Summary of the book An Introduction to Social Psychology (Hewstone, Stroebe & Jonas) for the course Social and Cross-Cultural Psychology in year 1 of the Bachelor Psychology.
H2 t/m 8 en h10 t/m 15, alles wat relevant is voor het tentamen
March 12, 2020
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2019/2020
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psychology social psychology psychology an introduction to social psychology social in cross culturesocial psychology sciences cross cultural
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Bachelor Psychology
Sociale en Cross-Culturele Psychologie (PSBA118)
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An Introduction To Social Psychology
February/March 2020
Femke van Rijn
Chapter 2
Theory = a set of abstract concepts together with propositions about how those constructs are
related to one another
Variable = a measurable representation of a construct
A theory must be testable, we should be able to derive specific predictions (hypotheses) from the
theory.
Antecedent conditions -> mediating process -> symptoms (example: group think)
- Boundary conditions of the effects
Experiment = the researcher deliberately modifies some feature of the environment to see what
changes occur
- Quasi-experiment = participants are not randomly allocated to the different experimental
conditions, typically in a natural setting over which the researcher has no control
- True randomized experiment = the researcher has complete control and participants are
allocated on a random basis, but it is less realistic
o Field experiment = a true randomized experiment in a natural setting
Survey research = interviewing a sample of respondents who are representative of the population
- Focuses on existing levels of variables instead of manipulating them
- Because there is no control over the independent variable, you can’t be certain about the
causal role, so you have to also measure other variables to control for them in statistical
analyses or use a longitudinal design
These quantitative methods allow researchers to say something about the average scores, range,
strength and reliability of relations between variables. Qualitative methods focus on content and
meaning through analytic techniques.
Discourse analysis = analyzing talk and texts to reveal how people make sense of the world
Triangulation = using multiple methods and measures to study something provides a better basis for
drawing conclusions than using a single method
Features of the experiment:
- Experimental scenario = the context in which the study is presented to participants
- Confederate = a research assistant that pretends to be another participant in the experiment
- Independent variable = the variable that is manipulated in order to study the effect on
dependent variables
- Operationalization = the way a theoretical construct is turned into a measurable variable
- Manipulation check = a measure of the effectiveness of the independent variable
- Debriefing = informing the participant about the nature and purpose after the experiment
and the reason for any deception
Experimental designs:
- One-shot case study = observations are made on a group after some event or manipulation
has occurred
o No conclusions can be drawn because the results cannot be compared
- Post-test only control design = the same but also has a control group
o Meets the minimal requirements for a true experimental study
1
, - Factorial experiment = two or more independent variables are manipulated in the same
design
o Contains all possible combinations of the independent variables (simples: 2 X 2)
o Allows to examine main effects (the separate effect of a variable) and interaction
effects (the effect of a combination of variables)
o Moderation = the effect of one variable on another depends on the level of a third
variable
o Mediation = the relationship between two variables is mediated by another
Validity = the extent to which something precisely measures what it is supposed to measure
- Internal validity = changes in the independent variable result in changes in the dependent
variable, it reflects a causal relationship and there is no confound
- Construct validity = the dependent and independent variables adequately capture the
abstract constructs they are supposed to represent
o Threatened by social desirability, demand characteristics and experimenter
expectancy
To diminish demand characteristics, use post-experimental enquiry
(interviewing participants after the experiment in order to know what they
experienced), unobtrusive measures (measures that the participant is not
aware of) or a cover story
- External validity = the generalizability of the research findings to the population and to other
settings
- Convergent validity = different types of measures of the same construct produce the same
results
Internet experiments can be used to collect large amounts of data in a short time, from participants
with different nationalities, ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. Disadvantages:
- The researcher cannot control under which circumstances the participants are under
- The participants are not representative of the whole population (typically white, American or
European and young)
- There is an effect of linguistic competence on the reliability and validity of the responses
- People that choose to respond (voluntarily) differ systematically in personal attributes
Cross-cultural research shows that many supposedly universal psychological tendencies are actually
linked to cultural norms and values.
