Week 7: Social Psychology

Question 1

What is Social Psychology?

Answer 1

The area of study that attempts to explain how the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others influences the thoughts, feelings, and behaviour of individuals.

Question 2

What is Pro-Social Behaviour?

Answer 2

Conditions under which people are likely to help each other.

Question 3

What is Aggression?

Answer 3

Conditions under which people are likely to hurt each other.

Question 4

What is Conformity?

Answer 4

Going along with the group.

Invovles changing or adopting behaviour / attitudes to align with the norms of a group or the expectation of others.

Question 5

What does Conformity involve?

Answer 5

Changing or adopting a behaviour or an attitude to be consistent with the norms of a group or the expectation of other people.

Question 6

Why is some conformity necessary?

Answer 6

We need other people, so we must conform to their expectations to some extent in order to have their esteem or approval, friendship or love.

Question 7

Give an example of conformity in teens.

Answer 7

Teens who attend schools where most students are opposed to smoking, drinking and drugs are less likely to use these substances than are peers who attend schools where the majority approve of these behaviours.

Question 8

What are Norms?

Answer 8

The standards of behaviour and the attitudes that are expected of members of the group.

Question 9

What was Solomon Asch’s Experiment about?

Answer 9

The best-known experiment on conformity involving a standard line and three additional line options.

Question 10

What were the results of Asch’s Experiment?

Answer 10

5% of participants conformed to the incorrect majority all the time, 70% conformed some of the time, and 25% remained completely independent.

Question 11

How did group size influence conformity in Asch’s Experiment?

Answer 11

Majorities of 15 produced no higher conformity rates than those of 3.

Question 12

What effect did dissenting opinions have in Asch’s Experiment?

Answer 12

If just one other person voiced a dissenting opinion, the tendency to conform was not as strong.

Question 13

What is Obedience?

Answer 13

Following orders.

Question 14

Why is some obedience required?

Answer 14

If society is to function.

Question 15

What did Stanley Milgram study?

Answer 15

How far ordinary citizens would go to obey orders.

Question 16

What was the intention of the Milgram Study?

Answer 16

To investigate how far participants would go in obeying orders to administer what they believed were painful electric shocks.

Question 17

What were the results of the Milgram Study?

Answer 17

87.5% continued to administer shocks up to 300 volts, and 65% obeyed to the maximum of 450 volts.

Question 18

What was a variation of the Milgram Study?

Answer 18

Conducting the experiment in a run-down building, where 48% administered the maximum shock.

Question 19

What did Jerry Burger’s 2009 study conclude?

Answer 19

The obedience rates were roughly the same as in Milgram’s original experiment.

Question 20

What is Compliance?

Answer 20

Acting in accordance with the wishes, suggestions, or direct requests of another person.

Question 21

What is the Foot-in-the-Door Technique?

Answer 21

A strategy designed to secure a favourable response to a small request first, making the subject more likely to agree later to a larger request.

Question 22

What were the results of the Foot-in-the-Door Technique experiment?

Answer 22

53% of the foot-in-the-door group agreed to a large request compared to 22% of the control group.

Question 23

What is the Door-in-the-Face Technique?

Answer 23

A strategy in which someone makes a large, unreasonable request first, expecting refusal, followed by a smaller request.

Question 24

What were the results of the Door-in-the-Face Technique experiment?

Answer 24

Half of the students agreed to the smaller request after refusing the larger one.

Question 25

What is the Lowball Technique?

Answer 25

A strategy to gain compliance by making a very attractive initial offer and then making the terms less favourable.

Question 26

What were the results of the Lowball Technique experiment?

Answer 26

55% of the lowballed group agreed to participate in a 7am class compared to 25% who were informed upfront.

Question 27

What is Social Facilitation?

Answer 27

Any positive or negative effect on performance due to the presence of others.

Question 28

What is Social Loafing?

Answer 28

The tendency to put forth less effort when working with others on a common task than when working alone.

Question 29

What factors can lessen social loafing?

Answer 29

When participants believe their output can be monitored, when group size is small, and when they are personally involved.

Question 30

What is Group Polarization?

Answer 30

The tendency of members of a group to shift toward a more extreme position after group discussion.

Question 31

What is Groupthink?

Answer 31

The tendency for members of a cohesive group to prioritize group solidarity over adequately weighing available evidence.

Question 32

How can groups guard against groupthink?

Answer 32

Encourage open discussion of alternative views and have outside experts challenge the group's views.

Question 33

What are Social Roles?

Answer 33

Behaviours considered appropriate for individuals occupying certain positions within a group.

Question 34

What was Zimbardo’s Prison Study about?

Answer 34

An experiment illustrating how roles can dictate actions, involving 'fake' guards and prisoners.

Question 35

What are roles in a group context?

Answer 35

Behaviours considered appropriate for individuals occupying certain positions within a group.

Question 36

Why are roles useful?

Answer 36

They tell us beforehand how people, even those we have never met before, are likely to act toward us in many situations.

Question 37

How can behaviour differ in relation to roles?

Answer 37

Behaviour can differ dramatically as one shifts from role to role.

Question 38

How do roles shape human behaviour?

Answer 38

Roles can shape human behaviour to an alarming degree, as illustrated by Philip Zimbardo.

Question 39

What is Zimbardo’s Prison Study?

Answer 39

One of the most famous studies in social psychology involving 'fake' guards and prisoners taken off of university campus for a 2-week period, called off after six days.

Question 40

What were the findings of Zimbardo’s Prison Study?

Answer 40

Prisoners and guards fell into their roles quickly, indicating the ease with which people accept and abide by assigned social roles and the consequences on behaviour.

Question 41

What is deindividuation in the context of the study?

Answer 41

Deindividuation occurs when individuals lose their sense of personal identity as a result of identification with a group.

Question 42

What is one criticism of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 42

Psychologists Haslam and Reicher believe the nature of the instructions given to the 'guards' may have caused harsh behaviour and rendered the 'prisoners' powerless.

Question 43

What is another criticism regarding personality?

Answer 43

McFarland and Carnahan argue that personality may have played a role in the 'guards' extremely abusive behaviour.

Question 44

What does recent research suggest about the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Answer 44

It suggests the experiment was flawed and biased, with evidence it had been done in one of Zimbardo’s classes prior to the published study, questioning its validity.