Social Psychology Flashcards
What were the aims of Milgram’s (1963) original study?
- To investigate how obedient naïve ppts would be when ordered to give increasingly intense electric shocks by an authority figure.
- To test the idea that Germans were different when they carried out order to persecute Jews during the Holocaust.
What sampling method did Milgram use for the original study?
- Voluntary
- Advert in a local newspaper
Describe the sample for Milgram’s original Study
40 White males from New Haven
Ages between 20 - 50
Varying backgrounds
Where did the original Milgram study take place?
Yale University
Who did the ppts meet in Milgram’s original study?
The ‘experimenter’ (a confederate
‘Mr Wallace’ (a confederate)
What were they told the original Milgram study was collecting data for?
To see the effect of punishment on learning
What role did the ppts always play and how was this picked in the original study?
- Teacher
- They drew slips of paper, but this was rigged so they’d always pick teacher and Mr Wallace would always be the learner
What did they do to convince the ppts the shock was real?
- They gave the ppts a sample shock at 45v
- Mr Wallace was never actually shocked
What did the ppts have to do in Milgram’s Studies?
- Ask Mr Wallace a list of word pair questions
- Every time he got one wrong they had to administer an electric shock increasing in 15v intervals
How did Mr Wallace react up to 75v? Similar reactions were shown for 90v and 150v.
- No indications that the shocks were causing distress
- A little grunt
What did Mr Wallace do at 120v?
Shouted that the shocks were becoming painful
What did the experimenter and Mr Wallace do to ensure each ppts had the same experience?
They both worked to a script
What did Mr Wallace do at 150v?
Shouted that the shocks were painful and that he wanted to be let out and refused to carry on
What did Mr Wallace do at 270v?
Agonised screams
What did Mr Wallace do at 300v?
- Refused to provide any more answers
- Shrieked in agony
What happened at 330v?
No noise could be heard from Mr Wallace
What did the experimenter do to encourage the ppts to carry on in Milgram’s studies?
They had 4 promts:
“Please continue”
“The experiment requires that you continue”
“It is absolutely essential that you continue”
“You have no other choice, you must go on”
Were the ppts debriefed in Milgram’s studies?
- Yes, after the experiment, the ppts were fully debriefed.
- Milgram ensured they felt psychologically fine and that they could meet Mr Wallace to see no harm was caused.
How many ppts obeyed up to 300v in the original study?
100%
How many ppts obeyed up to 450v (highest shock) in the original study?
65%
How many ppts experienced seizures in the original study?
3
How many ppts experience nervous laughter in the original Milgram Study?
14
What was the conclusion of Milgram’s original study?
That social influence is strong and people obey orders from authority figures even if it causes distress.
What made Milgram’s original study lack generalisability?
Ethnocentric - Ppts were all white and from New Haven
Androcentric - Ppts were all male
Sampling method - Voluntary
Is the sample size of Milgram’s original study a strength or weakness?
Strength - large sample size (40 ppts)
What made the reliability of Milgram’s original study a strength?
Standardised procedure - confederates followed a script
Controls - same people were confederates
What can Milgram’s original study be applied to?
Vietnam War- Soldiers were told to kill Viet Cong people but blindly followed orders and killed 800 innocent people
This can be explained by this study as the soldiers obeyed the authority figure, the same as the 65% of ppts that continued to 450v in Milgram’s study.
Was the validity of Milgram’s original study a strength or a weakness?
- Weakness
- Poor ecological validity due to lab setting
- Poor task validity due to unusual tasks
How could the study being at Yale University affect Milgram’s original study results?
A majority of ppts would be unfamiliar with such a prestigious location and so it could have intimidated them.
What was the aim of variation 7 of Milgram’s study? How were instructions given to the ppts?
- To investigate whether the proximity of the experimenter in relation to the ppts would affect levels of obedience.
- Over the telephone
Describe the sample of variation 7 of Milgram’s study
40 White males from New Haven
What were the results of variation 7 of Milgram’s study?
22.5% obeyed to 450v
What was the conclusion of variation 7 of Milgram’s study?
The physical presence of an authority figure was an important influence.
Obedience to destructive commands is somewhat dependant on the proximity of the authority figure.
What was the aim of variation 10 of Milgram’s original study?
