Social Psychology Notes
Module 1: Doing Social Psychology
• What is social psychology?
• Theory vs. hypothesis
• Correlational research
◦ What information/explanations do these types of studies provide?
◦ What are their limitations?
• Experiments
◦ How do they compare to correlational studies?
◦ Independent vs. dependent variables
◦ Field vs. lab research
◦ Random Assignment
◦ Mundane vs. experimental realism
◦ APA ethical guidelines
Module 2: Did You Know It All Along?
• Hindsight bias
Module 3: Self-Concept: Who Am I?
• Self-concept
• Self-schema
• Cultural differences in sense of self (independent vs. interdependent)
• What is the best predictor of future behavior?
• Planning fallacy
• How good are we at predicting our own behaviors and feelings (e.g., affective forecasting, immune neglect)
• Dual attitudes
Module 4: Self-serving Bias
• Self-serving bias
• Self-esteem
• Better-than-average effect
• Unrealistic (illusory) optimism vs. defensive pessimism
• False consensus vs. false uniqueness
• What happens when self-esteem is threatened?
Module 5: The Power of Positive Thinking
• Self-efficacy
• Internal vs. external locus of control
• Learned helplessness (hint: know the research here)
• Cost of excess choice
• How is self-efficacy increased?
• When should children be praised?
• What is the dark side of self-esteem?
Module 6: The Fundamental Attribution Error
• What type of attributions can we make?
• The fundamental attribution error (hint: know the research here)
• How is the FAE seen in everyday life (hint: know theresearch here)
• Why do we make the attribution error?
• How can it be avoided?
Module 7: The Powers and Perils of Intuition
• Automatic vs. controlled thinking
• Priming
• Overconfidence
• Confirmation bias
• How can we overcome the
• What is social psychology?
• Theory vs. hypothesis
• Correlational research
◦ What information/explanations do these types of studies provide?
◦ What are their limitations?
• Experiments
◦ How do they compare to correlational studies?
◦ Independent vs. dependent variables
◦ Field vs. lab research
◦ Random Assignment
◦ Mundane vs. experimental realism
◦ APA ethical guidelines
Module 2: Did You Know It All Along?
• Hindsight bias
Module 3: Self-Concept: Who Am I?
• Self-concept
• Self-schema
• Cultural differences in sense of self (independent vs. interdependent)
• What is the best predictor of future behavior?
• Planning fallacy
• How good are we at predicting our own behaviors and feelings (e.g., affective forecasting, immune neglect)
• Dual attitudes
Module 4: Self-serving Bias
• Self-serving bias
• Self-esteem
• Better-than-average effect
• Unrealistic (illusory) optimism vs. defensive pessimism
• False consensus vs. false uniqueness
• What happens when self-esteem is threatened?
Module 5: The Power of Positive Thinking
• Self-efficacy
• Internal vs. external locus of control
• Learned helplessness (hint: know the research here)
• Cost of excess choice
• How is self-efficacy increased?
• When should children be praised?
• What is the dark side of self-esteem?
Module 6: The Fundamental Attribution Error
• What type of attributions can we make?
• The fundamental attribution error (hint: know the research here)
• How is the FAE seen in everyday life (hint: know theresearch here)
• Why do we make the attribution error?
• How can it be avoided?
Module 7: The Powers and Perils of Intuition
• Automatic vs. controlled thinking
• Priming
• Overconfidence
• Confirmation bias
• How can we overcome the