Error introduced into measurement when observers over-emphasize behaviours they expect but do not observe behaviours they don't expect; tendency of observers to see what they expect to see
Mathematical way to represent associations between variables; range from -1 to +1 (tells how strong relationship is between the variables; bigger the number stronger the relationship)
correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.
Inverse correlation; As variable one increases (decreases), variable two decreases (increases); opposite directions
One or more factors (independent variables) are systematically changed to determine whether such variations affect one or more other factors (dependent variables)
Special form of mathematics that allows us to evaluate the likelihood that a given pattern of research results occurred by chance alone.
The extent to which an experiment allows confident statements about cause and effect; The certainty with which results of an experiment can be attributed to the manipulation of the independent variable rather than to some other, confounding variable.
The extent to which the findings of an experiment can be generalized to real-life social situations and perhaps to persons different from those who participated in the research
random assignment of participants to experimental conditions
basic requirement for conducting valid experiments; research participants must have an equal chance of being exposed to each level of the independent variable.
tri-council policy statement
Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans; Makes sure all researchers are following ethical guidelines
The manner in which we interpret, analyze, remember, and use information about the social world; How we make sense of our social world (ourselves and others)
automatic behavior/ processing
After extensive experience with a task or type of information, the stage at which we can perform the task or process the information in a seemingly effortless, automatic, and non-conscious manner. Ex) an adult riding a bike
controlled behavior/ processing
We think about the judgments we are making carefully and consciously (conscious effort) Ex) a kid learning how to bike
Mental frameworks centering around a specific theme that help us to organize social information (can relate to individuals or events)
refers to the processes through which information we notice is stored in memory (what information we store)
refers to the processes through which we recover information from memory in order to use it in some manner (what we remember)
Increased availability in memory or consciousness of specific types of information held in memory due to exposure to specific stimuli or events; activating a certain schema
The tendency for beliefs and schemas to remain unchanged, even in the face of contradictory information
A type of self-fulfilling prophecy whereby people's social expectations lead them to act in ways that cause others to confirm their expectations.
Simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences in a rapid and seemingly effortless manner
A strategy for making judgments based on the extent to which current stimuli or events resemble other stimuli or categories
A strategy for making judgments on the basis of how easily specific kinds of information can be brought to mind.
The tendency to imagine other outcomes in a situation than the ones that actually occurred ("what might have been")
compare current outcomes with more favorable ones; negative feelings of dissatisfaction or envy
compare current outcomes with less favorable ones; positive feelings of satisfaction or hopefulness
Tendency to make optimistic predictions concerning how long a given task will take for completion
mood dependent memory
What we remember while in a given mood may be determined, in part, by what we learned when previously in that mood
mood congruence effects
We are more likely to store or remember positive information when in a positive mood, and negative information when in a negative mood
does not involve spoken language; relies on facial expressions, eye contact, and body language
Process through which we seek to identify the causes of others' behavior and so gain knowledge of their stable traits and dispositions
correspondence bias (fundamental attribution error)
Tendency to explain others' actions as stemming from dispositions, even in the presence of clear situational causes
A theory describing how we use others' behavior as a basis for inferring their stable dispositions
Extent to which other persons react to some stimulus or even in the same manner as the person we are considering
Extent to which an individual responds to a given stimulus or situation in the same way on different occasions
The extent to which an individual responds in the same manner to different stimuli or events
Tendency to attach less importance to one potential cause of some behavior when other potential causes are also present.
Tendency to attach greater importance to a potential cause of behavior IF the behavior occurs despite the presence of other inhibitory causes
The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal causes but negative outcomes or events to external causes
Recognition that the self is separate from other objects in one's physical environment
Uniquely human capacity to form an abstract representation of the self through language. (Also knowing that death of the physical self is inevitable)
Individualistic; expectation that people will develop a self-concept as separate from others
Collectivistic; expectation is that people will develop a self-concept in terms of one's connections or relationships with others
The degree to which the self is perceived positively or negatively; one's overall attitude toward the self
Attempts to understand the self by self-examination; turning inwardly to assess one's motives.
the process through which people observe their own behavior to infer their own internal characteristics
the process through which people come to know themselves by observing or imagining how others view them
social comparison theory
people compare themselves to others because, for many domains and attributes, there is no objective yardstick with which to evaluate the self, so other people are therefore highly informative.
downward social comparison
A comparison where the other does worse than the self (we feel good, like this person)
upward social comparison
A comparison where the other does better than the self (we feel bad, dislike this person unless in our group)
the behavior of withdrawing effort or creating obstacles to one's future success
Effects produced by a particular cause that could not be produced by any other apparent cause
Tendency to attribute our own behavior mainly to situational causes but the the behavior of others mainly to internal (dispositional) causes.