essay plans Flashcards
conformity AO1
Conformity - a change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people
Asch - 123 men - 5-7 confederates, compare line size - 37% conformed
Group size - 1-15 confederates - 32% with 3
Unanimity - when majority anonymous - dropped
Task difficulty - mainly ISI
conformity AO3
Artificial situation and task
Limited application
Research support + counterpoint
types and explanations AO1
Internalisation - conformity to a group because you accept norms - private and public
Identification - conforming to a group because we value the group
Compliance - only publicly agree with the group
Informational social influence - believe other more likely to be correct
Normative social influence - don’t want to be rejected
ISI and NSI are explanations of conformity
types and explanations AO3
Research support for NSI
Research support for ISI
+ counterpoint
Individual differences in NSI - nAffiliators
social roles AO1
Zimbardo - Stanford prison experiment
Procedure - 21 emotionally stable uni students, male, randomly allocated, roles of prisoners and guards in mock prison, given loose smock and cap, social roles reinforcement through instructions about behaviour - prisoners applied for parole to leave study
Findings - guards treated prisoners harshly
De-individuation - uniforms
Conclusions - social roles have strong influence
Social roles - the parts people play as members of various social groups
social roles AO3
Control
Lack of realism + counterpoint
Exaggerates the power of roles
obedience AO1
Milgram
Procedure - 40 american men given role of teacher through fixed draw - ordered to give fake shocks to learner (confederate) - increase 15 volts each mistake - experimenter in lab coat and gave prods eg please continue, you have no other choice but to continue
Findings - 100% 300v, 65% 450v
Obedience - a form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order
Personal issuing the order usually a figure of authority that has power to punish
obedience AO3
Research support
Low internal validity + counterpoint
Alternative interpretation of findings
situational variables AO1
Proximity - obedience to 45% from 60% when learner and teacher in same room phone - 20.5
Plate - 30
Teacher cannot psychologically separate self from consequences of actions
Location - 47.5% as less credibility and legitimacy
Uniform - 20% as less legitimacy of authority
What are situational variables - features of immediate physical and social environment which may influence a person’s behaviour
situational variables AO3
Research support
Cross cultural replications + counterpoint
Low internal validity
situational explanations AO1
Agentic state - when we fail to take responsibility of our actions because we believe we are acting on behalf of an authority figure
Autonomous state - we feel free of other influences and so take personal responsibility of our actions
Agentic shift - we switch from autonomous to agentic because we perceive someone else is an authority figure to be obeyed
Binding factors - maintain us in agentic state - allow us to minimise obedient behaviour and reduce moral strain
Legitimate authority - some people have positions of authority because they have been entrusted by society with certain powers
Power - one power is the power is punish, so we obey authority out of fear of punishment, which we learn in childhood
Destructive obedience - we behave in cruel ways if the legitimate authority orders us to do something destructive
situational explanations AO3
Research support
Limited explanation
- Cant explain all disobedience
+ counterpoint of real-world crimes
Explains cultural differences
dispositional explanations AO1
Authoritarian personality and obedience - adorno et al - extreme respect for authority and obedience to it - inflexible outlook and contempt for inferiors
Origins of authoritarian personality - harsh parenting and conditional love resulting in hostility but unable to express so displaced onto weaker others (scapegoating)
Adorno et al - research - 2000 middle class white americans and unconscious attitudes to ethnic groups to develop several measuring scales
F-scale - agree / disagree with terms eg obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues a children should learn - high f-scale linked with identification with the strong, contempt for the weak
Authoritarian personality - a type of personality that adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority - some people thought to be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors
Dispositional explanation - any explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of personality
dispositional explanations AO3
Research support
+ counterpoint
Limited explanation
Political bias
resistance to social influence AO1
Resisting conformity - conformity is less likely when a dissenter breaks the unanimity of the majority - social support
Resisting obedience - obedience is less likely when a disobedient role model challenges the legitimacy of authority
Resistance - both cases show other people that resistance is possible
LOC - rotter - internals believe in control, externals due to luck
LOC continuum - scale and people vary in their position on it - high internal one end and high external at other
Resisting influence - internals more able to resist pressure to conform or obey than externals - more self-confidence or less need for social approval - externals vulnerable to opinions
Social support - the presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same
