Social psychology

Social Psychology Psychology 40S

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Focuses in Social Psychology “We cannot live for ourselves alone.” Herman Melville

Social psychology studies how we behave, think and feel in social situations.

Social Psychology explained video clip 2

Attitudes & Actions Attitudes are mixtures of belief and emotion that predisposes us to respond to other people, objects, or institutions in positive or negative ways. If we believe a person is mean, we may feel dislike for the person and act in an unfriendly manner. Our attitudes affect our actions! 3

Actions Can Affect Attitudes Not only do people stand for what they believe in (attitude), they start believing in what they stand for.

D. MacDonald/ PhotoEdit

Cooperative actions can lead to mutual liking (beliefs).

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Situations Matter • Video: Situation Matters

What is this video saying?

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Social Psychology Experiment #1 Philip Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment

Social Psychologist Philip Zimbardo designed an experiment to observe the behaviour of people in a mock prison.

Role Playing Affects Attitudes Zimbardo (1971) assigned the roles of guards and prisoners to random students and found that guards and prisoners developed role- appropriate attitudes. The experiment was to last for 2 weeks and had to be shut down after 6 days.

Phillip G. Zimbardo, Inc.

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Philip Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment This is one of the most famous and controversial studies ever conducted in the field of social science. Philip Zimbardo’s study is a classic example of the power of the situation and how easily an individual can slip into a role and have it become real.

The Stanford Prison Experiment Assignment #1: The Stanford Prison Experiment Sheet Answer the two questions under “Thinking Critically” 2 marks

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Power of the Situation A Real Example: Abu Ghraib Prison ORANGE TEXTBOOK (Psychology 8th Edition) 1. Read page 729 (Purple section) 2. Find a quote from this section or in your own words briefly explain why good people do bad things. 3. Write down and be prepared to discuss 10

Watch Quiet Rage: The Stanford Experiment Assignment #2: Prison Experiment Worksheet Fill sheet out while you are watching the video. Hand in for marks at the end of the video. Due today at the end of class. 5 marks 11

Social Psychology Experiment #2 Solomon Asch’s Experiment • In 1951 social psychologist Solomon Asch devised an experiment to examine the extent to which pressure from other people could affect one's perceptions. • In total, about one third of the subjects who were placed in this situation went along with majority’s wrong opinion. • CONFORMITY

Group Pressure & Conformity Conformity: An influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality.

William Vandivert/ Scientific American

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Watch Asch’s Experiment (and Conformity in the Elevator) • Asch Experiment Video Read more on page 732 in the orange textbook

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Conditions that Strengthen Conformity 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The person feels insecure. The group has at least 3 people. The group is unanimous. The person admires the groups’ status. Others in the group are observing the person’s behaviour.

Cults and Conformity A Real Example • Watch Jonestown Massacre

Assignment #3: Cults and Conformity Sheet Answer the two questions under “Thinking Critically” 2 marks

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Social Psychology Experiment #3 Stanley Milgram’s Experiment Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, conducted a social psychology experiment that focused on the effects of authority on obedience. Stanley Milgram (1933-1984)

• Milgram (1961) came up with a famous and controversial experiment. • He tested whether people would shock a person simply because an authority figure told them to do it. • Two-thirds of Milgram's participants delivered shocks as they heard cries of pain, signs of heart trouble.

Milgram Experiment ABC news

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Both Photos: © 1965 By Stanley Miligram, from the film Obedience, dist. by Penn State, Media Sales

Milgram’s Study

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Conditions that Strengthen Obedience 1. The person giving the orders is perceived as an authority figure is close at hand. 2. The victim is depersonalized or at a distance from the person obeying 3. There were no role models for defiance (no one else is disobeying)

Assignment #4: The Milgram Experiment Sheet Answer the two questions under “Thinking Critically” 2 marks

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Journal Entry #2 Topic: Social Psychology Reflect on the 3 Social Psychology Experiments discussed in class. How can they all relate to real life situations? Choose on of the experiements and give an example of your own. (e.g. How you act differently in different roles, a time when you conformed or when you have obeyed a person in authority and why.) 23

QUIZ on the 3 Social Psychology Experiments 15 marks

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Explanation of each experiment Name of the Social Psychologist Purpose of each experiment Relate the experiment to a real situation either one that was discussed in class or your own 24