Experiments Flashcards
What was the aim Solomon Asch Line Judgement Task & what year was it in?
Asch wanted to investigate whether people would conform to the majority in situations where an answer was obvious.
In 1951
Q
How did the Asch test go?
Participants were presented with an image of lines and were asked to compare line lengths and verbally announce their opinion.
However, within the room there was only 1 real participant – the rest were stooges (confederates).
On some of the trials, the stooges were asked to answer incorrectly in order to see what the real participant would do.
What were the findings of the Asch experiment
- On 12 of the 18 trials, the stooges answered incorrectly
Findings:
-75% of participants agreed (incorrectly) with the stooges at least once.
-50% of the participants agreed (incorrectly) on 6 or more trials.
-Only 25% of people disagreed on every incorrect trial.
What were the criticisms of the Asch experiment
-This is a very basic view of conformity – doesn’t explain the complexities of conformity in society.
-Sample only included men.
What was the Stanley Milgram Experiment
To find out how many people (& how far they would go)would obey an authority figure when directly ordered to violate their own ethical standards.
What was the process of the Milgram experiment
- They were split into pairs where one person would be a “teacher” and the other, the “learner” – however what participants didn’t know was that all learners were stooges and were a part of the experiment.
-In separate rooms, “Teachers” would be asked to read out a list of questions that the “learner” was to answer – however if they got it wrong, the “learner” would be shocked by an electrode attached to their arm (or so the “teacher” thought).
-After each incorrect answer, the “teacher” would increase the voltage all the way up to 450 volts (a lethal voltage). However well before this, the “learner” would have fallen silent and unresponsive.
What were the results of Milgram experiment
- 65% of participants continued through to 450 volts – even after hearing the “learner” shouting and asking to stop
- All participants administered 300 volts
What were the factors affecting Milgrams experiment
-Immediacy or proximity to the victim.
Further studies found that if the “teacher” could see the “learner”, obedience dropped.
-Immediacy or proximity of the experimenter.
Removing experimenter from room with “teacher” decreased obedience.
-Authority of the experimenter
How legit they look – wearing a lab coat & in a university setting vs casual & in a non-university setting
What were the limitation/criticisms of the Milgram experiment
- Lacked validity as it was carried out in a lab under artificial conditions. This means that it might not be possible to generalise the finding to a real life setting.
- Gender biased. Milgram only used males.
What were strengths of Milgram study
- For instance Milgram’s work gives an insight into why people under the Nazi reign were willing to kill Jews when given orders to do so. It also highlights how we can all be blind to obedience often doing things without question.
- A strength of the study is that it used a standardised procedure because it was a lab experiment. This is good because it improves the reliability of the study and also helps establish a causal relationship.
What were some ethical considerations of the Milgram study
-Deception– the participants actually believed they were shocking a real person, and were unaware the learner was a confederate of Milgram’s.
- Protection of participants- Participants were exposed to extremely stressful situations that may have the potential to cause psychological harm. Many of the participants were visibly distressed.
What was the smoke fillled room experiment (Latane and Darley) & in what year
As they filled out the forms, smoke began to enter the room through a small vent in the wall. By the end of four minutes, there was enough smoke to obscure vision and interfere with breathing. Darley and Latané examined how the students reacted to this smoke in two different conditions.
-In the first condition, the students were alone. When this was the case, they invariably investigated the smoke more closely and then went out into the hallway to tell someone about it.
- But in the second condition, the students were not alone. There were two or three other people in the room, who were secret confederates of the researchers. They had been instructed to not react to the smoke. They would look up at it, stare briefly, shrug their shoulders, and continue working on the forms. If asked about it, they would simply say, “I dunno.”
- 1968
What were the results of the Smoke-Filled room
- In this setting, according to Darley and Latané, “only one of the ten subjects… reported the smoke. the other nine subjects stayed in the waiting room for the full six minutes while it continued to fill up with smoke, doggedly working on their questionnaires and waving the fumes away from their faces. They coughed, rubbed their eyes, and opened the window – but they did not report the smoke.”
What was the festinger & carlsmith study & in what yr
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) investigated if making people perform a dull task would create cognitive dissonance through “forced compliance” behaviour.
what occured in the festinger & carlsmith srudy
Festinger and Carlsmith had participants complete a very boring task of turning wooden pegs in a board ¼ turn at a time, for an hour.
One group was paid $1 to do this, and another group was paid $20.
Which group should enjoy the task more?
