Carskadon Psychology Unit 3 (Social Psychology, Psychological Disorders, and Personality)

how was the foot-in-the-door phenomenon demonstrated in an early study?

(took place in the 60s) -when asked to put an ugly sign in their yard, only 17% said yes -when they are first asked to put a sign in their front window, a much higher percentage (60-70%) say yes

how long did it actually run, and why?

-6 days -Z's gf came by and pointed out how inhumane it was and convinced him to stop the experiment -he had extensive data on each participant and recordings of everything that happened

what were the results?

-casual: those who encountered the kind version believed she was kind, those who encountered the rude/cold version believed she was rude and cold -scripted: those who encountered the cold version believed she really was cold even though they knew it was an act

if we experience cognitive dissonance, what are the two ways we may reduce it?

-change your behavior to fix the inconsistencies -change your attitudes, beliefs, and values

what are some real-world historical examples?

-colonists forcing natives into submission (people tried to make the colonists feel guilty but it didn't work because guilt-tripping doesn't always work) -brown vs board of education (b.e.): b.e. claims that schools are separate but equal; supreme court rules that separate is inherently unequal and tells schools to integrate (as fast as they were willing, or something like that) and the schools took their time -pres. dean colvard decided that MSU would have a peaceful integration (1965) unlike Ole Miss and other universities -sometimes people's behaviors must be forced to change

what criticisms were made of Milgram's experiment, and how valid was each?

-completely unethical experiment (even though the shocks weren't real), valid because people had to live with the fact that when they thought the shocks were real, they were willing to hurt an innocent person -wouldn't happen in the real world, incorrect

what are some real-world examples of social contagion?

-coughing in a theater (before movie) -yawning -laughing -facial expression -moods

what would be some examples of deindividuation?

-experiment in the fake prison by Zimbardo -cyber-bullying (you can't see someone but you say things because you can) -sports games when someone screams out death threats because they're so far away that the important people won't see them

what did experimenters do to demonstrate fundamental attribution error in a psychological experiment?

-experimenters have a woman be kind to half of their participants and cold to the others -half the participants think the conversation with the unknown woman is just casual/unscripted -the other half think the woman has been told how to treat them -participants are then asked what her personality seems like

what would be some examples of "good" obedience?

-first responders during 9/11 -military (when the orders are "good")

what did he (Festinger) do with his subjects?

-gave subjects a block of wood w/tiny holes drilled into it then gave them tweezers to place little steel rods into the holes -paid subjects to tell people on the way in that they enjoyed it and that it was fun -surveyed subjects to get an opinion; believed the ones who were paid more were more likely to say it was fun

when Z went back and reviewed the videotapes of the experiment, what did he observe about the behavior of the guards?

-guards were abusive and dehumanizing -found out ALL guards treated prisoners badly even though they knew the "prisoners" weren't real criminals -1/3 of them were consistently hostile (sadistic) -none of the guards really tried to stop the others

how does treating people badly affect our attitudes toward them, and how does treating people well affect our attitudes toward them?

-if you treat people badly, you tend to develop negative feelings/attitudes for the person or group of people -if you treat people well, you tend to develop positive feelings/attitudes for the person or group of people

how did Milgram change the experiment the second time?

-intensified apparent suffering of the learner -learner says "you must stop," "I recently had a heart attack," "I could die if I have another heart attack"

what would be some everyday examples of the fundamental attribution error?

-restaurants: assuming that a kind waiter/waitress is into you when in reality, it's their job to be kind -actors: believing that actors' personalities match their on-screen personas

under what conditions were the subjects most likely to obey Milgram?

-the person giving orders is face-to-face rather than out of the room -person giving orders is dressed nice and supported by a prestigious institution (look like a legit, respectable scientist) -they don't have to SEE the person they're hurting (less personal, more likely to follow through) -when they see no model of anyone else stopping (more likely to follow the leader than to do something bad on their own)

what criticisms were made of Z's experiment?

-unethical (true) -people wouldn't really act like that (false)

how did Zimbardo screen his subjects and decide which ones to use?