To see how obedience would be affected if the setting was changed to a run-down office block compared to a prestigious university lab.
Describe the sample of variation 10 of Milgram’s original study
40 white males from Bridgeport
What were the results of variation 10 of Milgram’s original study?
48% obeyed to 450v
What was the conclusion of variation 10 of Milgram’s original study?
That the setting can have a slight influence on obedience to authority, but context may play a more important part.
What was the aim for Variation 13 of Milgram’s original study?
To investigate the impact of power relations on obedience.
To see how obedience would be affected if an ordinary man gave the orders.
Describe the sample for variation 13 of Milgram’s study
20 White males from New Haven
How were roles picked for variation 13 of MIlgram’s study?
- Drew slips of paper
- Rigged so the ppts was always the teacher and the confederates always got the same roles (1 as the learner and 1 as an accomplice for the ppts)
What happened to the experimenter in variation 13 of Milgram’s study?
- They went through usual instructions (eg Strapped Mr Wallace into the chair and sample shock for ppts)
- Didn’t indicate what shock levels to use- Received a rigged phone call to leave the room
- Told them that info will be recorded and to go on with the experiment
How did the accomplice suggest to shock Mr Wallace in variation 13?
To increase the shock level one step at a time every time Mr Wallace got a question wrong. This was insisted throughout the experiment.
What were the results of variation 13 of Milgram’s study?
20% obeyed to 450v
What was the conclusion for variation 13 of Milgram’s study?
That visible authority is an important influence on obedience.
What is the agency theory?
It is the theory Milgram created following his studies on obedience.
What are the two social states that Milgram proposed?
Autonomous State and Agentic State
What is the Autonomous State?
When we act as individuals and of our own free will. We make our own decisions and we follow our conscience .We take responsibility for our actions.
What is the Agentic State?
When we give up our free will in order to follow the orders of an authority figure.We become an ‘agent’ of the authority figure and defer responsibility onto them.
What is Moral Strain?
Negative feelings we experience when pressured to do something that goes against our values and moral compass.
What happens when we experience moral strain?
We use defence mechanisms (such as denial and repression) to avoid the distress.
What does Agency theory believe about the creation of the agentic state?
The theory believes we are socialised into an agentic state from a young age.Eg: We learn to obey parents and teachers as children and become an agent to follow social rules.
Why does Agency theory believe being an agent has evolved?
To avoid conflict and enable the smooth running of a society. Milgram believed that the agentic state may have had survival value.
Name 2 strengths of Agency Theory
Milgram - all participants delivered an electric shock to 300 volts, 65% delivered shocks up to 450 volts
Hoffling et al - 21 out of 22 nurses obeyed the doctor’s orders and were about to administer an overdose of a medicine to a patient.
Name 2 weaknesses of Agency Theory
Rank and Jacobson - 16 out of 18 nurses failed to obey orders from a doctor to administer an overdose of the drug Valium.
It does not explain individual differences such as personality, gender and situation.
What situation can Agency Theory be applied to?
Holocaust and Nazi solidiers
Who proposed the Social Impact Theory?
Bibb Latané
What is Social Impact Theory?
A theory explaining social influence rather than specifically obedience.
What did Latané propose with social impact theory?
That we are greatly influenced by the actions of others. Others have the ability to persuade us, inhibit us, threaten us and support us.The results of other people’s actions change how we feel and act in response - hence it being called social impact.
In relation to Social Impact Theory, what is a target?
The people being impacted on
In relation to Social Impact Theory, what is a source?
The influencers
What 3 factors make up social forces?
Strength
Immediacy
Number
What does strength mean in relation to social forces of Social Impact Theory?
How important the source is to you| eg: the status (legitimate or referent), authority, age
What does immediacy mean in relation to social forces of Social Impact Theory?
How close the source is to the target| eg: proximity - over the phone or in person
What does number mean in relation to social forces of Social Impact Theory?
How many sources and target there are in the social situation
What is the multiplicative effect (Social Impact Theory)?
How increasing strength, immediacy or number of sources can significantly increase social impact
What is the divisional effect (Social Impact Theory)?
The power of the source diminishes when the number of targets increases
What is the Law of Diminishing Returns (Social Impact Theory)?
