Social Psychology

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Definition:Discipline that uses scientific methods to

understand and explain how the thought, feeling and behaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other human beings.

Gordon Allport 1985

Heroes are those who can somehow resist the power of the situation and act out of noble motives, or behave in ways that do not demean others when they easily can.

Evil is knowing better, but deliberately doing worse.

The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces.

HOW MANY BEANS ARE THERE IN THE GLASS?(JENNESS, 1932)

CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE

Studied primarily after WWII as a direct result of the Holocaust.

Psychologists sought to explain how and why so many men and women were influenced and persuaded to commit such horrific acts.

The effects of social influence.

CONFORMITY

Conformity involves a change of behaviour or opinion in order to fit in with a group.

This may be a membership group (family or peers), or it may be a reference group (pop or sports stars). This group can be either a majority or a minority group.

ASCH’S VISUAL JUDGEMENT STUDY, 1951

ASCH

Aim: To assess the effect of social pressure on an individual to conform

Participants: 1 naïve participant, 7 confederates.

Procedure: Each person to say aloud which comparison line matched the stimulus line.

Each participant completed 18 trials 12 of which the confederates gave wrong answers.

RESULTS

75% of participants conformed at least once.

25% never conformed. Average – 36.8% After trial MOST claimed they knew the

answer was wrong but did not want to be ridiculed.

SOME said they genuinely believed the answer to be correct.

DO WE ALL EVENTUALLY CONFORM?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgDx5g9ql1g

RELIABILITY

Biased sample Artificial task Ethical issues ‘Child of its time’

KEY STUDY – MORI AND ARAI, 2010

Aim – a modern study to test for conformity in unambiguous situations.

Participants – 104 Japanese undergraduate students. 40 men, 64 women.

Method and procedure. – Groups of 4 would wear special MORI glasses and shown the same set of lines. The glasses would cause ¼ to see the comparison lines differently and therefore should have a different answer. The ppts were asked to report aloud which line they believed matched the stimulus line. The ppt that should have the different line would always go 3rd.

RESULTS

Women conformed more than men.

Why do you think this is?

Do you see any flaws in the methodology.

WHY DO PEOPLE CONFORM?

Normative Influence – compliance. Internally aware that it is wrong but changes behaviour due to majority influence.

Informational social influence. – Identification – a temporary belief both internally and externally in order to relate to the majority. Task will be ambiguous and the person will be unsure whether it is right or wrong. Internalisation – a permanent change in values and beliefs both internally and externally.

Deutsch and Gerard, 1955

RESEARCH INTO CONFORMITY

Ambiguous Situations (Jenness, 1932, Sherif, 1935). Informational influence, situational factor.

Fear of ridicule (suggested by Asch, supported by Schachter, 1951) Normative influence, situational factor

Individual Differences (suggested by Asch, supported by Burger and Cooper, 1979). Individual factors,

Gender Differences (Eagly and Carli, 1981, Eagly 1978)Individual factors

INDIVIDUAL VS SOCIAL FACTORS

Psychologists then began to question what had the biggest impact on conformity; individual factors or situational.

Individual Situational

Gender Normative

Self- esteem Informational

Personality

Experience

ZIMBARDO BACKGROUND

Interested in exploring the unrest and riots experienced in US prisons throughout the 60s.

By putting ‘normal’ people in these situations Zimbardo could test which factor has the biggest impact; individual or situational.

If the participants behaved in the same way as the real guards and prisoners then conformity would be due to situational factors.

ZIMBARDO STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT 1971

Aim: To observe the effects of making ‘good’, ‘normal’ people prisoners or guards.

Participants: 24 middle class male college students. No criminal convictions. Paid $15 per day.

Procedure: Flip of coin decided roles. Prisoners arrested at their homes. Procedure was to be as realistic as possible in method, clothing and setting.

RESULTS Study planned to run for 2 weeks and had to be

stopped after 6 days. Guards became too sadistic. (Night) Prisoners too stressed. People will readily conform to the social roles they

are expected to play, especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped as those of the prison guards. The “prison” environment was an important factor in creating the guards’ brutal behaviour (none of the participants who acted as guards showed sadistic tendencies before the study). Therefore, the roles that people play can shape their behaviour and attitudes.

ZIMBARDO INTERVIEW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0jYx8nwjFQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=760lwYmpXbc

EVALUATION

Demand characteristics and ecological validity.

Usefulness.

MINORITY INFLUENCE

List examples in history when the minority has had influence over the majority.

Minority Influence – when a small section of a group influences the behaviour and/or beliefs of others resulting in their conformity.

Without minority influence there would be no social change. (Majority would maintain status quo)

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAJORITY AND MINORITY

Numbers Compliance or conversion? Innovation or status quo? Imitation or originality?

MINORITY INFLUENCE MOSCOVICI, 1976 Minorities influence is a result of their

behavioural style Active Organised Consistently advocating and defending

their position. Consistent behaviour of minority →

social conflict/doubt amongst members of the majority → social change.

RESEARCH INTO MINORITY INFLUENCE Behavioural style (Moscovici, 1969) Non Situational Factors (Nemeth et al,

1974 and 1987) Situational Factors (Moscovici and

Nemeth, 1974) Minority and Majority Influence (Clark

1994)

REAL LIFE CONFORMITY

UFO Cult Suicides – 39 Dead 39 members of a cult were found dead, believed to have taken their own

lives in a mass suicide, in San Diego, California yesterday. The cult was linked with the Hale-Bopp comet by the belief that they would be delivered to eternal life after death if they committed suicide at the right moment and linked up with the comet’s tail, it was revealed. The cult known as the Heaven’s Gate had its own website and left details of the suicide in videotaped announcements. Police found the bodies of the 21 women and 18 men in a wealthy suburb near San Diego. The cult used purple shawls in triangular shapes to cover parts of their bodies and all of them were found in the same position. Their deaths were believed to have been the result of an overdose of sleeping tablets. The group had prepared themselves well for their ‘departure’ with suitcases and notes about the drugs they had taken; these were mixed with alcohol. They had also left official papers to allow themselves to be identified easily and had written details of their mission which had been posted on the Internet.