1 – The Nature of Social Psychology

• What does social psychology have in common with folk wisdom? How does social psychology differ from folk wisdom?

2 – Research Methods & the Self

Play the role of a researcher who is interested in the possible link between social comparison and self -esteem.

1. Generate a hypothesis regarding the relationship between these variables. Plan to investigate EITHER downward social comparison or upward social comparison and its link to self-esteem.

For example, you may hypothesize that downward social comparison is linked to higher self-esteem or you may expect downward social comparison to be linked to lower self-esteem. Similarly, you may hypothesize that upward social comparison is linked to higher self-esteem or lower self-esteem.

1. Design a correlational study to test your hypothesis about the association between these variables. Include operational definitions of each of your variables (e.g., explain exactly how you plan to measure each variable).

1. Design an experiment to test the causal link between these variables. First, state your hypothesis about the cause and effect relationship. Next, identify the independent and dependent variables and include operational definitions of each (e.g., explain how you plan to manipulate the IV and measure the DV).

1. Would you expect greater ethical concerns to arise with your correlational study or with your experiment? Explain.

1. What steps would you take to protect your human subjects?

Question 3 - Attribution Processes

You have a friend who has a dream of one day being awarded a scholarship to play tennis in college. He recently played very poorly in his first tennis match of the season. He is feeling very discouraged and you want to help him avoid becoming depressed. Apply attribution theory to help your friend cope with his recent failure.

1. Give examples of attributions that may be linked to depression.
2. Then provide examples of more optimistic attributions for a set-back.

In your response, be sure to take into account the internal/external, stable/unstable and global/specific dimensions.

Question 4 - Attitudes & Behavior

During the war in Iraq beginning in 2003, personnel of the U.S. Army perpetrated a series of human rights violations (including physical and sexual abuse) against detainees of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Describe how cognitive dissonance theory could account for the abusive behavior of the guards at this and other prisons.

Question 5 - Persuasion

Design a political ad for either Trump or Clinton.

1. Explain whether you plan to target the peripheral route or the central route to persuasion and why.
2. Explain how your ad takes into account audience factors such as motivation and knowledge.
3. Explain how your ad incorporates influential characteristics of your candidate such as attractiveness, credibility (expertise & trustworthiness) and similarity to the audience.
4. Include emotional appeals designed to influence your audience and explain why you expect your approach to be effective (e.g., if you incorporate fear, how will you ensure that your audience doesn’t respond with reactance)?