PSYCH 253 - WEEK 1 EXAM QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026
3 components of social psychology. - Answers Behavior - actions, responses
Person - personality, mood & emotions, attitudes & beliefs, experience, physical characteristics
Environment - physical env., social cues, culture
Describe social psychology as a science. - Answers Follows a scientific method: ideas/observations,
hypothesis, testing hypothesis, collecting & analyzing data, drawing conclusions.
Social psych studies the "on average": visualize effects on a large group scale, not any individual, and
is not assumed to be the ONLY cause (a FACTOR)
What are the 4 listed sources of delusion that can lead us astray? - Answers People generate theories
in a self-serving manner:
- Representativeness heuristic
- Availability heuristic
- Seeing what we expect
- Seeing what we want
What are heuristics? - Answers Mental shortcuts or "rule of thumb" applied to a situation to make
quick decisions or judgements in the face of, for example incomplete information.
What is a representativeness heuristic? - Answers A mental shortcut judging the probability of
something belonging to a category based on the mental stereotype of that category, focusing
similarity and ignoring logical information.
Example from class: is the timid, introverted, organized man described a truck driver or librarian?
What is an availability heuristic? - Answers A mental shortcut judging the likeliness of something
based on how easily examples or instances come to mind.
Example from class: blowing on dice as seen in movies makes you believe you are more likely to win
when you try it and it works.
Ex: overestimating danger of shark attacks after watching jaws
Describe what we believe when we expect to see something. - Answers If people are expecting
something, they are likely to pay attention to what they are anticipating.
Example from class: people became more polarized after reading unbiased info on capital punishment
due to paying attention to what they already know and not encoding opposing info.
Woman's face vs man playing saxophone illusion.
Describe what we believe when we want to see something. - Answers We have "self-serving bias",
due to: having more info about ourselves than others, giving ourselves benefit of the doubt above
others, want to believe we are better. Therefore we see what we want to see about ourselves.
Example from class: Rating yourself as more extroverted or introverted to align with what is percieved
"better" when given a scenario.
Rated themselves, then read "extraversion is key to success". Rated themselves again and many
changed rating.
What is a hypothesis? - Answers A testable prediction that describes the relationship that may exist
between variables. Arises from a question.
Ex:
"How does feeling threatened affect prejudiced behavior?"
Hypothesis: Feeling more threatened leads to more prejudiced behavior.
What is the x and y variables in a social psychology study? - Answers x = independent variable
y = dependent variable
Ex:
"How does feeling threatened affect prejudiced behavior?"
degree of threatening = independent (x)
prejudiced behavior = dependent (y)
What is the difference between conceptual and operational definitions in psychology research? -
Answers Conceptual definition = the abstract, description of the variable (explaining what the variable
means)
Operational definition = the measurement of the variable (quantifying the variable)
What is the relationship between psychological constructs and operationalizations? - Answers
Psychological Construct (conceptual level): qualities that can't be seen or directly observed
Operationalizations (operational level): specific procedure or operation used to measure/manipulate
a variable in a study (ex: behavior, overt action, physiological response)
3 components of social psychology. - Answers Behavior - actions, responses
Person - personality, mood & emotions, attitudes & beliefs, experience, physical characteristics
Environment - physical env., social cues, culture
Describe social psychology as a science. - Answers Follows a scientific method: ideas/observations,
hypothesis, testing hypothesis, collecting & analyzing data, drawing conclusions.
Social psych studies the "on average": visualize effects on a large group scale, not any individual, and
is not assumed to be the ONLY cause (a FACTOR)
What are the 4 listed sources of delusion that can lead us astray? - Answers People generate theories
in a self-serving manner:
- Representativeness heuristic
- Availability heuristic
- Seeing what we expect
- Seeing what we want
What are heuristics? - Answers Mental shortcuts or "rule of thumb" applied to a situation to make
quick decisions or judgements in the face of, for example incomplete information.
What is a representativeness heuristic? - Answers A mental shortcut judging the probability of
something belonging to a category based on the mental stereotype of that category, focusing
similarity and ignoring logical information.
Example from class: is the timid, introverted, organized man described a truck driver or librarian?
What is an availability heuristic? - Answers A mental shortcut judging the likeliness of something
based on how easily examples or instances come to mind.
Example from class: blowing on dice as seen in movies makes you believe you are more likely to win
when you try it and it works.
Ex: overestimating danger of shark attacks after watching jaws
Describe what we believe when we expect to see something. - Answers If people are expecting
something, they are likely to pay attention to what they are anticipating.
Example from class: people became more polarized after reading unbiased info on capital punishment
due to paying attention to what they already know and not encoding opposing info.
Woman's face vs man playing saxophone illusion.
Describe what we believe when we want to see something. - Answers We have "self-serving bias",
due to: having more info about ourselves than others, giving ourselves benefit of the doubt above
others, want to believe we are better. Therefore we see what we want to see about ourselves.
Example from class: Rating yourself as more extroverted or introverted to align with what is percieved
"better" when given a scenario.
Rated themselves, then read "extraversion is key to success". Rated themselves again and many
changed rating.
What is a hypothesis? - Answers A testable prediction that describes the relationship that may exist
between variables. Arises from a question.
Ex:
"How does feeling threatened affect prejudiced behavior?"
Hypothesis: Feeling more threatened leads to more prejudiced behavior.
What is the x and y variables in a social psychology study? - Answers x = independent variable
y = dependent variable
Ex:
"How does feeling threatened affect prejudiced behavior?"
degree of threatening = independent (x)
prejudiced behavior = dependent (y)
What is the difference between conceptual and operational definitions in psychology research? -
Answers Conceptual definition = the abstract, description of the variable (explaining what the variable
means)
Operational definition = the measurement of the variable (quantifying the variable)
What is the relationship between psychological constructs and operationalizations? - Answers
Psychological Construct (conceptual level): qualities that can't be seen or directly observed
Operationalizations (operational level): specific procedure or operation used to measure/manipulate
a variable in a study (ex: behavior, overt action, physiological response)
