Social influence Flashcards
What were the aims of Asch’s study?
To see if real pps would stick to what they believed or would cave into the pressure of the majority
What was the procedure of Asch’s study?
123 male US uni-students, pps asked to look at 3 lines and call out which was the same length as the ‘standard line’. 12/18 trials (critical trials) confederates gave same wrong answer (only 1 real pp) real pp always second last to hear answers
What were the findings of Asch’s study?
On critical trials average conformity 33%, 1/4 of pps never conformed, 1/2 conformed on 6 or more trials, 1/5 conformed on all 12 critical trials
in control condition with no confederates pps only made mistakes 1% of the time. Most conformists continued to privately disagree but changed public behaviour to fit in.
What were the strengths of Asch’s study?
Lab- repeatable/controlled, good sample size, ethically valid- task wouldn’t cause psychological damage
What were the weaknesses of Asch’s study?
All young US men- not generalizable to pop, undergraduates- more clever?/worked out aim?, low ecological validity
What was the conclusion of Asch’s experiment?
Pps tended to yield to group pressure, though in interview most still privately disagreed- when under pressure, group conformity rates went up
What was the aim of Milgram’s study?
To see if ordinary people would perform unethical/ immoral tasks under the orders of an authority figure
How many pps were in Milgram’s study?
40 pps at a time over series of conditions, pps told was a study on effects of punishment on learning
What was the procedure of Milgram’s study?
Real pp assigned teacher role (confederate- learner), real pp to test learner on word pairs- if wrong answer gave ‘electric shock’, increasing by 15v with each wrong pair. Experimenter to give ‘prods’ if refused, and say they would take responsibility
What were the voltages in Milgram’s study?
Started at 45v, went up to 450v- labelled deadly and XXX sample shock of 45v
What were the findings of Milgram’s original study?
26pps - 65% gave full 450V shock, all pps went up to 300V with only 12.5% stopping there.
What were the predictions for the outcome of Milgram’s study?
That only 1 in 1000 would administer 450V shocks and that few would go past 150V
What were the ethical issues with Milgram’s study?
Deception, informed consent not possible, many felt ‘prods’ made it too hard for pps to withdraw (right to withdraw)
What were the strengths of Milgram’s study?
External validity- real life app (war crimes etc), easy to replicate, controlled variables (lab study), Bickman
What were the weaknesses of Milgram’s study?
Pps not generalizable to whole pop, lack of realism (researcher’s overly calm attitude too fake?), ethics
What was Milgram’s conclusion (original study)?
if someone has legitimate authority, ordinary people will go beyond normal capabilities to obey an order.
Also said situational factors more important than personal factors in a person’s behaviour.
What was the aim of Zimbardo’s study?
To observe how ‘ordinary’ people, when placed in prison environment, and prison roles, would behave in new social roles. (Conformity to social roles)
What was the procedure of Zimbardo’s study?
Set up mock prison, prisoners arrested at home, stripped, given uniforms and numbers. Guards given uniforms and reflective sunglasses (no eye contact), Zimbardo himself played prison superintendent
How many pps were in Zimbardo’s study?
24 male undergraduates, picked as being mentally stable, randomly assigned prisoner or guard
(planned to last 2 weeks)
What were the findings of Zimbardo’s study? Guard behaviour
Over first few days guards increasingly tyrannical/abusive, woke prisoners at night, forced to clean (degrading asks). Guards enthusiastic and offered to hours for no pay.
What were the findings of Zimbardo’s study? Prisoner behaviour
1 prisoner asked for parole rather than to leave the study, 5 prisoners released early due to extreme reactions (starting after 2 days), study terminated after 6 days. Prisoners increasingly passive.
What were the ethical issues of Zimbardo’s study?
Informed consent, potential psychological damage to pps
What were the strengths of Zimbardo’s study?
Applicable to real life (ecological validity), highly controlled
What were the weaknesses of Zimbardo’s study?
Demand characteristics, small sample size, all young male pps, ethics, BBC study- conflicting evidence
What was the conclusion of Zimbardo’s study?
That we conform to social roles and easily abuse positions of power
What were the variations of Asch’s study?
larger majority (from two to 3-16 confederates) 30% increase (no more), more difficult task increased conformity, presence of another non-conformist (confederate) conformity went down to 5.5%
What did Bickman study?
Research support for Milgram: 3 male researchers agve direct instructions to randomly selected pedestrians; guard/milkman/civilian asked pedestrian to pick up litter
What were the results of Bickman’s study?
80 % obeyed guard’s uniform, 40% obeyed the other two.
What were the variations of Milgram’s study?
Proximity, Uniform, Location
What were Milgram’s proximity variations?
same room as learner- lowered to 40%,
forced learner’s hand on plate lowered to 30%, experimenter instructing over phone -down to 21%
What were Milgram’s uniform variations?
Experimenter with no lab coat- lowered to 20% (legitimacy of authority)
What were Milgram’s location variation?
Run down office- lowered to 48% (legitimacy of authority)
What were the two dispostional hypothesis for obedience to authority?
Authoritarian personality and Locus of control
What is the Authoritarian personality hypothesis?
That some people more obedient to authority- personality trait (e.g. the Germans in WW2 were somehow ‘different’)
Who investigated the authoritarian personality?
Adorno
