Studies Paper 1 Flashcards
Kelman (1958)
identifies the following 3 types of conformity, going from weakest to strongest: Compliance, Identification, internalisation.
Asch Line Experiment (1955)
The aim of these experiments was to find out the extent to which people would conform to an obviously wrong majority consensus.
123 male participants
participants were put in groups of 7-9 confederates
18 trials completed
75% of participants conformed to at least one incorrect answer
5% conformed to every incorrect answer
distortions of: perception
Judgement and action
Explanations of Conformity - Dutch and Gerard (1955)
identified Normative and Informational SI
Zimbardo: Stanford Prison Experiment
The aim of the Stanford prison study (Zimbardo et al (1973)) was to find out how much people conform to the social roles of prisoner and guard in a prison situation.
21 male participants form a total of 75 applicants
split into 10 guards and 11 prisoners
guards worked 8 hour shifts and could go home after.
prisoners were arrested in their homes by real police and were subject to official processes.
prisoners wore standard issue prison outfits
scheduled to run for 2 weeks but cut short due to psychological trauma (6 days)
guards became increasingly sadistic
Zimbardo was involved (researcher bias)
what are the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Stanford Prison Experiment
STRENGTHS
Demonstrates the effects of conforming to social roles. Lead to a reform in the way juvenile offenders are treated
WEAKNESSES
Lacks Ecological/External Validity
Ethical concerns
Milgram Obedience Study
40 males (20-50)
Experimenter wore a lab coat to create impression of authority
experimenter told the participant the test would involve giving increasingly powerful electric shocks to the learner from a machine in the room next door
Starting at 15 volts and increasing by 15 volts each time all the way up to 450 volts.
150 volts, the learner began to protest. These protests (pre-recorded and played via a tape recorder) increased in intensity with the increasing voltage. At 315 volts, the learner screamed in pain. After 330 volts, the learner went silent.
If the participant asked to stop the experiment, the experimenter would reply with one of four successive verbal prods:
“Please continue” or “please go on”
“The experiment requires that you continue”
“It is absolutely essential that you continue”
“You have no other choice, you must go on”
26 out of 40 participants (65%) administered shocks all the way up to the maximum of 450 volts.
40 out of 40 participants (100%) administered shocks up to 300 volts.
Strengths and weaknesses of Milgrams Study
Reliable as replicated studies have shown similar results
Milgram’s experiments demonstrate the extent to which humans obey authority – even if doing so may be dangerous. This is a valuable psychological insight that could have beneficial applications in society.
Unethical: Milgram’s study was initially considered so unethical that Milgram’s membership of the American Psychological Association was suspended.
Variables affecting Obedience (Milgram)
Proximity
Location
Uniform
All demonstrated by Milgram in variations of his study. all yielding varying results as a result of changing independent variables
Rotter (1966)
Developed a scale to measure a person’s locus of control
Internal: the person believes their own choices shape their life
External: The person believes their life is controlled by things out of their control
Moscovici (1969) Minority influence
Participants were divided into groups of 6 (4 real participants and 2 confederates) and told they were taking part in a study of visual perception. The participants were shown 36 shades of blue and asked to say out loud what the colour was.
In the control group (no confederates), participants said the colours were green 0.25% of the time.
In the inconsistent minority group (where confederates said 24/36 colours were green), participants said the colours were green 1.25% of the time.
In the consistent minority group (where confederates said 36/36 colours were green), participants said the colours were green 8.4% of the time.
Moscovici (1969) identified components of successful minority influence
Consistency
commitment
Flexibility
