Key Studies Flashcards
(23 cards)
1
Q
What did Asch study in 1951 & 1955?
A
Asch conducted research into conformity
2
Q
What was Asch’s procedure?
A
- Gathered 50 males, who were undergraduates from the USA
- Placed them individually in a room of 7 other confederates
- Shown 5 lines (one stimulus and 4 others) they had to choose which on the 4 lines were equal
- The confederates decided beforehand that they would choose the obvious incorrect answer to see if the naive participant would follow suit
3
Q
What were the results of Asch’s study?
A
- 75% of naive Pps conformed at least once, 25% did not
- In the control, with no confederates, less than 1% provided the wrong answer
- Asch discovered that his Pps decisions were heavily influenced by NSI & ISI
4
Q
What three variables did Asch study?
A
1) Unanimity
2) Task Difficulty
3) Group Size
5
Q
How did Asch study unanimity?
A
- Asch introduced a confederate Pps to disagree with the confederates who were providing the wrong answer to break up complete uanimity.
- He discovered that conformity among naive Pps dropped by 80%.
- This is because the prescence of a dissenter allowed the naive Pps to be free in voicing their opinion
6
Q
How did Asch study task difficulty?
A
- He made all the lines seem equal to the stimulus line
- He discovered an increase in ISI
7
Q
How did Asch study group size?
A
- He slowly introduced confederates to the room, starting at one
- He discovered that only 3 confederates were needed for optimum conformity
8
Q
What are two advantages of Asch’s study?
A
- Asch’s study was conducted in a lab = More control of extraneous and confounding variables = High external validity, meaning results are reliable
- The reliability of Asch’s data means that the study can be repeated = This is allows researchers to research whether conformity changes over time
9
Q
What are two disadvantages of Asch’s study?
A
- Asch’s study cannot be generalised among all cultures = This is because Asch conducted his study in America (individualistic culture) rather than a collectivist culture, such as China = This is because confomirty tends to be higher in collectivist cultures
- Conducted in a lab experiment = Artificial = Lacked ecological validity = Pps would have gathered they were being studied due to surroundings = increasing chance of demand characteristics
10
Q
What did Zimbardo study in 1973?
A
In 1973, Zimbardo conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment to study conformity to social roles
11
Q
What was Zimbardo’s procedure?
A
- Gathered 24 male participants from the USA, who had no physical or mental difficulties
- He split them up randomly into two gorups and assigned each group a role (either guards or prisoners)
- The prisoners were unexpectedly arrested by the local police department and put in ‘jail’ in a converted university basement
- The guards were instructed to keep the prison in order and control the prisoners
- Over time, the guards became demeaning and physically violent with the prisoners
12
Q
What were Zimbardo’s results?
A
- He quickly discovered that all of his participants played up to their role, even if the role went against their morals and principles
- The prisoners began rebelling, the guards became violent and demeaning
13
Q
What did Zimbardo conclude?
A
People will quickly conform to the role which they believe is expected of them
14
Q
What are two advantages of Zimbardo’s research?
A
- Zimbardo had strict control over who was selected = Only males who were physically and mentally stable = high internal validity
- The roles were realistically reinforced = E.g. prisoners were unexpectedly arrested = Real emotion and action was shown
15
Q
What are two disadvantages of Zimbardo’s research?
A
- Zimbardo’s study cannot be generalised = Only male participants were selected = Studies show that females are more likely to conform than men
- Ethical issues = Harm = Some males were severely stressed and some wre not mentall stable due to the treatment
16
Q
What did Milgram research in 1963?
A
- In 1963, Milgram researched obedience to authority
17
Q
What was Milgram’s procedure?
A
- 40 male participants
- Naive Pps were the teachers, the confederates were the learners and there was an experimenter, in the lab coat (Naive Pps were lead to believe these roles were randoly assigned)
- The teacher asked the learner, who was behind a wall, questions. If the learner got a question wrong, the teacher would exert an electric shock on the learner (no one was shocked)
- Everytime the learner got a question wrong, the voltage would increase (up to 450 volts)
- If the teacher refused, the experimenter gave them 4 prods, instructing them to do it
18
Q
What were Milgram’s results?
A
- All participants went up to 300 volts, 65% went all up to 450 volts
19
Q
What did Milgram conclude?
A
- Under the right circumstances, in this case no responsibility and a controlled environment, ordinary people will follow unjust rules
20
Q
What are two advantages of Milgram’s study?
A
- The study was repeated twice = Similar results were shown = Provides the date with reliabilty and increases the validity of his conclusion
- All the participants were different, with different backgrounds, so the results could be generalised
21
Q
What are two disadvantages of Milgram’s study?
A
- Demand characteristics = Pps were under the watchful eye of an experimenter in a presitgious university = Pps may have acted how they felt they should have done
- Unethical = Deception = The learner was only a confederate and no one was actually hurt
22
Q
What three situational variables did Milgram study?
A
1) Uniform
2) Location
3) Proximity
23
Q
How did Milgram study location?
A
- He completed his variation experiment in a run down bulding, rather than the Prestigious Yale University
- It was not a credible location, not one you can