That social influence increases with a growing number of sources but at a decreasing rate.Once the source group is bigger than 3, each additional source has less of an influence.
Name 2 strengths of Social Impact Theory
Berkowitz, Bickman and Milgram - 1 - 15 congregates looked up at the 6th floor of a building. Although increasing the number of confederates did increase the number of passers-by that joined, the number grew smaller relative to the size of the confederate group.
Sedikedes and Jackson - conducted a field experiment in which people at a zoo were asked to stop leaning on a handrail by a ‘zoo worker’. When they were in uniform they were obeyed more than when in normal clothes.
Name 2 weaknesses of Social Impact Theory
It doesn’t account for individual differences such as some people are more resistant to social influence than others.
The theory doesn’t explain why people are influenced by others, just under heat conditions it’s more likely. So it can be considered more of a description rather than an explanatory theory.
What are the 3 main factors that affect obedience?
Individual Differences
Situation
Culture
What individual differences relating to personality affect obedience?
Empathic Concern
Authoritarianism
Locus of Control
What is Empathic Concern?
This relates to the tendency to experience emotions, such as sympathy and compassion for those in need. People with high levels of empathic concern would find it difficult to follow orders to harm others due to higher levels of compassion.
What is Authoritarianism?
Theodor Adorno came up with this personality type.Authoritarian personalities are submissive to authority figures. They take great pleasure in being the authority figure themselves and are oppressive to those they see as subordinate (weaker).Therefore more likely to be obedient due to how highly they respect authority figures.
What is an Internal Locus of Control?
The belief that you are in control of what you do and what happens to you.Take greater responsibility for their actions.Less likely to be obedient as they believe they can control their own actions.
What is an External Locus of Control?
The belief that what happens to you is determined more by the situation and people around them, circumstances they believe are out of their control.Take less responsibility for their actions.More likely to be obedient as they believe behaviour is out of their control.
Name 2 strengths of personality being an individual difference that affects obedience
Elms and Milgram - found fully obedient individuals scored higher on the F-Scale measuring authoritarianism compared to defiant ppts.
Oliner and Oliner - 406 people who protected Jews during WW2 were more likely to have a higher internal locus of control, in comparison to the 126 people who had followed Nazi orders.
Name 2 weaknesses of personality being an individual difference that affects obedience
Burger - found that although people who scored high on empathy were more likely to protect against giving electric shocks, this did not translate into lower levels of obedience.
Holland - ran variations of Milgram’s studies and found no correlation between locus of control and obedience.
What does the gender role schema theory suggest?
We are socialised into developing a sense of masculinity or femininity from a very early age - often based on stereotypes.
Name 2 strengths of gender being an individual difference that affects obedience
Sheridan and King - adapted Milgram’s procedure to involve genuine shocks received by a puppy. 100% of females were more compliant and delivered max shock level compared to 54% of males.
Kilham and Mann - carried out a direct replication of Milgram’s study in Australia. 16% of females were obedient compared to 40% of males.
Name 2 weaknesses of gender being an individual difference that affects obedience
Burger - found gender differences are minimal therefore supporting Milgram’s original research that gender is less of a factor in obedience compared to others such as culture.
Blass - reviewed 10 obedience experiments and found obedience between males and females consistent across 9. In other words, there was no evidence of gender differences.
What is the momentum of compliance?
If you start off with small requests that individuals will generally comply with, they will find it more difficult to say no as demands get progressively worse.
What factors of situation can affect obedience?
Proximity
Momentum of Compliance
Location
Status
Isolation
Name 2 strengths of the situation affecting obedience
Milgram - Experiment 7 shows the influence of proximity on obedience levels because he found that 22.5% of ppts obeyed to max voltage when the experimenter was in a different room compared to 65% when he was there.
Milgram - supports momentum of compliance as the shocks went up in increments of 15v. By starting small and increasing gradually it caused ppts to commit and feel bound to continue.
If a culture values deference, what does this mean? How does it affect obedience?
They would believe it important to show respect and follow leaders. This means they are more likely to be obedient as they will be more compliant to authority figures.
If a culture values justice, what does this mean? How does it affect obedience?
They might feel an obligation to obey if they’ve previously signed a contract or received payment.They might feel less worried about obeying if the victim seems to deserve punishment.
What is power distance?
