C1 social influence

Question 1

what is conformity

Answer 1

conformity is yielding to group pressure

Question 2

what are the 3 types of conformity

Answer 2

• identification - conform to be a part of a group
• internalisation- conform publicly and privately
• compliance - conform publicly but not privately

Question 3

what are the 2 explanations for conformity

Answer 3

informational social influence - conform to be right as you assume the group know better

normative social influence- emotional need to be accepted within a group

Question 4

what was Asch’s 1951 conformity study and what were the findings

Answer 4

123 American men judged line lengths while confederates gave the wrong answers on purpose.

naive participants conformed 36% of trials but 25% didn’t conform

Question 5

what were variations of Asch’s conformity study

Answer 5

group size - conformity increases up to 3 people
unanimity - Asch placed a confederate who gave the right answer, conformity reduced by 75%
- task difficulty - made line lengths more similar so conformity increased, changed explanation for conformity (ISI)

Question 6

evaluate asch’s conformity study

Answer 6

• high internal validity due to controlled environment
• limited sample so cannot be generalised to the whole population
• participants were deceived
• demand characteristics and participants knew it was a study

Question 7

what was zimbardo’s prison study

Answer 7

a study to test behaviour related to social roles and norms

a mock prison set up with 21 students who were randomly assigned as guards or prisoners

conformity created through uniforms and instructions

Question 8

what were the findings of zimbardo’s prison study

Answer 8

participants strongly conformed to their social role

guards became brutal and prisoners became depressed

study terminated after 6 days

Question 9

evaluate zimbardos prison study

Answer 9

• random assignment eliminates participant variable so there’s high internal validity
• applied to the real world prison reform
  -unrepresentative sample
• psychological harm- no right to withdraw
• zimbardo conformed to his role resulting in investigator effects

Question 10

what was milligrams obedience study

Answer 10

• to test whether people obey due to situational or dispositional reasons
  -American male participants administrated fake electrical shocks to a learner in response to instructions up to 450V

Question 11

what were the findings of milgrams obedience study

Answer 11

people obey due to situational reasons

100% participants shocked learner up to 300V

65% went up to 450V

Question 12

evaluate milligrams obedience study

Answer 12

• limited sample
• low internal validity as only 50% believed shocks were real (orne and holland)
• deception and potential psychological harm

Question 13

what were some situational variables of milligrams study

Answer 13

• proximity- obedience dropped to 40% when in the same room
• location - obedience dropped to 47% when in a run down office instead of a prestige university
• uniform- 20% when experimenter was a member of the public as its a symbol of legitimate authority

Question 14

strengths and limitations of using milgrams agentic state research to explain obedience

Answer 14

• his resistant participants carried on giving out shocks when instructed
• cannot explain why ranks nurses and some participants disobeyed

Question 15

what is adornos authoritarian personality

Answer 15

dispositional explanation for obedience

someone who has extreme respect for authority figures that started from harsh parenting which created hostility. behaviour was then displaced onto minority groups

Question 16

how did adorno use the f scale and what did he find

Answer 16

• used the scale to study unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups
• found that authoritarian personalities hold stereotypes and prejudice

Question 17

strengths and limitations of using the authoritarian personality to explain obedience

Answer 17

• obedient participants had a high score on the f - scale
• political bias - ignores left wing authoritarianism

Question 18

how is social support a form of resistance to social influence

Answer 18

• conformity is reduced when unanimity of a majority is broken (Asch)
• obedience decreases when a peer disobeys authority figure

Question 19

how is rotters locus of control a form of resistance to social influence

Answer 19

• belief of how much control you think you have over your life
• internal or external source
• internals resist influence as they have less need for approval
• externals obey as they’re more passive and accept influence

Question 20

what is Holland 1967 perspective on locus of control

Answer 20

in replication of milgrams obedience study found that 37% of internals refused to go up to 450v compared to 23% externals

Question 21

what is twenge 2004 perspective on locus of control

Answer 21

people are now more independent, more resistant to authority but more external