essay paragraphs Flashcards
Breifly outline and evaluate normative social influence as an explanation for conformity ?
people agree with the position of the majority in order to be liked and gain approval .This often leads to compliance which is where people agree publicly with the group but privately don’t change their views .Their is evidence to support Normative social influence as an explanation of conformity ,Asch (1951) when participants were interviewed they said they agreed to avoid ridicule .There are other explanations (for instance informational social infleunce )
P: ZImbardo study had poor ethics
E: participants became quickly distress which may be psychological harm .
E: Less than 36 hours into the experiment, Prisoner #8612 began suffering from acute emotional disturbance, disorganized thinking, uncontrollable crying, and rage. In spite of all of this, we had already come to think so much like prison authorities that we thought he was trying to “con” us – to fool us into releasing him.
When our primary prison consultant interviewed Prisoner #8612, the consultant chided him for being so weak, and told him what kind of abuse he could expect from the guards and the prisoners if he were in San Quentin Prison. #8612 was then given the offer of becoming an informant in exchange for no further guard harassment. He was told to think it over.During the next count, Prisoner #8612 told other prisoners, “You can’t leave. You can’t quit.” That sent a chilling message and heightened their sense of really being imprisoned. #8612 then began to act “crazy,” to scream, to curse, to go into a rage that seemed out of control.
l:furthermore the distress wan’t taken seriously , ZImbardo’s study wen’t against modern day ethical guidelines including protection from psychological harm and informed consent
P:zimbardo took part in the experiment
E: ZImbardo named himself as prison superintendent .
E: this level of personal involvement meant he himself conformed to the social roles and he wasn’t capable of making decisions that were in the interest of the study or the well being of participants .
L:Moreover, Zimbardo’s role as the prison superintended affected the validity of the study procedures, as he could have influenced the experiment, and thus the validity of the findings should be questioned
P:zimbardo’s study has a lack of informed consent
E: the behaviour of the guards towards the prisoners could not be foreseen, and therefore the consent given was not to what actually ensued.
E:dehumanised the prisoners, waking them during the night and forcing them to clean toilets with their bare hands . THe prisoners were warned about none of this before hand
L: This goes against modern ethical quidelines
