Individual Programmatic Assessment: Exploring a Classic Study in Social Psychology

Select one of the following classic studies in social psychology. While many of these studies are referenced in Social Beings, you may need to do additional research using the University Library or other resources.

• Solomon Asch's (1940, 1956) classic work on normative influence and conformity; sometimes referred to as the Asch effect
• Stanley Milgram's (1965, 1974) research on obedience and the situational variables that make obedience to authority more likely
• Leon Festinger's (1957) study of cognitive dissonance or Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) work on cognitive dissonance
• Henri Tajfel and his colleague's (1971) work on the impact of minimal groups and ingroup bias
• Muzafer Sherif and colleague's (1961) classic Robbers Cave study, including the concept of shared goals and the contact hypothesis
• Darley and Latane's (1968) study of the bystander effect, including the concept of diffusion of responsibility and the conditions under which people are more or less likely to help
• A different classic social psychology study approved by your course instructor

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper about a classic study in social psychology that includes the following information:

• A summary of the study and how it was conducted
• An explanation of the study results: What happened? Were there any unexpected findings? What did the authors conclude? What did the results mean, and what are their implications?
• An explanation of how the concept situationism applies to the study results
• Answers to the following questions:
  • Do you think the study results might have been different if the participants were from a different cultural, ethnic, or gender group? How so?
  • Do you think the results of the study are important and relevant to contemporary society? Explain.