Questions: Introduction to Social Psychology

Question 1

In Milgram's obedience studies, most participants administered what they believed were severe electric shocks to strangers. What does this finding best illustrate?

• A. That sadistic personality traits are more common than expected
• B. That situational pressures can override individual moral convictions
• C. That participants misunderstood the instructions
• D. That laboratory settings produce behavior unrelated to real life

Answer: (B)

The Milgram studies are the canonical demonstration of situationism: ordinary people, under social pressure from an authority figure, behaved in ways that conflicted with their personal values. This finding argues against a purely dispositional explanation of harmful behavior.

Question 2

Social psychology's findings frequently confirm what most people would intuitively predict about human behavior.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

A defining feature of social psychology is that its findings routinely violate common-sense intuitions. Before the Milgram studies, nearly everyone predicted that only a small fraction of participants would comply fully. Before the bystander effect research, people assumed more witnesses would lead to more helping. The field earns its status as a science precisely because its results are non-obvious.

Question 3

Why does social psychology study the 'imagined or implied' presence of others, not just the actual presence?

Model answer: Because people's behavior is shaped by mental representations of social expectations — such as norms, anticipated judgment, or internalized roles — even when no one else is physically present.

This is what makes social psychology broader than just the study of crowds or groups. A person alone in a room can still behave differently because they imagine how others might perceive them, follow internalized norms, or feel anticipated shame or approval. The social influence is cognitive, not merely physical.