4.1.1 SOCIAL INFLUENCE Flashcards
define conformity
the tendency of people to adopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of a group
what are the three types of conformity
compliance, internalisation and identification
define compliance as a type of conformity
going along with others to gain approval or avoid disapproval: publicly conform but privately disagree
define internalisation as a type of conformity
going along with others because you have accepted their point of view and it is consistent with your own: a permanent change in thinking and personal beliefs
define identification as a type of conformity
going along with others because you have accepted their point of view but only because you have a desire to be liked by them: accepting adopted behaviours as right and true but only adopting them to be accepted
what are the two reasons for conformity
normative social influence and informational social influence
define normative social influence
a person conforms to feel accepted and to have a sense of belonging in a group, conforming because it is socially rewarding or to avoid social rejection, usually occurs when around strangers or in stressful situations
define informational social influence
a person conforms to be right because we are uncertain about what is right or wrong, happens in new and crisis situations or when in present with an expert
what was the aim of aschs study
to examine the extent to which social pressure from a majority, could affect a person to conform
describe the procedure of aschs study
- 50 american male students
- believed they were taking part in a perception test
- one participant with 7 confederates
- asked to say which line was the same length
what were the findings of aschs study
36.8% conformed, 75% conformed at least once
why did participants in aschs conform
distortion of judgement, distortion of perception, distortion of action
what were the variations of aschs study
group size, unanimity, task difficulty
what was the aim of the stanford prison experiment
wanted to study brutality in prisons in 1960s america
describe the procedure of the stanford prison experment
- 24 male volunteers
- selected from 75 based on mental and physical stability
- participant randomly assigned prisoner or guard
- prisoners given numbered smocks, chains and arrested by real police
- guards given uniforms, dark sunglasses, handcuffs and a truncheon
what were the findings of the stanford prison experiment
participants identified quickly, guards dehumanised prisoners who had become increasingly submissive, the experiment was terminated at 6 days
what was the conclusions made from the stanford prison experiment
people conform quickly to social roles, despite their morals, situational factors were largely responsible and none of the participants had previously behaved this way
define obedience
social influence in direct response to an order from another person
what was the aim of milgrams study into obedience
to investigate if in certain circumstances a normal person would give someone a potentially lethal electric shock if told to do so by an authority figure
who is eichmann in relation the milgrams study
claimed he was just obeying orders given whilst on trial for responsibility of the nazi camps, milgram considered whether germans are more obedient than other countries
describe the procedure of milgrams study
used 40 male volunteers at yale university, the participant was the teacher, asked to give an electric shock of increasing voltage each time the learner made a mistake, the teacher heard pre recorded cries of distress and at 315V went silent
what was the range of voltage in milgrams experiment
15-450V
labelled ‘slight shock’ to ‘danger: severe shock’
how many people went up to 300V
100%
how many people went up to 450V
65%
how many people were glad to have participated
84%
outline the behavioural findings of milgrams study
participants showed signs of tension
three had full blown seizures
outline the conclusion from milgrams study
ordinary people are extremely obedient to authority, even when asked to behave in an inhumane manner
it is not evil people who commit atrocities
ao3: what did perry do to evaluate milgrams study
listened to tapes of participants and discovered that many of them expressed doubts that the shocks were real
ao3: outline hofling et al’s study into obedience to authority
nurses in a hospital ward were studied and they found high levels of obedience to unjustified demands by doctors delivered over the phone, with 21/22 nurses obeying
outline milgram’s three proximity variations
variation 1: T and L in the same room
variation 2: touch proximity
variation: remote instruction, over the phone
outline the findings from the proximity variations
variation 1: T and L in the same room
40%
variation 2: touch proximity
30%
variation: remote instruction, over the phone
20.5%
what was the obedience rate when the teacher and learner were in the same room
40%
what was the obedience rate when the teacher and learner were in touch proximity
30%
what was the obedience rate when the teacher was given remote instruction
20.5%
outline milgram’s uniform variation
the experimenter was called away and replaced by someone dressed in everyday clothing
outline the findings from milgram’s uniform variation
20%
outline milgram’s location variation
location was held in a run-down office block
outline the findings from milgram’s location variation
47.5%
ao3: outline bickman’s study into the effect of uniform on obedience
conducted a field experiment in NYC where three confederates were dressed in different outfits - jacket and tie, a milkman’s uniform and a security guard’s uniform
they asked pedestrians to perform a small task such as pick up litter.
