PSYC 351 Study Guide - Summer 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Arousal, Yale University, White People
PSYC 351
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Chapter 1 Introduction to Social Psychology
The ABC’s of Social Psychology
-feelings = Affect
-behavior = Behavior
-thoughts = Cognition
Kurt Lewin’s Equation
Behavior = function (person, environment)
Individual differences matter
-characteristics of the person may moderate their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors (even if the control is
the same)
The relationship between attitudes and behavior is bi-directional
The environment changes our behaviors too (funeral v school v work)
Common sense?
Hindsight bias: the “I knew it all along” phenomenon
You are particularly vulnerable in social psychology because these are topics with which you are
intimately familiar
The science of social psychology
Scientific research is:
1. Formulating the hypotheses or questions
2. Testing hypothesis using the scientific method
3. Interpreting the results
4. Communicating the results
Gathering data
Self-report methods: ask participants about themselves
-interviews, questionnaires
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Chapter 2 The Self
Functions of the Self
It helps us organize what we do, what we think about, and who we associate with
We use schemas: mental tools that helps us organize information about ourselves
o We use self-schemas like the ones you’ve just described to build a sense of identity
o Allow us to organize who we are and act as a method that correlates as a method to
whom we associate with
Self-Schema
These are mental representations about yourself, based on past experiences.
o Guides processing of information about your social experiences
o Who is your favorite character?
▪ Anything that we experience in our life that influences what we see ourselves
(gregarious- social person)
▪ Self-reference effect: we tend to process and remember information better and
faster when it is relevant to us
o It also acts as self-regulation
Culture Differences
Independence: westerners tend to define oneself in terms of one’s own thoughts, feelings, and
actions.
o US: Individualistic culture, revere and value individual accomplishments
Conversely, people from Asia, Africa, Central & South America tend to define themselves in
terms of the relationships they have with others
o Collectivistic culture: more family or socially oriented
o thoughts, feelings, and actions depend on others
Gender Differences in interdependence
• Interdependence is an interaction with others that we have
Relational interdependence: Focus on close relationships
Collective interdependence: Focus on memberships in larger groups
Gender differences:
People were asked to describe an important emotional event
o Women more often mentioned relational events
o Men more often reported collective events
How do we come to know ourselves? Introspection
o Introspection: Looking inward
Simply looking inward
People do not think about themselves as often as you might think
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Characteristics of the person may moderate their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors (even if the control is the same) The relationship between attitudes and behavior is bi-directional. The environment changes our behaviors too (funeral v school v work) Hindsight bias: the i knew it all along phenomenon. You are particularly vulnerable in social psychology because these are topics with which you are intimately familiar. Scientific research is: formulating the hypotheses or questions, testing hypothesis using the scientific method, interpreting the results, communicating the results. It helps us organize what we do, what we think about, and who we associate with. Independence: westerners tend to define oneself in terms of one"s own thoughts, feelings, and actions: us: individualistic culture, revere and value individual accomplishments. Conversely, people from asia, africa, central & south america tend to define themselves in terms of the relationships they have with others: collectivistic culture: more family or socially oriented thoughts, feelings, and actions depend on others.
