Lecture 4 Flashcards
Q: What was the Clark Doll Study?
A:
Children were asked which doll was “nice” or “bad.”
White children showed bias toward white dolls, while Black children internalized negative stereotypes.
Used in the Supreme Court case ending school segregation in the U.S.
Q: How can prejudice be reduced?
A:
Cognitive strategies – Consciously override stereotypes.
Intergroup contact – Encourage cooperation between groups.
Superordinate goals – Shared goals requiring teamwork can reduce hostility.
Q: What are the motivational roots of prejudice?
A:
Realistic Conflict Theory – Competition for resources fosters prejudice.
Social Identity Theory – Prejudice arises from the need to enhance self-esteem through group identity.
Q: What are the cognitive roots of prejudice?
A:
Categorization leads to in-group vs. out-group perceptions.
In-group favoritism results in bias toward one’s own group.
Q: What was the Shopping While Black Experiment?
A:
A social experiment where a Black customer was falsely accused of stealing.
Other shoppers rarely intervened unless one person took action first (bystander effect).
Q: What was Solomon Asch’s (1955)
Conformity Study?
A:
Participants were asked which line matched another in length.
Alone, 99% answered correctly.
When group members gave wrong answers, many conformed despite knowing the correct answer.
Conformity peaked at 7 people.
Q: What is the difference between conformity and compliance?
A:
Conformity – Yielding to social pressure, even when unspoken.
Compliance – Publicly conforming while privately disagreeing.
Q: What are the two reasons we conform?
Informational Social Influence – Belief that others know better.
Normative Social Influence – Desire for acceptance and social benefits.
Q: What was the YouTube Beep Experiment?
A:
Participants stood up at a beep simply because others did.
Even when original participants left, the behavior continued.
Q: What factors influence conformity?
A:
Group size – Conformity increases with group size (up to 7 people).
Presence of a dissenter – Even one dissenter reduces conformity.
Q: How can you resist conformity pressure?
A:
Be aware of social forces influencing you.
Identify others who share your views.
Bring a friend with similar views.
Q: What is obedience?
A: Compliance with direct commands, usually from an authority figure. Stanley Milgram’s study demonstrated that people’s tendency to
obey is strong, even if they are asked to harm another person
Human behavior is determined more by the power of the
situation than by the character of the person
Q: What was Milgram’s (1963) Obedience Study?
A:
Participants were told to shock a “learner” when they made mistakes.
65% of participants administered the highest shock despite the learner’s distress.
Showed strong obedience to authority, even at the cost of harming others.
Q: What were key takeaways from Milgram’s experiment?
A:
Participants experienced stress but obeyed authority.
Obedience dropped 20% when the authority figure wore casual clothes instead of a lab coat.
Q: What is the Norm of Reciprocity?
A: The tendency to return favors when treated well.
Q: What is the Door-in-the-Face technique?
A:
Large request first (expected rejection).
Followed by a smaller request, which is more likely to be accepted.
Q: What is the Foot-in-the-Door technique?
A:
Start with a small request before making a larger one.
Example: People were more likely to complete a long survey if first asked to give quick advice.
Q: What is Lowballing?
A:
Getting someone to agree to a commitment before increasing the cost.
Example: A car is advertised as $8000, but after agreeing, the dealer raises the price slightly.
Q: What is the Scarcity Principle?
A:
People assume that scarce items are more valuable.
Used in marketing tactics like “Limited supply available” or “Time is running out!”
Q: What does 50/50 or 60/40 punishment behavior refer to?
A:
When people feel they are treated unfairly, they may accept no reward just to punish the other person.
Why Conformity
Normative influence: when people conform to social norms
fearing negative social consequences
* Informational influence: when people look to others for how to
behave in ambiguous situations
– the bystander effect
The Consistency
once people agree to something, they will
tend to stick with i
The Scarcity Principle
- People believe that if something is scarce, it must be good, and
they are more likely to buy it - Reactance occurs when people want what they can’t have
- This can be exploited by ads claiming:
– Limited supply available
– For a limited time only
– Order while they last
– Time is running out
Prejudice and Discrimination
- Prejudice: negative attitudes toward
members of a group - Discrimination: behaving differently,
usually unfairly, toward members of a
group - Prejudice and discrimination often go
together, but not always - Prejudices and stereotypes can be
triggered without conscious awareness
and have consequences for behavior
