SOCIAL - Studies Flashcards
Study into conformity on an unambiguous task
Asch
Asch: Method
- Lab exp with independent groups design
- In groups ppts had to judge the distance of lines and say which matched the standard line
- Other group members were confederates
- Each ppt did 18 trials in 12 the confederates gave the incorrect answer
- There was a control group were ppts judged the line in isolation
Asch: Results
Control group: gave wrong answer 0.7% of the time
Critical trials: gave wrong answer 37% of the time and 75% conformed at least once
Ppts said they didn’t believe their answers but didn’t want to stand out
Asch: Conclusion
Control condition showed task was easy enough to get right
However a significant amount gave the wrong answer
The ppts showed normative social influence
Asch: Evaluation
lab exp = high control over variables
Study lacks ecological validity
They may have been less/more likely to conform in a real life situation
Ethics= ppts were deceived
Sherif: Method
lab exp with repeated measures
Used the optical illusion ‘autokinetic effect’
Ppts were falsely told the researcher would move the light
1st phase individuals made repeated estimates
2nd phase had ppts put into groups of three where they would reach a group estimate of how far the light moved
Sherif: Results
When alone ppts developed their own stable estimates
When in a group the estimates converged and became more alike
When asked to give an individual estimate after being the group it has altered from their original guess to be more like the group estimate
Sherif: Conclusion
People were influenced by the estimates of other people and a group norm developed
People wanted to be right which lead to informational social influence
Sherif: Evaluation
Lab exp= high control of variables
Possible to establish a cause and effect relationship
Lacks ecological validity
Repeated measures means ppt variables were kept constant
How might changes over time impacts Asch’s study
conducted in 1950s America when there was a fear of communism.
People were afraid of stepping out of line and appearing different
This may have caused high levels of conformity
Crutchfield: Method
5 participants next to each to each other in individual booths with lights and switches in front of them. One set of lights indicated the supposed responses of the other 4 participants. The switches provided the participants with the means of giving their own responses. They were presented with slides containing multiple choice questions. The participants always had to give their response last, having already seen the supposed responses of the other 4.
Crutchfield: Results
46% conforming to the incorrect majority response when asked to compare the size of a circle and a star - the circle being much larger
As tasks got harder conformity levels increased
Crutchfield: Conclusion
Ppts were influence my informational social influence
Crutchfield: Evaluation
17% of the participants indicated they knew what was going on and were aware of the deception. Crutchfield did not comment on how this might have affected the results.
Which study shows minority influence?
Moscovici
Moscovici: Method
32 groups of six female participants are told they’re taking part in a study on perception.
Each group presented with 36 blue slides differing in intensity of shade and are asked to say its coulour.
2 ppts were stooges and answered in one of two ways:
They always say the slides are green
They say the slides are green on two thirds of occasions.
Moscovici: Results
When the stooges say ‘green’ every time: 8% of the majority agree
When the stooges are less consistent this falls to 1.25%
32% of participants conformed with the minority at least once
Moscovici: Conclusion
consistency is vital for minority influence to occur.
If the minority consistently give the same answer they are more likely to sway a majority.
Moscovici: Evaluation
- Lacks ecological validity
- Lacks population validity
- High control of variables
How was Asch’s study influenced by situation factors?
Group size- the bigger the group the more likely it was that ppts would confrom
Social support- when a ppt had a supporter in the group the rate of conformity fell to 5.5%
What did Wissenthal find?
When someone felt competant at a task they were more confident and less likely to conform
Which study suggests gender may impact conformity?
Eagly
What did Eagly find?
Men & Women’s different social roles were responsible different conformity rates
Women are concerned with group harmony and relationships
Men are concerned with being assertive and independent
Which task suggests locus of control does not impact resisting conformity
Williams and Warchal (1981)
- 30 university students given conformity tasks based on Asch.
- Assesses for LOC.
Result: those conformed were less assertive but didn’t score differently on LOC scale.
Which study suggests locus of control does have an impact on resisting conformity
Avtgis
What did Avtgis find?
conducted a meta-analysis of locus of control and conformity studies, finding that those with high external LOC were more persuadable and prone to conformity, which implies that differences in LOC are related to differences in levels of conformist behaviour.
Which study investigated obedience to an authority firgure?
Milgram
Milgram: Method
Lab exp
pps were asked to shock a learner in another room if they gave an incorrect answer
They were asked to do so by a confederate
Switches ranges from 15 v to 450 v
Up to 330 v the ppt heard the person in the next room make noise
If they stopped the researcher asked them to continue
They were debrieffed after and reunited with the ‘learner’
Milgram: Results
No ppts stopped before 330
26 ppts (65%) administered the full 450 v
Most showed signs of distress like sweating and trembling
Milgram: Conclusion
Ordinary will will obey orders to hurt someone else, even if it means acting against their consciences
What variations did Milgram do with his experiment
6 things
Female ppts
Experiment run in run down offices
Learner in same room as teacher
Authority in another room (orders given through phone)
Other teacher (confederate) refuse to give shock
Other teacher (confederate) gives shock instead
In Milgram’s study how many female ppts gave full shock
65%
In Milgram’s study how did change of setting impact how many people gave the full shock?
decreased
48%
In Milgram’s study when the learner was in the same room as teacher how many gave the full shock?
40%
In Milgram’s study when the authority was in another room communicating by phone how many gave the full shock?
23%
In Milgram’s study when another teacher refused to give shock how many adminstered the full shock?
10%
In Milgram’s study when another teacher gave the shock instead how many administered the full shock?
93%
Milgram: Evaluation
Internal validity: Possible the ppts were just going along with the experiment (demand characteristics)
Ecological validity: does not reflect real life
In the tests done at Yale University they may have been obedient because of the prestigious location
Which study looked at LOC as a factor in resisting obedience?
Latif
What did Latif discover?
Found a correlation between people believing ‘blind obedience’ was moral and external locus of control
Latif: Evaluation
Does not demonstrate obedience behaviour simple belief about obedience
Which study looked into independent behaviour and reactance?
Hamilton
What did Hamilton find?
After having 2 groups of 13-14 year old one told it was normal to experiment with smoking and drugs (low reactance), the other was told never to smoke (high reactance).
Smoking rates were then significantly higher in the high reactance group
Hofling: Method
At both private and public hospitals
22 wards
22 different nurses
Nurse working alone on a night shift (naive ppt) recieves a call from an unknown doctor then asked to administer 20 milligrams of a drug to a patient on the ward
This broke several of the hospital rules including giving an obviously excessive dose of medicine and taking telephone instructions from an unfamilliar doctor
Hofling: Results
21/22 nurses obeyed
Hofling: Conclusion
High levels of obedience occur in real-life settings and appear to provide support for the ecological validity of Milgram’s study.
Could support the idea of obidience as a result of legitimate authority
Hofling: Evaluation
Ecological validity: field experiment = high ecological validity reflects real life
Which study investigated the power of uniform?
Bickman
Brief description of Bickman’s study
Asked passers by in NY to either pick up rubbish, stand on the other side of a bus stop sign or lend money to a stranger.
When dressed as a security gaurd 92% of ppts obeyed
When dressed normally only 49% obeyed
