Exam 1

Question 1

What is Social Psychology?

Answer 1

The scientific study of the way in which peoples thoughts, feelings and actions affect behavior cognitions

-It is a study of the real or imagined presence of others

Question 2

What is the hindsight bias and why does it happen?

Answer 2

The tendency to exaggerate after learning an outcome, ones ability to have foreseen how something turned out. AKA the “I knew it all along” phenomenon.

Question 3

What is construal?

Answer 3

Construal: interpretation and inferences made about a stimulus or situation
-Interpretation is an active process

Construals can govern behavior. How we interpret a situation will influence how we act in that situation?

Question 4

What is the difference between automatic and controlled processing.

Answer 4

Think about what it was like when you first learned to ride a bike. How do you ride a bike? How would you explain it to a small child to help them not fall over? Do you need to consciously think about those things anymore?

Social (and non social) information may be processed two different ways

Automatic processing: automatic, involuntary, and unconscious. Often based on emotional responses

Controlled processing: system, and deliberate. controlled processing can override automatic responses.

Question 5

What is a hypothesis and how is one developed?

Answer 5

Hypotheses: testable beliefs about the relationship between events.

Question 6

What is a hypothesis and how is one developed?

Answer 6

Hypotheses: testable beliefs about the relationship between events.

Hypotheses can be based on:

• Personal observations
• Previous Theories and Research

Question 7

What are correlational and experimental methods? How do they differ?

Answer 7

Correlational methods: measuring behaviors and thoughts in their natural state

experimental methods: manipulating social processes, varying aspects of the situation

Question 8

what are each of the three correlational methods for research are as well as the pros and cons of each method.

Answer 8

Observational:
systematically observing participants in social situations. Behaviors may be recorded and categorised.
Pros: real behavior, real situations. no problem generalising.
Cons: people might act differently when they are being watched.

Surveys: asking participants questions through an interview or questioners.

Archival research: analysing social behaviors documented in publicly available records, often historical. Changes in attitudes over time. News, police reports, hospital records, etc.
Pros: access to large amounts of data, no difficulty generalising
Cons: many interesting behaviors are not recorded