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A-Level Psychology Paper 1 > 1. Social Influence > Flashcards

1. Social Influence Flashcards

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1
Q

What are Kelman’s three types of conformity?

A
  1. Compliance
  2. Identification
  3. Internalisation
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2
Q

Conformity

A

Yielding to group pressures

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3
Q

Compliance

A
  • Publically conforming, but not privately
  • Avoid social rejection + be accepted by the group
  • Explained by NSI
  • Short-lasting - Only likely to conform in presence of group
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4
Q

Identification

A
  • Publically and privately conforming
  • Conforming to behaviours viewed as desirable
  • Short-lasting - Only conform if behaviours are seen as desirable
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5
Q

Internalisation

A
  • Publically and privately conforming
  • Individuals genuenly adjust their behaviour - They think majority is right
  • Explained by ISI
  • Long-lasting - Genuenly believes they are correct, even when group is not present
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6
Q

What are the two explanations of conformity?

A
  • Normative social influence
  • Informational social influence
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7
Q

Normative social influence

A
  • Motivational force to be liked and accepted
  • We conform publicly to avoid social rejection
  • Short-lasting, (Only conforms when the group is present)
  • Explains compliance
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8
Q

Informational social influence

A
  • Motivational force to look to others for guidance and to be correct
  • We conform because we think others are correct and because we have a desire to have an accurate perception of reality
  • Public and private views match
  • Views are long-lasting as we genuinely believe they are correct
  • Explains internalisation
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9
Q

AO3: Normative social influence

A
  • Supported by Asch - Participants conformed to answers of unambigious questions to be accepted + avoid social rejection + admitted later in interviews
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10
Q

AO3: Informational social influence

A

…

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11
Q

Cognitive dissonance

A

Unplesant feeling of anxiety caused by simultaneously holding two contradictory opinions

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12
Q

Aim: Asch

AO1

A

Investigate the extent to which people would yield to group pressure when answering non ambiguous questions, meaning the answer was obviously wrong

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13
Q

Procedure: Asch

AO1

A
  • 123 American male student volunteers
  • Told the study was about visual preception
  • P’s put in groups of 8
  • 7 confeds
  • Ps sat in a line or around table
  • Ps shown stimulus line followed by Line A, B and C
  • Ps had to say which line was most similar to stimulus
  • There were 18 trials
  • In 12 of the trials, confeds gave identical wrong answers and participants answered last or second last
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14
Q

Results: Asch

AO1

A
  • 75% conformed at least once
  • 25% didn’t conform
  • 5% of Ps conformed to all 12 wrong answers
  • Interviews after experiment found reasons for conformity were: distortion of action, preception or judgement
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15
Q

Conclusion: Asch

AO1

A

Asch concluded that participants will yield to group pressures even when the participants are answering non ambiguous questions

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16
Q

Conclusion: Asch

AO1

A
  • Judgements of individuals were affected by majority even on unambiguious questions where they were obviously wrong
  • As most individuals conformed publically, but not privately it shows we are motivated by NSI
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17
Q

Evaluate: Asch

AO3

A

G: America = Individualistic - (Cultural debates) + All P’s were male, (Not generalisable to women) + All P’s were students
R: Standardised instructions + Easy to repeat, allowing us to test validity of results
V: Lacked ecological validity + Task lacked mundane realism, therefore we may not be able to extrapolate findings to real life situations and issues, such as peer pressure –> However, the fact it was a lab study meant he could control extraneous variables, Ex: seating plan + Cause and effect relationship could be established
E: Deception, (Told Ps the trial was about preception not conformity), however, deception was necessary to produce valid data + P’s were not protected from psychological harm and felt distressed when having to disagree with others

Ask teacher if there is an Application Evaluation point

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18
Q

What are the three situational variables affecting conformity?

A
  1. Group size
  2. Unanimity
  3. Task difficulty
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19
Q

Situational variable

In the context of conformity

A

Features of the environment which influence our willingness to yield to group pressures

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20
Q

Group size

In the context of conformity

A

The extent to which the number of people in a group influences conformity

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21
Q

Unanimity

In the context of conformity

A

The extent to which members of the group agreeing with one another influences conformity

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22
Q

Task difficulty

In the context of conformity

A

The extent to which how obvious the correct answer is, influences our willingness to conform

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23
Q

Which researcher, looked at situational variables affecting conformity?

