Social Psychology Case Studies

Milgram 1963 - Obedience

Aim - To test the hypothesis that "Germans are different" following the atrocities committed in WW1&2. Procedure - 40 male volunteers took part in a controlled observational study (which they were deceived into thinking was a test of learning). The naive p was assigned the role of 'teacher' and a confed. played the role of the learner. A word association test was the learning task & the naive p was instructed to deliver an electric shock to the learner for each incorrect answer. The 2 were in separate rooms with no voice contact. The measure of obedience was the strength of the electric shock given on a scale of 15-450 volts. The shocks weren't real. Findings - All p's continued to give shocks up to 300v & 65% of p's continued to 450v (contradicted the estimate of only 3%). Most p's showed signs of extreme tension. Conclusion - The research demonstrated that obedience was due more to situatinal factors, the status of the experimenter, and the pressure exerted on the p rather than to 'deviant' personality. Criticisms - Orne & Holland - Lacked experimental realism & internal validity, however p's stress reactions contradict. Dine & Holland - Lacked mundane realism & low ecological validity.

Clark - Minority Influence

Clark found 2 behavioural styles that minority groups must use in order to be influential: -Quality of the argument -Snowball effect

Milgram's Variations of the Obedience Study

Milgram changed the original setting to prove that obedience levels would vary in different circumstances. This would reinforce the idea that obedience was due to situational factors. Variation - Obed. of p's going to 450v - -Original experiment 65% -Seedy offices downtown 47.5% -Condition 'Let me out when i say so' 40% -Teacher & Learner in same room 40% -Teachers. had to force learners hand 30% on a plate to get a shock -Teacher gets support from 2 teachers 10% (conf.) who refuse to give shocks -Experiementer gave instructions to 20.5% teacher by phone Teacher paired with an assistant 92.5% (conf.) who flicked the switches

Moscovici 1985 - Minority Influence

Mosocovici found 4 behavioural styles that minority groups must use in order to be influential: - Consistant -Committed -Relevant -Flexible

Bickman 1974 - Obedience

Procedure - 3 male experimenters (1 dressed in a tie & sports coat, 1 in a milkman outfit & 1 dressed in a guards uniform) gave 1 of 3 orders to pedestrians: 1) (Pointing to a bag on the street)"Pick this bag up for me" 2) Nodding in the direction of the conf. "This fellow is overparked at a meter but doesn't have any change, give him a dime" 3) Approaching a p

Asch - Conformity

Procedure - 7 people sat looking at a display & given the task of saying which of the 3 lines (A,B or C) was the same length as a given stimulus line. All but 1 of the p's was a confederate of the experiment. On 6 trials the confederates gave the right answer but on some 12 critical trials they were instructed to all give the wrong answer. The genuine p was the last or last but one to answer. Findings - 37% conformity on crucial trials. 74% of p's conformed on at least one of the critical trials.

Sherif - Conformity

Procedure - An illusion created when p's look at a stationary spot of light in a darkened room, very small movements of the eyes make the light appear to move. In one condition the p's were tested one at a time and then in group's of three - the other condition followed an opposite order. The p's were asked to say how much the light seemed to move & in what direction. Findings - In the 1st condition, p's developed their own norm which varied greatly. When they were put together they tended to make judgements that were very close to each other.

Jennes - Conformity

Procedure - P's as indiv. estimated the number of beans in a jar and then discussed their estimate in a group. Group estimates were then arrived at and finally, indiv. made a second estimate as to how many beans there were in the jar. Findings - When asked as indiv. to make a 2nd estimate there was a significant convergence towards the group estimate. The average change of opinion was greater among females. The effect of informational social influence was found.