San Diego State University Social Psychology Question

Define the field of social psychology and list several questions that social psychologists seek to answer

Explain each of the four core values that make social psychology a scientific field

• Identify and describe each of the five ethical guidelines involved in conducting research within the field of social psychology.
• Discuss each of the variables that help social psychologists understand the causes of social behavior and social thought
• Are social behavior and social thought controlled mostly by nature (genes; biological processes) or nurture (environment; upbringing; learning)? Support your response and give examples for each
• Distinguish between systematic observations, naturalistic observations, and surveys
• Describe how and why the correlational method would be used by researchers. Distinguish between a positive, negative and zero correlation, and explain the purpose of the correlation coefficient
• Describe how and why the formal experimental design would be used by researchers. Distinguish between independent and dependent variables, along with experimental and control groups. Explain how a confounding variable can affect the results obtained
• Explain the role of a theory in social psychological research
• If you made the decision to pursue a degree in social psychology, what specialty area would you be most likely to pursue and why? Support your response