1
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Features of the Scientific Method
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- Testable hypothesis (falsifiable/disconfirmable)
- Observation and measurement
- Control of variables
- Replication
- Data-based conclusions
2
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3 Goals of Research
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- Describe
- Predict
- Explain
3
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Independent Variable
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The variable the researcher manipulates to test its effect
4
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Dependent Variable
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The outcome that is measured to see if it changes
5
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Experiment
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The researcher manipulates an independent variable to test cause and effect
6
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Correlational Study
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Measure the relationship between variables without manipulating them
7
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Observational Study
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Researchers observe and record behavior without intervening
8
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Random Assignment
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Placing participants into different conditions by chance to reduce bias and make groups equivalent (e.g. flipping a coin to decide who gets group A and group B)
9
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Blinding
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Keeping participants, researchers, or both unaware of who is in which condition to prevent bias
10
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Theory
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A broad explanation that organizes and predicts behaviors or events
11
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Construct
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A broad, abstract concept you want to study (e.g. intelligence, happiness, aggression)
11
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Hypothesis
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A specific, testable prediction derived from a theory
12
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Operationalization
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How you measure or define a construct in a study (e.g. measuring intelligence with an IQ test)
13
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Reliability
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The consistency of a measure or test; whether it produces stable and repeatable results
14
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Internal Validity
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How confidently a study shows that the independent variable caused the effect
15
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External Validity
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How well the study’s results generalize to other people, settings, or situations (e.g. results from a study with college students generalize to other age groups)
16
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Statistical Significance
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The likelihood that a study’s results aren’t due to chance
17
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Observer Bias
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When a researcher’s expectations influence how they perceive or record data (e.g. a teacher notices boys misbehaving more because she expects them to)
18
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Social Desirability / Response Bias
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When participants answer in ways they think are acceptable rather than truthful (e.g. saying you recycle even if you don’t)
19
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Sampling Error
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Differences between a sample and the population make false assumptions about generalizability (e.g. selecting participants from one city to represent the entire country)
20
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Demand Characteristics
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Cues in a study that make participants guess the purpose and change their behavior to match it (e.g. people try harder on a test if they think the study is about intelligence)
21
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Third Variable
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An outside factor that causes a correlation between two other variables, making the relationship misleading (e.g. ice cream sales and drowning rates are correlated, but hot weather causes both)
22
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Convenience Sample
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Choosing participants who are easiest to access rather than randomly selecting from the population (e.g. surveying students in your class because they’re nearby)
23
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Institutional Review Board (IRB)
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Ensures research is safe, fair, and respects participants’ rights:
- Informed consent
- Confidentiality
- Minimizing harm
- Right to withdraw
- Debriefing
24
Replication
Repeating a study to see if the same results occur, which strengthens confidence in the findings
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System 1 Processing
Fast, unconscious thinking we use to quickly make judgments about people
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System 2 Processing
Slow, deliberate thinking we use when we actively analyze social information
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Top-Down Processing
Using existing schemas, expectations, or stereotypes to interpret new information; you start with what you already believe, then fit new info into it (e.g. you hear someone is from a rich family and assume they’re spoiled)
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Bottom-Up Processing
