PSYCH 321 final exam Questions with correct
answers
Social psychology Correct Answer-The scientific study of how people's
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined
presence of other people
- considered a relatively young discipline within a young discipline
What do social psychologists study? Correct Answer-Two primary
concerns
1) how do we relate and think about our social situation
2) how other people affect our behavior
Three general research areas of social psych Correct Answer-- *social
cognition:* mental processes associated with people's perception of and
reaction to other people
- *social relationships:* how do we form and maintain bonds with other
people
- *social influence/group behavior:* how does our behavior change as a
function of the presence of other people
Kurt Lewin Correct Answer-grandfather of social psych; german born
came to US when Hitler came to power; "your personality predicts
everything you do and your past predicts your personality" - disagreed
with this sentiment at the time; said *behavior = f(P,E):* behavior is a
function of the person and the environment
,axiom Correct Answer-universally accepted principle or rule
Two fundamental axioms of social psych Correct Answer-1) Individuals
socially construct or construe their own reality; what you perceive is
your reality
2) social influence manifests itself in every aspect of social life (even
when alone); the presence of other people affects your behavior
3 motivational principles that guide social behavior Correct Answer--
people strive for mastery of the social world
- people seek connectedness/belonging
- people value "me and mine"; have high opinions of ourselves and value
things connected to us
two basic approaches to research design Correct Answer-- the
correlational approach
- the experimental approach
Correlational research Correct Answer-- Looks for the relationship
between two variables
- measure variables you are interested in; how many friends do you have
on facebook? idea is simple, execution is complicated
Correlational research: r-correlation coefficient Correct Answer-- ranges
from -1 to 1
,- 0 means no relationship; -1 or 1 means perfect relationship; negative
and positive are the same strength, just talk about direction
- closer to 0, weaker relationship; closer to 1, stronger relationship
- indirect relationship: one goes up: one goes down
Correlation does not mean causation Correct Answer-1) the
directionality problem: if you just measure everything you don't know
what the direction is; x to y or y to x
2) third variable problem: both variables are caused by a third variable
we didn't measure or consider
Experimental research Correct Answer-- looks for casual relationships
- it can do this because you manipulate one variable and measure
another (random assignment, manipulation)
- Scientist like experiments because of the ability to say cause
Why do correlational research? Correct Answer-- check to see if there is
a correlation before you begin the experiment
- some experiments are too unethical to perform in the lab
How do we get the data for our studies? Correct Answer-- observational
methods
- archival methods
- self-report methods
, observational methods Correct Answer-methods of measuring behavior
by directly observing people's behavior
- Why choose this method: realistic
observational methods: Why not choose this method? Correct Answer--
hard to control
- not valid; we see what we want to see
- not all environments are public
- people act differently when they know they're being observed
Archival methods Correct Answer-a generation of data from existing
records
- "existing records": newspaper, graffiti, hockey score, criminal record;
something not created about psychology
Archival methods: why choose this method? Correct Answer-- gives us
behavioral reality
- info about time; something happening more/less frequently
- rare behaviors
Archival methods: why not choose this method? Correct Answer-- you
cannot use experimental methods
- don't know if sources are accurate
answers
Social psychology Correct Answer-The scientific study of how people's
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined
presence of other people
- considered a relatively young discipline within a young discipline
What do social psychologists study? Correct Answer-Two primary
concerns
1) how do we relate and think about our social situation
2) how other people affect our behavior
Three general research areas of social psych Correct Answer-- *social
cognition:* mental processes associated with people's perception of and
reaction to other people
- *social relationships:* how do we form and maintain bonds with other
people
- *social influence/group behavior:* how does our behavior change as a
function of the presence of other people
Kurt Lewin Correct Answer-grandfather of social psych; german born
came to US when Hitler came to power; "your personality predicts
everything you do and your past predicts your personality" - disagreed
with this sentiment at the time; said *behavior = f(P,E):* behavior is a
function of the person and the environment
,axiom Correct Answer-universally accepted principle or rule
Two fundamental axioms of social psych Correct Answer-1) Individuals
socially construct or construe their own reality; what you perceive is
your reality
2) social influence manifests itself in every aspect of social life (even
when alone); the presence of other people affects your behavior
3 motivational principles that guide social behavior Correct Answer--
people strive for mastery of the social world
- people seek connectedness/belonging
- people value "me and mine"; have high opinions of ourselves and value
things connected to us
two basic approaches to research design Correct Answer-- the
correlational approach
- the experimental approach
Correlational research Correct Answer-- Looks for the relationship
between two variables
- measure variables you are interested in; how many friends do you have
on facebook? idea is simple, execution is complicated
Correlational research: r-correlation coefficient Correct Answer-- ranges
from -1 to 1
,- 0 means no relationship; -1 or 1 means perfect relationship; negative
and positive are the same strength, just talk about direction
- closer to 0, weaker relationship; closer to 1, stronger relationship
- indirect relationship: one goes up: one goes down
Correlation does not mean causation Correct Answer-1) the
directionality problem: if you just measure everything you don't know
what the direction is; x to y or y to x
2) third variable problem: both variables are caused by a third variable
we didn't measure or consider
Experimental research Correct Answer-- looks for casual relationships
- it can do this because you manipulate one variable and measure
another (random assignment, manipulation)
- Scientist like experiments because of the ability to say cause
Why do correlational research? Correct Answer-- check to see if there is
a correlation before you begin the experiment
- some experiments are too unethical to perform in the lab
How do we get the data for our studies? Correct Answer-- observational
methods
- archival methods
- self-report methods
, observational methods Correct Answer-methods of measuring behavior
by directly observing people's behavior
- Why choose this method: realistic
observational methods: Why not choose this method? Correct Answer--
hard to control
- not valid; we see what we want to see
- not all environments are public
- people act differently when they know they're being observed
Archival methods Correct Answer-a generation of data from existing
records
- "existing records": newspaper, graffiti, hockey score, criminal record;
something not created about psychology
Archival methods: why choose this method? Correct Answer-- gives us
behavioral reality
- info about time; something happening more/less frequently
- rare behaviors
Archival methods: why not choose this method? Correct Answer-- you
cannot use experimental methods
- don't know if sources are accurate