Meta-analysis = statistically integrating the results of independent studies of a certain phenomenon
in order to find reliable relationship patterns across the studies
Reliability = getting the same results on more than one occasion or with different individuals, free of
measurement error
Data collection methods:
- Observational methods = recording actions of participants
o Participant observation = the researcher studies a group from within
o Reactivity = whether the measuring itself has an impact on the participants’ behavior
- Self-report methods = the questions are directly put to the participant
o Quick, cheap, easy and able to measure not directly observable variables
o Hard to get non-ambiguous questions and specific objectives
2
, o Participants’ responses can be influenced by motivational factors
- Implicit measures = measures of constructs that are unobtrusively assessed so that
participants are unaware of what is being measured
o Example: measuring attitudes with reaction times
o Usually with computer technology
- Physiological methods = measuring biological markers of psychological states
o Example: skin response or hormone levels
Social neuroscience = an interdisciplinary field that is devoted to understand how biological systems
implement social processes and behavior
- Using fMRI to study brain activity
Chapter 3
Social perception = the process of collecting and interpreting information about another person’s
individual characteristics
Asch investigated this process by reading out personality adjectives to participants so they could
form impressions.
- Central trait = a characteristic that is perceived as integral to the organization of personality
o Big differences in perception when changed
- Peripheral trait = a trait that is perceived as not significantly changing the overall
interpretation of personality
o Only specific and limited effects
Sequencing of adjectives also makes a difference: primacy effect (early information is more
influential in social perception).
People do not simple add together pieces of information (summation), but actively construct
meaning based on their implicit personality theories, which help make sense of other people by
specifying how trait information is organized.
- Configural model: social perceivers actively construct deeper meanings out of the bits of
information that they receive about other people, they try to discern the overall pattern
- Averaging = perceivers compute the mean value of pieces of information about a person
But there is also nonverbal (sensory) information when meeting a person. Perceivers are especially
attuned to information that is biologically relevant which can help them respond adaptively.
- The other person’s facial features or way of moving
- Your own feelings and internal sensations
Social perception is also influenced by interpersonal exchange.
- Self-fulfilling prophecy = when false expectations lead to confirmation, because the social
perceivers beliefs about someone cause them to act in certain ways
Attribution theory: humans are motivated to assign causes to actions and behaviors
- Causal attribution = the process whereby social perceivers arrive at conclusions about the
causes of another person’s behavior (can also be self-attribution)
- Observers make inferences about why actors do what they do
- They try to identify the personal dispositions (enduring characteristics) that account for the
behavior, in order to organize information and make predictions of future behavior
3
, Correspondent inference theory: observers infer correspondent intentions and dispositions for
observed intentional behavior under certain circumstances
- They consider the different behavioral options that were available to the actor at the time of
making a decision in order to work out their intention
- They try to work out what it was about the choice that made it seem preferable (analysis of
non-common effects)
- Correspondence bias = the tendency to infer a personal disposition corresponding to
observed behavior even when the behavior was actually determined by the situation
- The theory is not designed to identity impulsive, habitual or emotional causes
Covariation theory: observers work out the causes of behavior by collecting data about comparison
cases, causality is attributed to the person, object or situation depending on which of these factors
covaries with the observed effect
- Making judgments on the basis of covariations or correlations between effects and their
possible causes
- 3 kinds of evidence:
o Distinctiveness information = evidence relating to how an actor responds to
different objects under similar circumstances
The covariation of behavior across objects
o Consistency information = evidence relating to how an actor’s behavior towards an
object varies across different situations and times
The covariation of behavior across situations
o Consensus information = evidence relating to how different actors behave towards
the same object
The covariation of behavior across different people
- Person attributions are encouraged by low distinctiveness, high consistency and low
consensus
- When we don’t have all information, we fill in with causal schemas (knowledge structures of
general causal principles or domain-specific ideas about cause and effect)
- Discounting principle = observers rule out alternative causes when they already know of
factors working towards an observed effect
o Example: when you see a cyclist going fast downhill, you are unlikely to think that it
is because they are very strong
- Augmenting principle = knowledge of factors working against an effect leads people to
conclude that causal factors need to be stronger
o Example: when you see a cyclist going fast uphill, you conclude that they are strong
enough to override the slope slowing them down
- But people rarely collect all information needed for this theory. They already have
expectations about events which can provide a reference point for their attribution
- Another limitation of the theory is that correlation does not always mean causation
o But how do we learn about causal relations? Humans naturally assume that
associations between events reflect hidden causal processes
o We attempt to uncover causal powers (what enables an object/event to exert
influence on something else)
o We use probabilistic contrast: comparison of the frequency of an effect in the
presence of a potential cause with its frequency without that cause
4
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