Social Psychology Quiz #1

An attempt to understand and explain how the thought, feeling, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others

the use of systematic methods

An organized system of ideas that tries to explain why two or more events are related

• specific statements about a behavior
• they can be tested
• test a small amount of evidence related to the theory

• correlational method
• experimental method

• The method whereby two or more variables are systematically measured and the degree of covariation between them is assessed
• ex.Does satisfaction with SUNYA increase with GPA?

• positive correlation (height and shoe size) 
• negative correlation (year in school and writing home)
• no correlation (year in school and height)

• easy to collect data
• easy to quantify the results 
• easy to communicate the results to the public

results are easy to misinterpret

• A may seem to cause B but instead B causes A
• Using condoms predicts STDs or STDs predicts use of condoms
• Interpret: A > B
• In truth: B > A

• Third variables 
• Interpret: A > B
• In Truth: A < C > B

• Research designed to examine the cause-effect relationships between variables 
• The experimenter randomly assigns participants to different levels of an independent variable and then tests its influence on a dependent variable

the experimental variable that the researcher manipulates

the experimental variables that is measured because it is believed to depend on the manipulated changes in the independent variable

everyone in the population has an equal chance of taking part in any condition of an experiment

brutally murdered on the streets near her house, none of the apartment residents called the cops

• theory: diffusion of responsibility caused lack of helping
• hypothesis: as the number of bystanders increases, the amount of helping should decrease

the extent to which results from the study can be generalized

• mundane realism
• experimental realism

Does this study "look like" the real world

does this study "feel like" the real world

experimental, felt real but did not look like the real world

• nothing other than the independent variable changes from condition to condition
• requires: random assignment to condition, identical procedures across conditions

• "pressures" created by other people
• is the attempt to change the attitudes or behaviors of others in a particular direction through the exercise of social power

• conformity
• compliance
• obedience

the pressure to be similar to otheres

the pressure to yield to an appeal by others (persuasion)

the pressure to yield to a command by others

• normative influence 
• informational influence

• conformity to gain a reward or avoid punishment - need to be accepted
• follow social norms because it is expected from us

• conformity due to a desire to gain information (ambiguous situations)
• ex. is that scream someone getting mugged or fooling around

social rule or standard telling individuals how they should or should not behave

a norm that simply indicate what most people do in a given situation

norms specifying what ought to be done - what is approved or disapproved behavior in a given situation

conforming to other people's behavior out of genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right

conforming to other people's behavior publicly, without necessarily believing in what is being said or done

• size (up to a point)
• cohesiveness
• lack of social support
• unanimity
• status within the group

• visual illusion
• how much did the light move
• individually, people had wildly divergent opinions
• when people were put together and had them announce how much the light moved, everyone agreed on a standard established by the group

• look to group to help them define reality
• example of informational influence
• private acceptance; most people denied that the group played any role at all 
• keep norms even when alone

• when the situation is ambiguous
• during crisis
• when others are experts

• related to our values and self-concept
• desire for personal control
• ex. if your parents don't like your partner, you may like them more

the most coercive type of social influence

• 62.5%
• 80% continued after first plea

• one ally quits at 150
• one ally quits at 210
• one continues to 450
• percentage: 10%

percentage: 20%