1 - social influence Flashcards
what are the 3 levels of conformity?
1 - compliance
2 - identification
3 - internalisation
what is compliance?
lowest level of conformity
only temporary
what is identification?
changing beliefs temporarily to fit in with a group
what is internalisation?
changing behaviour and belief on a permanent basis
what is normative social influence?
conforming to be accepted and belong with a group despite not fitting in
public compliance
gain approval
avoid rejection
what is informational social influence?
conforming to gain knowledge, look to others to be ‘right’
when we desire to be correct
leads to internalisation
avoid standing out for being wrong
what are examples of informational social influence?
(case studies)
Sherif - autokinetic
Asch - variations
Jenness - jelly beans
what was the aim of Sherif’s research?
conduct an experiment with the aim of demonstrating that people conform to group norms when put in an unusual situation
what were the findings of Sherif’s experiment?
9/10 people conformed when the light didn’t move
name the two explanations for conformity
normative social influence
informational social influence
what to include in a consent form?
- general purpose - outline what will happen
- ethical guidelines e.g. right to withdraw
- written in form of a consent form
- place to sign
- identify potential harm
evidence supporting normative social influence
Linkenback and Perkins (2003) - teenagers who were told that the majority of people their age didn’t smoke, were less likely to take up smoking
Schultz et al (2008) - found that hotel guest exposed to the normative message that 75% of guests reused their towels each day, reduced their own towel use by 25%
Asch (1956) - when given an unambiguous line length, test participants would chose the same incorrect answer as confederates
evidence supporting informational social influence
Jenness - Participants were given a task with no clear answer: guessing the number of beans in a jar. Participants first made individual private
guesses, then they discussed their estimates in a larger group. A group estimate was calculated.
Participants then gave another private estimate.
Results showed that the second private estimates had moved closer to
the group estimate.
Evaluation of research methods for conformity
positives
- lab based and had the advantage of highly controlled variables
limitations
- Sherif - involved tasks that didn’t represent everyday situations for conformity - lack mundane realism.
- lacks ecological validity (artificial setting)
- participants were deceived so breach of guidelines
what was the aim of Asch’s experiment?
to examine the extent to which social pressure from a majority influences a person to conform
what was the procedure of Asch’s experiment?
a volunteer sample of 123 american, male college students believed they were taking part in a vision test
- lab experiment
- line judgement task used
- participant in a room with 6 confederates
- PP was lead to believe that everyone else was naive
- naive was always last or second to last
- each participant completed 18 trials and confederates gave same incorrect answer on 12 trials
what were the findings of Asch’s experiment?
on average, participants conformed to majority on 32%
74% conformed on at least 1 trial
26% didn’t conform at all
what was the conclusion of Asch’s trial?
most said they knew they were wrong but changed their answer to fit in
- conformed to normative social influence
what were the 3 variation that Asch experimented with?
group size
unanimity
task difficulty
what was found out about group size?
- conformity increased as group size did too
- 3 is considered optimal group size for conformity
- when there was a group of 15, less conformed, could be due to suspicion
what was found out about unanimity?
when a confederate who disagreed with the others was introduced, conformity reduced
it enabled real participant to behave more independently
in one variation, one confederate gave correct answers and this decreased conformity by 5%
what was found out about test difficulty?
conformity increased when the lines were harder to tell apart
5 evaluation points about Asch’s research?
Ecological validity / realism
convincing confederates
population validity
child of its time
group sizes
elaborate on ecological validity / mundane realism
low EV and MR meant that the experiment environment and task wasn’t realistic and wouldn’t normally happen in real life so isn’t accurate
elaborate on convincing confederates
people questioned whether the confederates were convincing enough as there would be a higher level of conformity if they were pressuring
- Mori and Arai repeated experiment and gave everyone polarising glasses to make it seem like it was more of a test
- results closely matched the original so it suggests in Asch’s study the confederates were convincing
elaborate on population validity
Asch
sample size was 123 American men from the same university therefore doesn’t represent other sexes or cultures very well
- conformity levels between individual and collective cultures may lead to even more lack of validity as they shouldnt be compared
elaborate on ‘child of its time’
asch
research took place in a time of unusually high conformity due to McCarthyism, when to go against the norm was considered dangerous
- when studied in 1980’s only one conformed
- shows that when consequences of not conforming are negative, conformity levels are high
group sizes AO3
Asch
P - bond (2005) claimed the lack of research into group sizes more than 15, doesn’t provide enough detail to be sure about the effect of conformity
E - usual group size was between 2-4
E - therefore, this limits knowledge of effect of larger groups
when was the Zimbardo prison experiment?
