unfold in their natural settings
Term
Observer Bias
Definition
Error introduced into measurement when an observer overemphasizes behaviors he or she expects to find and fails to notice behaviors he or she does not expect
Term
Generalizability
Definition
The extent to which the findings of a particular research study extend to other similar circumstances or cases
Term
Archival Method
Definition
Examination of systematic data originally collected for other purposes (such as marriage licenses or arrest records)
Term
Social Desirability Bias
Definition
The tendency for people to say what they believe is appropriate or acceptable
Term
Representative Sample
Definition
A group of respondents having characteristics that match those of the larger population the researcher wants to describe
Term
Reliability
Definition
The consistency of the score yielded by a psychological test
Term
Validity
Definition
The extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure
Term
Correlation Coefficient
Definition
A mathematical expression of the relationship between two variables

EX: Scores with a positive correlation coefficient go up and down together (as with smoking and cancer). A negative correlation coefficient indicates that as one score increases, the other score decreases (as in the relationship between self-esteem and depression; as self-esteem increases, the rate of depression decreases).
Term
Independent Variable
Definition
The variable manipulated by the experimenter
Term
Dependent Variable
Definition
The variable measured by the experimenter
Term
Random Assignment
Definition
The practice of assigning participants to treatments so each person has an equal chance of being in any condition
Term
Internal Validity
Definition
The extent to which an experiment allows confident statements about cause and effect
Term
Confound
Definition
A variable that systematically changes along with the independent variable, potentially leading to a mistaken conclusion about the effect of the independent variable

Ex: A soccer coach wanted to improve the team's playing ability, so he had them run two miles a day. At the same time the players decided to take vitamins. In two weeks the team was playing noticeably better, but the coach and players did not know whether it was from the running or the vitamins.
Term
External Validity
Definition
The extent to which the results of an experiment can be generalized to other circumstances
Term
Demand Characteristic
Definition
Cue that makes participants aware of how the experimenter expects them to behave
Term
Field Experimentation
Definition
The manipulation of independent variables using unknowing participants in natural settings
Term
Debriefing
Definition
A discussion of procedures, hypotheses, and participant reactions at the completion of the study
Term
Goal
Definition
A desired outcome; something one wishes to achieve or accomplish
Term
Motive
Definition
A high-level goal fundamental to social survival
Term
Attention
Definition
THe process of consciously focusing on aspects of our environment to ourselves
Term
Automaticity
Definition
The ability of behavior or cognitive process to operate without conscious guidance once it's put into motion
Term
Willpower
Definition
The self-control strength used to overcome counterproductive impulses to achieve difficult goals
Term
Exemplar
Definition
A mental representation of a specific episode, event, or individual
Term
Priming
Definition
The process of activating knowledge or goals, of making them ready for use
Term
Chronically accessible
Definition
The state of being easily activated, of making them ready for use
Term
Counterfactual Thinking
Definition
The process of imagining alternative, "might have been" versions of actual events
Term
Self-concept
Definition
A mental representation capturing our views and beliefs about ourselves
Term
Self-esteem
Definition
Our attitude toward ourselves
Term
Social Comparison
Definition
The process through which people come to know themselves by comparing their abilities, attitudes, and beliefs with those of others
Term
Reflected Appraisal Process
Definition
The process through which people come to know themselves by observing or imagining how others view them
Term
Self- perception process
Definition
The process through which people observe their own behavior to infer internal characteristics such as traits, abilities, and attitudes
Term
Self-Regulation
Definition
The process through which people select, monitor, and adjust their strategies in an attempt to control the impressions people form of us
Term
Self-Presentation
Definition
The process through which we try to control the impressions people form of us
Term
Affordance
Definition
An opportunity or threat provided by a situation
Term
Descriptive Norm
Definition
A norm that defines what is commonly done in a situation
Term
Pluralistic Ignorance
Definition
The phenomenon in which people in a group misperceive the beliefs of others because everyone acts inconsistently with their beliefs
Term
Injunctive Norm
Definition
A norm that describes what is commonly approved or disapproved in a situation
Term
Scripted Situation
Definition
A situation in which certain events are expected to occur in a particular sequence
Term
Individualistic Culture
Definition
A culture that socializes its memebers to think of themselves in terms of their relationships and as members of the larger social group, and to prioritize the concerns of their relationship partners and groups before their own
Term
Person-situation Fit
Definition
The extent to which a person and a situation are compatible
Term
Socialization
Definition
The process whereby a culture teaches its members about its beliefs, customs, habits, and language
Term
Social Cognition
Definition
The process of thinking about and making sense of oneself and others
Term
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Definition
When an initially inaccurate expectation leads to actions that cause the expectation to come true
Term
Dispositional Inference
Definition
The judgement that a person's behavior has been caused by an aspect of that person's personality
Term
Correspondence Bias (Fundamental Attribution Error)
Definition
The tendency for observers to overestimate the causal influence of personality factors on behavior and to underestimate the causal role of situational influences
Term
Cognitive Heuristic
Definition
A mental shortcut used to make a judgement
Term
Representativeness Heuristic
Definition
Using our knowledge to make predictions of the characteristics of a group

