Social Psychology Flashcards
What is social psychology?
Social psychology is about the way people influence each other
What are the two main types of Conformity?
Compliance - going along with things even though you disagree
Internalisation - accepting other people’s views
Describe Asch (1951) study on unambiguous task
Method: laboratory experiment with independent groups design
Groups of 8 asked to judge a line length out loud - 7 confederates giving same wrong answer and only one real participant
Results: high results of conformity to the majority answer “normative social influence”
Evaluation: laboratory experiment so good control of variables
Low ecological validity. Ethically, the participants were decieved and may well have been embarrassed.
SEE YOUTUBE “ASCH CONFORMITY EXPERIMENT”
What is Informational Social Influence?
If you are in an unfamiliar situation you may look to others to figure out how to behave
Describe Sherif’s research on effects of Informational Social Influence (1935)
Method: laboratory experiment with repeated measures design
A light was shone on wall and participants asked to judge how far it moved First by themselves, Second in a group Third by themselves
Results: First condition - results varies
Second condition: estimates converged
Third condition - the results stayed converged
Conclusion: Group Norm developed as participants affected by Informational Social Influence
Evaluatin: laboratory experiment so good control over variables; lacked ecological validity; small sample and all male
SEE YOUTUBE “UCF SHERIF TEST CONFORMITY VIDEO”
Describe Zimbardo et al (1973) Stanford Prison Experiment
Method: Male students recruited to act as prisoners or guards in mock prison
Results: Guards asserted authority aggressively and prisoners became passive and obedient. Experiment abandoned as some prisoners became very distressed
Conclusions: social roles influence behaviour
Evaluation: Controlled Observation so good control of variables; low ecological validity; problem with observer bias (on Zimbardo’s own admission he became too involved)
SEE YOUTUBE “the Stanford prison experiment”
Reacher and Haslam (2006) continued the Zimbardo study. What did they do?
The BBC Prison Study
Method: Controlled Observation. Mock prison with guards and prisoners randomly assigned. Daily tests and ethics committee.
Results: the prisoners formed a strong group and the guards bonded weakly and were unhappy wielding power. Abandoned early due to signs of stress.
Conclusion: social roles do not necessarily define behaviour
Evaluation: in contrast to Zimbardo’s findings - but Zimbardo’s guards were encouraged to control. Done for TV so …true? Artificial situation so low ecological validity. Good ethically.
SEE YOUTUBE “BBC THE EXPERIMENT - PRISON STUDY PODCAST FROM THE OPEN UNIVERSITY WEB”
What factors may affect whether we conform or not?
Situational Factors - Group size
- Social support (someone else disagreeing)
Confidence and Expertise
Gender might also be a factor - some research to indicate that women more likely to conform than men
Personality - your “locus of control” (how much personal control you believe you have over your life)
What are the two types of “locus of control”
Internal locus of control - belief that what happens in life results from your own behaviour or actions
External locus of control - belief that events are caused by external factors such as luck or actions of others.
Do we also conform to the majority vote?
Minority influence can be powerful
Moscovici et al (1969)
Method: laboratory experiment using women in groups of 6 naming shades of colour - 2 of them were confederates. In one condition the confederates consistently named shades wrong; in the other they were inconsistent
Results : the group with consistent confederates influenced participants more
Conclusion: the minority had more influence when they were consistent
Evaluation; laboratory so good control of variables but low ecological validity. Only women. Use of a control group so we know that participants were influenced by the minority.
Name some minority groups that have influenced social change
The Suffragettes
Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement
Gay Rights Movements
Describe Milgram’s (1963) study of obedience
Method: laboratory experiment with men volunteers who thought they were taking part in research on learning and memory. They were asked to give “electric shocks” to the “learner” in the next room when they answered incorrectly and encouraged by a grey-coated experimenter.
Results: 65% administered 450 Volts. Most showed signs of stress but did what they were told
Conclusion: ordinary people obey orders even if it means acting against their consciences.
Evaluation: laboratory experiment so lacks ecological validity but god control over variables
Ethical issues! They did show stress during the experiment so not protected and asked to continue when they wanted to stop. They we debriefed and 84% said they were pleased to have taken part.
SEE YOUTUBE “THE MILGRAM EXPERIMENT” Manela Garcia
Milgram’s did lots of variations of his experiment. What did he find out?
Male and female participants gave same results
Even If “learners” protests can be heard
Results higher (92.5%) if watching someone else give the shocks
Results fall if ….
- seedy environment
- participants can see the “learner”
- authority figure not in the room
- other “teachers” refuse
Explain Milgram’s Agency Theory
When people act on behalf of an external authority, they are said to be in an agentic state
The opposite is an autonomous state - acting independently
What binding factors did Milgram identify as keeping his participants in the agentic state?
Reluctance to disrupt the experiment (they had already been paid)
The pressure of the environment (university)
The insistence of the authority figure
