Social Psychology Flashcards
What is Obedience?
Explicit social influence, direct order, power imbalance.
What were the scripted reactions in Milgram’s study?
75v Grunt of pain, 120v shouted it was too painful 150v demanded to be let out 180v complained of his heart 300v refused to carry on and agonised screams 330v—silence.
What is the Stanford Prison Experiment?
A social experiment by Zimbardo, that suggested that we conform to social roles we are placed in
What were the results of the change in location of Milgram’s study?
Obedience down from 68% to 47.5%
What were the results of the proximity variation of Milgram (same room)
Same room, 40%
How did obedience change when
orders were given down the phone (milgram)
Via telephone - 20%
Name issues raised when evaluating milgram’s studies
Ethical Issues (no debrief)
Experimental Realism
Demand Characteristics
What did Adam and Galinsky (2012) find about perception of norms?
Participants wearing a white coat performed better when it was labelled a doctors coat, rather than a painters coat, in an attention task
What did Jenness (1932) find about establishment and gravitation towards social norms?
After a group discussion, individual predictions (number of sweets in a jar) gravitated towards the group prediction
What are social norms?
Rules or standards shared by members of a social group, that prescribe appropriate, or desired attitudes and conduct in matters relevant to the group (Turner, 1991)
What was Asch’s study (1951) designed to study?
Normative social influence
What were the results of Asch (1951)?
32% mean conformity, 75% conformed at least once, 25% never conformed.
What were the results of the group size variations of Asch
1 stooge: 3%
2 stooges: 14%
3 stooges: 32%
What were the results of the unanimity variation of Asch?
1 dissenter, drops to 5.5%
What changes were seen as task difficulty increased (Asch)
Conformity increased
What were the results of the Asch variation, by Shaw, Rothschild & Strickland, 1957 , with differing social support?
No support—97%
Thick Glasses—64%
Normal Vision—37%
What is the type of conformity where you conform in public but not private
Compliance
What may mitivate conformity, other than normative and informational social influence?
a desire for a pleasant atmosphere, a common motivation in collectivist cultures (Bond and Smith, 1996)
What is an attitude?
“The affect for or against a psychological object” (Thurstone, 1931)
What are the three parts of the ABC model of attitudes?
Affect (eg killing foxes is bad)
Behaviour (eg signing petitions)
Cognition (eg cognitive arguments to defend affect)
What predicts what in the ABC model of attitudes?
Affect and Cognition predicts behaviour
How are attitudes formed?
mere exposure effect (Zajonc, 1968)
Associative learning
Self perception
How do we measure attitudes?
Self Report - Likert scales, 5/7/9 point scales
How might we covertly measure attitudes?
Body language or physiological markers
What is the implicit association test?
A test using reaction times to reveal unconscious attitudes
What are cognitive consistency theories?
We strive to be consistent in our thought, if we are inconsistent we feel emotionally uncomfortable (dissonance) and strive to change (Festinger)
What did LaPiere (1934) find about dissonance between attitude and behaviour?
While studying anti-chinese sentiment, found that 118 hotels and restaurants said they wouldn’t serve a chinese couple, but only 1 had actually refused 6 months before
What did Wicker(1969) say about attitude and behaviour?
We do what we say about 2-3 times in 100
How might specificity affect the ability to predict behaviour from attitudes?
A general attitude will only predict general behaviour but a specific attitude may predict specific behaviour
How does self awareness affect the ability to predict behaviour from attitudes?
Increased self-awareness promotes a-b consistency, Diener and Walbom, 1976, Cheating alone, 71%, cheating in front of a mirror, 7%
What two methods can be used to change attitudes?
Persuasive communication – what’s effective, e.g. political propaganda, health messages, advertising etc.
2. Cognitive dissonance – changing behaviour first
What is Asch’s configural model of impression formation? (1946)
We assign a numerical value (+ve or -ve) to a trait. Weighted average (weight depending on purpose of relationship) = impression
What is the Gestalt model of impression formation?
central traits influence the overall impression, more than peripheral traits
The above average effect - Guerin, 1994
Most drivers (even accident prone ones) believe they are above average
What is a stereotype?
A widely shared and simplified evaluation of a social group, that guides perception but can lead to a ‘noticing bias’, illusory correlations and a ‘them and us’ mentality
What type of impression is hardest to change?
Negative ones, possibly because they are unusual and distinctive, or because they may signal danger
What influence do schemas have on person perception?
Pre-existing schema, like the halo effect, can create impressions with very little information, but can often be inaccurate
What is the Halo effect?
The belief that someone who is physically attractive is likely to also be intelligent and confident
What are attributional biases?
Where we explain our own behaviour in terms of situational factors, and other’s behaviour in terms of dispositional factors
What is the Self Concept?
the collective answers to ‘i am’ - made up of individual self schemas on dimensions such as intelligence, social awareness etc
What are emotions?
Psychological and physiological reactions to internal or external environments
What are subjective experiences?
The feelings dubbed emotions in layman’s terms. Happiness, anger etc