1.1 content (social) Flashcards
what was the aim of milgram’s experiment?
to investigate whether people would obey a figure of authority when told to harm another person
what was the procedure of milgram’s experiment?
- participant introduced to fake learner
- participant told they were “randomly” getting allocated rolls but participant was always the teacher
- the learner has to learn a list of word pairs
- if learner gets an answer wrong, the teacher has to shock them
- shocks range from 15V to 450V
- eventually, the learner will stop responding to the teacher
- experimenter will give 4 prods if teacher wants to stop shocking
- experiment will end if teacher keeps protesting after 4 prods or when full 450V have been delivered
what are the findings of milgram’s experiment?
- all participants went up to 300V
- 65% delivered full 450V
- this shows that most participants are willing to give electric shocks out of obedience
what happened in experiment 7 milgram?
- after giving initial instructions, the experimenter left and gave his orders over the phone
- only 22.5% of participants gave shocks to 450V
what can we find from experiment 7 milgram?
shows that the physical presence of an authority was an important factor contributing to the subjects obedience
what happened in experiment 10 milgram?
experiment conducted in a three room office in a downtown shopping area in bridgeport
what were the findings of experiment 10 milgram?
- only 48% of participants delivered the maximum shock instead of the 65% at yale
- as the study took place in a less reputable place, the obedience rates were reduced
what happened in experiment 13 milgram?
- experimenter gives instructions to the participant then leaves
- doesn’t mention what shock levels to use if learner gets answer wrong
- accomplice, with enthusiasm insists with participant that the shock level should increase every time learner gets an answer wrong.
what were the findings of experiment 13 milgram?
- only 20% of the participants have the maximum shock level
- 80% broke off with the accomplice
- shows that the authority of the individual giving the instructions has an impact on the levels of obedience
what is the autonomous state?
a state where we choose how to behave, and any consequences are our own responsibilities
what is the agentic state?
- obeying what someone else says, and following an authority figure whether you agree or not
- you believe that any consequences are the authority’s responsibility
what is agentic shift?
when someone changes from autonomous state to agentic state
what is moral strain?
- when you feel stressed while doing something under an authority’s obedience. it goes against your moral rules
- if strain’s great enough, you will disobey
what is a binding factor?
factors that make you obey an authority figure (eg bribes and blackmails)
what are the steps of social impact theory?
- strength
- immediacy
- number of sources
- division of impact
what is strength?
- perceived power or authority
- could be done by appearing intense or charismatic
- strength is affected by wealth and relationships
what is immediacy?
- closeness of the source and target
- physical or time difference
- e.g if your mum texts you instead of telling you in person
what is psychosocial law?
- most significant difference in social impact happens from the 1st source
- as the number of sources increase, the impact decreases (diminishing returns)
what is division of impact?
the larger number of targets, the lesser the impact
what are the steps of realistic conflict theory?
- intergroup competition
- negative interdependence
- limited resources
- positive interdependence
- superordinate goals
what is inter group competition?
competition between groups over something
what is negative interdependence?
- when both groups are seeking the same goal but only one group can attain goal
- groups become hostile with outgroup but have solidarity within group
what is limited resources?
when the struggle is for scarce resources
what is positive interdependence?
- when groups have to be reliant on each other to achieve a goal
- prejudice decreases
what is superordinate goals?
goals which can only be achieved through intergroup cooperation
how can culture affect prejudice?
- people beleive their culture is better than others
- if culture emphasises group cooperation and sharing, you may be less discriminatory
- collectivist cultures are more focussed on sharing which reduces discrimination
- individualist cultures would put people in more competitive mindsets
how can personality affect obedience?
- children who have been subject to the fear and punishment of strict parents will express fustration on others
- they would be hostile to those who do not fit in their social order as they will crave security
how can social norms (situational factors) affect prejudice?
- they are unwritten rules about what is normal in a society
- if you do not adhere to the rules, it could lead to rejection
- one will adopt the values and beliefs of the group they think they belong to, this is called identification in realistic conflict theory
what are the steps in social identity theory?
- categorisation
- identification
- social comparison
- positive distinctiveness
what is categorisation?
- separation of people into groups
- someone’s own group is the in- group and the other group is the out group
what is identification?
- overtime someone adopts the values and beliefs of the group they think they belong to
- they may alter their behaviours to fit into the group norms
what is social comparison?
the individual comparing their groups to others
what is a strength of agency theory?
- milgram original experiment
- 65% delivered maximum shock
- participants reposted that their behaviour was the responsibility of the experimenter
- shows participants did displace responsibility to an authority figure
what’s a weakness of agency theory?
- it does not explain all obedience as it doesn’t take into account personality
- burger found not all participants obeyed and 30% disobeyed due to desire for control
- therefore agency theory doesn’t account for all forms of obedience as it fails to mention personality
what is a strength of social impact theory?
- sedikikes and jackson
- people in a zoo would obey orders to not lean when the confederate dressed up in uniform
- also when they were in smaller groups
- therefore this shows strength and division of impact affects obedience
what are the weaknesses of social impact theory?
- hofling
- a doctor on the phone tells a nurse to overdose a patient
- 21/22 nurses follow the order
- therefore this suggests immediacy is not an important factor in obedience as the theory says
what’s a strength of realistic conflict theory ?
- sherif
- 2 groups of boys were competing with games like baseball and tug of war to get rewards (a pocket knife)
- rattlers called the eagles pigeons which shows prejudice occurring
- therefore, when groups have a negative interdependent relationship over a limited resource, prejudice occurs
what’s a weakness of realistic conflict theory?
- tajfel and turner
- boys randomly placed in 3 groups
- groups always chose to maximise point differences with the other group showing prejudice in a points allocation task
- shows out group prejudice therefore, prejudice can occur even when there is no competition for something
what’s a strength of social identity theory?
- tajfel
- groups led to prejudice as there will be positive distinctiveness, one group will think they’re better than the other
- therefore shows even just the existence of groups lead to prejudice
what is a weakness of social identity theory?
- wetherell
- in a replication of tajfel, it was found polynesian students were more generous compared to caucasian peers
- shows attitude towards our groups may only be a western culture thing
- therefore SIT fails to predict non prejudiced behaviours of collectivist cultures
what is a strength of milgram’s study?
- it had good internal validity
- prods, shock machine (15v-450v), instructions given were all the same throughout study
- therefore, participants obeyed due to experiment’s procedure and not due to other environmental factors
what is one weakness of milgram’s study?
- low mundane realism
- task of being told to shock another person for getting an answer wrong is unlike everyday examples of obedience, such as being told to clean by a parent
- therefore, findings of obedience may not be applicable to explain obedience of everyday tasks
