SI Flashcards
Describe how Zimbardo investigated conformity to social roles
mock prison in Stanford University
observational study – controlled, participant, overt
emotionally stable volunteers = assigned prisoner or guard
prisoners ‘arrested’, blindfolded, strip searched, etc
guards = night stick, dark glasses, uniform
dehumanisation of prisoners (given numbers)
planned two weeks, stopped early
Discuss legitimacy of authority as an explanation for obedience AO1 + AO3
= when a person recognises their own + other’s positions in social hierarchy
leading to recognition of authoritative figure’s right to issue demands
legitimacy increased by visible symbols authority, eg uniform
eg Milgram variations (location), Bickman (uniform)
AO3
Milgram variations, Bickman,
My Lai massacre
difficulty measuring and/or explaining why obedience occurs
cultural differences in respect for and responses to authority
obedience may = dispositional, not situational (authoritarian personality)
Minority influence
consistency = not deviating from view, holding view for long time
commitment = defending view, personal investment = augmentation priciple
flexibility = adapting view/ accepting other valid arguments
overtime society become converted = snowball effect
Agentic state AO1
person acts on behalf of authority figure of higher status
actor feels no responsibility/ guilty for actions
opposite of autonomous state in which people act according to own principles
binding factors - justify actions = reduce moral strain
shown in Milgram (Ps volunteered to shock so fine)
AO3
research supp = Milgram’s shock experiment
2 explanations of resistance to social influence
locus of control – internal locus of control = more likely resist pressure to
conform/less likely to obey/more resistant to social influence than an external locus of
control
people with internal locus of control = believe control own circumstances
social support – defiance/non-conformity = more likely if others resist influence
seeing others disobey/ not conform = observer confidence to also resist
Discuss what psychological research has told us about why people conform AO1 + AO3
normative social influence – going along with majority due to fear rejection/ being
outcasted
desire to be liked = leads to compliance = conforming for emotional reasons –
temporary change in view/behaviour
informational – going along with majority through acceptance of new information
desire to be right = leads to internalisation = conforming for cognitive reasons =
permanent change in view/behaviour
conformity to social roles
identification – wanting affinity with group we value;
internalisation – private acceptance of majority view;
compliance - Public acceptance but private disagreement
Briefly outline how variables investigated by Asch were found to affect conformity
increasing the size of the majority = increased conformity (up to a majority of 3)
inc task difficulty = inc conformity
presence of dissenter = reduced conformity
withdrawal of dissenter = increased conformity
writing answer (instead saying aloud) = reduced conformity
individual differences, eg highly confident = conformed less.
Describe and evaluate the procedure of Zimbardo’s research into social roles
24 U.S male student volunteers
randomly assigned role prisoner or guard
prisoners unexpectedly arrested at home
prison uniform and ID number
given some rights, eg 3 meals, 3 supervised toilet trips a day and 2 visits per week
guards given uniforms, clubs, whistles and wore reflective sunglasses
Zimbardo = prison superintendent
planned = 2 weeks
actually 6 days
AO3
ethical issues: lack informed consent, was it sufficiently informed
deception; lack of protection from psychological harm –should have anticipated distress
Zimbardo’s own behaviour affected exp
thus validity of findings questionable
methodological issues: sample bias; demand characteristics/lack of internal validity; lack of ecological validity/mundane realism + implications for findings
good internal validity: random allocation of roles
Outline the authoritarian personality as an explanation of obedience
DISPOSITIONAL explanation
suggests OBEDIENT behaviour due to internal traits e.g.
personality type, not situational factors
traits developed from strict/rigid parenting
traits = conformist/ respect for authority
perceived higher status = obedient
perceived low status = harsh/ hostile
F-scale = measuring personality type
high score = authoritarian
Briefly explain limitations of the authoritarian personality as an explanation of obedience
situational factors, e.g. proximity (Milgram), may have greater influence
explanation flawed = relies on self-report (F-scale)/questionnaire data difficult establishing cause + effect between authoritarianism/ parenting style + obedience
since retrospective data
Outline and explain the findings of Milgram’s investigation into the effect of location on obedience
measured obedience using electric shock experiment:
change in venue run-down building = obedience lvls dropped 17.5%
status of location changed the ps perception of legitimacy of authority of investigator
higher authority at Yale than run-down office = higher obedience levels
