145 exam 1

mental frameworks centering on a specific theme that helps us to organize social information

• simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences in a rapid manner and seemingly effortless manner
• - these reduce cognitive effort

our current feelings and moods

what information we notice

processes through which informaiton we notice gets stored in memory

• - the processes through which we recover information from memory to use it in some manner
• - when we are trying to handle a lot of information at one time, we rely on our schemas because they help us process this info efficiently

it is a situation that occurs when stimuli or events increase the availability in memory or consciousness of specific types of information held in memory

the fact that effects of the schemas tend to persist until they are somehow expressed in thought or behavior and only then do their effects decrease

the tendency for beliefs and schemas to remain unchanged even in the face of contradictory information

instances where our ability to process info is exceededbecause of these difficulties we try to make things less cognitively stressful

• - a strategy for making judgements based on the extent to which current stimuli or events resemble other stimuli or categories
• - this is sometimes accurate, but can also lead to errors in our thinking about others

a strategy for making judgements on the basis of how easily specific kinds of information can be brought to mind

• - the tendency to use a number of value as a starting point to which we then make adjustments
• - often used in situations on uncertainty, using what they do know as a starting point
• - some times this heuristic is used to avoid effortful work

after extensive experience with a task or type of information, we reach the stage where we can perform the task or process the information in a seemingly effortless, automatic, and non-conscious manner

we pay more attention to negative characteristics, than positive ones about other people and this strongly influences our social thought

our predisposition to expect things to turn out well overall

the tendency to have more confidence in the accuracy of our own judgments than is reasonable

the tendency to make optimistic predictions concerning how long a given task will take for completion

the tendency to imagine other outcomes in a situation than the ones that actually occurred (“what might have been”)

our efforts to prevent certain thoughts from entering consciousness

thinking involving assumptions that don't hold up to rational scrutiny- for example, the belief that things resemble one another share fundamental properties

our efforts to come to terms with certainty of our own death and unsettling implications

the fact that we are more likely to store or remember positive info when in a positive mood and negative info when in a negative mood

the fact that what we remember while in a given mood may be determined, in part, by what we learned when previously in that mood

careful and error-free

working to rule out biases, not possible to remove all biases

trusting results confirmed by replication and peer review

revising beliefs when evidence suggests that they are wrong, often going against human nature

1) accuracy is a commitment to gathering and evaluating such information about the world (including social behavior and thought) in a careful, precise, and error-free manner as possible

2) objectivity is a commitment to otaining and evaluating such information in a manner that is as free from bias as humanly possible

3) Skepticism is a commitment to accepting findings as accurate only to the extent have been verified again

4) Open-mindedness is a commitment to changing one’s views -- even views that are strongly held if evidence suggests that these views are inaccurate

events, beliefs, and trends in our own culture effect our relations with others and how we think about them

a new branch of psychology that seeks to investigate the potential role of genetic factors in various aspects of human behavior

1) variation- refers to the fact that organisms belonging to a given species vary in many different ways; indeed, such variation is a basic part of life on our planet

2) inheritance- refers to the fact that some of these variations can be passes from one generation to the next through complex mechanisms that we are only now beginning to fully understand

3) selection- refers to the fact that some variations give the individuals who possess them an “edge” in terms of reproductions: they are more likely to survive, find mates, and pass these variations on to succeeding generations

* must be in this order

an area of research in social psychology that seeks knowledge about the neural and biological bases of social processes

a focus on understanding the cultural and ethnic factors that influence social behavior

rules indicating how individuals should behave

humans dislike inconsistency and try to reduce it

the process through which we seek to understand the causes of other’s behavior/ why they act as they do

a method of research in which behavior is systematically observed and recorded --> careful, accurate measurement

observation of behavior in natural settings, no attempt to change behavior

- a method of research in which a large number of people answer questions about their attitudes or behavior

- measure attitudes concerning social issues

• surveys must meet certain requirements:
• - representative sample
• - wording clarity

• - the tendency for one event to change as the other
• changes -->variables
• - the stronger the correlation --> more accurate predictions

a method of research in which a scientist systematically observes two or more variables to determine whether changes in one are accompanied by changes in the other

- one variable is changed systematically and the effects of these changes on one or more other variables are carefully measured --> conclude causal relationship

• 2 requirements:
• - random assignment of variables
• - all factors, other than independent variables, that might also affect participant behavior must be held constant

a statement proposing a relation between at least two variables

the variable that is systematically changed in an experiment

the variable that is measured in an experiment

A basic requirement for conducting valid experiments. According to this principle, research participants must have an equal chance of being exposed to each level of the independent variable

the extent to which findings of an experiment can be generalized to real-life social situations and perhaps to people different from those who participated in the research

A variable that is affecting the independent variable and influences a dependent variable. Mediating variables help us find why or how specific variables influence social behavior and thought in certain ways.

