Term
|
Definition
| the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| scientific explanation that connects and organizes existing observations and suggests fruitful paths for future research |
|
|
Term
| Sociocultural Perspective |
|
Definition
| the theoretical viewpoint that searches for the cause of social behavior in influences from larger social groups What are the differences in social behavior across culture? What are different social norms in different parts of the country and how does that influence behavior? |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a rule of expectation for appropriate social behavior |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the beliefs, customs, habits, and language shared by the people living in a particular time and place |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and psychological predispositions that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce Are their similarities in social behavior across species? What are the similarities in social behavior across culture and historical period? |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the process by which characteristics that helped animals survive and reproduce are passed on the their offspring |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a characteristic that is well designed for survival and reproduction in a particular environment |
|
|
Term
| Social Learning Perspective |
|
Definition
| a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on past learning experiences as determinants of a person's social behaviors How are social behaviors rewarded or punished? Who is serving as a model and influencing another individual's behavior? |
|
|
Term
| Social Cognitive Perspective |
|
Definition
| a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, and remembering social experiences What cues in an environment is an individual attending to and how does that influence their subsequent behavior? How does our memory of our self influence our current perception of ourself? |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| features or characteristics that individuals carry into social situations |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| environmental events or circumstances outside the person |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a researcher's prediction about what he or she will find |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| procedure for measuring or recording behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in their natural state (including naturalistic observations, case studies, archival studies, surveys, and psychological tests) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| procedure for uncovering causal processes by systematically manipulating some aspect of a situation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| recording everyday behaviors as they unfold in their natural settings |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| error introduced into measurement when an observer overemphasizes behaviors he or she expects to find and fails to notice behaviors he or she does not expect |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An intensive examination of an individual or group |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the extent to which the findings of a particular research study extends to other similar circumstances or cases |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| examination of systematic data originally collected for other purposes (such as marriage licenses or arrest records) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a technique in which the researcher asks people to report on their beliefs, feelings, or behaviors |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the tendency for people to say what they believe is appropriate or acceptable |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a group of respondents having characteristics that match those of the larger population the researcher wants to describe |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| instrument for assessing a person's abilities, cognitions, or motivations |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the consistency of the score yielded by a psychological test |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the extent to which the test measures what it is designed to measure |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the extent to which two or more variables are associated with one another |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a mathematical expression of the relationship between two variables |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a research method in which the researcher sets out to systematically manipulate one source of influence while holding others constant |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the variable manipulated by the experimenter |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the variable measured by the experimenter |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the practice of assigning participants to treatments so each person has an equal chance of being in any condition |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the extent to which an experiment allows confident statements about cause and effect |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a variable that systematically changes along with the independent variable, potentially leading to a mistaken conclusion about the effect of the independent variable |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the extent to which the results of an experiment can be generalized to other circumstances |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| cue that makes participants aware of how the experimenter expects them to behave |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the manipulation of independent variable using unknowing participants in natural settings |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a discussion of procedures, hypotheses, and participant reactions at the completion of the study |
|
|
