Asch and Zimbardo

Question 1

Asch aim

Answer 1

investigae whether people would conform to majority influence on an unambiguous task

Question 2

how many participants vs confederates in Asch?

Answer 2

1 participant, 6-8 confederates

Question 3

what gender and rce were ASch’s participants?

Answer 3

white males

Question 4

what were the criticals and what proportion of trials were critical in Asch’s study

Answer 4

where C’s gave wrong answer
12/18 of trials were critical

Question 5

what were the participants wshown and asked to do in Asch’s study?

Answer 5

• shown 3 lines labelled A, B, C
• shown comparison line
• aasked which line (A, B or C) is the same
• gave answers in turn, with P always last or next to last

Question 6

what was the error rate in control trials of Asch, where C’s gave correct answer

Answer 6

0.7%

Question 7

what was the error rate in critical trials of Asch?

Answer 7

32%

Question 8

what % of Ps conformed at least once in Asch?

Answer 8

74%

Question 9

what 3 reasons why conformed, were given by participants of Asch in post experiment interview

Answer 9

1. didn’t want to ruin experiment
2. thought their eyes had decieved them
3. didn’t want to be ridiculed by group and feel like an outsider

Question 10

what did Asch conclude?

Answer 10

even when correct answer is obvious, the need to fit in can cause participants to give same answer as confederates, on many occassions, altough majority of Ps still gave correct answer

Question 11

Asch evaluation phrase

Answer 11

eco populations time ethical demands

Question 12

why does Asch’s study lack population validity? (2 things)

Answer 12

1. only males so assumes females would behave the same way despite not being studied therefore beta biased, genderbiased and androcentric
2. only white americans so cultured biased and ethnocentric as different cultures have different rates of conformity

Question 13

why were the ethics of Asch criticised?

Answer 13

participants misled so couldn’t give fully informed consent
however if true aims know, a true measure of conformity would not have been obtained

Question 14

three variables affecting conformity (Asch)

Answer 14

1. group size
2. unanimity
3. taskdifficulty

Question 15

how did Asch investigate group size?

Answer 15

• varied number of Cs 1-15
• when majority only 2, conformity decreased to 12.8%
• increasing size of majority increased rate of conformity but this plteaued at around 32% at just 3 Cs
• suggests people are very sensitive to others’ views as 1-2 enough to sway P’s opinions

Question 16

how did Asch investigate unanimity?

Answer 16

• had 1 C disagree with others, giving another wrong answer or teh correct answer
• Ps conformed less often, going down to 5%
• suggests majority influence depends much on unanimity of group and that nonconformity more likely when not unanimous

Question 17

How did Asch investigate task difficulty?

Answer 17

• increased difficulty by making lines more similar
• conformity increased
• maybe more ambiguous when harder so more natural to look to others and assumer they’re correct
• conformity increases as task difficulty increases as look to others for answer

Question 18

aim of Zimbardo

Answer 18

• investigte how readily people conform to their expectations of social roles
• whether brutality among US guards due to sadistic personalities or prison environment

Question 19

how many were participants and what type of people were they, in Zimbardo?

Answer 19

• 21, well adjusted, healthy male students who volunteered

Question 20

how much were Ps payed in Zimbardo

Answer 20

15 dollars per day

Question 21

how were Ps assigned and to what role, in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 21

randomy allocated to role of guard or prisoner

Question 22

how many Ps were prisoners in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 22

9

Question 23

what happened to the prisoners when they were arrested in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 23

• taken blindfolded to ‘prison’ (Stanford basement)
• stripped, disinfected, given smocks and a prison number

Question 24

guard uniform in Zimbardo’s study

Answer 24

• uniform
• dark glasses
• had batons

Question 25

what were guards allowed and not allowed to do in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 25

• allowed to make most rule
• no physical aggression

Question 26

what did the uniforms, glasses and prison numbers do to the participants in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 26

created a loss of personal identity (deindividuation)

Question 27

what happened 1, 2, 4 and 6 days after Zimbardo’s study started?

Answer 27

• 1 - 1 person left
• 2 - prisoners rebelled
• 4 - 2 more people leave
• 6 - study stopped prematurely

Question 28

when was Zimbardo’s study supposed to end?

Answer 28

after 14 days

Question 29

how did the guards conform to their role in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 29

• harrassed prisoners
• forced them to do humiliating things

Question 30

2 conclusions from Zimbardo’s study

Answer 30

1. ‘prison enviroment’ is an important factor in causing guards brutal behaviour
2. people readily conform to social roles they’re expected to play and these roles shape their attitudes and behaviours

Question 31

Zimbardo evaluation phrase

Answer 31

controlling realistic conversations about exaggerated ethics

Question 32

How was Zimbardo’s study controlled?

Answer 32

control over key variables:
* slection of P’ - emotionally stable
* randomly assigned to role - rul out personality differences that may have affected to results, increasing internal validity

Question 33

why is there a criticism for lack of realism of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 33

• argues P’s just play acting based on stereotypes, not actually conforming - 1 guard said based hs role on a brutal film character
• explains riot as thought what real prisoners did
• suggests findings don’t tell much about conformity to social roles in actual proisons

Question 34

what however point is there against the lack of realism point in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 34

• 90% of prisoner’s conversations were about prison life
• suggests situation felt real to prisoners, increasing internal valildity
• 1 prisoner later said he thought the prison was real, just run by psychologists not the govt.

Question 35

what suggests Zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of social roles to influencing behaviour?

Answer 35

• only 1/3 guards were actually brutal
• 1/3 wanted to apply rules fairly
• 1/3 tried to help prisoners, sympathisising, offering cigarettes and reinstating priviledges
• suggests Z overstated Ps conformity to social roles and minimised the influence of dispositional factors

Question 36

ethical criticisms of Zimbardo’s study

Answer 36

• hmiliation and distress
• mde worse as Z seemed to lose sight of harm being done as played role of chief superintendent
• however, became aware of issues and stopped study early