Exam #1 Study Guide
Friday, September 11, 2009
10:47 PM
1. What is the primary thesis and the four secondary these of social psychology?
a. Primary
i. Human social though and social behavior is governed greatly by the situation in which the thoughts and
behaviors occur
b. Secondary
i. Power of situational forces is much greater than people think
ii. Social thought and behavior often don't fit into rational/logical theories
iii. People's perceptions are more important in affecting social behavior/thought than the feature of the
situation
iv. Social thought/behavior are function of both person and situation
2. What are the differences between social psychology and sociology?
a. Sociology
i. Study groups of people
ii. Study how people are influenced by social variables
iii. Little emphasis on experimental research methods
b. Social psychology
i. Study individuals
ii. Study how people are influenced by specific, immediate variables
iii. Heavy emphasis on experimental research methods
3. Describe the hindsight bias and give a real world example of the hindsight bias.
a. Hindsight bias
i. Tendency to overestimate one's ability to have foreseen the outcome, but after learning the actual
outcome
ii. Ex) Football games: "I should be coaching this team."
iii. Ex) War b/w British and Gurkas in India
1. British had advanced weapons, bigger army
2. Gurkas had more experience in war
3. After people found out outcome, said they knew that side would win
4. What are the basics of the scientific method?
a. Define a question
b. Collect information
c. Use theory to form hypothesis
d. Collect and analyze data that test hypothesis
e. Interpret data and form conclusions
f. Revise theory
5. What is a theory? How do we determine what makes a good theory? How is a theory different from a hypothesis?
a. Theory
i. Conceptual framework that shows how variables are assumed to relate to each other
ii. Integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events
b. Hypothesis
i. Testable prediction that describes relationship b/w events
ii. Often used to test theories
c. Good theory has:
i. Predictive ability
ii. Broad applicability
iii. Simplicity
iv. Testability
6. What is the purpose of random sampling? What is the difference between random sampling and random assignment?
a. Random sample
i. Sample where each member of population has equal chance of being in sample