1971
what was the sampling method for the Stanford prison experiment?
newspaper and people submitted
Aims of Zimbardo’s experiment?
examine whether people would conform to the social roles of a prison guard or prisoner, when placed in a mock prison environment
Method of Zimbardo’s experiment?
24 male university students who volunteered in response to a newspaper advert, were selected based on their physical and mental
stability. They were paid $15 a day. They were randomly allocated to the role of prisoner or guard.
The ‘prisoners’ were arrested by police, fingerprinted, stripped, given a numbered prison outfit and chains were placed around their
ankles.
The ‘guards’ were given uniforms, reflective glasses, handcuffs and a baton. They were instructed to run the prison without using
physical violence.
The experiment was scheduled to run for two weeks.
Findings of Zimbardo’s experiment?
- both prisoners and guards quickly identified with social roles
- guards dehumanised prisoners and made them perform degrading tasks
- prisoners identified with subordinate role and became more submissive
- 5 prisoners released early due to distress
- experiment ended after 6 days
Conclusion of Zimbardo’s experiment?
people quickly conform to social roles, even if it contradicts their moral principles
name 3 evaluation points for Zimbardo’s experiment
ethics
demand characteristics
real world application
talk about Zimbardo ethics (AO3)
P - often criticized for being ethically unsound, despite the fact it followed the guidelines accepted by Stanford University ethics committee
E - the participants experienced a lot of emotional and physical distress, breaching the ethical guidelines of participant protection from harm. however he did attempt to make amends by carrying out debrief sessions for several years later
E - furthermore, the participants said they were glad to have taken part
talk about Zimbardo’s research methods (AO3)
demand characteristics
P - a further problem was that of demand characteristics
E - further research argued that the behaviour of participants was due to guessing the aims and conforming to roles
E - They presented key details to people who didn’t know anything about the experiment, and the majority guessed what the aims were, so the pp’s probably could too
L - therefore, the behaviour presented by the pp’s was due to powerful demand characteristics rather that a compelling prison environment
explain Zimbardo’s real world application (AO3)
P - one benefit of the SPE it its’s relevance to the real world and Abu Ghraib. Zimbardo argued that conformity to social roles can also be used to explain events in Abu Ghraib, a prison known for torture and abuse in 2003/4
E - Zimbardo believed these guards who committed abuse were victims of situational factors such as lack of training, boredom, and no accountability to higher authority
E - therefore these factors and an opportunity to misuse power led to prisoner abuse in both settings
what is the difference between obedience and conformity?
obedience = following laws, rules or direct commands from those in authority
conformity = involves subtle, usually non-verbal influences of the majority, social norms
what is the difference between situational and dispositional variables?
situational = related to setting/ situation/ social role (external)
dispositional = related to personality (internal)
what was the aim of Milgram’s shock experiment?
to investigate whether ordinary American citizens would obey an unjust order form an authority figure
what was the procedure of Milgram’s shock experiment?
- consisted of 40 male volunteers from newspaper
- conducted at Yale
- participants assigned either teacher or student but they were monitored so all received teacher
- learner in adjacent room would follow a script and given a shock if they responded wrong
- there was a supervisor in the room encouraging them to give the shock
- teacher had a selection of shock values
Findings from Milgram’s experiment?
all participants gave the shock up to 300 volts
65% went all the way
what was the conclusion of Milgram’s shock experiment?
under the right circumstances, ordinary people will obey unjust orders
what are the 3 situational factors in obedience?
1 - proximity
2 - location
3 - uniform
what happened with proximity in Milgram’s experiment?
- when in the same rooms, obedience levels fell to 40% as they could see the pain
- when the teacher had to force the hand onto the plate, obedience dropped to 30%
- when the experimenter was absent and gave orders over the phone, only 21% did the maximum shock
- some repeatedly gave the same minimum shock
what effect did the location have on Milgram’s experiment?
