1. IB Psychology 2.09.17 Turn in: Conformity Nothing Take out: HW:
Today’s Agenda:
Conformity
HW:
CRA 4.5
Turn in:
Nothing
Take out:
Notes, notes, notes
Today’s Learning Objectives:
Discuss factors influencing conformity

2. Conformity

3. Do we learn to be “good” or “bad”?
Conformity
Do we learn to be “good” or “bad”?
Do we need to conform?
Do we need to be part of the group? Is this a learned trait, response, need?

4. The Baby Lab Experimenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRvVFW85IcU

5. Is behavior contagious?
Milgram et al. (1969)
Research confederates congregated and craned their necks to gawk at a window on the 6th floor of an apartment building
80% of all passers-by stopped and gazed upward
Anybody try it???

6. The Chameleon Effect Chartrand and Bargh (1999)
Do people automatically mimic others, even strangers?
Does mimicry increase liking?
Do high-perspective-takers exhibit the chameleon effect more?

7. The Chameleon Effect Chartrand and Bargh (1999)
Q: Do people automatically mimic others, even strangers?
A: Yes. Face touching 20% increase. Foot waggling 50% increase.
Q: Does mimicry increase liking?
A: Yes. Avg (1-9 scale) when mimicked—5.92 when not…
Q: Do high-perspective-takers exhibit the chameleon effect more?
A: Those with high scores showed 30% and 50% increase, but no emotional relationship—merely cognitive.

8. Stanford Prison Study
“Does the situation outside of you—the institution—come to control your behavior, or do the things inside of you—your attitude, your values, your morality—allow you to rise above a negative environment?”
–Philip G. Zimbardo
In 1971 Philip Zimbardo randomly assigned Stanford University students to be either ‘prisoners’ or ‘guards’ for a 2 week experiment.

9. Bags were placed over students heads,
they were stripped,
chained together,
sexually humiliated,
tripped by guards,
forced to clean toilets with their hands.

15. A few ‘rotten apples’ or
A rotten barrel?

17. Milgram’s studies at Yale, Zimbardo’s studies at Stanford and a large number of other follow-up studies all found that situational factors (not personal factors) were the overwhelming cause of inhumane behavior.
Yet our tendency is to erroneously blame the person.
This paradoxical bias can be conceptualized as ‘a special case’ of a general principle called “The Fundamental Attribution Error”.