A

Asch

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24
Q

How did Asch investigate the different situational variables affecting conformity?

A

Group size - Asch varied the number of confeds
Unanimity - Asch occasionally arranged a confed to give a different answer to the majority or the same as the participant
Task difficulty - Asch made some of the answers less obvious by having the different lines be closer in length

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25
Q

Aim: Zimbardo

AO1

A
  • Investigate extent to which individuals would conform to the role of prisoner or guard
  • To test dispositional vs situational hypothesis, which states brutality in US prisons is due to either the personality of the guards on conformity to social roles
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26
Q

Procedure: Zimbardo

AO1

A
  • 75 male volunteers - Newspaper ad
  • Volunteers were physically and psychologically screened
  • 21 Ps were selected
  • 11 were randomly assigned as prisoners and 10 as guards
  • Zimbardo was prison superintendent
  • The prisoners were then ‘arrested’ and ‘taken to prison’
  • The prisoners and guards were given uniforms –> Dehumanisation
  • Location: Stanford Psychology Department basement
  • The study was planned to run for 2 weeks
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27
Q

How were the prisoners dehumanised in the Stanford Prison experiment?

A
  • Prisoners were given numbers - (Similar to what happened in concentration camps during WWII)
  • Guards were given reflective glasses, so prisoners couldn’t look into their eyes
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28
Q

Results: Zimbardo

AO1

A
  • Prisoners and guards settled into roles quickly
  • On day 3, a prison rebelion started and was crushed
  • After the rebellion, guards started to be more hostile towards prisoners
  • after 36 hours, one participant had to be released due to crying and rage
  • Prisoner #8612 was also put in solitary confinment after refusing to eat and protesting against the way they were treated
  • The experiment was meant to last 2 weeks, but was scrapped after 6 days
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29
Q

How did the guards punish the prisoners in Zimbardo’s study?

A
  • Prisoners were given meaningless tasks to complete
  • They were stripped naked
  • Forced to do push-ups, which was the main physical punishment
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30
Q

Conclusion: Zimbardo

AO1

A
  • Situational hypothesis is favoured over dispositional as Ps didn’t show certain character traits during screening before the study
  • Even seemingly well balanced men become brutal when assigned the role of a guard
  • Guards and prisoners demonstrated behaviour gained from media. (basing their ‘characters’ on famous prisoners and guards)
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31
Q

Evaluate: Zimbardo

AO3

A

G: USA = Individualistic, (Cultural debates) + All Ps were male, (Not generalisable to women)
R: Standardised instructions were used - Study can be repeated to test validity of results - Was repeated by Haslam and Reicher in 2006
V: Lacks ecological validity, (fake prison) + Lacks temporal validity + Results may not be valid as Ps who played guards, revealed in later interviews that they were simply acting, however, 90% of conversations in the prison were about prison events, which shows they took it seriously, (counter argument)
E: Unethical - Psychological + Physical Harm, (Evidenced by prisoner #8612 and prisoner who was removed after 36 hours + The fact the study was scrapped early) Ps were also unaware of whether they would be playing the role of prisoner or guard, (Informed consent) + Didn’t consent to being ‘arrested’ at home

32
Q

When did Zimbardo carry out his study?

A

1973

33
Q

Social roles

A

The parts individuals play as members of a social group, which meet the expectations of the situation

34
Q

Dual-processing dependency model

A

Model proposed by Deutsch and Gerrard, which states we conform because of two reasons - NSI and ISI

35
Q

Aim: Milgram

AO1

A
  • Test germans are different hypothesis
  • To see if individuals would obey the orders of an authority figure that incurred negative consequences that go against our moral code
36
Q

W

What is the ‘Germans are different hypothesis?’