The degree to which less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. People in high power distance cultures (eg Russia, China, Malaysia) are more likely to follow a hierarchy where everybody has a place and does not require further justification. - more likely to be obedient due to value put on hierarchy
What is an individualistic society?
tend to behave more independently and are expected to look after themselves and their immediate families. (eg USA, UK, Canada)Less likely to be obedient as less likely to conform.
What is a collectivist society?
Tend to behave as a collective group based on interdependence. Individuals can expect members of their in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioned loyalty.(eg China, Pakistan, Venezuela) More likely to be obedient as more likely to conform
What aspects of culture can affect obedience?
Deference
Justice
Power distance
individualism vs collectivism
Name 2 weaknesses of culture affecting obedience
Meeus and Raaijmakers - carried out their obedience study in Holland (high individualism score). They found 92% of ppts were fully obedient.
The findings of the studies above would suggest that culture alone is enough to influence obedience, and other factors may well have a greater role to play.
What were the aims of Sherif et al - Robber’s Cave?
To test the idea that strangers will form cohesive groups when introduced to each other and set a shared goal.
To look at the idea that if you create an in-group/out-group situation and create conflict between them, prejudice will arise.
To see if prejudice would be reduced if the two groups were set superordinate goals that required their cooperation.
Describe the sample of Sherif et al - Robber’s cave
22 White, protestant boys from Oklahoma, America| 11 - 12 years old
What were the boys screened for before the Sherif et al study?
To make sure there were no problems at home or other factors that might account for individual differences in behaviour and attitude.
Did any of the boys in Sherif et al study know each other?
No
Were the boys in sherif et al matched? If so what on?
Yes| IQ and sporting ability
What happen in the 1st stage of Robber’s cave?
The two groups were kept separate for a week to allow group identities to form.Each team came up with a name (Eagles and Rattlers)At the end of the week, the groups became aware of the other.
What were the names of the groups in Robber’s cave?
The Eagles| The Rattlers
What happened during stage 2 of Robber’s cave?
The groups were introduced. Tournaments were set up such as basketball, tug of war and a swimming gala.This was done to create frustration towards the other group.
What data was collected during stage 2 of Robber’s cave?
Recordings of adjectives used to describe the other team and those used to describe people in their own team.
What happened during stage 3 of Robber’s Cave?
The researchers wanted to see if they could reduce hostility between the groups. At first, they were brought into contact through watching a film together.Superordinate goals were introduced (eg fixing the water supply)
What are superordinate goals?
Goals that would require both groups to cooperate in order to complete. They provide benefits to both groups.
What were the results of stage 1 of Robber’s cave?
The boys bonded quickly and settled into their group identities. They expressed dislike of the other group when made aware of them.Eagles - more competitiverattlers - more derogatory
What were the results of stage 2 of Robber’s cave?
Introduction to the other group lead to hostility. Both groups developed negative attitudes towards each other. Called each other names (sneaks, stinkers, smart alecs) and raided the other group’s hut.
What were the results of stage 3 of Robber’s cave?
Social contact (watching the film together) did not reduce hostility - lead to further name-callingSuperordinate goals did reduce hostility - the more they worked together the less abusive they became
What were the conclusions of Robber’s cave - Sherif et al?
Competition is a factor that leads to discrimination between groups, but some discrimination happens without competition.When groups work together on superordinate goals, prejudice and discrimination can be reduced.
Describe the generalisability of Robber’s cave? Does it have good generalisability?
small sample size - weaknessethnocentric - weaknessandrocentric - weakness
Describe the reliability of Robber’s cave? Is it a strength or weakness?
Control - strengthStandardised procedure - strengthTyerman and Spencer - found hostility did not emerge and competition didn’t lead to hostility when they performed a replication with scouts - weakness
What can the results of Sherif et al’s study be applied to?
Football violence - negative attitude to other teams and their supporters, especially if from the same areaGang violence - Superordinate goals can be used by police to reduce hostility and violence between gangs
Does Sherif et al - Robber’s cave have validity?
Ecologically valid - Summer camps are very common for American kidsTask validity - normal summer camp activities such as sports and camping
Describe the ethics of Robber’s Cave
Parents got informed consent - strengthBoys could leave if they were homesick - strengthRisk of physical or physiological harm due to violence and name-calling - weakness
Who proposed Social Identity Theory?