Building impressions from the specific details of the situation, without relying heavily on prior expectations; you start with the data, then form a conclusion (e.g. you observe someone helping others repeatedly, so you decide they’re kind)
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Schema
A mental framework or shortcut that helps you organize and interpret information about people, roles, or situations
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Inattentional Blindness
Not noticing something visible because your attention is elsewhere (e.g. you're texting and don't see your friend wave at you)
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Change Blindness
Not noticing a change in something you’re looking at (e.g. your friend gets a small haircut and you don't notice)
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Priming
Exposure to one stimulus influences how you think about or respond to another stimulus (e.g. hearing “doctor” helps you recognize “nurse” faster)
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Motivated Cognition
When your desires, goals, or emotions influence how you interpret and judge information (e.g. you blame the refs when your team loses)
34
Representativeness Heuristic
Judging the likelihood that someone or something belongs to a category based on how much it matches your mental prototype (e.g. you guess a tall person probably plays basketball)
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Availability Heuristic
Judging how likely something is based on how easily examples come to mind (e.g. after seeing plane crash news, you think flying is very dangerous)
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Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic
When people rely on an initial piece of information as a starting point and then adjust their judgment from it (e.g. a $200 shirt on sale for $80 feels cheap because $200 is the anchor)
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Base Rate Neglect
When people ignore general statistical information and focus on specific details when judging likelihood (e.g. you assume someone with chest pain is having a rare disease instead of a common one)
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Regression Fallacy
Assuming extreme outcomes will stay extreme, ignoring that they tend to move closer to the average over time (e.g. an athlete has a career-best game, then plays more average later)
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Fluency
The ease with which information is processed, influencing how true, likable, or familiar it feels (e.g. slogans that rhyme seem more believable)
40
Framing Effects
Occur when people’s decisions change depending on how the same information is presented (e.g. 90% survival rate sounds better than 10% death rate)
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Primacy Effect
The tendency to remember or be influenced more by information presented first
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Recency Effect
The tendency to remember or be influenced more by information presented last
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Order Effect
When the order in which information is presented influences judgments or decisions (e.g. rating a teacher differently depending on whether positive or negative comments came first)
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Illusory Correlation
Perceiving a relationship between two things when no real relationship exists (e.g. lucky socks, superstitions)
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Assimilation
Interpreting new information so it fits existing schemas or expectations (e.g. you think a “nice” person’s rude comment was a joke)
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Confirmation Bias
The tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that supports existing beliefs (e.g. you only read news that matches your views)
47
Pluralistic Ignorance
When people privately reject a norm or belief but assume others accept it (e.g. students are confused in class but nobody asks questions)
48
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
When an expectation about someone leads you to act in ways that cause that expectation to come true (e.g. you believe you’ll fail a test, study less, and then actually do poorly)
49
Belief Perseverance
Maintaining a belief even after the evidence supporting it has been disproven (e.g. a rumor is proven false but people keep believing it)
50
Dunning-Kruger Effect
When people with low ability in a field overestimate their skills (e.g. a beginner driver thinks they're above average)
51
Overconfidence Effect
The tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one’s knowledge, judgments, or predictions (e.g. you're sure you aced a test and score lower)
52
Bad News Bias
The tendency to pay more attention to and be more influenced by negative information than positive information (e.g. one insult outweighs five compliments)
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Construal Level Theory
Psychological distance affects whether people think about something abstractly or concretely
54
Expectancy Effect
When one person’s expectations change another person’s behavior (e.g. you expect someone to be friendly and treat them warmly, and they respond warmly back)
55
Self-Reference Effect
The tendency to remember information better when it relates to yourself (e.g. you recall someone sharing your birthday more easily)
56
Introspection
Examining your own thoughts and feelings to understand yourself (e.g. reflecting on why you felt jealous)
57
Direct Feedback
Information about yourself that comes from other people’s evaluations or reactions (e.g. a teacher says that you're a strong writer)
58
Self-Perception
People infer their attitudes and feelings by observing their own behavior (e.g. you volunteer a lot and conclude you must care about the cause)
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Reflected Appraisals
Beliefs about ourselves that develop from how we think others see and evaluate us (e.g. you think you're funny because your friends laugh at your jokes)
60
Upward Social Comparison
Comparing yourself to someone better off or more skilled to motivate improvement
