Social Influence: Crash Course Psychology #38
The Power of Obedience
This section introduces the concept of obedience and explores the famous Milgram experiment that examined people's willingness to follow orders, even if it meant causing harm to others.
The Milgram Experiment
- Stanley Milgram conducted an experiment in the 1960s to investigate how far individuals would go in obeying orders.
- Inspired by Adolf Eichmann's defense during his trial for Nazi war crimes, Milgram wanted to understand what average people were capable of under orders.
- Milgram recruited forty male volunteers and paired them with a fake participant who was actually one of his colleagues.
- Participants were assigned the role of "teacher" while the fake participant became the "learner," who was strapped to a chair and wired with electrodes.
- The teacher, unaware that the shock generator was fake, was instructed to administer electric shocks for every wrong answer given by the learner.
- If participants hesitated or showed reluctance, they were prodded by a researcher to continue shocking.
- Surprisingly, about two-thirds of participants delivered maximum voltage shocks despite hearing cries of pain from the learner.
Factors Influencing Obedience
- Milgram continued conducting variations of his experiment and found that obedience levels were highest when the person giving orders was perceived as an authority figure from a prestigious institution.
- Obedience was also influenced by the proximity of the authority figure and the depersonalization of the victim.
- Subjects were more likely to comply if they didn't witness anyone else disobeying, lacking role models of defiance.
The Power of Conformity
- Solomon Ash's conformity experiment demonstrated how individuals often conform to group norms, even when their own perception contradicts those norms.
- Participants were shown a picture with lines of different lengths and had to choose which line matched a standard line. Actors purposely gave incorrect answers, leading participants to doubt their own judgment.
Conclusion
This section concludes the discussion on obedience and conformity, highlighting their significance in social psychology.
- Milgram's experiments shed light on the power of social influence and conformity.
- Conformity is an automatic response that helps us navigate social situations smoothly.
- Social psychologists study how individuals follow or rebel against group norms.
- Ash's experiment revealed the extent to which people conform to group opinions, even when it contradicts their own perception.
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The Power of Social Influence
In this section, we explore the power of social influence and how it affects our behavior. We discuss factors that contribute to conformity, such as admiration for a group, cultural emphasis on social standards, and the presence of an audience. We also examine normative social influence and its impact on our need for approval and belonging.
Factors Influencing Conformity
- People are more likely to conform if they admire the group's status or attractiveness.
- Cultural emphasis on respect for social standards increases conformity.
- Situational factors like fear of rejection or desire for approval can lead to conformity.
Group Influence Beyond Conformity
- Groups can influence our performance, either enhancing it (social facilitation) or hindering it (performance anxiety).
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