Taijfel and Turner (1979)
What does Social Identity theory propose about prejudice?
The mere existence of 2 groups can cause conflict.
What are the 3 processes in Social identity Theory?
Social categorisation
Social Identification
Social Comparison
What is Social Categorisation?
The process of separating individuals into one of two groups: in-group or out-group.SIT says this is a basic characteristic of human thought.Does not need competition.
What is Social Categorisation?
The process of separating individuals into one of two groups: in-group or out-group.SIT says this is a basic characteristic of human thought.Does not need competition.
What is Social Identification?
It is the process of showing your identification with the group.They might take on the beliefs, norms and attitudes of the in-group along with the way they dress or talk.
What is Social Comparison?
The individual’s sense of self becomes wrapped up with the in-group. People start to see their in-group as better than the out-group.
What is In-group favouristism?
Showing preferential treatment to members of the in-group. Seeing in-group members as superior to out-group members.Achievements are attributed to internal factors (eg because they are more intelligent) Failures are attributed to external factors (eg situational factors)
What is out-group bias?
Discrimination towards members of the out-group. May react with fear, hostility, suspicion or contempt.Achievements are attributed to external factors.Failures are attributed to internal factors.
What are the 3 variables that contribute to in-group favouristism?
Permeability - the extent to which the individual identity with the in-group Security - the extent to which there are grounds for making comparisons with the out-groupThe relevance of the out-group to the in-group
Name 2 strengths of Social Identitiy Theory
Lalonde - found in-group favouritism with a poorly performing hockey team who would blame failure on other teams being dirtier than them even though there was no evidence for this.
Levine et al - found that football fans were more likely to help a stranger who tripped in front of them when wearing colours of their team as opposed to neutral colours or rival team colours.
Name 2 weaknesses of Social Identitiy Theory
Social identity theory can’t explain personality factors that make us prejudiced such as authoritarianism. Can’t explain why not everyone in an in-group is prejudiced or has different levels of prejudice.
Dobbs and Crano - split ppts into a large majority group and a minority group. they were asked to award points to people. At the start both groups favoured their in-group, but after being asked to justify their decisions the majority group started to more equally award points. However, the minority group continued to favour their in-group. This shows in-group favouristism is more complex.
What did Realistic Conflict Theory propose about prejudice?
That prejudice arises from perceived or actual conflict between groups.
What did RCT says created conflict?
Competition for the same resources.
What is a Negative Interdependence Situation?
When only one of two groups can reach a goal that is important to both groups. This can lead to out-group hostility, in-group favouritism and in-group solidarity.
What may competition between two groups be for in RCT?
Scarce resources : water, food, jobs, territory, financial resources, military resources or social resources.Also Symbolic resources : political power, prestige and authority.
What is a Zero-Sum Fate?
The idea that if one group gains the the other has to lose out.
What did Sherif believe could reduce inter-group hostility?
Superordinate goals
2 strengths of Realistic Conflict Theory
Sherif et al - found in Robber’s cave that when the two groups were put against each other in competition eg swimming gala it lead to hostility and negative attitudes such as name-calling.
Ember and Ember - studied 26 small-scale societies and found inter-group violence to be much more common as population pressures such as famine elevated.
2 weaknesses of Realistic Conflict Theory
Social Identity Theory says the mere existence of two groups can lead to prejudice whereas Realistic Conflict Theory says there need to be perceived or actual competition. SIT can therefore be used to explain more situation as not all prejudice is due to competition, making it a better theory.
Tyerman and Spencer - examined 4 different scout groups that met at a 2 week camp, they found that competition didn’t inevitably lead to hostility. Ingroup solidarity also decreased, opposing what RCT would predict.
What can Realistic Conflict Theory and Social Identity Theory be applied to?
Rwandan Genocide| Hutus and Tutsis
What are the aims of Reicher and Haslam (2006)?
- To construct an artificial institution and over a period of 8 days, examine the factors that determine how people respond when a system of inequality is imposed upon them by others
What is the contemporary study for social psychology?
Reicher and Haslam
What sampling method was used for Richer and Haslam?