-used personality tests and individual in-depth interviews -picked two dozen (24) of the most normal, well-adjusted people who applied

what would be some real-world examples of using reactance to change attitudes and/or behaviors?

-when someone is running for office and says someone is going to take something away, by shocking you and sorta verbally ambushing you, they catch your attention and you will do whatever you can to not lose whatever's supposedly at stake -hotel says they only have one room left at a certain price and you're like ooh I gotta have it

how were the results for the real subjects?

1/3 of all his subjects picked the wrong card after seeing other people pick it; 1/3 conform, 1/2 of those who conformed felt skeptical but the other half believed they were correct

how many of them showed up at the same time? what did one of them not know about the other one?

2 at a time; the learners are actors and the teachers do not know

how many experiments did Milgram end up doing, and how many total subjects participated in them?

20 experiments, about 1000 individual subjects in all; individual studies instead of group studies

in the original experiment, how many subjects obeyed Milgram completely?

62.5% (about 2/3)

how many subjects obeyed Milgram completely in the second experiment?

65% (still about 2/3)

in his various experiments, what were the highest and lowest numbers of subjects, on average, who obeyed Milgram?

93%, 0%

what was a real-world event that supported Z's findings, and what happened there?

Abu Ghraib: prison scandal involving a lot of suspected terrorists (some weren't actually terrorists) and a smaller number of guards; guards were abusive and cruel to the prisoners; took pics and it went viral

what was a famous experiment on the effect of roles?

Philip Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment

what is attribution theory, and who developed it?

Fritz Heider's theory about how we explain other people's behavior

what would be a major real-world example of over-obedience in modern history?

Holocaust; the people who did everyday killing for Hitler were average people, unlike the high-ranking officers or right-hands who were sociopaths

what is conformity?

adjusting our behavior or thinking to match a group standard

how did Zimbardo start the experiment for the prisoners, and how did he set it up for them once they came to his "prison"?

Zimbardo got the Stanford police to pick up the prisoners; the police read the prisoners their rights and took them outside, handcuffed them, threw them in the car, take them to the real Stanford jail with the real booking procedures then put the prisoners in a holding cell. Zimbardo's reasoning was that he wanted his subjects to be in a similar state of mind to real prisoners. Their clothing and belongings are confiscated, they're given a type of smock to wear (no underwear allowed), participants are only called by the four digit number on their smock, heavy ball and chain attached to prisoners

how has learned helplessness been demonstrated in lab studies with animals?

a rat kept in a cage is shocked every once in a while: -at first, the rat would run around the cage after each shock, trying to escape -after a while, the rat stops running around and stops looking for an exit -if the door behind the rat is left open, the rat won't even notice because it is so used to the pain followed by an inability to escape, to even look for an exit anymore

what is a role?

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining and/or guiding the behavior of someone in that position

how long was Zimbardo's study supposed to run?

two weeks

what is learned helplessness?

acquiring a passive, hopeless, "giving up" response in the face of repeated pain or frustration, eventually not even taking advantage of opportunities to escape

how does attribution influence our relationships and marriages?

actions are interpreted differently when you are in a healthy vs unhealthy relationship ex: your wife yells at you for leaving socks out -unhealthy: attribute her actions to her personality -healthy: attribute her actions to possible situations she is in (stress at work or something)

how did Zimbardo recruit his subjects?

ad in newspaper; two week experiment, $15/day, 70+ applied

what were the results when he tested subjects individually?

around 90% were correct

how did the guards treat the prisoners, and how did the prisoners react?

at the change of a shift, guards would line the prisoners up and do a head count; Z didn't specifically tell them to, but the guards started getting more harsh and getting in the prisoners' faces; as the guards got more cruel, the prisoners stopped resisting because it seemed hopeless

is it more true that our attitudes cause our behavior, or that our behavior causes our attitudes?

behavior causes our attitudes

what are attitudes?

beliefs and feelings that predispose our reactions to things, such as people, objects and products, events, ideas, etc.

how did Asch test subjects in groups?

