Download Social Psychology experiments

Social Psychology experiments
IV____________________________
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The IV IMPACTS the DV
The IV is manipulated by experimenter
The DV is measurable behavior
#1 Stanley Milgram wanted to see if regular Americans would obey an authority figure even if that
figure ordered them to go against their morals. Confederates played both the experimenter and the
“learner” getting “shocked.” The subject was the “teacher” and was encouraged to start shocks at
15volts all the way to 450volts. 65% of subjects went to highest shock
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#2 Philip Zimbardo wanted to see if a prison situation could transform regular college students
into evil-humans. Although Zimbardo planned to run the experiment for two weeks, it had to end
prematurely (after only six days). The “guards” were transformed by their roles and went to
extremes to maintain power over “prisoners.”
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#3 Solomon Asch wanted to see if group pressure or conformity could change a person’s opinion.
He set up a line-experiment to see if the 6-7 confederates in the room could persuade subjects to
accept incorrect answers. 75% of subjects conformed at least once. There was both informational
social influence (conformity based on knowledge) and normative social influence (conformity
based on acceptance).
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#4 Nisbett and Wilson wanted to see if one positive trait or experience could slant a person’s
cognitive bias in a favorable way. Often subjects rated professors as more honest, trustworthy,
intelligent if that person had other favorable traits. For example, when two professors gave the
same lecture, students voted more favorably for the professor who was a) physically attractive; b)
smiled more; or c) lacked an accent. Many let this cognitive bias called the “halo effect” distort
perceptions of Hollywood actors/actresses.
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#5 Muzafer Sherif wanted to study what types of activities bring out-groups together. He hosted
his experiment on a campground called “Robbers Cave.” There were two camps of boys named the
“Rattlers” and the “Eagles.” Bringing the two camps face-to-face did not assist in intergroup
relations. Instead, the two camps of boys had food fights in the mess-hall or cafeteria. What did
help the two groups become friends were superordinate goals – or projects that forced the groups
to work together on a common goal or problem.
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#6 Norman Triplett wanted to see if competing or being observed by others enhanced performance.
In one experiment, Triplett had subjects reel in a fishing wire. When subjects were on their own
they reeled slower than when they raced against another subject. This concept is called social
facilitation. If the activity is something we have not practiced well, we may decline in performance
– this is called social inhibition.
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#7 Ringelman wanted to see if people tend to exert less effort in large groups. He noticed that
subjects who went one-on-one in a tug-of-war exerted MORE effort as individuals than they did
when they participated as part of a large team. This concept is called social loafing.
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#8 Clark and Clark studied African-American perceptions of whites and blacks by using dolls.
When asked which doll was “good,” the majority of black subjects chose the white doll. The
segregated culture had an impact. Poor treatment of one race resulted in a self-fulfilling prophecy:
Blacks began to believe that they were inferior to whites.
Rosenthal and Jacobsen were also known to study this phenomenon. They told ½ of their college
students that their rats were “smart, fast.” The other ½ of class was told that their rats were “dumb,
slow.” The group that believed their rats were superior had better performances in the maze.
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*Another way Rosenthal studied this concept was to trick teachers by telling them that they had
“smart” students with “potential” in their classes. Teachers then sat these randomly chosen
students in the front of their class. They also smiled at these students more and encouraged them
and called on them more frequently. These students surpassed others in terms of academic growth.
Irving Janis studied the concept of groupthink_______________________________________________
Self-serving bias_______________________________________________
Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance_______________________________________________
Fritz Heider’s Fundamental Attribution Error ______________________________________
Group polarization______________________________________________
Deindividuation______________________________________________
Just World Phenomenon______________________________________________
Social Trap______________________________________________
Bystander intervention__________________________________________________________
Outgroup homogeneity effect______________________________________________