A

Hypothesis claims Germans are highly obedient and that Adolf Hitler could not have exterminated the minority groups he did, without the unquestionining co-operation of the German population

37
Q

Procedure: Milgram

AO1

A
  • 40 American males aged 20-50 responded to a newspaper advert
  • They were told the study was about memory and learning
  • Ps were met by a confederate experimenter, (wearing a lab coat to help reafirm his authority)
  • The Ps were told they would either be a ‘teacher’ or ‘learner’
  • However, it was rigged so that the real P would always be the ‘teacher’
  • The ‘experimenter,’ ‘researcher,’ and learner all entered an adjoining room
  • The ‘learner’ was then attached to electrodes
  • The P, (‘teacher’), was told to read out paired-associated word tasks
  • If the ‘learner’ got these wrong, then the ‘teacher’ had to administer an electric shock
  • The shocks began at 15v, (which was labelled as ‘slight shock’), and ended at 450v, (which was labelled XXX)
  • If the ‘teacher’ protested giving the shocks, the experimenter would encourage him through a series of prompts to continue
38
Q

What kind of things did the ‘experimenter’ say to the ‘teacher’ to ensure he kept administering electric shocks?

A
  • “The experiment requires you to continue”
  • You have no choice, you must go on”
  • If these didn’t work, the ‘experimenter’ told the ‘teacher’ that the shocks wouldn’t cause long lasting tissue damage
39
Q

Results: Milgram

AO1

A
  • In the main variation of the study, the rate of obedience was 62.5%
  • 100% of Ps shocked up until 300v
  • Many participants showed signs of distress, such as sweating and twitching
  • 3 Ps had uncontrollable seizures
40
Q

Conclusions: Milgram

AO1

A
  • Germans are different hypothesis is false - 40 ordinary American’s had a high level of obedience when asked to do something that would causer harm - If American’s had lived in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s then they may have obeyed as well
  • Throughout variations of the study, Milgram also concluded the most important factors affecting obedience were, uniform, proximity to researcher, proximity to victim and location
41
Q

Evaluate: Milgram

AO3

A

G: Ps were American, (Individualistic culture) - Cultural debates + All Ps were male, (Cannot generalise to women) + All Ps were aged between 20-50, (Can’t generalise to people older or younger)
R: The study used standardised instructions, meaning it can be repeated to test validity of findings - Burger repeated it in 2009 and concluded that Milgram’s results still stand half a century later, as people are still willing to go against their moral code
A: Different variations, helped Milgram identify situational variables affecting obedience, allowing us to further understand why we obey in certain situations + This experiment established a paradigm, which was used as a basic method for observing obedience
V: Study lacks ecological validity, (artificial environment) + Task lacks mundane realism + Temporal validity is a strength, (Burger 2009)
E: Psychological harm, (Distress as people had to go against their moral code) + Deception, (He said the study was about learning and memory, however, some argue this was necessary for Milgram to produce valid results) + Right to withdraw, (No explicit right to withdraw was given prior to the study and if Ps tried to withdraw, they were encouraged to continue, however, some Ps did refuse to carry on, meaning the right to withdraw was there)

42
Q

What were some of the other variations of Milgram’s study?

A
  • One study was done at a run-down office rather than a prestigious university like Yale
  • One study was done with the ‘experimenter’ wearing home clothes and not a lab coat
  • In one variation the proximity to ‘victim’ and ‘experimenter’ varied
43
Q

What are the three explanations for obedience?

A
  1. Agency theory - Agentic state
  2. Legitimacy of authority
  3. Authoritarian personality
44
Q

What is the name of the dispositional explanation for obedience?

A

Authoritarian personality

45
Q

Who proposed the idea agency theory?

A

Stanley Milgram

46
Q

Agency theory

Outline - AO1

A
  • Less likely to obey if we experience moral strain
  • If legitimate authority figure takes responsibility for our actions we make an agentic shift
  • Moving from an autonomous state to an agentic state
  • Meaning we are more likely to obey as we feel like an agent acting on behalf of the authority figure, thus transfering responsibility to them
  • And we experience less moral strain as we are not responsible for our actions
47
Q

AO3: Agency theory

A
  • Ps in Milgram’s study experienced moral strain because researcher didn’t take responsibility for their actions - Ps weren’t in an agentic state
  • In one variation, Milgram divided the study into two groups - In one group the researcher took responsibility and in the other one they didn’t - Obedience was higher when the researcher took responsibility
  • Proximity varied in the study - Milgram found obedience went up when Ps were further away - Supports theory as it shows when people are further away from victim they experience less moral strain as it is easier to ignore consequences of their actions
  • A limitation is that in Milgram’s study obedience was 62.5% not 100%, meaning their are dispositional variables this theory doesn’t take into account
48
Q

Legitimacy of authority

A
  • Humans are surrounded by social hierarchies
  • We learn from a young age through socialisation processes, such as student-teacher, that we must obey those who are precieved to be higher up in the hierarchy
  • We understand that disobeying those higher up in the hierarchy gives them the right to punish us
  • Most believe legitimacy of authority is pivitol for society to function properly
49
Q

What factors make an authority figure appear more legitimate?

