Chapter 1 The Scientific Foundations of Social Psychology
Social psychology refers to:
The scientific study of the relationship between the individual and society that
focuses on how other people influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
The field of philosophical inquiry that focuses on questions about human nature.
The scientific study of how mental processes influence individual behavior.
The study of cultural norms and social structures.
(Answer a; pages 4-5)
Who is considered the father of social psychology as a scientific field of inquiry?
Emile Durkheim
August Comte
Gordon Allport
Plato
(Answer b; page 6)
Gordon Allport argued that the United States provided the ideal environment for the
growth of social psychology. What characteristic(s) does American society possess
that makes it a particularly ideal environment?
It has a rich tradition of free inquiry.
It has a rich tradition of philosophy.
It promotes ethics of democracy.
All of the above.
(Answer d; page 8)
How do hypotheses differ from theories?
Hypotheses do not involve concepts; theories do.
Theories do not involve variables; hypotheses do.
Hypotheses do not explain why the relationships between variables exist; theories
do.
Theories involve the operationalization of abstract concepts; hypotheses do not.
(Answer c; pages 9-11)
,Which of the following statements is FALSE?
Developing a theory is the first step in social psychological research.
Developing a theory is often the first step taken in social psychological
research, but we can think of it as just one of the steps in a repeating cycle of
steps.
Scientific theories allow social psychologists to process, organize, and make sense
out of a vast amount of information.
The key difference between the way that casual observers and social psychologists
develop theories is the scientific approach that the latter takes.
(Answer a; page 10)
In her proposal for research on the topic of aggression, a social psychologist
writes: “Aggressive behavior in human beings increases as temperature increases.”
This statement is called:
A theory.
A hypothesis.
The operationalization of variables.
A correlation.
(Answer b; page 11)
General ideas that capture the similarities among specific things or processes are
called:
Common rules.
Theories.
Concepts.
Values.
(Answer c; page 11)
When researchers choose a particular research method, they should consider:
The strengths and weaknesses of various methods.
The ultimate goal of the study.
How well their chosen method measures what it claims to measure.
All of the above.
(Answer d; pages 11-13)
,Concepts that vary over space and time are called:
Variables.
Unreliable measures.
Mixed results.
Confounding attributes.
(Answer a; page 11)
A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables is
called:
A variable.
A hypothesis.
A statistical expectation.
A theory.
(Answer b; page 11)
In the introduction to her research proposal, Professor Lopez stated that: “Violent
crimes are committed less often by people who attend church once a week.” This
statement is an example of a:
Variable.
Statistical expectation.
Hypothesis.
Theory.
(Answer c; page 11)
The process of translating abstract concepts into concrete, measurable variables is
called:
Generalization.
Pretesting.
Experimental realism.
Operationalization.
(Answer d; page 11)
In his study of the effects of media violence on aggressive behavior in children,
Professor Ramirez defined aggressive behavior as hitting, kicking, biting, or
pinching. This step in the research process is called the _________ of variables.
Operationalization
Identification
Description
Specification
(Answer a; page 11)
__________ refers to the extent to which research measurements show consistent
results.
Validity
Reliability
Consistency
Spurious correlation
(Answer b; page 12)
________ refers to the degree to which a theoretical concept fits a researcher’s
empirical measurement of that concept.
Correspondence
, Reliability
Internal validity
External validity
(Answer c; page 12)
In her research on altruism, Dr. Blake designs a questionnaire to measure various
aspects of empathy. When her findings are reviewed by her peers, they find fault
with several of the questions, arguing that they do not really measure empathy but
instead personal distress. This criticism illustrates a problem with ___________.
External validity
Reliability
Operationalization of concepts
Internal validity
(Answer d; page 12)
Every morning Jan measures her blood pressure on a digital machine that she bought
at the drug store. The reading consistently shows her blood pressure at 130/70.
When the doctor took her pressure at her office, Jan was surprised to see that it
was 145/92. The doctor repeated the measure several times and found it to be near
145/92. Jan sent her machine to the manufacturer to see if it was giving an
accurate measure. In fact, it was not. The measures taken on Jan’s machine were
_______________.
Reliable but not valid
Valid but not reliable
Neither reliable nor valid
Subjective not objective
(Answer a; page 12)
Social psychology refers to:
The scientific study of the relationship between the individual and society that
focuses on how other people influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
The field of philosophical inquiry that focuses on questions about human nature.