brought in confederates/stooges and made multiple groups; each group only included one subject, the rest were phonies

is all obedience bad?

no

what would be a real-world example of the foot-in-the-door phenomenon?

car dealership: salesman asks customer to meet the manager for just a minute and shake his hand; manager thanks customer for service and gives card, tells customer to call if they need anything and many customers end up buying something after meeting with the manager

what did Zimbardo conclude about the reasons the guards and prisoners behaved the way they did?

concluded the roles they were playing and the situations they were in turned the guards sadistic (or just really empowered them to be cruel)

what happened once the experiment started?

each mistake by the learner raised the voltage of the "shock"; learner started off well then just kept messing up and eventually started crying out in pain

what did Milgram tell subjects the experiment was about?

effects of punishment on learning

how does attribution influence our views of social/political issues?

ex: poverty -dispositional: "they're happy the way they are"; believing that they just don't care enough about themselves or that they could be fine if they tried -situational: believing they may have had a situation that prevented them from attending college and that maybe they need help

how did Asch use them in his experiment?

filled up subject groups with them; each group only had one test subject; sometimes the confederates/stooges picked the correct answer but other times they would pick the incorrect option to test the real subject

how did Zimbardo set up the experiment for the guards?

gave them outfits and batons and mirrored glasses (adds to intimidation), and assigned them eight hour shifts

how can cognitive dissonance theory be used in attitude change?

getting people to take part in voluntary public behavior to match the attitude you want them to take; if you want people to engage in voluntary public activity this can steer their attitude the way you want

what are some examples of Ossorio's Maxim?

getting to a test question that you don't know anything about so you write down anything (and everything) that could possibly relate to the question

how do counterfactuals relate to belief perseverance?

going to war multiple times with the same country because the first time you "almost won" and you believe you still have a shot, but you don't have a chance of winning anymore

how can belief perseverance sometimes be reduced?

have a person list all the reasons they could be wrong or all the things they could be overlooking

how did Zimbardo demonstrate learned helplessness in the prisoners in his study?

he allowed the prisoners to apply for parole (part of the questioning was about whether or not they'd expect to be paid if they were granted parole) -all prisoners were denied parole -some burst into tears before they all peacefully went back to their cells -one prisoner broke out in a psychosomatic rash, another stopped responding to anyone

what is belief perseverance?

holding onto one's initial beliefs even after they have been shown to be false

what did Milgram do with the learner?

hooked them up to a machine that delivers shocks (did not give a real shock)

what do social psychologists study?

how we think about, influence, and relate to each other; why the same person may behave quite differently in different situations

what would be some real-world examples?

if 500 people have seen you up in front of the church saying you commit to God, you're less likely to let people see you passed out drunk at the saloon

what is Ossorio's Maxim?

if you give people a task they cannot do, they will do something they can do

how do Z's findings relate to the fundamental attribution error?

if you see a lot of people doing sick things, you think they're sick people but they're probably just normal people in a sick situation

how does the old adage "walk a mile in my shoes" relate to attribution and the fundamental attribution error?

if you were in someone's situation, you would react/act the same way and understand why they act the way they do

what are counterfactuals (counterfactual thinking)?

imagining/rehearsing what might have happened, but didn't

what is social contagion?

imitating/incorporating the behaviors and/or emotions of people around us

which way of reducing cognitive dissonance are we more likely to use?

keep the behavior; change the attitudes, beliefs, and values

what is deindividuation, and when may it occur?

loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that create feelings of arousal and anonymity

how did Festinger demonstrate this in a famous experiment?

manual dexterity

how well do our attitude statements generally predict our actual behavior?

not very well (contrary to popular belief)

what are confederates/stooges?

phony subjects used for social experiments

how did the prisoners and guards react to stopping it?

prisoners were overjoyed; guards begged him to continue it even though they were still getting paid for the full two weeks

who was Stanley Milgram, and what motivated him and other psychologists to study obedience?

professor at Yale; they wanted to know what could make people follow terrible orders

how did Milgram recruit subjects for his original experiment?