A
  • Proximity
  • Location
  • Uniform
50
Q

AO3: Legitimacy of authority

A
  • In one variation the experimenter was wearing a lab coat and in another normal clothes - Obedience was higher when lab coat was worn - Made authority figure appear more legitimate
  • The main variation took place at Yale and another variation in a run-down office - Obedience was higher at Yale, (62.5% compared to 47.5%) - At a presitgious university, the researcher’s authority appears more legitimate than in a run-down office
  • The rate of obedience in the main study was 62.5% not 100% - Meaning this theory doesn’t account for situational variables as not everyone obeyed authority - Even when it appeared legitimate, as the study was at Yale and the experimenter was wearing a lab coat
51
Q

What are the three situational variables that affect obedience?

A
  1. Proximity
  2. Location
  3. Uniform
52
Q

Authoritarian personality

A
  • Dispositional explanation for obedience created by Adorno
  • Obedience may stem from strict parenting
  • This strict parenting has two consequences: 1. They unquestionably obey authority figures 2. They become furstrated but don’t take it out on the parents as they are worried they will be punished
  • They take out furstration on those who are preceieved to be lower in the social hierarchy, who cannot punish them
  • People who have authoritatian personalities display behaviours such as being conformist, abusive and blindly obedient to those higher up in the hierarchy
  • Measured using the F-scale
53
Q

F-scale

A

Personality questionnaire containing nine dimensions

54
Q

AO3: Authoritarian personality

A
  • In Milgram’s study obedience was not 100%, it was 62.5% - Supports existence of dispositional variables affecting obedience
  • Those who were obedient in Milgram’s study tested on th F-scale - Lots of them had authoritarian personality traits, supporting the link between the two –> (However, correlation doesn’t equal causation)
  • This theory doesn’t account for situational variables which uis supported by Milgram’s research, (Location, uniform and proximity) - Ex: Run down office having an obedience rate of 47.5% as opposed to the variation at Yale which had 62.5%
  • Zillmer et al, found 16 Nazi war criminals tested highly on 3/9 dimensions of the F-scale, however, he predicted they would have test highly on all dimenstions *Limitation
55
Q

What are the two explanations which explains why we resist social influence?

A
  1. Locus of control
  2. Social support
56
Q

Locus of control

A
  • Refrences how much we believe we are in control of our own life
  • Measured on a scale, (Internal at one end - External at the other end)
  • Internal = They believe they have control over their own life
  • External = They believe what they do and how they behave is determined by invisible forces like luck and fate
  • External = they are more likely to conform - Don’t take responsibility for actions
  • Internal = more likely to resist, because they believe they are in control of what happens to them and therefore will be more mindful as to whether they conform or not

*LoC works with obedience and other forms of SI - Not just conformity

57
Q

AO3: Locus of control

A
  • Schute - Exposed undergrads to liberal and conservative attitudes towards drug taking. Those with an internal locus of control were less likely to experience pro-drug attidues. Supports the idea that internal means we are less likely to resist
  • Twenge et al - 40 year meta-analysis. States people are becoming more external yet more obedient, which according to this theory isn’t possible. Meaning the theory potentially doesn’t account for situational or dispositional variables which affect resistance to social influence
  • Avtgis meta-analysis supports the idea that those with an internal LoC were less easily persudable, supporting the idea that LoC influences resistance to social influence
  • LoC helps explain peer-pressure and why some kids may be more succeptible to it than others, (Ex: Those with an external locus of control may need to be more careful as they are more likely to conform)
58
Q

Social support

A
  • Resisting conformity is easier if there are others also resisting the pressure to conform, (other dissenters)
  • When someone is not conforming, this will appear to be social support and allows the person to follow their own conscience
  • The same can be seen with resistance to obey
  • If another person is seen to disobey; It allows the person to also disobey as it challenges legitimacy of authority
59
Q

AO3: Social support

A
  • Allen and Levine - Conformity was reduced on a task involving visual judgement if there was a dissenter - Even if the dissenting ‘partner’ wore thick glasses with thick lenses and admitted to having a sight problem. This shows that dissenters help resist social influence even if they aren’t skilled in certain situations
  • Asch found if a dissenter answered correctly from the beginning of the study, conformity drops from 32% to 5.5% - However, if they start answering correctly later on, conformity only drops to 8.5% - Social support recieved earlier is more effective

Ask Ms Stainsby if I need another evaluation point?

