Social Psychology Chapter 1 Study Guide.doc

PSYC 41532 Chapter 1 Study Guide 1. Be able to explain what social psychology is. Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. (interactions and reactions) (looks at the similarities between individuals 2. What is hindsight bias? Hindsight bias is where people exaggerate how much they could have predicted the outcome after knowing it occurred. 3. What is the difference between a correlation and an experiment? Correlational research is the study of the naturally occurring relationships among variables. Experimental research is study that seeks clues to cause-effect relationships by manipulating one or more factors (independent variables) while controlling others (holding them constant) and measuring the effects of that variable (dependent variable). 4. What is the difference between an independent and dependent variable? An independent variable is the cause or manipulated variable. A dependent variable is the effect or measured variable. 5. What is the difference between a positive and negative correlation? A positive correlation occurs when an increase in one variable correlates with an increase in the other variable. A negative correlation occurs when an increase in one variable correlates with a decrease in another variable. 6. What is a lab study? A lab study is research carried out in a controlled setting. It is harder to generalize the result. 7. What is a field study? A field study is research done in natural, real-life settings outside of the lab. 8. Why can we not infer causation in a correlational study? We cannot infer causation in a correlational study because it simply looks at relationships and does not control a variable. 9. What is the difference between the control group and the experimental group? The control group receives no manipulation of variables. The experimental group involves manipulation of variables. 10. How should we protect our participants in research? We protect our participants through confidentiality and getting informed consent when possible. 11. What is deception? Deception is misleading participants about the true nature of the experiment. 12. What is debriefing? Debriefing is the disclosure to the participant about the true nature of the study, and why deception needed to occur, after the experiment.