PSYC 2700 EXAM #1 STUDY GUIDE
social psychology - Answers - -seeks to understand how social factors affect most
individuals regardless of their different personalities
- the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context
-do people seek companionship when they feel awkward in a social setting
personality psychology - Answers - seeks to understand differences between individuals
that remain relatively stable across a variety of situations
-is this person friendly and outgoing all the time in any setting?
scientific method - Answers - 1. come up with theory/idea
2. formulate a testable hypothesis
3. gather evidence (data) to test hypothesis
4. update theory based on findings
*repeat as necessary
operational definition - Answers - the specific procedures for manipulating or measuring
a conceptual variable (ie.general term: love, violence, etc.)
-Ex: measuring conformity: how many times a kid agrees w/obviously wrong
judgements
hypothesis testing - Answers - testable prediction about the conditions under which an
event will occur
construct validity - Answers - after operationalization; the extent to which the measures
used in a study measure the variables they were designed to measure and the
manipulations in an experiment manipulated the variables they were designed to
manipulate
[validity of dependent variable and independent variable]
internal validity - Answers - the degree to which there can be reasonable certainty that
the independent variables in an experiment caused the effects obtained on the
dependent variables
-random assignments and control groups help strengthen this
external validity - Answers - -the degree to which there can be reasonable confidence
that the results of a study would be obtained for other people and in other situations
-can generalize to other people and to other situations
-participants in experiment and setting affect
confounding variables - Answers - variables that the researcher fail to control, or
eliminate, damaging the internal validity of an experiment
Ex: ice cream correlates with drowning deaths--3rd variable: heat
, archival research - Answers - -examines existing data (newspapers, birth record,
census)
-used if you want to describe a phenomenon
- important for examining cultural and historical trends (media examples: playboy 'ideal
female body'
-advantage:experimenter knows they did not influence behavior due to their presence
-disadvantage: not always complete/sufficient
naturalistic observation - Answers - study of behavior or mental processes in natural
environments, describes but does NOT explain behavior
-focus on qualitative measurement
-the observer remains behind the scenes [avoids subjective interpretation by defining
variables)
-no experimental manipulation
strengths of naturalistic observation - Answers - provides insight on how behaviors
occur within the real world
(not tainted by artificial lab setting, high ecological validity)
limitations of naturalistic observation - Answers - -cannot draw firm conclusions about
the causes of behavior (can only speculate causes)
-can be time consuming and expensive
-the 'observer effect' (subjects may be aware of observer causing them to act
differently)
survey research - Answers - -often involves questionnaires (paper and pencil, telephone
polls, surveys -online)
-to draw accurate conclusions about broad pop. through sample of that pop. this sample
must represent pop. as a whole, RANDOM sample
strengths of survey research - Answers - -most direct means of obtaining personal
information
-usually cheap, quick, and easy to administer
-can collect data from large samples
disadvantages of survey research - Answers - -response bias (participants respond in
fixed manner[may not consider all options])
-socially desirable responding (could be due to wording effects as well)
random selection - Answers - method for selecting participants for a study so that
everyone in a population has an equal chance of being in the study--relates to survey
method
-important for generalizing
-not necessary for determined causality
social psychology - Answers - -seeks to understand how social factors affect most
individuals regardless of their different personalities
- the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context
-do people seek companionship when they feel awkward in a social setting
personality psychology - Answers - seeks to understand differences between individuals
that remain relatively stable across a variety of situations
-is this person friendly and outgoing all the time in any setting?
scientific method - Answers - 1. come up with theory/idea
2. formulate a testable hypothesis
3. gather evidence (data) to test hypothesis
4. update theory based on findings
*repeat as necessary
operational definition - Answers - the specific procedures for manipulating or measuring
a conceptual variable (ie.general term: love, violence, etc.)
-Ex: measuring conformity: how many times a kid agrees w/obviously wrong
judgements
hypothesis testing - Answers - testable prediction about the conditions under which an
event will occur
construct validity - Answers - after operationalization; the extent to which the measures
used in a study measure the variables they were designed to measure and the
manipulations in an experiment manipulated the variables they were designed to
manipulate
[validity of dependent variable and independent variable]
internal validity - Answers - the degree to which there can be reasonable certainty that
the independent variables in an experiment caused the effects obtained on the
dependent variables
-random assignments and control groups help strengthen this
external validity - Answers - -the degree to which there can be reasonable confidence
that the results of a study would be obtained for other people and in other situations
-can generalize to other people and to other situations
-participants in experiment and setting affect
confounding variables - Answers - variables that the researcher fail to control, or
eliminate, damaging the internal validity of an experiment
Ex: ice cream correlates with drowning deaths--3rd variable: heat
, archival research - Answers - -examines existing data (newspapers, birth record,
census)
-used if you want to describe a phenomenon
- important for examining cultural and historical trends (media examples: playboy 'ideal
female body'
-advantage:experimenter knows they did not influence behavior due to their presence
-disadvantage: not always complete/sufficient
naturalistic observation - Answers - study of behavior or mental processes in natural
environments, describes but does NOT explain behavior
-focus on qualitative measurement
-the observer remains behind the scenes [avoids subjective interpretation by defining
variables)
-no experimental manipulation
strengths of naturalistic observation - Answers - provides insight on how behaviors
occur within the real world
(not tainted by artificial lab setting, high ecological validity)
limitations of naturalistic observation - Answers - -cannot draw firm conclusions about
the causes of behavior (can only speculate causes)
-can be time consuming and expensive
-the 'observer effect' (subjects may be aware of observer causing them to act
differently)
survey research - Answers - -often involves questionnaires (paper and pencil, telephone
polls, surveys -online)
-to draw accurate conclusions about broad pop. through sample of that pop. this sample
must represent pop. as a whole, RANDOM sample
strengths of survey research - Answers - -most direct means of obtaining personal
information
-usually cheap, quick, and easy to administer
-can collect data from large samples
disadvantages of survey research - Answers - -response bias (participants respond in
fixed manner[may not consider all options])
-socially desirable responding (could be due to wording effects as well)
random selection - Answers - method for selecting participants for a study so that
everyone in a population has an equal chance of being in the study--relates to survey
method
-important for generalizing
-not necessary for determined causality
