Download Overview and Methodology

Overview and Methodology
Overview
Macrosociology: the science or study of the origin,
development, organization, and functioning of human society
and large-scale social systems.
Microsociology: the branch of sociology that studies the
impact of human society on small groups and individuals.
Both are based on interpretative analyses, rather than empirical analyses,
of human behavior in reaction to societal influences without experimental
manipulations.
Social Psychology: the scientific study of how people think
about, influence, and relate to one another; how your thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors affect other people’s thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors and vice versa. The research is typically based
on empirical analyses of experimental manipulations of
humans in laboratory and naturalistic environments.
I. Major Themes in Social Psychology
A. Social reality is a subjective experience.
B. Social thinking is a dual process… both
conscious and unconscious.
C. Social influence affects nearly every aspect of
our lives.
D. Personality characteristics affect our thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors.
E. Research in Social Psychology has cross-cultural
consistencies and inconsistencies.
1) Culture: the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a
large group of people that get transmitted from one
generation to the next.
F. Biological factors affect our thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors.
1) Evolutionary Psychology: a branch of psychology that
examines the role of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of
years of inherited genetic factors in human behavior.
Three components of evolution:
a) Variation: organisms in a given species will vary.
b) Inheritance: some variations can be passed down from
generation to generation.
c) Selection: certain variations help organisms survive. Over time,
more members of the species possess the variation.
2) Social Neuroscience: an area of research in which social
psychologists try to understand the neural and biological
bases of social processes.
II. Big Question… Is Social Psychology the
science of commonsense?
A. Hindsight Bias: the tendency for people with outcome
knowledge to (a) believe falsely that they would have predicted
the reported outcome of an event or (b) exaggerate the extent
to which they had foreseen the likelihood of its occurrence.
B. Dueling Proverbs…
Don't cross the bridge until
you reach it
BUT
Forewarned is forearmed
An eye for an eye & a tooth
for a tooth
BUT
Turn the other cheek
Two wrongs don't make a right
Good things come to those
who wait
BUT
The early bird gets the worm
Ignorance is bliss
BUT
Knowledge is power
The pen is mightier than the
sword
BUT
Actions speak louder than words
Sticks & stones can break my
bones, but words will never hurt me
There's no such thing as a
free lunch
BUT
The best things in life are free
If you want something done
right, do it yourself
BUT
Two heads are better than one
When in Rome, do as the
Romans do
BUT
To thine own self be true
You can't teach an old dog
new tricks
BUT
You're never too old to learn
Good things come in small
packages
BUT
The bigger the better
Methodology
Theory: an explanation or model created from a great many
observations and capable of making valid predictions or
hypotheses.
Falsifiable: stated in such clear, precise terms that we can
see what evidence would count against it.
Hypothesis: a tentative explanation for an observation that
can be tested through research.
I. Basic Research Designs
A. Correlational Study: a procedure in which investigators
measure the correlation between 2 variables without
controlling for either of them.
1) Correlation: a measure of the relationship between 2
variables.
2) Correlation Coefficient: a mathematical estimate of the
relationship between 2 variables: The range is –1 to +1.
B. Experiment: a study in which the investigator manipulates
at least one variable while measuring at least one other
variable.
1) Independent Variable: the item that the experimenter
manipulates to get an effect.
2) Dependent Variable: the item that the experimenter
measures to see if the independent variable had an effect.
3) Experimental Group: group that receives the treatment
(Independent Variable) that an experiment is designed to test.
4) Control Group: group that is treated just like the
experimental group, but does not receive the treatment.
5) Random Assignment: experimenter uses some random
process of assigning people to each group.
C. Scientific Method: the way in which scientists go about
investigating and making claims about phenomena.
1) Hypothesis: a tentative explanation for an observation
that can be tested through research.
2) Method: the process by which you test your hypothesis.
3) Results: the recorded outcome of the method.
4) Interpretation: your evaluation of the results.
5) Replicability: the ability for other people to replicate
previous results through further experimentation using the
same procedures.
6) Operational Definitions: a definition that specifies the
procedures used to produce or measure something.
II. Sampling
A. Population: the entire group of people to be considered.
B. Sample: a small number of people taken from the
population.
1) Convenience Sample: a sample that can include anyone.
2) Representative Sample: a sample that closely
resembles the population you are studying.
3) Random sample: each member of the population has
an equal chance of being selected for the sample.
III. Forms of Data Collection
A. Survey: a study of the prevalence of certain beliefs,
attitudes, or behaviors based on people’s responses to
specific questions.
B. Naturalistic Observation: a careful examination of
what happens under more or less natural conditions.
C. Laboratory Observation: behavior is observed and
recorded in a controlled environment.
IV. Other Factors
A. Ethical Concerns with Humans: experimenters must be
careful that the designs of the their studies do not harm
participants mentally, emotionally, or physically.
B. Deception: in research, when participants are misinformed
or misled regarding a study’s methods and purposes.
C. Informed Consent: a statement informing participants what
to expect in an experiment and that requires their acceptance
of the procedures.
D. Debriefing: an important post-experiment interview between
experimenters and participants verifying that participants are
fully informed about, and were not harmed in any way by, their
experience in an experiment.