Social Psychology Summary

Social Approach

The social approach is studying individuals in a social context such as family, friends, institutions and wider society. Social behaviour may involve activity within a group or between group. Concerned with the way our interactions with other people affected the way...

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Culture Affecting Prejudice

Collective & Individual cultures - collective cultures emphasise the need of groups: holding duty to the in-group. Characterised by strongly emotional attachment to in-group. Collective culture relies on mutual independence & co-operation, prejudice between...

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Obedience

We can influence someone else’s behaviour by issuing a command which we are obligated to obey. People in society are in a position where obedience is expected of them and yet at the same time, we expect each person to act of the dictates of their own conscience....

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Key Question: How Can We Prevent Genocide?

Issue: Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group.  E.g the holocaust is the world’s most known instance – it was an attempt by the Nazi government to exterminate Europe’s Jewish population....

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Milgram

Aim: to investigate levels of obedience when authority figure tells them to give an electric shock. Investigate the ‘Germans are different’ hypothesis. (assumption obeyed due to blind obedience not because of who they were. Method/Procedure: Sample of 40 men recruited...

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Variations

Baseline study (experiment 5) – 26/40 went up to 450v (65%) 100% went up to 300v mark, 5 refused after this – showing reluctant to disobey experimenter as they were alone in unusual setting & experiment seemed professional. Telephonic instructions – instructions...

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Burger (Contemporary Study)

Aim: To investigate obedience by replicating Milgram’s study to examine situation factors affecting obedience to authority figures. To test if there is a gender difference in obedience. Procedure: Advert responses. Ppts were screened for if they knew Milgram’s work,...

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Milgram’s Agency Theory

Developed through a series of experiments (grounded in research). Milgram believes we are all capable of extreme obedience which serves as evolutionary societal function. To live in a hieratical society, we must give up our free will and obey the few people at the...

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Situation Effects of Obedience

Location: Study show that location picked can undermine experimenter’s authority to limited extent. Shown by variation of run-down office with no link to yale uni & obedience dropped to 48%. The original study took place in prestige yale uni giving social power as...

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Factors Affecting Obedience

Gender: Burger found no significant difference 27% (27.3%) 6 female and 33% (33.3%) 6 males. Milgram found no difference, used sample of 40 women and got result of 65% same as his base line experiment. However females had higher levels of moral strain, stress and...

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Culture Effects on Obedience

Munroe & Munroe – notes African cultures are more obedient in comparison to other cultures. Due to higher obedience in countries with military gov or dictator. Edwards – 87.5% obedience in south Africa. As a collective culture meaning it is one that values need of...

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Social Impact Theory

Highlights two types of people for social influence; Source (provides influence) target (those influenced) Number – the number of sources will increase influence. The law of diminishing effect states number is affective till a great amount of people is present, one...

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Social Practical

Aim: To find out if gender has an effect in obedience. Hypothesis (Non-directional): It is predicted that there would be a significant difference in levels of obedience between males and females. Method: Survey         Variables:  DV – score of obedience out of 50  ...

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Social Identity Theory

Suggests that existence of groups cause prejudice. Humans have a natural tendency to form groups. Stereotyping is pre-conceived judgments about certain groups/people based on characteristics.  Based on normal cognitive process – tendency to group things together. When...

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Sheriff Robber’s Cave Study (Classic Study)

Aim: Investigate how in-group behaviour develops to include related out-group hostility. To see how friction between groups could be reduced. To see how attitudes & behaviours change by introducing competition. Sample:  22 boys from white middle class background,...

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Realistic Conflict Theory

States that inter-group hostility can arise due to result of a conflicting goal & competition of limited resources. Prejudice is more likely if the resource is finite. Explains prejudice & discrimination towards outgroups. Groups may be in competition for real...

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Situational Factors of prejudice

SIT: States as humans we form groups for protection & to help survive. We categorise people into certain groups to understand how to behave around them. We then compare them using prejudice to make out-groups seem inferior & identify more openly to our...

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Individual Differences: Personality

Social dominance orientation: Ideology of attitude of someone who sees society as a hierarchy with themselves in dominant position while others in a lower status. (Don’t believe in equality) Those who believe in hieratical society are more likely to be prejudice...

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