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Downward Social Comparison
Comparing yourself to someone worse off or less skilled to boost self-esteem
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Self-Verification
The motive to seek feedback that confirms existing self-beliefs (e.g. you prefer people who see you the way you see yourself)
63
Self-Enhancement
The motive to view oneself positively and maintain or boost self-esteem (e.g. focusing on your strengths over weaknesses)
64
Self-Assessment
The motive to seek accurate information about oneself
65
Self-Esteem
One's overall evaluation of their own worth or value
66
Terror Management Theory
People use self-esteem and cultural beliefs to cope with fear of death (e.g. feeling valuable reduces death anxiety)
67
Self-Affirmation Theory
People protect their self-worth by focusing on their values or strengths (e.g. after failing a test, you remind yourself you're a good friend)
68
Sociometer Theory
Self-esteem acts as a gauge of how accepted or rejected we feel by others (e.g. feeling bad about yourself after being excluded)
69
Self-Monitoring
How much a person adjusts their behavior to fit different social situations (e.g. acting professional at work but relaxed when with friends)
70
Self-Presentation
The effort to control how others see you (e.g. dressing nice for an interview, posting achievements online, acting confident even if nervous)
71
Positive Illusions
Overly favorable beliefs people hold about themselves or their control over events
72
Illusion of Control
Believing you can control outcomes that are actually due to chance (e.g. thinking your "lucky underwear" affects game results)
73
Optimism Bias
Believing you’re less likely than others to experience negative events (e.g. assuming you won't get sick or fail a test)
74
Better-Than-Average Effect
Believing you’re better than the average person on positive traits (e.g. most drivers think they're above average)
75
Self-Handicapping
Creating obstacles or excuses in advance to protect self-esteem from possible failure (e.g. saying "I didn't try" after losing a game)
76
Self-Schema
Stored beliefs about yourself
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Self-Discrepancy Theory
Gaps between your actual self and your ideal or ought self cause emotional discomfort
78
Planning Fallacy
Underestimating how long tasks will take and overestimating how smoothly they'll go
79
Promotion Focus
Being motivated by achieving gains, growth, and accomplishments (e.g. studying to get an A+)
80
Prevention Focus
Being motivated by avoiding losses, mistakes, and negative outcomes (e.g. studying to avoid failing)
81
Contingencies of Self-Worth
What your self-esteem depends on (e.g. grades, looks, sports successes)
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Independent Self-Construal
Defines the self as separate and unique
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Interdependent Self-Construal
Defines the self as connected to others
84
Internal / Dispositional Attribution
Explaining behavior based on one's traits, personality, or character (e.g. "he failed because he's lazy")
85
External / Situational Attribution
Explaining behavior based on the situation or outside factors (e.g. "he failed because the test was super hard)
86
Kelley's Covariation Model
We explain behavior using consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency
87
Consensus (KCVM)
Whether other people behave the same way in the same situation (e.g. if everyone laughs at a joke: high consensus)
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Distinctiveness (KCVM)
Whether the person behaves this way only in this situation (e.g. if they only laugh at this comedian: high distinctiveness)
89
Consistency (KCVM)
Whether the person behaves this way every time in this situation (e.g. if they always laugh at this comedian: high consistency)
90
Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)
The tendency to overestimate personality factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining others' behavior (e.g. "he cut me off because he's a jerk," not because he's late)
91
Actor-Observer Bias
The tendency to explain our own behavior with situational causes but others' behavior with dispositional causes (e.g. "I failed the test because it was hard but he failed it because he's dumb")
92
Self-Serving Bias
The tendency to credit successes to yourself and blame failures on the situation (e.g. winning = skill, losing = bad luck)
93
Hindsight Bias
The tendency to believe after an outcome happens that you knew it would happen all along (e.g. after a breakup: "I saw it coming")
94
Misattribution of Arousal
When people mistake the source of their physical arousal for the wrong cause (e.g. interpreting anxiety before a speech as excitement)
95
Just World Hypothesis
The belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get (e.g. blaming victims for their misfortune)
96
Discounting Principles
Reducing the importance of one cause of behavior when other plausible causes are present (e.g. if a student studies hard and gets tutored, you discount natural ability)
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Counterfactuals
Thoughts about how things could have happened differently (e.g. "if I had studied more, I would've passed")
98
Emotional Amplification
When counterfactual thinking makes emotions stronger (e.g. losing a game by 1 point feels worse than losing by 20)
99
Gender Effects
Differences in how behavior is explained based on gender stereotypes (e.g. men's success: attributed to ability, women's success: attributed to luck or effort)
100
Individualist Cultures
Emphasize personal goals, independence, and uniqueness (e.g. US, Canada, Western Europe)
101
Collectivist Cultures
Emphasize group goals, relationships, and social harmony (e.g. Japan, China, Korea)
102
Emotion
A brief, intense psychological response to a specific event (e.g. feeling fear when you see a snake)
103
Mood
A longer-lasting emotional state without clear cause (e.g. feeling down all day)
104
Affect
The general experience or display of emotion (e.g. someone showing positive or negative facial expressions
105
Broaden-and-Build Hypothesis
Positive emotions expand thinking and help build long-term skills and resources (e.g. happiness makes you more creative)
106
What are the 6 Universal Emotions?
