Week 5 Flashcards
(10 cards)
What are cultural norms?
Shared expectations about how people should think, feel, and behave.
Cultural norms can also include both spoken and unspoken rules.
How do formal laws relate to cultural norms?
They legislate what is considered ‘Desirable’.
Formal laws often reflect the cultural norms of a society.
What are some examples of cultural norms?
- Rules of etiquette (e.g. personal space)
- Views of love and marriage
- What is considered sexually attractive
These norms help maintain social order.
What are social roles?
A set of cultural norms that characterize how people in a given social position should behave or are perceived.
Social roles can vary widely across different cultures.
How can social roles influence behavior?
They can compel a person to act uncharacteristically, going against their own values.
This phenomenon was illustrated in the Stanford Prison Study.
What was the Stanford Prison Study?
A 1971 experiment at Stanford University simulating prison life with students as ‘prisoners’ and ‘guards’.
The study aimed to observe how people took on constructed roles.
What was the result of the Stanford Prison Study?
The experiment was stopped after 6 days due to powerful emotional reactions.
It was deemed unethical to continue the study.
What does the Stanford Prison Study demonstrate?
How people are impressionable when given a socially legitimized role.
This study is often compared to Milgram’s Obedience study regarding authority.
Fill in the blank: Cultural norms are also _______ rules that keep social systems running smoothly.
unspoken
True or False: The Stanford Prison Study lasted the full two weeks as initially planned.
False
