Social Psychology: Part 1 Psy 301 Lecture 16 4/07/04

Five Lessons in Social Psychology Power of situation Subjective construal Fallibility of human reason Presence of others matters Can systematically study complex social situations

“Punishment on Learning”

1 teacher, 1 learner –Learn word pairs; if wrong, punished Set-up learner –Chair, electrode on wrist –“condition” Shock generator –Slight, moderate, strong, very strong, intense, extreme intensity, danger: severe, XXX Sample- 45V **Something you should know…

Script 75 volts: grunt 120 volts: complains loudly; 150: demands to be released from experiment As voltage increases: protests become more vehement and emotional 285 volts: agonized scream Soon thereafter: no sound at all

What would you do? Pre-test estimates: All would refuse to obey Most won’t go beyond 150v Psychiatrists estimated 1/1000 would go all the way –4% would reach 300v

Results Avg. max shock delivered: 360v 65% went all the way to 450v 80% continued giving shocks after learner w/ heart condition complained **Video (short#4) **

Implications: Obedience to Authority An experimenter influenced ordinary ppl to commit immoral acts on an innocent bystander… Could the Holocaust have been an act of ordinary ppl exposed to extraordinary social conditions ? Reverend Moon, 1983, 2075 couples? –Parents? Teachers?

Replications 1 st experiments: Yale undergraduates “No relevance to "ordinary" people- Yale undergraduates = highly aggressive, competitive bunch who step on each other's necks on the slightest provocation.” White-collar workers, unemployed people, industrial workers. SAME RATE Princeton, Munich, Rome, South Africa, and Australia: ~85% obedience.

What’s going on? P’s caught in intense conflict btw. 2 forces –Immediate obligation to complete experiment (experimenter) –Moral obligation to minimize human suffering (learner) By varying strength of opposing forces…

Variations (on 65%) “Tuning in” learner –Learner in same room- 40% –Hand forced onto shock plate- 30% “Tuning out” experimenter –Experimenter calls in instructions- 21% –2 Experimenters disagree- 0% –2 Rebellious supporters- 10%

Many of the people were in some sense against what they did to the learner, and many protested even while they obeyed. Some were totally convinced of the wrongness of their actions but could not bring themselves to make an open break with authority. They often derived satisfaction from their thoughts and felt that -- within themselves, at least -- they had been on the side of the angels. They tried to reduce strain by obeying the experimenter but "only slightly," encouraging the learner, touching the generator switches gingerly. When interviewed, such a subject would stress that he "asserted my humanity" by administering the briefest shock possible. Handling the conflict in this manner was easier than defiance.

Why do they Obey? Stepwise involvement Norm of reciprocity Diffusion of responsibility Ineffective disobedience

But Kate… Did they tell them the truth at the end? Video (debriefing)

Lighten the mood…

If you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or held responsible, what would you do?

11 categories of responses Aggression, charity, academic dishonesty, crime, escapism, political activities, sexual behavior, social disruption, interpersonal spying, travel, miscellaneous –26% criminal –11% sexual –11% spying –“rob a bank” 15% of all responses 36% antisocial, 19% non-normative (violating social norms, no harm, or help), 9% prosocial PRISONERS & COLLEGE STUDENTS!

“There are no rules…” Wanted: subjects for a psychology experiment There will be no opportunity to meet other participants What do people do under extreme anonymity?

Deviance in the Dark Continuous stream of conversation thru end Quickly found place to sit- no less than 3ft to any other 5% touched accidentally; none purposefully 30% felt sexual excitement Talk slacked off after 30 minutes; was muted, disjointed & faltering Moved around fluidly All touched accidentally; 90% purposefully 50% hugged another person 80% felt sexual excitement

Frequency of behaviors in light & dark

Mass arrest for violation of Penal Codes 211, Armed Robbery, and Burglary, a 459 PC. Suspects picked up at home, charged, warned of legal rights, spread-eagled against the police car, searched, and handcuffed

Randomly Assigned! Video ( roleplay short )

Lightened Again Getting people to do something good…

Water Conservation Setting: Highly chlorinated pool Poster on saving water –Sign poster –See poster Mindful: Excuse me, “About how long do you usually shower for” Later, in the showers… –Concealed stopwatch –Who took the shortest showers?

WHY? Find out next time…

Social Psychology The scientific study of how people’s thoughts feelings and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others = The power of the situation