• efforts by scientists in any field to answer the question “why?” Theories involve attempts to understand why certain events or processes occur as they do
• understand and make predictions
• heuristic: explain patterns of results
• guide research
• - can you deescalate aggression? Yes
• - open to possible changes of theory

a technique whereby researchers withhold information about the purposes or procedures of a study from people participating in it

a procedure in which research participants are provided with as much information as possible about a research project before deciding whether to participate in it

procedures at the conclusion of a research session in which participants are given full information about the nature of the research and the hypothesis or hypotheses under investigation

variables change together

• - cause comes before the effect
• - cause = IV
• - effect = DV

• - truth likeness
• - hypothesis can only be supported, not disproved
• - we try to get as close to the truth as we can

• - other people in environment
• - cognitive processes
• - ecological variables
• - culture
• - biology

• - both variables increase together
• - direct relation

• - as one variable increases, the other decreases (and visa versa)
• - inverse relation

a factor that the participant comes into the experiment with (it cannot be assigned by the experimenter) and that the experimenter would like to study

two or more IVs (factors)

every member of the sample has an equal chance of being included in any one of the treatment groups

any factor that covaries with the IV

a factor that links the IV and the DV

a factor that affects the direction or strength of a relation between variables

past situations, memories, and inferences of truth

social behavior and thought --> mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning

• looking for emotions linked with dehumanization
• found that there was activity in areas of social thought when there was low warmth and high competence
• low warmth/low competence -->dehumanized
• Certain groups are so reviled that they are depersonalized and not thought about in the same way that other people are thought about

thoughts, memory, intentions, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs

our preferences, the way we think and behave can be influenced by reactions and feelings we’re unaware of

contributed to basic insights to our understanding of pressures toward conformity

we are C.M. because we cannot think every decision through thoroughly because that would be exhausting and often confusing, so we look for short cuts

• the tendency for beliefs and schemas to remain unchanged even in the face of contradictory information
• (effect of schemas)

• expectations that come true through the actions of the person who makes the predictions
• (effect of schemas)

a strategy for making judgements based on the extent to which current stimuli or events resemble or represent previously held stereotypes

• - information that can be readily remembered is viewed as more relevant or important than information that cannot be readily remembered
• - sometimes we just remember more dramatic things, rather than just what’s important

the tendency to assume that other behave or think like we do

• using a starting # or value on which to base further estimates or assessments
• some like to set to starting #
• we like having somewhere to start

• a powerful tendency to pay attention to undesirable information or stimuli (evolutionary defense mechanism to avoid pain)
• other directed, error

• the predisposition to expect things to turn out well overall
• (self-direct)

• the tendency to have more confidence in the accuracy of our judgments than is reasonable, an example of the optimistic bias
• (self-directed)

• when individuals expect to receive a negative outcome that will have important consequences for them, they tend to expect the worst (this protects us in a way)
• (self-directed)

• we look at ourselves postively
• a defense mechanism- look for negative things so we can avoid them
• we look for positives as a buffer, to keep moving

current feelings and mood

the way in which we process, store, remember, and use information

• holistic judgment
• affect is seen as informational

• careful thought
• affect applied to interpretation of event

• memory
• expectations

• people feel physiological arousal
• they perceive their behavior (focused on self)
• they cognitively select a label that fits the response
• they feel the full emotion
• *occurring in this order

• people feel physiological arousal
• they search the situation to find a plausible explanation (focused on environment)
• they cognitively select a label that fits the response
• they feel the emotion

• cognition alone can evoke emotion
• thoughts can influence the interpretation of emotionally arousing events
• expectations influence interpretations of events, which then affect emotion
• in sum, cognition moderates emotion

• distraction
• reinterpretation
• procrastination
• yielding to temptation

• happiness: relaxed eyes, corners of mouth are up
• sadness: relaxed eyes, corners of mouth are down
• fear: wide eyes, mouth open as a slit with teeth showing
• anger: tight mouth, brows drawn down
• disgust: scrunched nose, brows down, opened nostrils
• * it is possible to have mixed facial expressions

• Self Touching
• flirting
• self grooming
• nervousness

• thumbs up
• middle finger
• hand made into a phone (call me)
• waving hello

• holding hand up to describe someone’s height to help describe sentence
• level of fullness, holding hands up like a pregnant belly

• how we walk, carry ourselves
• you can tell gender and age by how people walk often times
• you can tell someone’s mood by how we carry ourselves

• intimate non-verbal cue that can be used to communicate liking, dominance, or sexual interest
• varies greatly on context

• based on the assumption that lying always leads to arousal
• possibly because they feel guilty or nervous about someone finding out that they are not telling the truth
• it was found that this is not true for all
• ex. antisocial personality
• - Liars don’t always experience arousal
• - arousal can result from many sources, not always lying

lying is mentally taxing, however, so can telling the truth

• video footage of real life situations, such as police interrogations, are analyzed
• Pro- ecological validity (real life situation)
• Con- difficult to know the truth

• video footage or transcripts of participants instructed to lie are analyzed
• Pro- truth is known
• Con- spontaneous lies could look and sounds different than those that are communicated after permission is given by a researcher

• summarized past findings using traditional (emotional) methods of lie detection:
• untrained observers correctly identified lies and truths 53.4% of the time
• trained observers correctly identified lies and truths 57.66% of the time
• chance would predict correct identification 50% of the time

• ignore certain non-verbal cues like gaze aversion and fidgeting/grooming
• rely on both speech content and nonverbal cues

• 1. Speech Content (Mann, Vrij, & Bull, 2004)
• - vagueness
• - contradictions

2. look for inconsistencies between nonverbal and verbal cues

• 3. Take into account the stressfulness of the situation
• - understand that nervousness does not always = lying
• - understanding that thinking hard does not always = lying

4. Take into account individual differences

5. Understand the different mental processes of truth tellers and liars