The scientific study of how mental processes influence individual behavior.
The study of cultural norms and social structures.
(Answer a; pages 4-5)
Who is considered the father of social psychology as a scientific field of inquiry?
Emile Durkheim
August Comte
Gordon Allport
Plato
(Answer b; page 6)
Gordon Allport argued that the United States provided the ideal environment for the
growth of social psychology. What characteristic(s) does American society possess
that makes it a particularly ideal environment?
It has a rich tradition of free inquiry.
It has a rich tradition of philosophy.
It promotes ethics of democracy.
All of the above.
(Answer d; page 8)
How do hypotheses differ from theories?
Hypotheses do not involve concepts; theories do.
Theories do not involve variables; hypotheses do.
Hypotheses do not explain why the relationships between variables exist; theories
do.
Theories involve the operationalization of abstract concepts; hypotheses do not.
(Answer c; pages 9-11)
,Which of the following statements is FALSE?
Developing a theory is the first step in social psychological research.
Developing a theory is often the first step taken in social psychological
research, but we can think of it as just one of the steps in a repeating cycle of
steps.
Scientific theories allow social psychologists to process, organize, and make sense
out of a vast amount of information.
The key difference between the way that casual observers and social psychologists
develop theories is the scientific approach that the latter takes.
(Answer a; page 10)
In her proposal for research on the topic of aggression, a social psychologist
writes: “Aggressive behavior in human beings increases as temperature increases.”
This statement is called:
A theory.
A hypothesis.
The operationalization of variables.
A correlation.
(Answer b; page 11)
General ideas that capture the similarities among specific things or processes are
called:
Common rules.
Theories.
Concepts.
Values.
(Answer c; page 11)
When researchers choose a particular research method, they should consider:
The strengths and weaknesses of various methods.
The ultimate goal of the study.
How well their chosen method measures what it claims to measure.
All of the above.
(Answer d; pages 11-13)
,Concepts that vary over space and time are called:
Variables.
Unreliable measures.
Mixed results.
Confounding attributes.
(Answer a; page 11)
A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables is
called:
A variable.
A hypothesis.
A statistical expectation.
A theory.
(Answer b; page 11)
In the introduction to her research proposal, Professor Lopez stated that: “Violent
crimes are committed less often by people who attend church once a week.” This
statement is an example of a:
Variable.
Statistical expectation.
Hypothesis.
Theory.
(Answer c; page 11)
The process of translating abstract concepts into concrete, measurable variables is
called:
Generalization.
Pretesting.
Experimental realism.
Operationalization.
(Answer d; page 11)
In his study of the effects of media violence on aggressive behavior in children,
Professor Ramirez defined aggressive behavior as hitting, kicking, biting, or
pinching. This step in the research process is called the _________ of variables.
Operationalization
Identification
Description
Specification
(Answer a; page 11)
__________ refers to the extent to which research measurements show consistent
results.
Validity
Reliability
Consistency
Spurious correlation
(Answer b; page 12)
________ refers to the degree to which a theoretical concept fits a researcher’s
empirical measurement of that concept.
Correspondence
, Reliability
Internal validity
External validity
(Answer c; page 12)
In her research on altruism, Dr. Blake designs a questionnaire to measure various
aspects of empathy. When her findings are reviewed by her peers, they find fault
with several of the questions, arguing that they do not really measure empathy but
instead personal distress. This criticism illustrates a problem with ___________.
External validity
Reliability
Operationalization of concepts
Internal validity
(Answer d; page 12)
Every morning Jan measures her blood pressure on a digital machine that she bought
at the drug store. The reading consistently shows her blood pressure at 130/70.
When the doctor took her pressure at her office, Jan was surprised to see that it
was 145/92. The doctor repeated the measure several times and found it to be near
145/92. Jan sent her machine to the manufacturer to see if it was giving an
accurate measure. In fact, it was not. The measures taken on Jan’s machine were
_______________.
Reliable but not valid
Valid but not reliable
Neither reliable nor valid
Subjective not objective
(Answer a; page 12)
