Obedience + Conformity VCE SAC ~ 27/2/23 Flashcards
What’s correlational studies?
Used to understand the relationship that exists between variables. It has no actual groups and is mostly observational studies without any IVs, DVs or controlled variables
What’s causational studies?
A study with a present IV, DV, control group and experimental group with a cause that brings about the effect
What does extraneous variables mean?
Any variable other than the IV that can cause a change in the DV with unwanted effects
What does confounding variables mean?
Any variable other than the IV that has an unwanted effect on the DV, making it impossible to determine which of the variables produced the predicted change in the DV
What are the types of extraneous variables?
- Participant variables
- Situational variables
- Demand characteristics
- Experimenter effects
- Placebo effect
What are participant variables?
Individual characteristics
How can participant variables be controlled?
- Random allocations
- Experimental and control groups have similar characteristics
- Even spread of people (good balance of characteristics)
What are situational variables?
External factors that corresponds to the participants experimental setting
How can situational variables be controlled?
- Keep participants in observed environments
- Using counterbalancing
- Standarised procedures and instructions to ensure that conditions are the same for all participants
What are demand characteristics?
Cues in an experiment that may influence or bias a participant’s response
What do demand characteristics do?
Suggest what response the experimenter wants or expect thus leading participants to respond in a certain way
What is the placebo effect?
Administered + fake medication that can be applied to our daily lives
What does the placebo effect do?
Make participants act according to the drug (act as if its effective)
How can the placebo effect be controlled?
Switching groups
What is the experimenter effect?
Any influence the experimenter’s presence may have on the participants’ behaviour and the experiment’s results
How can the experimenter effect be controlled?
Minimise contact between the experimenter and participant
How can the impacts of confounding variables be minimised?
- Restriction
- Matching
- Statistical control
- Randomisation
How does restriction minimise the impacts of confounding variables?
Limits participation in a study to individuals who are similar in relation to the confounder (e.g. certain age and sex groups)
How does matching minimise the impacts of confounding variables?
Select a comparison group that matches with the control group (match up participants on characteristics)
How does statistical control minimise the impacts of confounding variables?
If data has already been collected, possible confounders can be included as control variables in the regression models (control for the impact of the confounding variable)
How does randomisation minimise the impacts of confounding variables?
Randomise the independent variable’s values
What’s quantitative data?
Numerical information on the amount of what’s being studied
What are the benefits of quantitative data?
It can easily be turn into a numerical value which makes it easy to analyse
What are the disadvantages of quantitative data?
The data is often limited to yes or no answers which doesn’t really allow participants to expand on their answers
What’s qualitative data?
Information about the characteristics of whats being studied
What are the benefits of qualitative data?
It allows researchers to identify issues that often go unnoticed
What are the disadvantages of qualitative data?
Makes it difficult to make comparisons between groups and can be a time-consuming process
What are experimental designs?
Refers to the way participants are allocated to a study’s experimental groups
What do you include in the results?
The data collected with no explanation
What do you include in the discussion?
Brief summary of the results and whether they support the hypothesis
What do you include in the conclusion?
Main findings, how the IV impacted the DV in the experiment, limitations and how the validity of the experiment can be improved
What are the factors of conformity?
- Group size
- Unanimity
- Normative influence
- Informational influence
- Culture
- Social loafing
- Groupthink
- Deindividuation
What is group size?
The size of a group (number of group members)
What is unanimity?
The extent that members of a majority agree with one another
What did the results of Asch’s experiment indicate about unanimity?
Asch’s experiment results indicate:
- Difficult to be a minority of one
- Difficult to stand against a group (regardless of when everyone is wrong and your right)
- Only took one person to disagree to significantly affect conformity
What is normative influence?
When an individual conforms based on their desire to meet others’ expectations and be accepted
When does normative influence occur?
- Occurs when conformity results from a need to be liked and accepted
- Occurs when our response in a group situation is guided by one or more social norms
- Awareness of these norms can be a powerful influence
What is informational influence?
When individuals change their attitude, beliefs or behaviours when group members provide new information or arguments
When does informational influence occur?
Occurs when conformity results from a need for direction + information on how to respond in a specific situation
What does informational influence do?
Leads people to accept other people’s views when they are uncertain
What is culture?
The way of life of a particular society or community that sets it apart from other societies or communities
How is culture passed on?
Generation to generation