60
Q

Minority influence

A

A type of social influence that motivates individuals to reject social norms established by the majority

61
Q

What three behaviours enable a minority to be effective at** influencing a majority**?

A
  1. Consistency
  2. Commitment
  3. Flexibility
62
Q

Consistency

A

The idea that the more unchanging a minority’s viewpoint is, the more persuasive they will be

63
Q

Commitment

A

The extent to which a minority group shows dedication to their opinion, influcnes the extent to which the majority is likely to accept it

64
Q

Flexibility

A

The extent to which a minority is willing to compromise and alter their opinion, influences the extent to which the majority is likely to accept it

65
Q

Augmentation principle

A

The more commited the minority are, the more members of the majority feel they must listen to their views and opinions *You pay more attention to them

66
Q

Snowball effect

A

Gradually, if the minority are consistent, commited and flexible, then they will convert members of the majority. These converted members of the majority will then share the minority’s message in a consistent, commited and flexible fashion, leading to a faster rate of conversion

67
Q

Social cryptoamnesia

A

When you do not remember what view, behaviour or norm was present prior to social change taking place

68
Q

Aim: Moscovici

AO1

A

To investigate the role of a consistent minority on the opiniopns of a majority in an unambigious situation

69
Q

Procedure: Moscovici

AO1

A
  • 32 groups of 6
  • 4 real Ps and 2 confeds per group
  • Ps told it was an investigation on preception
  • Each group was shown 36 blue slides, with filters that varied the intensity of the colour
  • In the consistent condition, confeds answered wrongly that the slides were green
  • In the inconsistent condition, confeds said that 24 of the slides were green and 12 were blue
  • Answers were given verbally infront of the group
70
Q

Results: Moscovici

AO1

A
  • 8.2% agreement with the minority in the consistent condition
  • 1.25% agreement in the consistent condition
71
Q

Conclusion: Moscovici

AO1

A
  • Although minority influence in this study was small, consistency was an important factor in enabling the minority to influence the majority
72
Q

Evaluate: Moscovici

AO3

A

G: All P’s were female as Moscovici thought they would be more interested in colours, meaning the study lacks population validity - Results cannot be generalised to men
V: Lacks ecological validity as it was a lab experiment, (artificial environment)
E: Moscovici’s study goes against the BPS ethical guidelines as it involves deciet - Ps were told the study was about preception not minority influence - Meaning informed consent couldn’t properly be given - Ps may have endured psychological harm - It can be argued deception was vital in order to achieve valid results

73
Q

Social influence processes

A

The means by which society changes, beliefs, attidues or behaviour to create new social norms

74
Q

Social change

A

The alteration of behaviour patterns and attidues within a cultural grouping

75
Q

Exam Question

Explain how social influence processes contribute to social change. [4]

There is more content here than is needed for a 4 mark question + This content would be appliciable to most 6 markers about social change and what research has shown about it

A
  • Minorities are integral to inspiring and influencing social change as majorities only maintain the status quo
  • If minorities are consistent, commited and flexible, then this may lead to members of the majority internalising their beliefs
  • Consistent - The more unchanging a minority’s viewpoint is, the more persuasive they will be
  • Commited - Augmentation principle: The more commited a minority appear to be, the more we as a majority feel we need to pay attention to them, (hear them out)
  • Flexible - The more a minority is willing to compromise their view, influences the extent to which they can convert the majority
  • Researchers like Moscovici show how powerful a minority could be at converting members of the majority, as long as the right conditions are met
  • Snowball effect: The rate of conversion increases as members of the majority who have been converted share the minority’s message in a consistent, commited and flexible fashion
  • An example of minority influence leading to social change is the suffragete movement
  • This also links to social cryptoamnesia, as when women are voting nowadays, they don’t always think back to this movement and than the suffragetes

A-Level Psychology Paper 1 (4 decks)

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