Lecture 34

Social 4

1. Conformity
1. Why People Conform
2. Asch's Study
2. Obedience to Authority
1. Stanley Milgram
2. Experimental Procedures
3. Experimental Findings
4. Milgram's Interpretation
5. My Interpretation
3. Bystander Effect
1. Kitty Genovese
2. Definition
3. Darley and Latané (1968)

Overview

Conformity makes social life possible. If everyone "did their own thing" we would not be able to coordinate our behaviors and have civilized interactions. Conformity can, however, have a dark side. Sometimes people blindly conform even when they know they shouldn't.

Stanley Milgram conducted social psychology's best known experiment. The study revealed an alarming tendency for ordinary people to commit violence under the shroud of legitimacy. Whether these findings are due to obedience or aggression is debatable, but either way they provide a disturbing view of human nature and an exceptionally vivid testament to the power of the experimental situation Milgram created.

In a crowd, people sometimes experience diffusion of responsibility. Instead of assuming they need to take action, they assume others will. These perceptions can influence whether people offer to help a victim in need.

Specifics

• Be familiar with three forms of social influence, the variables that influence their likelihood, and whether conformity in public = conformity in private.
• Be familiar with Milgram's methods and findings, and his interpretation of his data, as well as my own interpretation.
• Be familiar with the bystander effect and know why it's important to distinguish between the likelihood that any person will help vs. the likelihood that a person will receive help