- Voluntary| - Advert in several British Newspapers which asked for men to take place in a social science experiment shown on TV
How many ppts were there in Reicher and Haslam?
15 men were chosen from 332 after 3 stages of screening
How many groups were the ppts put into during Richer and Haslam?
5 groups| 3 ppts in each group
What were the ppts matched by in their groups? (Reicher and Haslam)
key psychological dimensions (eg authoritarianism and modern racism)
How were guards chosen for Reicher and Haslam?
Randomly chose 1 ppts from each group of 3
Why were the guards chosen randomly from the ppts? (Reicher and Haslam)
To ensure the guards and prisoners were psychologically similar so any differences that arose could be explained their group position and not individual differences
How was data gathered during Reicher and Haslam?
cameras and microphones
daily questionnaires
saliva swabs to measure cortisol levels
Was the prison a set or a real prison? (Reicher and Haslam)
It was a purpose-built set| It wasn’t designed to be completely realistic to a prison
How were the guard’s status and power shown in Reicher and Haslam?
Good meals, better living conditions, privileges, smart uniform, multiple bases of power (keys to all doors)
How was the prisoner’s low status shown during Reicher and Haslam?
bad food, poor conditions, bad uniform, having to follow guards orders, assigned a 3-didgit number for identification, had to shave their heads
What were the guards told before the experiment started? (Reicher and Haslam)
Told them their task was to make the prison work and had to come up with the rules but no physical touching.Told they were specifically chosen due to them being particularly reliable, trustworthy and able to use their initiative.
What were the 3 stages of Reicher and Haslam?
Permeability
Legitimacy
Cognitive alternatives
What happened during the permeability stage of Reicher and Haslam?
On the first day, all ppts told 1 prisoner would be made a guard on day 3, chosen by the guards.After the promotion, they were told no one else would be promoted.
What happened during the legitimacy stage of Reicher and Haslam?
3 days after the promotion, ppts were told there was no difference between the prisoners and guards but they had to remain in the groups
What happened during the cognitive alternatives stage of Reicher and Haslam?
The day after the legitimacy stage, a new prisoner was brought in.They were specifically chosen due to their background as a trade union official.
What were the results of phase 1 of Reicher and Haslam?
Guards didn’t develop a strong group identity
Prisoners didn’t identify as a group till day 3 and were generally unhappy
On day 6, prisoners broke out (masterminded by 3 individuals that became close following day 3)
What were the results of phase 2 of Reicher and Haslam?
Ppts decided to become a self-governing commune
The 3 rebellious prisoners plotted to destroy the system and return to old system with them in charge
Met with minimal resistance from prisoners as they though researchers were upset with them due to food mishap
Why was Reicher and Haslam stopped on day 8?
The researchers though the new regime would bring direct force and violence.
What were the results of social identification (Reicher and Haslam)?
Guard’s scores stayed low| Prisoner’s scores steadily increased compared to guards
What were the results of depression (Reicher and Haslam)?
Guard’s score increased over the duration| Prisoner’s scores steadily decreased from day 1
What were the conclusions of Reicher and Haslam?
People don’t inevitably conform to the roles they’ve been assigned.
A range of factors determines whether people identify with their role and the social identity of their group.
When groups fail to form a social identity people are more inclined to accept ideals of a different group, even if it goes against their morals. (eg Germany during WW2)
Tyranny arises because of group failure.
Weaknesses of Reicher and Haslam
Genralisbailty: - small sample- androcentric (but ethical as there could be males and females in the same prison)
Validity: - ecological validity (not used to being in an artificial environment with strangers) - social desirability
Strengths of Reicher and Haslam
Generalisability: -Not ethnocentric
Reliability:- standardised procedure- multiple types of data
Application:-Hitler’s rule over Germany
Ethics:-protection from harm due to medical and psychological checks
What are The Big 5 personality variables?
Openness to experience
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
(OCEAN)
How does conscientiousness affect prejudice?
Thought that the more conscientious a person is, the more likely they are to be prejudice.Because they can be quite stubborn and rigid in their thinking. Overly concerned with doing the right thing. Leads to them being fixed in their ideas about people and slow to change their minds.
How does agreeableness affect prejudice?
Less likely to be prejudice.Compassionate, cooperative and friendly. Value getting on with others and have empathy.
