Social Psychology Study Guide

Research Methods in Social Psychology

Experimental and correlational methods, validity, ethics, and the replication crisis—foundational for evaluating all research studies.

Social Cognition

Schemas, heuristics, priming, and cognitive shortcuts that shape how we interpret and remember social information.

Attribution Theory

How people explain behavior through correspondent inference, covariation, fundamental attribution error, and cultural differences.

The Self

Self-concept, self-schemas, self-esteem, self-presentation, social comparison, and independent versus interdependent self-construal across cultures.

Attitudes and Persuasion

Attitude formation, cognitive dissonance, elaboration likelihood model, and factors affecting resistance to persuasive messages.

Conformity and Obedience

Asch conformity studies, Milgram obedience experiments, normative versus informational influence, and compliance techniques.

Group Processes

Social facilitation, social loafing, deindividuation, groupthink, group polarization, and social identity theory dynamics.

Prejudice and Discrimination

Stereotypes, implicit bias, stereotype threat, modern racism, and evidence-based strategies for reducing intergroup prejudice.

Aggression

Biological, cognitive, and situational factors in aggression including frustration-aggression hypothesis and social learning theory.

Prosocial Behavior

Altruism, empathy-altruism hypothesis, bystander effect, diffusion of responsibility, and factors promoting helping behavior.

Interpersonal Attraction and Relationships

Proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness, attachment styles, Sternberg's triangular theory, and relationship maintenance processes.

Applied Social Psychology

Applications to health, legal psychology, eyewitness testimony, environmental behavior, and social media effects.