- as it was performed at Yale, some said they were more likely to give higher shocks as it is a well established place
- when repeated in a run down office, obedience levels were still high but dropped to 48%
what was the effect of uniform on Milgram’s experiment?
when wearing lab coat - 65%
when wearing normal clothes - 20%
What were the issues with Milgram’s experiment?
1 - ethical issues which included
- deception
- right to withdraw
- informed consent
- protection from psychological harm
2 - validity
- ecological validity
- mundane realism
- population validity
what is the autonomous state?
individual directs their own behaviour and takes reasonability for their action
what is the agentic state?
individual allows someone else to direct their behaviour - passes on responsibility to them
what is it called when you move from autonomous to agentic state?
agentic shift
what is moral strain?
when you follow authority even if if goes against your moral views
what are binding factors
aspects of the situation that allow a person to minimise the damaging effect of their consequences
how is self image impacted by the agentic state?
- some people adopt the agentic state to maintain a positive self-image
- as the action is no longer their responsibility, it no longer reflects self image
what 3 things did Milgram say helps people stay in the agentic state
1 - unwillingness to disrupt
2 - pressure of location
3 - insistence of authority
what is one explanation for obedience?
we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
evaluation points for legitimacy of authority
RWE
SK
1 - helps understand real world examples and why people obey certain people more than others
2 - over-reliance on an authority figure may have negative consequences e.g. doing something for army because they said so
3 - example of Sandor Kepiro in ww2
what is an authoritan personality?
a person who believes in authority and is more likely to obey to people
conformist / dogmatic / unyielding
what are dispositional factors?
personality features
what did Adorno look at?
the F scale
- interested in war crimes
- particular personality types are more likely to obey an authority
- very high level of obedience can be seen as a psychological disorder
what was thought about higher scorers in the F scale
- they were seen as stronger
- they had fixed views and stereotypes about other groups
what effect does harsh parenting have on personality?
more likely to have an authoritarian personality
what did Elms and Milgram investigate?
investigated dispositional factors to explain obedience
what did Elms and Milgram find in their research?
those who were fully obedient and went to 450v scored higher on tests of authoritarianism
AO3 of F scale
- correlation between f scale score and obedience doesn’t establish causality so it doesn’t know if there are other key extraneous variables
- self report techniques are not that reliable as people tend to score to make themselves look better
- reduces validity as there could be incorrect information in results
does level of education influence obedience?
research in 1990 suggests that less educated people are consistently more authoritarian and more obedient than well educates people
2 things that effect resistance to social influence
1 - locus of control
2 - social support
what is the difference between someone with an internal and external locus of control?
internal - make things happen and take responsibility ‘i made it happen’
external - life is determined by environment such as luck ‘wrong place wrong time’
what effect does internal or external locus of control have on social influence?
internal
- information is useful to them so are less likely to rely on other people’s opinions
- more persuasive and goal oriented so will do what they can even if they stick out
- less likely to be coerced e.g. interrogation
external
- easily influenced as they don’t think they excercise personal control over their lives
locus of control AO3
NSI vs ISI
P - Spector measured LOC to normative and informational social influence in 157 undergraduate students
E - He found a significant correlation between LOC and predisposition to normative social influence but not informational social influence. but there was no relationship for informational social influence
E - Spector concluded externals would conform more than internals in NSI but not ISI
what is a meta-analysis?
including other similar research results to give a final set of results
locus of control AO3
young people
P - in the past, in LOC, young people had a more internal LoC but that is reversing and young people are learning more towards an external way
E - meta-analysis found young Americans increasingly believed their fate was determined by luck rather than their own responsibility
E - Twenge uses this trend to explain why young people blame natural misfortunes for their own failures
what is social support?
the perception of a supportive network and that there is assistance for the individual from others
what happens if there is another non-conformist in a group?
- breaks unanimity
- makes more confident in their decisions
- more comfortable to stand up to majority
AO3 social support
importance of response order
P - Alleen and Levine studied whether response position of social support person made a difference in resisting majority
E - In one example the support was first and the pp was 5th but in the second, it was 4 and 5. It was more effective when they were 1st as people had more time to be confident in their answers
E - a correct answer first confirms partipants judgement and produces a commitment to the correct response
real world application of social support AO3
P - the Rosentrasse protest
E - in 1943 a group of Germany women protested in the Rosenstasse in Berlin, where the Gestapo held 2000 jewish men, mostly married to non jewish partners and the male children of these mixed marriages. Despite threats to open fire, the women stayed until the men were set free.
