PSYCH 260 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2 2026
CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ power of social situation. Answer: can be the real or imagined
presence of other people (Floyd Allport, 1924)
Can be the social context, environment, norms, culture, etc.
ex: how many people wash their hands after using the restroom
⩥ social psychology vs. other social sciences. Answer: Social
psychology looks at the interpersonal level of analysis.
Societal level:
Sociologists
Political scientists
Economists
Interpersonal level:
Social psychologists
Individual level:
Personality psychologists
Cognitive psychologists
Clinical psychologists
Biological psychologists
,sociologists tend to study behavior at the societal level, whereas social
psychologists study behavior at the interpersonal level.
⩥ historical roots of social psychology. Answer: psychoanalytic theory,
behaviorism, gestalt psychology
A young field (began approx 1908)
Historical roots of social psychology
⩥ psychoanalytic theory. Answer: Social relationships
Motivations and emotions
The unconscious (mind)
⩥ behaviorism. Answer: The environment
Learning history
⩥ gestalt psychology. Answer: How people perceive and organize
information into meaningful wholes
⩥ important figures in the history of social psychology. Answer: Norm
Triplett's social
Facilitation studies (1897)
- First scientific study of social behavior
, - Interested in how a person's performance of a task changes when other
people are present
The first social psychology textbooks:
William McPougall (1908)
Edward Ross (1908)
Hitler and World War II
European psychologists fleeing Nazi occupied Europe brought Gestalt
psychology to the US
Kurt Lewin (1939)
Behavior = Person x Situation
Sparked interest in research on:
The prejudiced personality
Conformity
Obedience
How to reduce prejudice
Aggression
Propaganda, Persuasion, and attitude change
⩥ trends in social psychology. Answer: 1930's and 1940's
Groups
Conformity
1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's
Social cognition (how people make sense of their social world)
, 1990's to present
Motivation and emotions
Social relationships
Culture
The unconscious
Biological and Evolutionary perspectives
⩥ scientific method. Answer: (Circular process)
Self correcting process of asking questions and then answering those
questions by conducting research.
Theory -> hypotheses -> research -> findings do not support hypotheses
-> confidence in theory decreases -> discard the theory or revise, refine
the theory Theory -> hypotheses -> research -> findings do support
hypotheses -> confidence in theory increases
⩥ naturalistic observation. Answer: Observing and recording behavior as
it naturally occurs in real life
(Why we buy: the science of shopping
right turn bias of North American shoppers
%buying jeans after trying them on: Females 25% Male 65%)
researchers from a clothing company visit one of their store to watch and
record the shopping behavior of their customers to see which styles are
selling the best.
CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ power of social situation. Answer: can be the real or imagined
presence of other people (Floyd Allport, 1924)
Can be the social context, environment, norms, culture, etc.
ex: how many people wash their hands after using the restroom
⩥ social psychology vs. other social sciences. Answer: Social
psychology looks at the interpersonal level of analysis.
Societal level:
Sociologists
Political scientists
Economists
Interpersonal level:
Social psychologists
Individual level:
Personality psychologists
Cognitive psychologists
Clinical psychologists
Biological psychologists
,sociologists tend to study behavior at the societal level, whereas social
psychologists study behavior at the interpersonal level.
⩥ historical roots of social psychology. Answer: psychoanalytic theory,
behaviorism, gestalt psychology
A young field (began approx 1908)
Historical roots of social psychology
⩥ psychoanalytic theory. Answer: Social relationships
Motivations and emotions
The unconscious (mind)
⩥ behaviorism. Answer: The environment
Learning history
⩥ gestalt psychology. Answer: How people perceive and organize
information into meaningful wholes
⩥ important figures in the history of social psychology. Answer: Norm
Triplett's social
Facilitation studies (1897)
- First scientific study of social behavior
, - Interested in how a person's performance of a task changes when other
people are present
The first social psychology textbooks:
William McPougall (1908)
Edward Ross (1908)
Hitler and World War II
European psychologists fleeing Nazi occupied Europe brought Gestalt
psychology to the US
Kurt Lewin (1939)
Behavior = Person x Situation
Sparked interest in research on:
The prejudiced personality
Conformity
Obedience
How to reduce prejudice
Aggression
Propaganda, Persuasion, and attitude change
⩥ trends in social psychology. Answer: 1930's and 1940's
Groups
Conformity
1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's
Social cognition (how people make sense of their social world)
, 1990's to present
Motivation and emotions
Social relationships
Culture
The unconscious
Biological and Evolutionary perspectives
⩥ scientific method. Answer: (Circular process)
Self correcting process of asking questions and then answering those
questions by conducting research.
Theory -> hypotheses -> research -> findings do not support hypotheses
-> confidence in theory decreases -> discard the theory or revise, refine
the theory Theory -> hypotheses -> research -> findings do support
hypotheses -> confidence in theory increases
⩥ naturalistic observation. Answer: Observing and recording behavior as
it naturally occurs in real life
(Why we buy: the science of shopping
right turn bias of North American shoppers
%buying jeans after trying them on: Females 25% Male 65%)
researchers from a clothing company visit one of their store to watch and
record the shopping behavior of their customers to see which styles are
selling the best.
