Social Psychology Term Paper

Total Length: 615 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 0

Page 1 of 2

Self-Handicapping

Urdan, Tim, and Carol Midgley. 2001. "Academic Self-Handicapping: What We Know; What More There Is to Learn." Educational Psychology Review 12:2, 115-130.

Urdan and Midgley's paper is a summary of their recent research on the topic of students, especially college students, who use self-handicapping in response to academic challenges. They explore the reasons for it as well as the short- and long-term effects of such behavior.

Their theoretical basis is goal theory, looking to see how goal-setting affects academic performance and the behavior of academic self-handicapping. They conducted four studies over the five years before this article was published, looking at academic self-handicapping from several perspectives and refining their approach with each study.

They defined "self-handicapping" very specifically. They noted that most researchers view it as deliberately setting obstacles in their way of good school performance. Some of those behaviors include procrastination, lack of effort or practice, excuse-making, lack of sleep, over-socialization to the expense of working on school work, and drug or alcohol use. Other possible strategies but which the students might have lessened control over include shyness, moodiness and illness.


Before summarizing their research to date, looking for patterns and divergence from patterns, they summarized the literature on the topic. After reviewing their research, they discussed the implications and pointed the way toward further research.

The analysis of their research as well as other work on the topic demonstrates that self-handicapping behavior is a complex behavior with personal factors affecting both the choice to self-handicap and the methods chosen to accomplish that goal. In most of their research they found that self-handicapping does not stem just because the student has a fear of academic failure. Rather, these students are concerned about how they will appear to others if they perform poorly. If they have a credible excuse for poor performance such as "I would….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Social Psychology

Social psychology is the study of human behavior in social situations, showing how social pressures and sociological variables can impact psychological phenomenon such as identity, motivation, personality, or behavior. A quintessential topic in the field of social psychology is bullying. Bullying can be studied from a public health perspective, showing how the external variables such as how a school is designed and the leadership and organizational culture of the school affects risk factors implicated in bullying behaviors or victimization patterns. Alternatively, bullying can be examined from a purely psychological perspective… Continue Reading...

Social Psychology

role in this scenario is not to discuss criminal justice ethics, but to comment more about the social psychology of false confessions, from multiple angles and points of view. To conduct the research, I will begin with the articles suggested at the end of the scenario. These two articles provide ample empirical support for the social psychological phenomena at stake in the scenario. The Gudjonssen & Pearse (2011) article talks about interrogation techniques commonly used by law enforcement in the United States, including the Reid technique, as well as techniques more common in the United Kingdom, which has a similar criminal justice system in general. The UK… Continue Reading...

Applied Social Psychology

Social Psychology The term 'applied social psychology' is used to denote a methodical utilization of socio-psychological models, study approaches and outcomes, concepts, ideologies, and intervention approaches for comprehending or ameliorating social issues. Psychologists belonging to this subfield concentrate on comprehending and solving practical issues and coming up with intervention approaches to enhance individual, organizational and societal response to social issues. While this domain's chief concern is the generic tackling of practical and social issues revolving around the environment, education, and so forth, social psychology may also help enrich people's lives… Continue Reading...

Culture Studies and Psychology

across cultures. The aim of Grossmann et al. (2014) was to assess the power of the situation on social psychology from a cultural perspective. This aim is important because, as Heine and Norenzayan (2006) point out, “cultural psychological research is as important in documenting robust similarities across cultures as it is in documenting variability” (p. 254). It is especially important because it enables psychologists in the field “to identify the extent to which psychological phenomena are culture-specific or are psychological universals” (Heine & Norenzayan, 2006, p. 254). This paper will critique the study by Grossman et al. (2014) and assess it by applying one lesson from Ross (2004)… Continue Reading...

Research Design in Psychology

the theoretical definitions that can be applied later (“Conducting Research in Social Psychology,” n.d., p. 1). Whereas the theoretical definitions of intelligence can be broad, like “the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge,” operational definitions are narrower in scope because they need to be easily measured (Legg & Hutter, 2006, p. 2). For example, if mathematical intelligence is being measured, then an established mathematical skills test needs to be administered to research participants. Social skills intelligence needs to be measured using an established self-report survey or observational parameter. One of the most common operational definitions of intelligence has been performance on… Continue Reading...