- Happiness
- Sadness
- Anger
- Fear
- Disgust
- Surprise
107
Affect Circumplex Model
Emotions vary along valence (positive-negative) and arousal (high-low)
108
James-Lange Theory
We feel emotions because we interpret our physical reactions (e.g. "I'm shaking, so I must be scared")
109
Cannon-Bard Theory
Emotions and physical reactions happen simultaneously (e.g. you see a bear, then feel fear and heart racing simultaneously)
110
Appraisal Theory
The idea that your emotions come from how you interpret (appraise) a situation, not just the situation itself
111
Projection
Attributing your own unwanted thoughts or feelings to someone else (e.g. you're jealous, but you accuse your friend of being jealous of you)
112
Functional Projection
Perceiving emotions in others that match threats or opportunities related to your own emotional state (e.g. you're feeling fear, so you interpret someone's neutral face as angry or threatening)
113
Feelings-as-Information
Using your current emotions as a source of information when making judgments or decisions (e.g. you feel happy, so you judge your day/life as going well even if nothing specific happened)
114
Affective Forecasting
Predicting how you will feel in the future about an event (e.g. you think getting into your top college will make you happy for years, but the feeling fades faster than you expected)
115
Social Intuitionist Model
Moral judgments come mainly from quick intuitions (gut feelings), with reasoning used afterward to justify them
116
Moral Foundations Theory
Morality is based on several universal psychological foundations that shape our judgments:
- Care / Harm
- Fairness / Cheating
- Loyalty / Betrayal
- Authority / Subversion
- Sanctity / Degradation
117
Display Rules
Cultural norms that regulate how and when emotions should be expressed (e.g. you feel disappointed about a gift but smile and say thank you because it's socially expected)
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Focalism
The tendency to focus too much on one aspect of an event when predicting future feelings, ignoring other factors (e.g. you think moving to a new city will make you miserable because you only focus on leaving friends, forgetting you'll make new ones)
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Focal Emotions
The main emotions that are most central or noticeable in a situation and dominate your attention (e.g. at graduation, excitement is the focal emotion, even though you might also feel nervous or sad)
120
Immune Neglect
The tendency to underestimate how well your psychological coping system will help you recover from negative events (e.g. you think failing a test will ruin your entire semester, but you bounce back emotionally faster than you thought)
121
Reappraisal
Reframing how you think about a situation to alter its emotional impact (e.g. viewing a breakup as an opportunity for growth instead of just loss)
122
Suppression
Inhibiting the outward expression of an emotion after it arises (e.g. hiding your frustration and keeping a neutral face during an argument)
123
What are the ABCs of Attitude?
