Post #3 : Want to Know More?

Hi study buddies! In this post I will be linking and summarizing a couple articles and videos I found related to psychology. They vary from easy to understand and fun, to long and detailed. I have made sure each source is reliable and that the authors are reliable. So, whatever stimulates you, you should be able to find something to your liking! Enjoy!

Solomon Asch - Conformity Experiment

        In 1951, Polish psychologist Solomon Asch conducted an experiment that is still nowadays extremely relevant in social psychology. He wanted to determine how strong social pressure was on an individual, even before an obvious choice. It was quite simple; the participants had to indicate which line (A, B or C) was the same length as the target line by saying it aloud. The twist: there was only one real participant, the others were actors whose job was to lie about the answer two thirds of the time. Then, if the participant went along with the false answer, it was concluded that he was giving in to social pressure. The results? 25% never conformed to the majority, with the others doing so at least once, and 32% of the total participants always conforming. It was concluded that group size, presence of an ally, difficulty of task and private answer were the situational factors of this experiment.

        Link : McLoed, S. (2018) Solmon Asch - Conformity Experiment. Simply Psychology.  https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html 

Philip Zimbardo - The Stanford Prison Experiment 

        In 1973, American psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment to find out if police brutality was caused by dispositional or situational attributions. The participants we 21 mentally stable men. They were put in a prison context, 11 as guards and 10 as prisoners. The guards' task to maintain law and order. Originally supposed to last two weeks, the experiment had to be stopped after six days due to the guards using physical and mental punishments, the prisoners rebelling and the overall mental health of both groups quickly deteriorating. It was concluded that police brutality in prisons is mostly caused by situational factors. Both groups later admitted that their own behaviour surprised them. Nowadays, even if this study is heavily criticized for its ethical issues and credibility, it is still frequently used as an example. 

        Link : McLoed, S. (2020) The Stanford Prison Experiment. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html 

Steven Frenda - Sleep Deprivation May Increase Susceptibility to False Memories

        Professor at the University of California State, Steven Frenda, led a research focusing on the link between sleep deprivation and false memories. When dividing participants into four groups, researchers found that the group who had been sleep deprived and then were shown a picture made considerably more mistakes when asked to describe it after. This study raises the question of the reliability of eyewitnesses of murders that might lack many hours of sleep following the crime. The link to the full study is at the bottom of the article if you would like to know more!

        Link : Psychological Science, Association for. (2014) Sleep Deprivation May Increase Susceptibility to False Mamories. Association for Psychological Science. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/sleep-deprivation-may-increase-susceptibility-to-false-memories.html

Lee Ross - The False Consensus Effect

    

    In 1977, Stanford University professor Lee Ross conducted a very simple study. He asked students to do a relatively weird task, then questioned them as on why they accepted or refused. Both groups said that they believed that the majority would do the same as them. Cognitive biases also play a big role in this effect, which can ultimately go both ways. People believe that their actions are more frequent than they really are, and the opposite can also be observed. Brian Mullen also found out that when people had the answer to trivia questions, they were more likely to believe that it was common knowledge and that when they did not know it, they would think it was a more niche topic.

        Link : Pelham, B. (2019) Your Opinions are Not as Popular as You Think They are : the False Consensus Effect. Society for personality and Social Psychology. https://spsp.org/news-center/blog/pelham-false-consensus