Chapter 1 - Social Psychology

Question 1

Define conformity

Answer 1

An individual yielding to group pressure

Question 2

What are the 3 types of conformity

Answer 2

• Compliance
• Internalisation
• Identification

Question 3

Describe compliance

Answer 3

Where an individual publicly but not privately go’s along with majority influence to gain approval or avoid embarrassment. This is a weak type of conformity.

Question 4

Describe internalisation

Answer 4

Public and private acceptance of majority influence. A much stronger and permanent form of conformity.

Question 5

Describe identification

Answer 5

Public and private acceptance of majority however it is a temporary form of compliance as they don’t always agree with the group.

Question 6

What are the two types of social influence which causes us to conform

Answer 6

• Informational social influence

- Normative social influence

Question 7

Describe informational social influence

Answer 7

A cognitive process which we do when we believe the opinion of the majority is correct. We accept it as we want to be correct as well.

Question 8

Describe normative social influence

Answer 8

An emotional process where we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked.

Question 9

What was Asch’s study attempting to show?

Answer 9

His study was attempting to show conformity

Question 10

Describe how Asch’s study attempts to show conformity

Answer 10

The experiment attempts to show conformity as one individual is placed within a number of confederates who all say a wrong answer. The individual will go last and sometimes will conform and say the wrong answer when it is very clearly an incorrect answer.

Question 11

What was Zimbardo’s prison experiment attempting to show?

Answer 11

Zimbardo wanted to see if prison guards behave brutally because they have sadistic personalities or is it the situation which creates such behaviour.

Question 12

What was Milgram’s study testing

Answer 12

Milgram was testing people’s obedience

Question 13

Briefly summarise Milgram’s experiment

Answer 13

40 male participants were told to give electrical shocks to confederates in another room if they got a question wrong. Milgram was attempting to see how high the participant would go and if they would blindly obey their orders even if it resulted in pain for the confederate.

Question 14

What was Milgram’s findings from his experiment

Answer 14

Milgram found that most ordinary people will obey orders to hurt someone else, even if it means acting against their own conscious.

Question 15

Define obedience

Answer 15

Obedience is a type of social influence which causes a person to act in response to an order given by another person.

Question 16

What is the agentic state

Answer 16

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour as we are acting for an authoritative figure.

Question 17

What is the autonomous state

Answer 17

This is when we act independently and freely

Question 18

What are the two dispositional factors which affect obedience?

Answer 18

• Situational

- Dispositional ( personality )

Question 19

Define resistance to social influence

Answer 19

The ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority.

Question 20

Define locus of control

Answer 20

the extent to which a person believes they are in control of their own life

Question 21

Define minority influence

Answer 21

A form of social influence in which a minority of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs.

Question 22

What are the 3 factors which a minority group will likely need to persuade others to adopt their beliefs?

Answer 22

• Consistency
• Commitment
• Flexibility

Question 23

What was Moscovici’s study attempting to show?

Answer 23

Minority influence and how consistency helps the minority persuade others.

Question 24

Briefly summarise Moscovici’s experiment

Answer 24

Six women, with 2 confederates and 4 real participants were told to judge the colour of 36 slides which were all a shade of blue however the two confederates would either answer green 36 times (consistent) or only call 24 slides green (inconsistent).

Question 25

What does Moscovici’s experiment suggest?

Answer 25

It suggests that consistency is vital for minority groups to persuade others.

Question 26

What are the three variables which affect conformity.

Answer 26

Group size
Social support
Task difficulty

Question 27

Identify three situational factors that affect obedience.

Answer 27

• Presence of allies
• Proximity of the victim
• Location

Question 28

What are the two types of locus of control.

Answer 28

External locus of control

Internal locus of control

Question 29

What is the difference in people with internal and external locusts of control?

Answer 29

People with an internal locus of control believe their own actions correlate what happens in their life. People with an external locus of control believe that external factors such as luck have an effect on their life.