- Affective
- Behavioral
- Cognitive
124
Implicit Association Test (IAT)
Test that measures automatic, unconscious associations between concepts and evaluations
125
Balance Theory
People are motivated to keep their attitudes and relationships psychologically consistent
126
Cognitive Dissonance
Psychological discomfort that occurs when your attitudes and behaviors conflict, motivating you to reduce the inconsistency
127
Effort Justification
Increasing your liking for something because you put a lot of effort into it (e.g. after a tough team tryout, you convince yourself the team is amazing because you worked so hard to make it)
128
System Justification Theory
The tendency to defend and justify the existing social, economic, or political system, even when it disadvantages you (e.g. someone in a low-income group argues that wealth inequality is fair because "hard work determines success")
129
Induced Compliance
Changing your attitude because you were persuaded or pressured to behave in a way that conflicts with your beliefs (e.g. you argue that a boring class is interesting for a presentation, and afterward you start believing it actually is)
130
Compensatory Stereotypes
Stereotypes that balance a perceived weakness with a positive trait to make the inequality seem fair (e.g. saying "poor people are happier" to offset economic disadvantage)
131
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Persuasion occurs through two routes: central (thoughtful processing) or peripheral (surface cues)
132
Yale Model
WHO says WHAT to WHOM
133
Principles of Persuasion
- Reciprocity (people feeling obligated to return favors)
- Commitment and consistency (people want to stay consistent with past actions/promises)
- Social proof (people follow what others are doing)
- Authority (people trust and follow credible experts)
- Liking (people are persuaded more by those they like)
- Scarcity (items seem more valuable when they're limited)
134
One-Sided Appeal
Presents only arguments supporting the message, ignoring counterarguments (e.g. an ad lists only the benefits of a product without mentioning any downsides)
135
Two-Sided Appeal
Presents both supporting arguments and opposing viewpoints (e.g. an ad admits a product is expensive but argues the quality makes it worth it)
136
Fear Appeals
Persuasive messages that use fear to motivate attitude or behavior change
137
Foot-in-the-Door
Getting someone to agree to a small request first to increase the likelihood they'll agree to a larger request later
138
Door-in-the-Face
Making a large request first, expecting refusal, then following with a smaller request
139
That's-Not-All Technique
Adding a bonus or reducing the cost before the person can respond, increasing the chance they'll agree
140
Mere Exposure Effect
The tendency to develop a preference for things simply because you're repeatedly exposed to them
141
Reactance
A motivational reaction where people resist persuasion when they feel their freedom is being threatened (e.g. a teen is told they can't go to a party, which makes them want to go even more)
142
Card Stacking
Presenting only information that supports a position while ignoring opposing facts (e.g. an ad only lists the benefits while hiding potential side effects)
143
Plain Folks
Portraying a speaker as an ordinary, relatable person (e.g. a politician saying "I'm just a regular parents just like you")
144
Glittering Generalities
Using vague, positive words to create approval without specific evidence (e.g. phrases like "freedom," "hope," or "family values" without details)
145
Bandwagon
Suggesting you should adopt a belief because everyone else is doing it (e.g. "join the millions who switched!")
146
Gaslighting
Manipulating someone into doubting their own perception or memory
147
Self-Validation
The extent to which you feel confident in your own thoughts, which strengthens their impact on your attitudes (e.g. if you generate arguments for a position and feel certain about them, you're more likely to stick to that attitude)
148
Thought Polarization
When thinking deeply about an issue strengthens and intensifies your existing attitude (e.g. after listing reasons you support a policy, you become even more strongly in favor of it)
149
Attitude Inoculation
Strengthening an attitude by exposing people to weak counterarguments and refutations (e.g. a parent warns a kid that friends might say "smoking is cool" and explains why that's wrong, so the kid resists the pressure later)
150
Sleeper Effect
A persuasive message becomes more effective over time when people forget the low credibility of the source (e.g. you dismiss a claim because it came from a sketchy website, but weeks later you remember the claim and start believing it)
151
Metacognition
Thinking about and monitoring your own thinking processes (e.g. realizing you don't understand a chapter and decide to reread it)
152
Trait Self-Esteem
Your usual, long-term level of self-esteem; relatively stable over time
153
State Self-Esteem
Your moment-to-moment self-esteem; changes depending on situations
