Chapter 2: Methodology

Question 1

Bystander effect

Answer 1

When witnessers in the crime scene in the big city do nothing to help the victim. This is the result of “diffusion of responsibility.”

Question 2

Hindsight bias

Answer 2

Tendency to exaggerate how much we could’ve predicted outcome after knowing it occurred.

Question 3

Theory and hypothesis

Answer 3

Theory is developed. The hypothesis is formulated and derived from theory and is tested. After obtaining results, the theory is revised, and new hypotheses are formed.

Question 4

3 types of research methods

Answer 4

1. Observational method: describing the social behavior by observing people and recoding their behavior.
2. Correlational method: predicting social behavior by making relationships between independent and dependent variables.
3. Experimental method: making causal inference, involving direct intervention, and changing independent variable to see effect.

Question 5

Examples of observational method

Answer 5

1. Ethnography: when researchers attempt to understand a group or culture by observing the behavior for the inside without interfering or imposing preconceived notions.
   
   • Interjudge reliability: level of agreement b/w 2 or more people who independently observer and code a set of data.
2. Archival analysis: when researcher examines accumulated documents of a culture likes diaries p, magazines, novels, etc.

Question 6

Limits of observational method

Answer 6

There is inadequate information from archives and inaccurate data. Because of this, researchers are not able to predict social behavior.

Question 7

Correlation coefficient

Answer 7

A statistic that assesses how well you can predict one variable from another. It’s designated “r”.

• if r>0: positive correlation; x and y are directly proportional.
• if r

Question 8

Example of correlational method

Answer 8

Survey: research in which representative sample of people are asked questions about their attitudes or behavior.

Random selection of people in a population is very important; people have equal chance of being selected for a sample.

Question 9

Problems of correlational method

Answer 9

• Accuracy of responses in surveys: straightforward questions are easy to answer, but asking participant how and why they behaved in some hypothetical situation, inaccuracy is invited.
• Correlation does not equal causation
• Hidden third variable

Question 10

Internal validity

Answer 10

Keeping everything in the experiment the same except the independent variable.

High internal validity is accomplished by controlling all extraneous variables and by randomly assigning people to different experimental conditions.

Problem: situation can become somewhat artificial and distant from real life.

Question 11

Random assignment to condition

Answer 11

Process whereby all participants have equal chance of taking part in any condition of an experiment; researchers can be relatively certain that differences in participants’ background or personalities are evenly distributed across conditions.

Question 12

Probability level (p-value)

Answer 12

Number that tells researchers how likely it is that the results of their experiment occurred by chance and not because of independent variable.

If p-value

Question 13

External validity

Answer 13

Extent to which results of a study can be generalized to other situations and other people.

High external validity is accomplished with high generalizability, ability to conduct field experiments, and using cover story.

Problem: researchers cannot control independent variable.

Question 14

Psychological realism

Answer 14

Extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to those that occur in everyday life.

Cover story is used.

Question 15

Cover story

Answer 15

A disguised version of the study’s true purpose.

Question 16

Basic dilemma of the social psychologist

Answer 16

Refers to the trade-off between internal and external validity.

Question 17

Replications

Answer 17

Repeating a study, often with different subject populations or in different settings.

Question 19

Meta-analysis

Answer 19

Statistical technique that averages the results of 2 or more studies to see if the effect of an independent variable is reliable.

Question 20

Applied research

Answer 20

Study was designed to solve a particular social problem

Question 21

Cross-cultural research

Answer 21

Studying effects of culture on social psychological process.

Question 22

Evolutionary theory

Answer 22

Explaining ways in which animals adapt to their environments. Central to the theory is natural selection.

Question 23

Natural selection

Answer 23

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 24

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Social neuroscience

Answer 25

Studying hormones and behavior, the human immune system, and neurological processes in the brain. Sophisticated technologies include EEG and fMRI.

Question 26

Basic research

Answer 26

Designed to find the best answer to the question of why people behave as they do, purely for reasons of intellectual curiosity.