o Ex: You don’t think someone is a professor because they are dressed casually and are talking casually to students because of your previous schema of what a professor looks like
Term
Availability Heuristic
Definition
A mental shortcut where we use info that is readily available/comes to mind easily
Term
False Consensus Effect
Definition
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others agree with us
Term
Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic
Definition
We make judgments based on picking our an estimate or anchor and we adjust that estimate to either higher or lower
o Ex: when you’re estimating a check, you pick an anchor and adjust higher or lower from there based on how many drinks, meals, were ordered, etc.
Term
Self-serving Bias
Definition
The tendency to take personal credit for our success and to blame external factors for our failures
Term
Attribution Theories
Definition
Theories designed to explain how people determine the causes of behavior
Term
Correspondent Inference Theory
Definition
The theory that proposes that people determine whether a behavior corresponds to an actor's internal disposition by asking whether the behavior was intended, the behavior's consequences were foreseeable, the behavior was freely chosen, and the behavior occurred despite countervailing forces
Term
Covariation Model
Definition
The theory that proposes that people determine the cause of an actor's behavior by assessing whether other people act in similar ways, the action behaves similarly in similar situations, and the actor behaves similarly across time in the same situation
Term
Discounting Principle
Definition
As we come up with more reasons why a person did something, the less likely we are confident why they did these things
Term
Augmenting Principle
Definition
if an event occurs despite the presence of stronger forces

Ex: A person who gets a high grade in a university history examination may be considered clever. But if you are told that the person is only 16, you may well consider them extremely clever. And if they were already a professor, you would be singularly unimpressed.
Term
Self-Presentation
Definition
The process trough which we try to control the impressions people form of us; synonymous with impression management
Term
Dramaturgical Perspective
Definition
The perspective that much of social interaction can be thought of as play, with actors, performances, settings, scripts, props, roles and so forth
Term
Public Self-Consciousness
Definition
The tendency to have a chronic awareness of oneself as being in the public eye
Term
Self-Monitoring
Definition
The tendency to be chronically concerned with one's public image and to adjust one's actions to fit the needs of the current situation
Term
Integration
Definition
An attempt to get others to like us
Term
Multiple Audience Dilema
Definition
problem of having to integrate two audience with opposing views at the same time
Term
Self-Promotion
Definition
An attempt to get others to see us as competent
Term
Self-Handicapping
Definition
The behavior of withdrawing effort of creating obstacles to one's future successes
Term
Competence Motivation
Definition
The desire to perform effectively
Term
Banking in Reflected Glory
Definition
The process of associating ourselves with successful, high-status others or events
Term
Cutting Off Reflected Failure
Definition
The process of distancing ourselves from unsuccessful, low-status others or events
Term
Theory of Planned Behavior
Definition
A theory of stating that the best predictor of a behavior is one's behavior intention which is influenced by one's attitude toward the specific behavior, the subjective norms regarding the behavior and one's perceived control over the behavior
Term
Nonreactive Measurement
Definition
Measurement that does not change a subject's responses while recording them
Term
Cognitive Response Model
Definition
A theory that locates the most direct cause of persuasion in the self-talk of the persuasion target
Term
Counterargument
Definition
An argument that challenges and opposes other arguments
Term
Inoculation Procedure
Definition
A technique for increasing individuals' resistance to a strong argument by first giving them weak, easily defeated versions of it
Term
Dual Process Model of Persuasion
Definition
A model that accounts for the two basic ways that attitude change occurs- with and without much thought
Term
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Definition
A model of persuasive communication that holds that there are two routes to attitude change- the central route and the peripheral route
Term
Central Route to Persuasion
Definition
The way people are persuaded when they focus on the quality of the arguments in a message
Term
Peripheral Route to Persuasion
Definition
The way people are persuaded when they focus on factors other that the quality of the arguments in a message, such as the number of arguments
Term
Need for Cognition
Definition
The tendency to enjoy and engage in deliberative thought
Term
Consistency Principle
Definition
The principle that people will change their attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and actions to make them consistent with each other
Term
Balance Theory
Definition
Heider's theory that people prefer harmony and consistency in their views of the world
Term
Cognitive Dissonance
Definition
The unpleasant state of psychological arousal resulting from an inconsistency within one's important attitudes, beliefs or behaviors
Term
Counterattitudinal Action
Definition
A behavior that is inconsistent with an exisiting attitude
Term
Postdecisional Dissonance
Definition
The conflict one feels about a decision that could possibly be wrong
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