problems with law enforcement agencies using polygraph machines to detect lies and deception

Psychology Twelfth Edition

Chapter 8 Behavior in Social and

Cultural Context

Social Forces

• LO 8.1.A Compare social norms and social roles, and note

how each contributes to the social rules that govern a

culture.

• LO 8.1.B Outline the basic procedures and findings of the

Milgram obedience experiments, and discuss five

conditions that make disobedience to authority more likely.

• LO 8.1.C Outline the basic procedures and findings of the

Zimbardo prison study.

• LO 8.1.D Explain how feelings of entrapment contribute to

destructive obedience.

Roles and Rules (1 of 3)

• Social norms are rules about how we are

supposed to act.

• They are enforced by:

– threats of punishment if we violate them, and

– promises of reward if we follow them

• Norms are the conventions of everyday life that

make interactions with other people predictable

and orderly.