The Impact of Other People on Our Everyday Lives A Look at Authority, Group Conformity, and Groupthink

Milgram’s Obedience Studies “The Man Who Shocked the World”

The “Gentle Accountant” being strapped to the chair…

The Shock Generator

Shock Levels

The Experiment Set-up

Variations on Experiment 1. Subject control 2. Amount of surveillance by authority (closeness/proximity). 3. Use of force…

Variations on Experiment 4. Subject’s position in larger chain of command. 5. Level of peer support…

Asch’s Conformity Studies “We are half ruined by conformity; but we should be wholly ruined without it.” ~Charles Dudley Warner

Asch Experiment

Asch Subjects

Conditions Affecting Conformity 1. Unanimity of the majority 2. Attraction to the group 3. Commitment to future interaction with the group 4. Level of competence relative to other group members

Janis on Groupthink How Good Groups Make Bad Decisions

Conditions that Contribute to Groupthink 1. Crisis situation 2. Highly cohesive group--high level of we-ness 3. Insulation of group members from judgments and criticisms of qualified others 4. Leader who actively promotes own solution to problems facing the group

How to Avoid Groupthink 1. Group leader should encourage dissent 2. Group leader should be impartial 3. Establish several independent subgroups 4. Call a second chance meeting where each member is encouraged to think about doubts

The Impact of Social Structure on Our Everyday Lives

Aspects of Social Structure Social institution: the sum of roles and statuses, values, and norms; relatively stable cluster of statuses and roles that develop over time to often insure that some basic need in society will be taken care of. Status: a position that an individual occupies within the larger social structure Role: the expectations for behavior attached to a given status

Zimbardo’s Prison Study “It’s the situation that controls you.”