Effects of status and social power within groups

Key terms Group- Two or more people interacting with a shared purpose. Social Power – The amount of influence that an individual can exert over another person. Conform- to comply or go along with rules, standards, or laws. Status – An individuals position in a group.

Which of the following are classified as groups? Twenty people are travelling on a number 42 tram. 
 Three people are sharing a taxi to the airport. 
 Two people are playing chess. 
 The Collingwood cheer squad is making the banner for 
next week’s game. 
 Twenty people attend a school reunion. 
 Forty-three thousand Carlton supporters attend the 
opening football game of the season.

Types of Social power Raven and French (1958) Social power Description Example Reward This power is based on the ability to reward a person who compiles with the desired behaviour Coercive This power is based on the ability to punish a person for failure to comply Legitimate This power is based on our acceptance of a person as an agent of established social order. Referent We refer to the person for direction we want to be like the person Expert We recognise a person has knowledge or expertise in a specific filed due to their training and experience Favourite band. Dressing up in their style Employers giving staff a bonus Taking the medication that the doctor has prescribed Teacher giving detention Police officer giving out a fine for speeding

Types of Social power Social power Description Example Reward This power is based on the ability to reward a person who compiles with the desired behaviour Employers giving staff a bonus Coercive This power is based on the ability to punish a person for failure to comply Police officer giving out a fine for speeding Legitimate This power is based on our acceptance of a person as an agent of established social order. Teacher giving detention Referent We refer to the person for direction we want to be like the person Favourite band. Dressing up in their style Expert We recognise a person has knowledge or expertise in a specific filed due to their training and experience Taking the medication that the doctor has prescribed Raven and French (1958)

Role play time! Which power are we? Students to get into groups 4-5. Teacher will give you a specific power. You are to come up with your own example as a group and create a 30second role play to demonstrate this power. Rest of the class will try to guess which type of power you had!

Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment (1971)

McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from www McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html Aim To investigate how readily people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life. Zimbardo (1973) was interested in finding out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards or had more to do with the prison environment.

Procedure To study the roles people play in prison situations, Zimbardo converted a basement of the Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison. He advertised for students to play the roles of prisoners and guards for a fortnight. 21 male college students (chosen from 75 volunteers) were screened for psychological normality and paid $15 per day to take part in the experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to either the role of prisoner or guard in a simulated prison environment. The prison simulation was kept as “real life” as possible. Prisoners were arrested at their own homes, without warning, and taken to the local police station. Guards were also issued a khaki uniform, together with whistles, handcuffs and dark glasses, to make eye contact with prisoners impossible. No physical violence was permitted. Zimbardo observed the behavior of the prisoners and guards. McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Procedure Here they were treated like every other criminal.  They were fingerprinted, photographed and ‘booked’.  Then they were blindfolded and driven to the psychology department of Stanford University, where Zimbardo had had the basement set out as a prison, with barred doors and windows, bare walls and small cells.  Here the ‘deindividuation’ process began. When the prisoners arrived at the prison they were stripped naked, deloused, had all their personal possessions removed and locked away, and were given prison clothes and bedding. They were issued a uniform, and referred to by their number only. Their clothes comprised a smock with their number written on it, but no underclothes. They also had a tight nylon cap, and a chain around one ankle. There were 3 guards to the 9 prisoners, taking shifts of eight hours each (the other guards remained on call) McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Findings Within a very short time both guards and prisoners were settling into their new roles, the guards adopting theirs quickly and easily. Within hours of beginning the experiment some guards began to harass prisoners. Over the next few days the relationships between the guards and the prisoners changed, with a change in one leading to a change in the other. Prisoners became more submissive, the guards became more aggressive and assertive. They demanded ever greater obedience from the prisoners. McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Findings One prisoner had to be released after 36 hours because of uncontrollable bursts of screaming, crying and anger. His thinking became disorganized and he appeared to be entering the early stages of a deep depression. Within the next few days three others also had to leave after showing signs of emotional disorder that could have had lasting consequences. (These were people who had been pronounced stable and normal a short while before.) Zimbardo (1973) had intended that the experiment should run for a fortnight, but on the sixth day he closed it down. There was real danger that someone might be physically or mentally damaged if it was allowed to run on. After some time for the researchers to gather their data the subjects were called back for a follow-up, debriefing session. McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Conclusion 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 behavior (none of the participants who acted as guards showed aggressive tendencies before the study). Therefore, the roles that people play can shape their behavior and attitudes. Social power is highly influenced by social roles. Peoples attitudes, thoughts and behaviour change when power and status are changed and/or manipulated. McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Ethical considerations There was a lack of fully informed consent by participants. The consent could not be fully informed as Zimbardo himself did not know what would happen in the experiment (it was unpredictable). There was a high level of humiliation and distress experienced by those who acted as prisoners. Participants playing the role of prisoners were not protected from psychological and physical harm. McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Task Answer the following questions in your workbook: Define group, social power, conform and status in your own words. Explain a time where you have exercised one of Raven and French’s 5 types of power. Complete Zimbardo experiment template (see compass resources). How can status and power affect a person or group? (give your own example) What are your thoughts on the experiment? How else could you test status and power and whether they influence people? Complete activity 6.1 (p161) & 6.15 (p186) in activity manual.