E - this shows how social support, in the form of disobedience, is an important factor in resisting orders from an authoritarian figure
what is minority inflence?
when the minority persuades others to adopt their beliefs / attitudes / behaviours
who looked into minority influence?
Moscovici et al
blue green tyle study
What was the procedure of the blue green tyle study?
172 females tested to make sure they weren’t colour blind
groups of 6 (4 confederates, 2 pp’s) asked to state colours of 36 slides - all shades of blue
condition A - confederates were consistent and called slides green on all trials
condition B - inconsistent confederates, called slides green 24 times and blue 12 times
what were the finding’s of Moscovici et al’s study?
when there were no confederates, only 0.25% reported any green slides
in the consistent group, 8.2% answered green on at least 1
in the inconsistent group, pp’s answered green in 1.25% of trials
what was the conclusion of the blue and green study?
- minorities can influence majorities
- minority influence is strongest where its consistent
- when a minority is inconsistent, they are less influential
what are the 3 processes in minority influence?
consistency
commitment
flexibility
what effect does consistency have on minority influence?
repeating the same message increases amount of interest as it can make others rethink their views
consistency AO3 (minority influence)
consistency improves influence however as the sample is only female, American pp’s - it is hard to generalise the results to other populations such as males
research often shows that females are more likely to conform and so further research would be needed to determine effect of minority influence on males
what effect does commitment have on minority influence?
engaging in activities to draw attention to their view e.g. making a personal sacrifice
augmentation principle
what effect does flexibility have on minority influence?
if you’re ‘too consistent’ and not flexible, this makes the majority less likely to change their views
needs to be a balance between flexibility and consistency
flexibility A03 (minority influence)
group members discussing compensation amounts for a ski accident
- when confederate didn’t change their mind it had no effect on the group
- when confederate was willing to compromise, they persuaded the others to increase compensation amount to £100,000
- only works near the end rather than beginning of an event
- suggests flexibility is only effective in certain times
what is social change?
society adopting new behaviour which becomes a norm
often starts with a small group
internalisation
what are the 5 stages of social influence?
1 - drawing attention
2 - cognitive conflict
3 - consistency of position
4 - augmentation principle
5 - snowball effect
how do the suffragettes movements link to the 5 stages?
1 - drawing attention
suffragettes used educational and political tactics to draw attention to the vote rights
2 - cognitive conflict
some people dealt with this conflict by moving towards their view, others dismissed it
3 - consistency of position
these protests continued for around 15 years
4 - augmentation principle
some were willing to risk their life - hunger strikes / horse
5 - snowball effect
universal suffrage was finally accepted in 1915
what is social cryptoamnesia?
forgetting what life was like before a social change
AO3 points of social influence from minorities
Nemeth claims social change is slow and minority often creates potential for change rather than the direct change.
Indirect and delayed
Also, barriers to social minority influence. Being perceived as deviant limits influence as they don’t want to associate with criminal behaviour
what is ‘misperception about a target behaviour?’
when there is a gap between percieved norm and actual norm
e.g. overestimation of alcohol consumption
What was the Montana drink drive social intervention?
- aimed towards 21-34 year old’s to stop drink-driving as Montana was over represented
- 20.4% of people had drunk driven but 92% thought the majority had
- used the slogan ‘most of us (4 out of 5) don’t drink and drive
- D + D was reduced by 13.7% in comparison to other states who hadn’t had this intervention
limitation of interventions
P - many interventions don’t lead to social change
E - DeJong tested effectiveness to decrease alcohol in 14 college sites, but people did not report less alcohol consumption
E - Therefore, not all social norm interventions can produce a social
Boomerang effect AO3
P - those whose behaviour is better than the norm will also recieve the message
E - People using less energy than what was on the advertisement, increased usage to fit in with the norm
E -boomerang effect means sometimes campaigns don’t work how they are intended to
how could social intervention help the economy?
e.g. telling people to eat healthier, they will be less likely to be ill and go to hospital
so
less people off work - more money to pay in takes
or
less money spent in NHS and money can go elsewhere