Criminal Psychology Annotated Bibliography

2 Reference: Ofshe, R.J. & Leo, R.A. (1997). The social psychology of police interrogation. Studies in Law, Politics, and Society 16(1997): https://www.reid.com/pdfs/doj2301_2399.pdf Annotation: Although this source is 20 years old, as Forrest, Wadkins & Larson (2006) point out, “there is little evidence that the frequency of false confessions has decreased” at all since the 1990s (p. 621). In this research by Ofshe & Leo (1997), the authors first trace the historical evolution of police interrogation techniques from the use of the “third… Continue Reading...

Intervention for Improving Grades

learners that appears to be impacted by racial and socio-economic factors (Harackiewicz, Canning, Tibbetts, Priniski & Hyde, 2016). However, social psychology interventions can be applied to help reverse the negative impacts of these factors and instill confidence in young students on the wrong end of the achievement gap (Spitzer & Aronson, 2015; Yeager & Walton, 2011). This paper will describe an intervention to address the problem of the achievement gap so as to assist in closing it. The problem of the achievement gap is one that impacts all of society: educational disparities cause disruptions in the balance of economic opportunities for people around the whole country. As one group… Continue Reading...

Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct Among Psychologists

The field is social psychology, and the selected title is bullying. The articles selected as follows: Mundbjerg Eriksen, T. L., Hogh, A., & Hansen, A. M. (2016). Long-Term Consequences of Workplace Bullying On Sickness Absence. Labor Economics, 43: 129-150. doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2016.06.008 This peer-reviewed article explores the effects of bullying at the place of work. The study done in the article indicates that sickness, boredom, and poor productivity are some of the results of bullying from among employees. The article is significant in that it helps to understand the effects of bullying at the workplace… Continue Reading...

Annotated Bibliography on Neo Freudianism

encapsulates the major issues that emerged in the post-Freudian era. This source acknowledges Freud’s contributions to social psychology, which are frequently overlooked. What is interesting about the Hall & Lindzey (1957) analysis is that the authors show how Adler, Fromm, Horney, and Sullivan became interested in humanistic issues like self-realization. The concept of self-realization was only implicit in Freud’s work, which was more focused on the processes and structures of the subconscious mind. Scaturo, D. J. (2005). Clinical dilemmas in psychotherapy: A transtheoretical approach to psychotherapy integration. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Chapter 8 in Scaturo’s (2005) Clinical Dilemmas in Psychotherapy focuses on elements of the… Continue Reading...

Cognition and Learning

with details about themselves, their friends, accomplices and preferred social relationships. Social psychology only considers two forms of knowledge as relevant and these are attitudes and schemas (Kihlstrom & Cantor, 2010). As soon as these two knowledge bases are formed, humans are swift to classify situations and other people and do not actually consider if they are beneficial or not, worth pursuing or not and even whether they safe or not. Due to this, we cannot truly discuss the topic of social interaction and behaviour without considering the effect of these two knowledge bases. The difference in the way we read… Continue Reading...

Frankfurt School and Political Science On Totalitarianism

support their arguments. The Frankfurt School varies in its approach to dissecting the social psychology with regard to politics. Adorno for instance identifies the culture industry as to blame for the shift in social thinking from what should have been a natural uprising among the proletariat to, what he judges to be an unnatural pacification of the working class via subjugation by media (the manufacturers of culture). Horkheimer utilized group and individual studies via survey and interview as well as observation in order to integrate data from which could be culled patterns of thinking and behavior. This methodology allowed the Frankfurt School philosopher… Continue Reading...

How to Select Materials for Curriculum

time for the students to acquire knowledge. The material should also integrate Psychological Principles Relative to Cognition, Motivation, Development, and Social Psychology. The material also need to have varied curriculum emphases, this is in recognition of the fact that not all students have the same strengths or demands. The curriculum materials also need to include the appropriate educational technologies for instance the inclusion of computers and the appropriate software. The materials also need to give a large range of opportunities to develop knowledge for both the students and the teachers (National Academy of Science, 2018). Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on curriculum material 1. Is the material accessible to both the… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Social Psychology" (2004, May 23) Retrieved May 16, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/social-psychology-172793

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Social Psychology" 23 May 2004. Web.16 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/social-psychology-172793>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Social Psychology", 23 May 2004, Accessed.16 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/social-psychology-172793