Social Psychology Flashcards
(31 cards)
Group Polarisation
Group polarisation is the strengthening of attitudes in individuals when they are in groups of people who hold similar attitudes
Has an implication for government, religion, commerce and the justice system
Myers and Bishop (1970)
When students who were low in racial prejudice talked about racial issues, their attitudes became even more accepting. When highly prejudiced students talked about racial issues, they became even more prejudiced
Main and Walker (1973)
Analysed the decisions of Federal District Court Judges sitting either alone or in groups of three to see if group discussions were a factor. In the 1500 cases where judges sat alone they took an extreme course of action only 30% of the time. however, when sitting in a group of three this figure rose to 65%. Trained professional decision makers are subject to the forces of group polarisation
3 Main theories as to why group polarisation occurs
there are 3 main theories as to why it occurs
1. Persuasion --> people change their mind as a result of the rational arguments presented by others 2. Comparison --> people change their minds to fit in with their view of the sort of decisions their group should make 3. Differentiation --> people change their minds to fit in with their view of the sort of decisions their group should make
McCauley (2002)
Stated that terrorist mentality does not come out of thin air; rather it arises when people with a shaved grievance get together and talk in a group in which there are no moderating influences
Social Facilitation
Improved performance due to the presence of others
Social Inhibition
Reduced performance due to the presence of others
Latane and Darley’s Five Stage Decision Model (1970)
Formulated a 5 stage model to explain why bystanders at emergencies sometimes do and don’t offer help
STAGE 1 - Notice the situation
STAGE 2 - Interpret it as an emergency (looking at the behaviour of others)
STAGE 3 - Accept from personal responsibility to intervene
STAGE 4 - Consider what is the best form of intervention
STAGE 5 - Decide how to implement the intervention. Related to many variables and characteristics
Darley and Bateson (1973)
Students at a theological college on their way to present a sermon on helping passed a man slumped and groaning in a doorway.
10% of students that thought they were late helped.
63% who thought they were early helped.
Some didn’t notice the victim
Clark and Word (1972)
Asked participants to fill in a questionnaire either individually or in groups. In either condition, if a man walked through the room carrying a ladder and then screamed ‘oh my back’, all participants helped, compared to 30% when they heard just a crash
Cramer et al (1988)
Found that by standers trained in first aid are more likely to help
Conformity
Conformity is the tendency to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour in ways that are in agreement with those of a particular individuals or groups, with accepted standards about how a person should behave in certain situations (social norm)
Asch’s Line Experiment
Participants believed they were taking part in an experiment on visual judgement
Participant not aware the rest of the group was confederates instructed to answer incorrectly
Participants had to decide between giving the same answer (conforming) or the correct one
–> 75% agreed at least once
–> 33% agreed for half or more
–> 24% didn’t conform
Factors affecting conformity
Group size
Whether the group is unanimous in their views
Whether the groups is viewed as a valued source of information
Awareness of social norms
Cultural background
Social loafing
Deindividuation
Obedience
Can occur when we are required to do something because someone with authority asks or tells us to do or not do something or the rules/laws of our society
Milgram’s Experiment (1963)
40 participants between 20-50 years old
Wanted to see if individuals would obey an authority figure who instructed them to inflict pain on another person
Participants told they were apart of a study on the effects of punishment on learning/memory
Confederate = Learner
Participant = Teacher
Participants told to electrocute the learner when they get a question wrong
Out of the participants no one stopped administering the shocks before 300 volts
26 (65%) continued at the 450 volt level
Replicated studies showed women had the same rate of obedience
Zimbardo Believed
The influence of others on our behaviour cannot be underestimated
We act differently according to the situation in which we find our selves
Meaning the situation and the company are major determinants of your actions and behaviours
Zimbardo investigated the effect of status and roles on our behaviour, as well as situational factors
Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)
Set up in the basement of Stanford psychology building
Planned to go for 2 weeks but lasted 6 days
The experiment demonstrated the extreme effect that status and power can have on behaviour
Heavily criticised for not finishing earlier and causing undue harm
Attribution Theory
The process by which individuals explain the causes of behaviour and events
Important part of social psychology is impression formation (how we understand and make judgements about others)
When we judge someone we observe their behaviour and then we attempt to assign a cause to that behaviour
Heider (1958)
Inventor of attribution theory
Supposes that people attempt to understand the behaviour of others by attributing feelings, beliefs and attentions to them
- Internal/Dispositional Attribution: infer that something internal is responsible for a persons behaviour
- External/Situational Attribution: infer that something external is responsible for a persons behaviour
Fundamental Attribution Theory
Not taking into account the surrounding circumstances into consideration when accounting for a persons behaviour
Jones and Harris (1967)
Strong support for attribution theory
Asked participants to judge the true attitude of a person after reading an essay by them
In support of opposition
Participants told they had been assigned
Still inferred that the person held an attitude close to what they wrote about
Internal attribution is stronger than external attribution
De Michele et al (1998)
Suggest we distort the facts and make external attributions to maintain self-esteem
Kelly (1973)
Theory of Casual Attribution
Developed a logical model for judging whether a particular action should be attributed to a characteristic (internal) of the person or the environment (external)
- Covariation: person has information from multiple observations (at different times and situations) and can perceive the covariation of an observed effect and its causes
Believed that we use 3 types of information when making attributions:
- persons
- time
- entities (other relevant information)
