Social psychology methods

Question 1

the scientific investigation of how thoughts/feelings/behaviours are influenced by actual, imagined or implied presence of others =

Answer 1

social psychology

Question 2

what does social psychology focus on?

Answer 2

1. effects of social and cognitive processes on the way people perceive and interact with others
2. explains human behaviour

Question 3

what can’t we prove no matter how much evidence we generate?

Answer 3

theory

Question 4

we can only ______, _______ or _______ a theory

Answer 4

support, modify, reject

Question 5

benefits of lab assessment?

Answer 5

1. establish cause and effect
2. control over extraneous variables
3. objectively assesses behaviour
4. high internal validity, high experimental realism

Question 6

disadvantages of a lab experiment?

Answer 6

1. low external validity/mundame realism
2. demand characteristics
3. difficult to assess long term behaviour
4. experimenter effects

Question 7

how is a lab study low in external validity and mundane realism?

Answer 7

artificial setting and highly controlled

Question 8

how are experimenter effects minimised?

Answer 8

using a double blind procedure

Question 9

benefits of field assessment?

Answer 9

1. manipulate a variable in a real world context

2. high external validity

Question 10

disadvantages of field assessment?

Answer 10

1. less control over extraneous variables

2. difficult to obtain accurate measures

Question 11

manipulate an independent variable (IV) and observe the effect on the DV = experimental or non-experimental?

Answer 11

experimental

Question 12

correlation between variables (no manipulation of an IV) = experimental or non-experimental?

Answer 12

non-experimental

Question 13

what are different types of experimental methods?

Answer 13

lab experiment
field experiment
RTC

Question 14

what are different types of non-experimental methods?

Answer 14

1. archival
2. case studies
3. qualitative research
4. surveys
5. field studies

Question 15

the type of method chosen depends on what 3 things?

Answer 15

1. nature of hypothesis
2. resources available
3. ethics

Question 16

what type of method is the main approach used?

Answer 16

experimental

Question 17

how is confidence in the validity of a hypothesis enhanced?

Answer 17

if researchers confide in the hypothesis a number of times using different methods > avoids confirmation bias

Question 18

must common as allows us to identify the causes of events =

Answer 18

causal experimentation

Question 19

intervention in the form of manipulation of 1 or more IVs and then measurement of the manipulation =

Answer 19

systematic experimentation

Question 20

how are thoughts/feelings/behaviours measured in social psychology?

Answer 20

self report, objectively assess behaviour in a lap

Question 21

mental structure that organises and collects info about something =

Answer 21

schema

Question 22

what type of tasks assess or influence the accessibility of schemas?

Answer 22

implicit tasks

Question 23

what does the accessibility of a schema mean?

Answer 23

the ease of retrieving/accessing a schema

Question 24

______ accessible schemas are more likely to influence cognitive processes and behaviour

Answer 24

highly

Question 25

responses are within conscious control and provided deliberately =

Answer 25

explicit measures

Question 26

what type of measures can cause social desirability?

Answer 26

explicit measures

Question 27

responses are outside of conscious control and are provided automatically =

Answer 27

implicit measures

Question 28

what do implicit tasks typically measure as an indicator of accessibility?

Answer 28

reaction times

Question 29

what are 3 implicit measures used in social psychology?

Answer 29

1. implicit association test 2. priming 3. lexical decision tasks

Question 30

what are the 3 types of reviews used in social psychology?

Answer 30

1. narrative 2. systematic 3. meta-analysis

Question 31

provides overview of knowledge on a topic, includes intro then separate sub headings to discuss different themes/topic areas, what studies are included is based on researchers judgement, no new analysis = what type of review?

Answer 31

narrative

Question 32

what does a systematic review do?

Answer 32

reviews evidence for well defined and precise research Q, strict inclusion/exclusion criteria for articles that could be reproduced, assesses quality of studies, no new analysis

Question 33

meta-analysis is the same as a systematic review but _______ the overall effect found across all studies

Answer 33

quantifies

Question 34

assesses the magnitude of the effects from all the studies to show the overall effect, no new analysis =

Answer 34

meta-analysis

Question 35

which type of review provides the strongest and most reliable evidence?

Answer 35

meta-analysis

Question 36

what are the strengths of social psychological methods?

Answer 36

used to explain behaviour, theories/empirical findings can be applied to solve real world issues, develop interventions to promote desired thoughts/feelings/behaviours

Question 37

what are the limitations of social psychological methods?

Answer 37

generalisability is largely limited to WEIRD (can evidence be seen in different cultures/contexts?), no method is perfect and replications need to be done to increase confidence

Question 38

what is a WEIRD sample?

Answer 38

studies disproportionately involve ppts who are Western Educated from Industrialised Rick Democracies