PSYC 3103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 42: Bennington College, Theodore Newcomb, Reference Group
30 Nov 2020
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Document Summary
A relatively benign, but familiar example: going to college. Bennington college in vermont: an elite liberal arts college attended by affluent students in the early 1930s (all women at the time). Great depression and ongoing new deal created deep political differences between left and. Most graduates were strongly liberal, including identifying with strong socialist and communist political parties. Newcombe studied the changing political alliances of the 1934 student body from 1934 1939. From 1934 to 1939, overall left/liberal attitudes increased among students, but not among parents. Bennington college became an in-group for students who adapted to its values. Conclusion: attitudes are maintained by choosing social environments that support their maintenance: in group. Extreme situations can powerfully mold morally-relevant attitudes, values, and behaviors. Compliance: prisoners are forced to do demeaning things against their own values and those of their reference group. Are highly motivated to hear news from outside, anything that would bolster their own and reference group values.
