Names: Eric Heerschap & Jeff Obara
Subject/Grade Level: 11th-12th Grade Psychology
Topic/Title: Interpersonal Social Psychology
Guiding Questions: What is Social Psychology? What is group polarization? What are the effects of
social facilitation? How to crowds and deindividuation affect behavior? What are conformity and
compliance? What research has been done in these fields?
APA Standards:
VC-3.1 Describe effects of the presence of others on individual behavior.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
1. Applying the concept of social facilitation to performance at a track meet
2. Providing an example of the bystander effect
3. Distinguishing differences in social behavior among individuals relative to their exercise of power
(e.g., persons with less power may show greater awareness of persons with more power)
VC-3.2 Describe how social structure can affect intergroup relations.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
1. Discussing conflict and the processes involved in conflict resolution
2. Describing Sherif’s research and explaining its implications about superordinate goals
3. Giving examples of creating social structures that would foster competition between groups
4. Differentiating between American and Japanese business models
5. Providing positive and negative outcomes of group polarization
6. Giving examples of how a superordinate goal can increase cooperation between groups
7.
VC-3.4 Describe circumstances under which conformity and obedience are likely to occur.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
1. Explaining the importance of group size as a predictor of conformity
2. Discussing why obedience to authority is a common phenomenon
3. Citing examples of disobedience to authority
4. Analyzing disasters from the perspective of the groupthink hypothesis (e.g., space shuttle
disaster, Bay of Pigs)
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to define and manipulate the concepts of
group polarization, social facilitation, deindividuation, conformity, and compliance. Students will
create a study to measure some aspect of these topics.
Lesson Content
Social psychology is the study of how the presence of other people affects thoughts and behavior.
Group polarization is the phenomenon that people in groups make more extreme decisions than people
alone. Social facilitation is the increase in the dominant response in the presence of others. An audience
tends to make familiar easy tasks easier to perform well, while strange or difficult tasks are done less
easily and worse. Michaels et. al. (1982) showed that expert pool players made a higher percentage of
shots while being observed rather than alone, while novice players made a lower percentage of shots
while being observed. Deindividuation is the increased feeling of anonymity in a crowd that leads to
diffused responsibility and more potentially dangerous behavior. It can also occur when one's identity is
concealed. Zimbardo (1969) showed that when dressed in oversized lab coats and hoods, participants
were willing to give more intense shocks to confederates than were participants wearing normal clothes
with name tags. Conformity is the phenomenon of unintentionally behaving or thinking like the group.
Group size and unanimity of group thought/behavior are very important when considering the strength
of the pressure to conform. Asch (1958) showed that when other members of a group unanimously give
a false answer to an obvious question, participants give the same false answer 32% of the time
(compared to 2% for alone participants.) Compliance is acting in accordance to the request of another.
The pressure to comply relies on dimensions such as the status of the requester, guilt, and the likability
of the requester. Bochner and Insko (1966) showed that students were more likely to comply to agree to
the optimal amount of sleep if told so by a renowned sleep psychologist rather than a YMCA instructor.
Student Grouping: In the first activity, students will be grouped according to similar responses to the
statement “tests are an extremely important form of assessment.” The second groups will be created
randomly by counting everyone 1-4 and assigning the four groups to come up with a way to study
deindividuation, social facilitation, conformity, and compliance.
Methods
-Lecture with videos
 Likert scale and grouping
 Group investigation on how to study social psychology topics
Activities
-Opening activities
-Present the statement “Tests are an extremely important form of assessment”
-Ask students to write on a sheet of paper a number 0-10 (Likert Scale) their level
of agreement (0 being completely disagree, 5 being neutral, 10 being completely
agree)
 Collect students' numbers, and ask everyone who answered 0-4 to sit on the left side
of room, and everyone who answered 6-10 to sit on the right, and everyone who answered 5 to
remain in the middle.
- Groups will discuss for 2 minutes why they answered the way they did, and will be asked
to come up with a group Likert number to the same statement and share
 Students return to seats for lecture
-Main Activities
 Powerpoint lecture will be given
 Introduce Social Psychology
 Define “groups”
 Discuss how groups affect behavior
 Define group polarization
 Compare groups' average ratings before 2 minute discussion and their collective
answer after. Show how this either does or does not demonstrate group polarization.
 Present on Social facilitation and Michaels (1982)
 Present on Deindividuation and Zimbardo (1969.)
 Present on Conformity and show Asch video
 Present on Compliance and Bochner and Insko (1966)
 Closing activities
 Students will be divided into 4 groups by numbering them 1-4 and having like numbers
gather.
 Each group will be assigned to devise a way to study some aspect of either social
facilitation, deindividuation, conformity, or compliance
 Groups are given 5-10 minutes to create a study
 Groups share their studies
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK?
MATERIALS?
Assessment
Students will be assessed on their studies. The studies will be assessed based on the correctness,
relevance to social psychology, inventiveness, and completeness. To avoid social loafing, students will
be asked to rate other members of their group on their participation or lack thereof.
EVALUATION RATIONALE?
POINTS FOR WRITTEN LESSON PLAN
7/10
You are missing a few very important sections. At this point in the semester, this shouldn’t be
happening. Please refer to the template that is provided in your syllabus and on our course
website for guidance in this area. I would also ask that you put a little bit of work into
formatting. It just makes the lesson clearer and easier to follow in the event that someone
would like to use it. Refer to my comments throughout for more detailed feedback.
POINTS FOR ENGAGING PRESENTATION STYLE
/5
 I like your opening exercise. Perhaps you could write the statement on the front board or
on a slide?
 Nice adjustment when one group was a little too large. It’s important to be prepared for
this.
POINTS FOR DISCUSSION WITH CLASS
Thank you
/5
TOTAL POINTS
Great work,
/20