ao3: outline bickman’s findings of the effect of uniform on obedience
participants were twice as likely to obey the assistant dressed as a security guard than the one dressed in a jacket and tie
ao3: what did orne and holland suggest about milgram’s variations
claim that participants did not believe in the setup of the experiment, and this may have been more likely in his variations due to extra manipulation
ao3: outline meeus and raaijmakers study and what this concludes about milgram’s research
replicated milgram’s findings of situational variables by testing obedience using a more realistic procedure on dutch participants
this suggests high external validity as conclusions are not limited to american males
ao3: what did smith and bond suggest about milgram’s research
suggested that milgram’s research is not very cross-cultural as most replications of the study are conducted in western cultures that have similar notions about the role of authority
what are milgrams situational explanations of obedience
agentic state
legitimacy of authority
define the agentic state
obedience occurs because a person does not take responsibility for their actions, they are acting for someone else
define moral strain
knowing they are doing something wrong but feel powerless to disobey
define autonomous state
a person feels free to behave according to their own principles and feels a strong sense of responsibility
what is the shift between the autonomous state and agent state called
agentic shift
why may an agentic shift occur
when a person perceives someone else as and authority figure
define binding factors
aspects of a situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effects of their behaviour and reduce the moral strain
what are the strategies milgram proposed as ways to reduce moral strain
shifting responsibility to the victim
denying the damage to the victim
what is legitimacy of authority
we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us, the authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy
what happened in the my lai massacre
504 civilians killed, buildings blew up, burned village, killed animals - defences were he was doing duty by following orders
ao3: what did blass and schmitt find in response to situational explanations
asked students to watch and suggest who was responsible, most named the experimenter
ao3: outline rank and jacobsons research into situational explanations
found that 16/18 nurses disobeyed orders to give an excessive drug does, despite the doctor being an obvious authority figure
ao3: what did kilham and mann find about situational explanations
only 16% of australian females went to 450V in a milgram-style experiment
ao3: what did mantle find about situational explanations
85% of germans went to 450V in a milgram-style experiment
who researched dispositional explanations of obedience
adorno et al
what are the dispositional explanations of obedience
authoritarian personality
what are characteristics of an authoritarian personality
show extreme respect for authority
view society as weaker than it once was
need for strong and powerful leaders
contempt for those of inferior social status
inflexible outlook on the world
what are the origins of an authoritarian personality
result of harsh parenting:
strict discipline
absolute loyalty
high standards
severe criticism
conditional love
what is scapegoating
resentment cant be voiced directly against parents and so is displaced on to others perceived as weaker
describe adorno et als procedure
2000 white, middle class american males
developed the fscale
participants had to agree or disagree with statements such as
‘homosexuals are hardly better than criminals and ought to be punished’
outline adorno et als findings
high scores on the f scale;
identified with the strong
contemptuous of the weak
conscious of status
excessive respect and loyalty towards superiors
strong positive correlation with prejudice
fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups
ao3: outline milgram and elms’ research into the authoritarian personality
conducted post‐experimental interviews with 20 participants who were fully obedient in milgrams original study to see if there was a link between high levels of obedience and an authoritarian personality
it was found that these obedient participants scored higher on the F‐scale in comparison to a group of 20 disobedient participants
the obedient participants were less close to their fathers during childhood
ao3: what did green stein suggest about the fscale
‘comedy of methodological errors’
every item is worded in the same ‘direction’, so it is possible to get a high score by just selecting ‘agree’ answers
resulting in a response bias.
define resistance to social influence
the ability of a person to withstand social pressure to conform
what are the influences on resistance to social influence
social support
locus of control
what levels of conformity were there when there was a social supporter in aschs study
5,5%
why does social support help resistance to influence
less pressure, nsi avoided
what was the level of obedience with resisting peers in milgrams study
10%
why does resisting peers help with resisting obedience
challenges legitimacy, reduced pressure
define locus of control
perception of personal control over behaviour
who proposed locus of control
rotter
what are traits of an internal locus of control
believe they can control or influence events in their life
what are the traits of an external locus of control
believe outside factors such as luck or fate influence events in their life
describe the loc continuum
people with a high internal loc are more able to resist pressures
ao3: how does hollands study support research into resistance to social influence
37% of internals did not continue to the highest shock level whereas only 23% of externals did not continue
ao3: how does twenge et al’s study show support for resistance to social influence
twenge et al analysed data from american locus of control studies conducted over a 40-year period. this data showed that, over this time span, people became more resistant to obedience but also more external
