AP Psychology Unit 11: Social Identity, Attribution, & Obedience and Conformity

social identity

the "we" aspect of our self-concept

the hawthrone effect

the tendency for people to behave differently when they know they are being studied

Deindividuation

when an individual seems to lose himself or herself in the group's identity (mob mentality)

mob mentality

acting or behaving in a certain and often negative manner because others are doing it "they can catch most of us but not all of us"

mere exposure effect

the tendency for liking to increase with the frequency of exposure

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

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

broken window theory

a theory proposing that even small acts of crime, disorder, and vandalism can threaten a neighborhood and render it unsafe

attribution

the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others

dispositional attribution

assuming the person's behaviors are based on INTERNAL factors

- personality ("it's just who they are")

situational attribution

assuming a person's behaviors are based on EXTERNAL factors

- stress, physcial variables, socio-enviornmental factors

fundamental attribution error

tendency to falsely assume the actions of others are attributed primarily to INTERNAL factors (dispositonal attribution)

- failure to appreciate the multitude and variety of EXTERNAL factors (situational attribution) that most likely explain the actions of others

= wrong first impressions

just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

obedience

Social influence in which an individual follows direct/explicit commands from someone with a position of authority.

social rules and laws importance

needed to maintain civic order, preventing chaos and anarchy.

obedience stages

1.) acknowledgement of the rule/law/order

2.) understand the rationale of it (even if you don't like it)

3.) comply & follow, to aviod punishment

disobedience

noncompliance of a rule or command

disobedience stage

1.) acknowledgement of the rule/law/order

2.) understand the rationale & legitimacy

3.) refuse to follow it

conformity

the ability to change one's opinions, perceptions, or behaviors in ways that are in opposition to their personal beliefs & moral ethics

conformity stages

1.) acknowledge of the rule/law/order

2.) failure to comprehend the rationale & legitimacy

3.) comply & follow it, to aviod punishment

nonconformity

refusal to "mainstream"

nonconformity stages

1.) acknowledge of the rule/law/order

2.) failure to comprehend the rationale & legitimacy

3.) refusal to follow

Solomon Asch

*conformity via Peer Pressure

confederates

"fake subjects" that look & behave like real subjects in study.

Solomon Asch Experiment

- participants verbally matched trial cards with the cards marked A, B, & C

- all answers were vocalized out loud to hear

- participants were positioned to answer at the end of the order

-In the 3rd trial, all confederates (actors) answered incorrectly

solomon asch expiriment results

- asch doubted that any would conform

- 37% of participants confromed

- 109/123 (87%) conformed

Stanely Milgram

*destructive obedience "authority pressure"

Stanely Milgram experiment

- 1 participant (teacher, asked) and 1 confrederate (learner, answered) played a learning excerise to increase memory (LIE)

- participants were instructed to administer and electric shock to the learner (confederate) for every wrong question he answered

- shocks began at 15v and increased by 15v increments

-audio souncdtrack, played screams that grew stronger everytime

stanely Milgram experiment results

40 male participants, no one quit before 500 volts

- 26/40 administered the full 450v

Milgram experiment variations

- female participants (similar results)

- 2 teachers and 1 confederate, refused to continue at 165v

Phillip Zimbardo

Examined the impact of social roles and authority on behavior with his famous Stanford Prison experiment.

Stanford Prison Experiment

Philip Zimbardo's study of the effect of roles on behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to play either prisoners or guards in a mock prison. The study was ended early because of the "guards'" role-induced cruelty.

The Lucifer Effect

The transformation of good people into evil

Stanford Prison experiment results

orginal plan was on the emotional toll being an inmate but quickly transferred onto the behavior of the guards