How does openness to experience affect prejudice?
Less likely to be prejudiceCurious, adventurous, independent and value variety in life. Often have experience of other cultures.
Strengths for The Big 5
Cohrs et al:-people that are conscientious are more likely to be right wing in their attitudes and therffore more likely to be prejudice-Openness and agreeableness correlated negatively with prejudice (0.43 and -0.2 respectively)
Weaknesses for The Big 5
Many tests are self report data, which may not be accurate, reducing validity.
How does authoritarianism affect prejudice?
More likely to be prejudicePeople with authoritarian personalities are rigid in their thinking, adhere to social hierarchies and rules and are terrified of being weak (so despise those weaker than them)
Evaluation of authoritarianism affecting prejudice?
Cohrs et al - found links between right-wing authoritarianism and prejudice - positive correlation of 0.57However, a criticism of theory is that it is best to describe small scale prejudice such as school bullies rather than wide scale prejudice.
What is dogmatism?
Refers to a way of thinking where people have a closed set of beliefs about reality that provide a framework for patterns of intolerance towards others.
How does dogmatism affect prejudice?
Highly susceptible to authoritarian ideologies of the left or right and are likely to reject those who have different views.
Evaluation of dogmatism affecting prejudice
Baptists who scored highly on the d-scale were more likely to be prejudice toward ethnic minorities. However, it has been criticised for having poor reliability and validity, as well as correlating too highly with Adorno’s F scale.
Strength of situational factors affecting prejudice
Minard - found that below ground, where the social norm was friendly behaviour between colleagues, 80 of the white miners were friendly towards the black miners. Above ground, where the social norm was prejudiced behaviour by white people towards black people, the number dropped to just 20.
What is the key question for social psychology?
How can social psychology explain the rise in hate crimes by white British people towards ethnic minorities since Brexit, and how can we use social psychology to reduce hate crime?
Define hate crime
A crime, typically one involving violence, that is motivated by prejudice on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation or other groups.
What is Brexit?
The name given to the UK’s departure from the European Union.On 23rd June 2016, the UK held a referendum, 51.89% voted to leave.The UK left on The 31st of January 2021.
What reasons may have caused the rise in hate crimes after Brexit?
- more reporting of the crimes
- rise in nationalism
- people feeling emboldened due to the vote
Why is the key question relevant to today’s society?
- people (skilled workers) are leaving- So we can take control of fake news/social media accounts that fuel prejudice- So we can try to reduce prejudice
What can we apply the key question to in social psychology?
- Social Identity Theory| - Realistic Conflict Theory
What can we use to evaluate the key question in social psychology?
Strengths and weaknesses of both Realistic Conflict Theory and Social Identity Theory
What is random sampling?
Everyone in the target population have an equal chance of being selected.
Strengths of random sampling
More generalisable - low bias
Weaknesses of random sampling
Can’t 100% certain that the sample is representative of the target population.Difficult to include all the population for sampling - some may be unavailable or data protection means they can’t be accessed
What is Stratified sampling?
All the relevant groups within the target population are proportionally represented within the sample.
Strengths of Stratified sampling
All relevant groups will have some representationLimits the amount of ppts needed - keep costs low
Weaknesses of Stratified sampling
It is difficult to know how many of each group is need to represent the T.P accurately - some may be over or under represented
What is Opportunity sampling?
Researcher takes advantage of whoever’s available at the time/place of testing.
Strengths of Opportunity sampling
More ethical - can see if people are willingEasy and faster
Weaknesses of Opportunity sampling
May not be representative of the target populationResearcher bias - pick people who know/ are comfortable talking to
What is Volunteer sampling?
Researcher puts out an advert and people that want to participate come forward.
Strengths of Volunteer sampling
EthicalPpts more likely to comply and follow instructions - less issues with non-compliance
Weaknesses of Volunteer sampling
Bias - as volunteers are in the minority (most people wouldn’t volunteer)May take a long time to get enough ppts
Define stereotype
Involves the beliefs held about a particular group - they are common but over-simplistic.
Define prejudice
Prejudging someone before knowing anything about them. We make a judgement about them based on their membership within a group according to out stereotyped views. Can be positive or negative
Define discrimination
Our actions toward people based on our prejudice, such as avoidance or physical attacks.