put an ad in the newspaper; used average people; didn't used any women (they were viewed as less stable)

what did Milgram do with the teacher, and what did he show him?

put the teacher in another room with an intercom, sat them in front of a machine that delivers "shocks" to the learner (had lots of switches with different volts)

once he selected his subjects, how did Zimbardo decide which ones were going to be prisoners, and which ones were going to be guards?

random assignment

what did Milgram instruct the teacher to do?

say a word, wait for the learner to provide the correct answer/matching word; deliver a shock if the answer is incorrect

What did Solomon Asch have his subjects do in his famous experiment on conformity?

showed them a card with a line that was 8" or another length and asked which card matched the original

what would be an example of the effects of counterfactuals?

silver-medal winner being more annoyed than the bronze-medal winner because they came so close to winning and can imagine what it would have been like while the bronze-winner is just happy to be there

how did Milgram determine who was going to be the teacher and who was going to be the learner?

slips of paper; learners are actors

what are situational attributions?

something about the situation, not personality

what are dispositional attributions?

stable, enduring traits (personality)

what is reactance?

striving to restore one's options, and or/freedom; increasing attraction of what seems difficult or impossible to have

what would be an example of dispositional and situational attributions that could be used to explain the same behavior?

student staring into space, slumped over: -dispositional: lazy student, rude, irresponsible -situational: learning all day, working all night, working for their education (not lazy)

if you want to bring about change in the world, should you generally target people's attitudes first, in the belief that their behavior will follow their attitudes; or should you target their behaviors first, in the belief that their attitudes will follow their behaviors?

target their behavior first, hopefully attitude will follow

how did those results support cognitive dissonance theory instead of reward theory?

the amount of money was small enough that its impact was outweighed by the individuals' opinions; the people who received $20 were only focused on the money

how does this relate to the fundamental attribution error?

the effect of a situation on one's actions and decisions

what were the results?

the participants who were paid less felt less cognitive dissonance and could convince themselves they had done the right thing and actually believe their lie; the people who received $2 actually believed their lie, people who received $20 didn't

what are attributions? are they facts, or best guesses?

the reasons why we assume people behave the way they do; our best guesses, what we believe to be the most likely causes and explanations of people's behavior

in general, what did obedience depend on?

the situation

what is the fundamental attribution error?

the tendency for observers who are analyzing other people's behavior to overestimate the effect of internal dispositional factors (character, personality, etc.) and underestimate the effect of situational factors (the situation or environment, roles people are playing, etc.) in causing people's behavior

what is the foot-in-the-door phenomenon?

the tendency to be more likely to agree to a large request after agreeing to a small one

what is Leon Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory?

the theory that when our cognitions (thoughts and perceptions about ourselves about our behavior) are incompatible with each other, we will feel discomfort that Festinger calls cognitive dissonance, and we will be motivated to reduce that uncomfortable dissonance. -specifically, we may experience cognitive dissonance when our attitudes, beliefs, and values are inconsistent with our actual behavior

what did Milgram do to convince the teacher the experiment was real?

told the teacher that they would be delivering shocks to the student, showed the teacher what the shock felt like

what did Milgram do if the teacher did not want to continue?

used various phrases along the lines of "please continue," "I'll take responsibility for whatever happens to him," and "you have no choice, you must go on"

how did the subjects who obeyed Milgram in his early experiments feel about what they were doing?

very distressed

how did the results change when Milgram used women for subjects instead of men?

virtually the same results; same situation, same reaction (suggests the reaction has nothing to do with personality)

under what condition did no subjects obey Milgram?

when the learner ran around the room screaming

under what condition did almost all subjects obey Milgram?

when they would read the question but someone else would deliver the shock

why is this?

when you are actually faced with the situation you have been thinking about, you may find out that you did not take all the options or consequences into consideration

does role playing significantly affect attitudes and behaviors?

yes

what would be an example of belief perseverance?

you're presented with three doors and a car is behind one; you choose door three; before they open the door, you are told the car isn't behind door one so now door two has a 2/3 chance of being the one with the car and door three has a 1/3 chance; you stick with door three and don't get the car