SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY EXAM |
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM PREP, PRACTICE
QUESTIONS, CORRECT ANSWERS AND
STUDY GUIDE
| GRADED A+ | GUARANTEED SUCCESS
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep
,Test 1
Social Psychology "The scientific study of how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of an individual
are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence or actions of another
individual or group of individuals"
ex) Santa Claus- influencing the behavior of kids even though he isn't real
- focus on context of how situations affects different people
The Importance of the Situation
,The Fundamental Attribution Error "our tendency to overestimate personal disposition and underestimate situational
influences when explaining the behavior of others"
ex) volunteering at a hospital
- overestimate personal characteristics: people assume that individual is a good
person
- underestimate situational influences: doing it for recognition for college
construal unique perception of the situation
"naive realism": bias; us believing our perception is the correct perception no
matter what others saw; we believe that we are more correct and others are more
biased
Importance of Culture
Individualistic Cultures - emphasize personal achievement regardless of the expense of group goals,
resulting in a strong sense of competition
- independence is valued; relying or being dependent on others if frequently
seen as shameful
- put own needs above others
- want to stand out
ex) United States, Europe
Collectivist Cultures - emphasize family and work group goals above individual needs or desires
- working with others and cooperating is the norm; everyone supports each other
- group needs > individual needs
ex) China, Japan, Korea
Basic Human Motives
Self-esteem Motive "the need to feel good about yourself"
- unconscious desire to distort reality
- hard time improving negative qualities
ex) blaming partner's faults for breakup instead of looking at own faults
Social Cognition Motive "the need to be accurate"
- people think about themselves in social world
- make judgments or decisions
- prone to make mistakes --> not always accurate
, Research Methodology
social psychologists use empirical, or scientific, methods
ti answer their questions
Why can't theories be proven? No number of confirming observations can verify that a theory is universally true
because it is possible to falsify it with 1 single observation
ex) white and black swans
Observational Research - observing behaviors in a naturally occurring environment or in a controlled
laboratory setting
- interjudge reliability: degree of agreement between 2 or more observers
- ethnography: observing a group or culture from the inside
- archival analysis: examining documents of a culture
Limitations
- "How" people behave, but not "why"
- certain behaviors would be difficult to observe in a natural setting
Correlational Designs - measures the degree to which 2 or more variables (characteristics, behaviors,
development) are related
- surveys
- variability but everyone given the same treatment
- correlation: value of one variable changes with the value of another variable
- positive correlation: both values increase
- negative correlation: one value increases, the other decreases
- neutral correlation: random --> no relationship
- correlation coefficient (r): strength; ranges from -1 to +1, uses absolute value;
close to 0 --> neutral; close to 1--> points condense together
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM PREP, PRACTICE
QUESTIONS, CORRECT ANSWERS AND
STUDY GUIDE
| GRADED A+ | GUARANTEED SUCCESS
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep
,Test 1
Social Psychology "The scientific study of how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of an individual
are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence or actions of another
individual or group of individuals"
ex) Santa Claus- influencing the behavior of kids even though he isn't real
- focus on context of how situations affects different people
The Importance of the Situation
,The Fundamental Attribution Error "our tendency to overestimate personal disposition and underestimate situational
influences when explaining the behavior of others"
ex) volunteering at a hospital
- overestimate personal characteristics: people assume that individual is a good
person
- underestimate situational influences: doing it for recognition for college
construal unique perception of the situation
"naive realism": bias; us believing our perception is the correct perception no
matter what others saw; we believe that we are more correct and others are more
biased
Importance of Culture
Individualistic Cultures - emphasize personal achievement regardless of the expense of group goals,
resulting in a strong sense of competition
- independence is valued; relying or being dependent on others if frequently
seen as shameful
- put own needs above others
- want to stand out
ex) United States, Europe
Collectivist Cultures - emphasize family and work group goals above individual needs or desires
- working with others and cooperating is the norm; everyone supports each other
- group needs > individual needs
ex) China, Japan, Korea
Basic Human Motives
Self-esteem Motive "the need to feel good about yourself"
- unconscious desire to distort reality
- hard time improving negative qualities
ex) blaming partner's faults for breakup instead of looking at own faults
Social Cognition Motive "the need to be accurate"
- people think about themselves in social world
- make judgments or decisions
- prone to make mistakes --> not always accurate
, Research Methodology
social psychologists use empirical, or scientific, methods
ti answer their questions
Why can't theories be proven? No number of confirming observations can verify that a theory is universally true
because it is possible to falsify it with 1 single observation
ex) white and black swans
Observational Research - observing behaviors in a naturally occurring environment or in a controlled
laboratory setting
- interjudge reliability: degree of agreement between 2 or more observers
- ethnography: observing a group or culture from the inside
- archival analysis: examining documents of a culture
Limitations
- "How" people behave, but not "why"
- certain behaviors would be difficult to observe in a natural setting
Correlational Designs - measures the degree to which 2 or more variables (characteristics, behaviors,
development) are related
- surveys
- variability but everyone given the same treatment
- correlation: value of one variable changes with the value of another variable
- positive correlation: both values increase
- negative correlation: one value increases, the other decreases
- neutral correlation: random --> no relationship
- correlation coefficient (r): strength; ranges from -1 to +1, uses absolute value;
close to 0 --> neutral; close to 1--> points condense together
