PSY 252 MIDTERM TERMS AND CONCEPTS
Actor-observer bias: - ANSWER Diff in attribution based on who is making the
casual assessment: the actor who is relatively inclined to make situational
attributions or the observer who is relatively inclined to make dispositional
attributions
BIRGing - ANSWER Basking in reflected glory
People go to great lengths to announce their affiliation with a certain group when
the group is doing well
Boosts self-esteem
Confirmatory Hypothesis Testing (aka confirmation bias) - ANSWER We seek out
info that will be consistent without schema
Focusing on data that fits our theory
Male v. female investing
conformity - ANSWER Changing behaviour and/or attitudes to align with
perceived social consensus (social norms)
Social norms are always perceived but our perception may not be correct
descriptive norms - ANSWER What people are doing in a given situation , what is
commonly done in a given situation
Motivate behavior by informing us what is likely effective
Can be good , get people to engage in more of the desirable behavior
external justification - ANSWER A reason for doing something that came from
someone/something else
Doing something because you got paid for it?
, focus theory of normative conduct - ANSWER Two types of norms have unique
effects on behavior
- descriptive and injunctive norms
Norms shape behavior if they are salient (or focused on)
heuristics - ANSWER Simplification , schemas , cognitive shortcuts ?
Intuitive mental operations, performed quickly and automatically, that provide
efficient answers to common problems of judgment
Mental shortcuts that give answers that feel right ,, not as effortful
informational social influence - ANSWER Conforming b/c you don't know what to
do in the situation , so using other people to figure out what to do
Do this when situation is ambiguous
Others are experts
Leads to private acceptance
Public compliance and private acceptance ,, conformity is deep !
internal validity - ANSWER How confident can we be in the study's
findings/conclusions
Confidence that only the manipulated variable could have produced the results
mediator variable - ANSWER A variable that explains how or why two variables
are related
Explains relationship between independent and dependent variable
So like being in love leads to less depression ,, why are A and B related ,, ppl in
love are more likely to engage in fun daily activities
Actor-observer bias: - ANSWER Diff in attribution based on who is making the
casual assessment: the actor who is relatively inclined to make situational
attributions or the observer who is relatively inclined to make dispositional
attributions
BIRGing - ANSWER Basking in reflected glory
People go to great lengths to announce their affiliation with a certain group when
the group is doing well
Boosts self-esteem
Confirmatory Hypothesis Testing (aka confirmation bias) - ANSWER We seek out
info that will be consistent without schema
Focusing on data that fits our theory
Male v. female investing
conformity - ANSWER Changing behaviour and/or attitudes to align with
perceived social consensus (social norms)
Social norms are always perceived but our perception may not be correct
descriptive norms - ANSWER What people are doing in a given situation , what is
commonly done in a given situation
Motivate behavior by informing us what is likely effective
Can be good , get people to engage in more of the desirable behavior
external justification - ANSWER A reason for doing something that came from
someone/something else
Doing something because you got paid for it?
, focus theory of normative conduct - ANSWER Two types of norms have unique
effects on behavior
- descriptive and injunctive norms
Norms shape behavior if they are salient (or focused on)
heuristics - ANSWER Simplification , schemas , cognitive shortcuts ?
Intuitive mental operations, performed quickly and automatically, that provide
efficient answers to common problems of judgment
Mental shortcuts that give answers that feel right ,, not as effortful
informational social influence - ANSWER Conforming b/c you don't know what to
do in the situation , so using other people to figure out what to do
Do this when situation is ambiguous
Others are experts
Leads to private acceptance
Public compliance and private acceptance ,, conformity is deep !
internal validity - ANSWER How confident can we be in the study's
findings/conclusions
Confidence that only the manipulated variable could have produced the results
mediator variable - ANSWER A variable that explains how or why two variables
are related
Explains relationship between independent and dependent variable
So like being in love leads to less depression ,, why are A and B related ,, ppl in
love are more likely to engage in fun daily activities
