Social Psychology L6 Flashcards
What are the different facets of social influence?
- Social facilitation
- De-individuation
- Conformity
- Obedience
What is social facilitation?
How the presence of other people impacts us
What are some effects of social facilitation?
- we are more likely to laugh if others are laughing
- the larger crowd to more we eat
- cockroaches run faster in the presence of other cockroaches
- diffusion of responsibility
How does the presence of other people influence performance at simple and complex tasks?
Schmitt (1986) found that people perform better at simple tasks when others are present, but worse at complex tasks.
Describe the drive theory of facilitation
Zajonc (1980), the presence of others makes us better at things that we are good at - if our dominant response is appropriate, but makes us worse at things we are bad at - if our dominant response is inappropriate (anxiety)
Describe the experimental evidence which supports the Drive Theory of Faciliation.
Micheals et al. (1982), accuracy of good pool players increased from 71% to 80% in the presence of others, the accuracy of bad pools players decreased from 35% to 25%.
Describe the Diffusion of Responsibility
The idea that the larger the size of the group, the less people feel an individual responsibility to do something.
Describe the case of Kitty Genovese
Reportedly struggled with her killer for 30 minutes, was seen being stabbed by a reported 43 people. No one phoned the police or intervened.
Latene and Darley found that…
smoke in the vents
When on their own, 75% of participants reacted immediately to smoke coming out of a nearby vent. When in a big group, only 1% of participants reacted.
Is the idea of the Diffusion of Responsibility accurate?
It seems that a lot of practical, real world experimental evidence indicates that it plays a far smaller role then initially thought - people generally come to other peoples aid if they need it.
Describe the idea of Deindividuation
When people are surrounded by others they feel a sense of anonymity. This loss of self-awareness can work to remove inhibitions surrounding impulses, most often resulting in antisocial behavior.
Describe experimental evidence showing the effects of Deindividuation.
Zimbardo (1970) found that when wearing the ku kluz klan outfit, people become more more aggressive. Thereby concluded that anonymity leads to aggression.
Beaman et al. (1979) found that on halloween, people, when people are watching themselves in a mirror, fewer trick or treaters take extra lollies (12% vs 34%)
Describe Solomon Asch’s experiment about conformity.
One person, and 9 actors have to match one line to another in a set of three. When all 9 actors give an intentionally wrong answer, 75% of participants went along with the others and gave an answer which they knew was wrong.
Can social influence change attitudes?
Yes. According to Newcomb, who looked at conservative students going to a liberal college in america and found that they became much more liberal over the course of their degree.
Perhaps the most famous experiments demonstrating obedience are…
The Stanford Prison Experiment, Zimbardo (1971)
The Milgram Experiment (1974) 66% of participants administered the highest shock.