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Social Psych Experiments

The document outlines various social psychology experiments that explore how social factors influence individual behavior, including authority, conformity, and aggression. Key experiments discussed include the Stanford Prison Experiment, Milgram Experiment, and Asch Conformity Experiment, each highlighting ethical concerns regarding participant treatment. Understanding these experiments emphasizes the importance of ethics in social psychology research and its implications for societal interactions.

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Moha Macute
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13 views20 pages

Social Psych Experiments

The document outlines various social psychology experiments that explore how social factors influence individual behavior, including authority, conformity, and aggression. Key experiments discussed include the Stanford Prison Experiment, Milgram Experiment, and Asch Conformity Experiment, each highlighting ethical concerns regarding participant treatment. Understanding these experiments emphasizes the importance of ethics in social psychology research and its implications for societal interactions.

Uploaded by

Moha Macute
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGY
EXPERIMENTS
PREPARED BY: MOHANISA H. MACUTE, RPm,CHRA, LPT, MAEd
What is a Social
Psychology?
⚬ Study of how people's thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors are
influenced by the actual or imagined
presence of others.

⚬ Focus on group dynamics, social


influence, and interpersonal
relationships.
What is a Social
Psychology Experiments?

A social experiment is defined by


its purpose and methods. Such
experiments are designed to study
human behavior in a social
context. They often involved placing
participants in a controlled
situation in order to observe how
they respond to certain situation
or events.
Types of Social Experiments

1.The Stanford Prison Experiment


(1971)

• Dr. Philip Zimbardo

• This experiment aimed to study the


psychological effects of perceived
power, focusing on the struggle between
prisoners and prison officers.
Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to the
roles of guards or prisoners in a simulated prison
environment. The experiment was meant to last two
weeks but was stopped after just six days due to the
extreme psychological effects on participants.

Outcome: It revealed how individuals could become


abusive when placed in positions of power and how
people could become submissive when placed in a
powerless role.

Ethical Concerns: The psychological distress caused


to participants led to significant ethical debates about
the treatment of participants in social experiments.
Types of Social Experiments

2. The Milgram Experiment (1961)


• Dr. Stanley Milgram

Milgram’s experiment tested the willingness of participants to


obey an authority figure, even when their actions caused harm to
others.

Method: Participants were instructed to administer increasingly


severe electric shocks to a person (who was actually an actor)
whenever they gave an incorrect answer. The shocks were not
real, but participants believed they were.
• Outcomes:
⚬ A majority of participants were
willing to administer shocks
up to the highest level,
despite hearing distress from
the learner.
⚬ The study demonstrated that
people are willing to follow
authority figures, even when it
causes harm to others.

• Ethical Concerns:
⚬ Psychological stress and potential long-term emotional effects on
participants.
⚬ Deception about the nature of the experiment (no actual shocks were
administered).
Types of Social
Experiments

3. The Asch Conformity Experiment (1951)


-Solomon Asch

⚬ Solomon Asch's study on how peer


pressure influences an individual's
decision-making process.
Methods:
⚬ Participants were asked to compare the length of lines.
All but one of the group members were confederates
who purposely gave incorrect answers.
⚬ The aim was to observe if the lone participant would
conform to the group's incorrect responses.

Outcomes:
⚬ A significant percentage of participants conformed to
the incorrect group consensus.
⚬ The study demonstrated the power of group pressure
on individual decision-making.
Ethical Concerns:
⚬ Deception about the nature of the task and the purpose of the study.
⚬ Emotional stress due to pressure to conform in front of peers.
⚬ The potential for distress in participants who felt they had to act against
Types of Social Experiments

4. The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961)


• Albert Bandura

⚬ Conducted by Albert Bandura


to explore the concept of
social learning and
aggression.
Methods:
⚬ Children were shown an adult acting aggressively toward a
Bobo doll (a large inflatable doll).
⚬ The children were then allowed to interact with the doll to
see if they would imitate the aggressive behavior.

Outcomes:
⚬ Children who observed the aggressive behavior were more
likely to imitate it.
⚬ The study supported the idea that behaviors can be
learned through observation and imitation.
Ethical Concerns:
⚬ Exposure to violent behavior may have influenced the children's future conduct.
⚬ Lack of informed consent from children or parents about the impact of observing
aggressive behavior.
⚬ No long-term follow-up on potential lasting effects of aggression.
Types of Social Experiments

5. The Robbers Cave Experiment


(1954)
• Muzafer Sherif

⚬ Conducted by Muzafer Sherif


to study intergroup conflict
and cooperation.
Methods:
⚬ Boys were split into two groups at a summer camp and initially
kept separate.
⚬ They were encouraged to compete in games, creating conflict
between the groups.
⚬ The conflict was later resolved through tasks requiring
cooperation between the groups.
Outcomes:
⚬ Competition led to hostility between the groups.
⚬ Cooperation to achieve common goals helped reduce intergroup
conflict.
Ethical Concerns:
⚬ Psychological harm due to the induced competition and conflict.
⚬ Lack of informed consent from the children, as they were unaware of the study's
true nature.
Types of Social
Experiments

6.The Kitty Genovese Effect


(1964)
• Bibb Latané and John
Darley

⚬ This experiment studied


the bystander effect,
inspired by the murder
of Kitty Genovese, who
was reportedly ignored
by witnesses during her
Methods:
⚬ Researchers Bibb Latané and John Darley examined how the
presence of others affects people's likelihood of helping in an
emergency.
⚬ Participants were placed in situations where they believed others
were witnessing an emergency.
Outcomes:
⚬ The more people present, the less likely individuals were to
intervene, demonstrating the diffusion of responsibility.

Ethical Concerns:
⚬ Ethical concerns arose because the experiment involved potential
harm (emergencies staged to observe reactions).
⚬ The use of deception and the lack of informed consent about the
study's objectives.
Types of Social
Experiments

7. The Hawthorne Effect (1924-1932)


- Elton Mayo

⚬ A series of studies aimed to


understand the relationship between
work conditions and productivity at
the Western Electric Hawthorne
Works.

-
Methods:
⚬ Researchers manipulated variables such as lighting and breaks to
observe how these affected worker productivity.
⚬ The key finding was that productivity increased when workers knew
they were being observed.
Outcomes:
⚬ The Hawthorne effect suggests that individuals modify their behavior
when they are aware of being observed.

Ethical Concerns:
⚬ Lack of informed consent regarding the study’s purpose.
⚬ The manipulation of workers' environment without clear disclosure of
the potential impact on their work.
SUMMARY

• These experiments revealed the powerful


influence of social factors on individual
behavior.

• Key themes include authority, conformity,


aggression, group dynamics, and the impact of
observation.
• Understanding social psychology
helps us navigate and improve our
interactions in society, while
emphasizing the importance of
ethics in research.
Thank You

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