Conformity/Obedience/Fundamental Attribution Error

conformity

compliance with standards, rules, or laws

Solomon Asch line study

10 men were given a series of images where the must say the correct answer. They were being tested on “vision” however the true underlying point of the experiment was to investigate how social pressure from a majority group could influence a person’s answer. Only 1 of the men is the actual “test subject” while the other 9 are in on the test.

normative social influence

individuals conform to a group’s norms or behaviors in order to be liked, accepted, and avoid social rejection, even if they don’t necessarily agree with the “trend”

informational social influence

individuals conform to the beliefs or behaviors of others because they perceive them as having accurate information or expertise

obedience

going with what you are told to do no matter how you feel about it

Stanley Milgram shock experiment

A test subject was brought in thinking that he was part of a memory test. However, someone of higher authority would tell the subject to shock the “learner” if they got the answer wrong. This was a test to see how far the test subject would go to shock the learner if they were told to by authority.

fundamental attribution error

a cognitive bias where observers tend to attribute the actions of others to their personality, rather than the situation or external factors

Philip Zimbardo prison study

students were separated into two groups: prisoner and guard. they basically reenacted what a true prison would look like.