Social Psychology The tremendous power of the situation....

What is Social Psych? Branch of psychology concerned with the personality, attitudes, motivations, and behavior of the individual or group in the context of social interaction.psychologypersonalityattitudemotivation

Power of The Situation Todays Agenda: Obedience to authority Conformity Stanford prison experiment (power of the situation; roles; authority)

Categories of Social Influence Obedience - changing one’s behavior in response to a directive from an authority figure

Obedience to Authority Stanley Milgram Participants thought that they were shocking participants Would the participants in Milgrams study have shocked to the limit if: Milgram had not been present A 5-year old were giving the orders There were two people and one stopped

Why Did They Do It? “I was just following orders” The situation had a strong effect Evidenced by the varying results when manipulating situational variables Most likely a combination of both the situation and the individual Synergistic affects

Milgram Replication Could it happen today? Would people still go all the way today? If so, what does that say about the mechanism that is causing the behavior? What does this say about human nature? Are we all evil?

Categories of Social Influence Conformity - changing one’s behavior to match the responses or actions of others (not necessarily due to pressure)

Which line on the right matches the one on the left?

Conformity Conformity: yielding to social pressure Solomon Asch and the Line Studies (1950’s)- replications Several confederates and one true participant Ask which line on the right most closely matches the one on the left With appropriate social pressure, (75%) of Ss caved at least once! Variation factors: Group size (7 and then plateau) Group unanimity

The Effect of The Situation? When alone, 95% of participants got all the answers correct. But 75% went against their own eyes at least once if the group gave a wrong answer.

Group Pressure What can we learn from this study? Group pressure can change behavior Illustrative of social pressure that we all are under (teenagers) Will all will conform to group norms given the right circumstances

Group Pressure Conclusion: People faced with strong group consensus sometimes go along even though they think the others may be wrong.

Conformity Video Replication of Asch’s work - Anthony Pratkanis Notice the agony on the students faces Which of the two types of cultures we discussed is more likely to fall victim to conformity? Why? Are high or low self-monitors likely to fall victim to pressures of conformity? Why?

Stanford Prison Experiment Philip Zimbardo Method Create a mock prison Assign students roles (Guards or Prisoners) See how role assignment and power of situation affects Ss Study had to be stopped after 6 days due to severe mental distress and treatment of the prisoners by the guards

What situational forces are at work? Small first steps...”15 volts”.. “give me your cloths” Took away individual identity Told to do things that are dehumanizing Small anonymity for guards (Ex., Big sunglasses) Very infrequent visits from warden (Zim) Commitment to take part Altering semantics - reframing “learner in Milgram” Increasing gradually- no noticeable huge step

What Did We Learn? If you were a guard, what type of guard would you have become? How sure are you? Why did no one say “I quit!” What prevented "good guards" from objecting or countermanding the orders from tough or bad guards? What factors would lead prisoners to attribute guard brutality to the guards' disposition or character, rather than to the situation? Explanation is not excuse

What Cognitive Factors Are At Work? Obedience to authority - Experimenter to Guard; Guard to prisoner Conformity - Going along with other guards/prisoners Attribution to external entity - “the experimenter is responsible” Normative influence - “All the other guards were doing it” Altercasting - “you are a guard... now act like one” Diffusion of responsibility - “I am not the only one responsible”

Similar Situations? What other real world instances can we say have extreme situational forces? All teenage years.... Fraternities & Sororities Sporting Events Interventions** Witnessing a murder?

Challenge! Go home and think... no really THINK about what you saw in class today. Ask yourself would I have went all the way in Milgrams or Zimbardo’s experiment? Why would I have... why wouldn't I have? What psychological factors would I have fallen victim to? Think about the way your answers to the above questions should change the way that you think next time you hear a news story in situation with powerful effects... Stop yourself from taking the easy way out...