week 12 Flashcards
What was the primary objective of Stanley Milgram’s obedience studies conducted in 1963?
The primary objective was to understand how far individuals would go in obeying instructions if it involved harming another person, exploring the influence of authority on human behavior, particularly in the context of the Holocaust.
What were some of the different conditions under which Milgram conducted his experiments?
Milgram varied conditions like the proximity of the authority figure (in the room or giving instructions by phone), the location of the experiment, and the proximity of the ‘learner.’ These changes were meant to observe how different settings and authority dynamics influenced obedience.
What ethical concerns were raised by Milgram’s obedience studies?
The main ethical concerns involved the stress and potential psychological harm to the participants, who believed they were inflicting real shocks. This sparked a significant debate and led to the establishment of stricter ethical guidelines in psychological research.
Describe the implications and fallout from Milgram’s obedience studies, including how they impacted psychological research and ethical guidelines.
The studies had a profound impact on ethical guidelines, leading to increased protections for participants in psychological experiments. They also challenged assumptions about the nature of evil, showing the powerful influence of authority on individual behavior.
Based on Gina Perry’s insights and other sources, what were some of the participants’ experiences and perspectives on Milgram’s experiments?
Perry’s research indicates that many participants were traumatized, feeling guilt and distress, which contradicted Milgram’s claims about the benign nature of the experiments.
What was the nature of Kurt Lewin’s Ph.D. dissertation supervision under Carl Stumpf?
Kurt Lewin’s Ph.D. dissertation at the Psychological Institute was supervised by Carl Stumpf in a relaxed manner, providing students with a high degree of freedom. Lewin’s thesis topic was presented to Stumpf by an assistant, and Lewin himself had minimal direct interaction with Stumpf during his studies.
Who influenced Kurt Lewin’s theories and how?
Lewin was influenced by the emerging group of Gestalt psychologists and the neo-Kantian philosopher Ernst Cassirer. While he disagreed with some aspects of Gestalt theory, its influence remained evident in his work. Cassirer’s belief in diverse symbolic forms shaping human experience fundamentally influenced Lewin’s theory construction.
What is Kurt Lewin’s field theory, and what does it encompass?
: Kurt Lewin’s field theory posits that behavior is a function of the person and the environment, encompassed within the concept of ‘life space.’ The life space includes both the person and the environment and represents the totality of possible events that determine behavior at a given moment.
What is the Zeigarnik Effect, and what does it suggest about memory and task completion?
The Zeigarnik Effect, observed by Lewin’s student Bluma Zeigarnik, suggests that people tend to remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones. It indicates that tension created within a person by an unfinished task persists and influences memory.
How did Kurt Lewin’s interest in group dynamics contribute to social change?
Lewin’s focus on group dynamics led to the development of sensitivity training or T-groups. These groups, formed initially to combat racial and religious prejudice, discovered that feedback on behavior could lead to increased tolerance and self-acceptance, making T-groups powerful agents of change.
What were Fritz Heider’s main contributions to social psychology?
Fritz Heider, influenced by Gestalt psychology and Kurt Lewin, contributed significantly to the psychology of interpersonal relations. He explored common-sense psychology and the concept of balanced and unbalanced states in interpersonal relationships
Phenomena Leading Gestalt Psychologists to Object to Associationism
The phenomena that led Gestalt psychologists to object to associationism included perceptual experiences, such as the way humans perceive patterns and wholes, not just individual elements. For example, in visual perception, people tend to see organized patterns and shapes (like recognizing a face in a crowd) rather than just a random collection of features. This holistic perception contradicted the associationist view that perceptions and thoughts are merely the sum of individual sensory elements.
Basic Features of Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology, as outlined in Koffka’s “Principles of Gestalt Psychology” and “The Growth of the Mind,” emphasizes that the mind perceives external stimuli as whole forms rather than as the sum of their parts. An example is the Gestalt law of Prägnanz, which suggests that people will perceive and interpret ambiguous or complex images as the simplest form(s) possible. Another example is the phenomenon of closure, where the mind completes incomplete figures to form familiar shapes.
Lewin’s Approach: Field Theory, Life Space, Topology, Action Research
Lewin’s field theory suggests that behavior is a function of the person and their environment, encapsulated within the ‘life space.’ The life space represents the totality of influences on a person’s behavior at any given time. Topology refers to the mapping of psychological spaces to understand these influences. For example, in group dynamics, the social environment (field) influences individual behaviors and interactions (life space). Action research, an application of this theory, involves a cycle of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting to bring about social change, such as in organizational settings.
Gestalt Theory of Thinking: Köhler’s and Wertheimer’s Theories and Experiments
The Gestalt theory of thinking, as developed by Köhler and Wertheimer, emphasizes that problem-solving and thinking involve perceiving the structure of a problem as a whole. Köhler’s experiments with apes, where they used insight to solve problems (like stacking boxes to reach bananas), demonstrated that thinking is not just a trial-and-error process but involves understanding the entire situation. Wertheimer’s theories also focused on the importance of patterns and configurations in thinking, rather than isolated elements.
