Paper 1 - Social influence

Question 1

What are the three types of conformity?

Answer 1

Compliance (public change, private beliefs remain)
Internalisation (public and private acceptance)
Identification (conformity due to valuing group membership).

Question 2

What is Informational Social Influence (ISI)?

Answer 2

ISI is a cognitive process where individuals conform because they believe others have more knowledge, especially in ambiguous situations, leading to internalisation.

Question 3

What is Normative Social Influence (NSI)?

Answer 3

NSI is an emotional process where individuals conform to gain approval and avoid rejection, leading to compliance.

Question 4

What research supports Informational Social Influence?

Answer 4

Jenness (1932) – Participants estimated the number of beans in a jar. After group discussion, individual estimates shifted towards the group norm, supporting ISI and internalisation.

Question 5

What research supports Normative Social Influence?

Answer 5

Asch (1951) – Participants conformed to an incorrect majority answer in 32% of critical trials despite knowing it was wrong, demonstrating NSI and compliance.

Question 6

In Asch’s study, how many people conformed at least once, and how many didn’t conform at all?

Answer 6

74% conformed at least once, showing strong NSI. 26% never conformed, indicating some resisted group pressure.

Question 7

What happened when Asch increased task difficulty?

Answer 7

Conformity increased due to ISI, as participants were unsure of the correct answer.

Question 8

How did unanimity affect conformity in Asch’s study? What did conformity drop to?

Answer 8

When a dissenter was introduced, conformity dropped to 25%, showing how breaking group consensus reduces pressure to conform.

Question 9

How did group size affect conformity in Asch’s study?

Answer 9

Conformity increased with group size but plateaued at three confederates (31.8%), suggesting majority influence has a limit.

Question 10

What is a limitation of Asch’s study regarding population validity?

Answer 10

Lacks population validity—only male American students were tested, meaning findings may not generalise to other cultures or genders.

Question 11

What is a strength of Asch’s study regarding control?

Answer 11

High control over variables—lab setting ensured standardisation (same confederate behaviour), allowing cause-and-effect conclusions.

Question 12

What is a limitation of Asch’s research regarding real-world application?

Answer 12

Lacks ecological validity—the line judgment task was artificial and does not reflect real-life conformity situations.

Question 13

What was Zimbardo’s aim in the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)?

Answer 13

To investigate whether people conform to social roles in a simulated prison environment.

Question 14

What were the key findings of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 14

Guards became abusive, prisoners became passive, and the study had to be stopped after six days, showing that people conform strongly to social roles.

Question 15

What is deindividuation, and how was it shown in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 15

Loss of personal identity leading to reduced self-awareness. Guards wore mirrored sunglasses, prisoners were assigned numbers, leading to brutal behaviour.

Question 16

What is a strength of Zimbardo’s research regarding internal validity?

Answer 16

High internal validity— is the rigorous methodology he used. The participants selected were all deemed to be mentally stable, and the 24 participants were randomly allocated into one of two groups. This random allocation ensured that participant variables did not skew the results, for example the more submissive participants being put into the ‘prisoner’ group, and the more aggressive and sadistic participants being put into the ‘guard’ group. This is therefore a strength of Zimbardo’s research as the sampling and allocation of participants was done in such a way to prevent extraneous variables affecting the results.

Question 17

What is a limitation of Zimbardo’s research regarding ethical concerns?

Answer 17

Psychological harm—prisoners showed distress - led to the development of ethical boards e.g. the BPS

Although… Debriefing was carried out for several years after the experiment and it was concluded that there were no long-lasting effects

Zimbardo’s duo roles caused ethical issues, at one point a student who wanted to leave the experiment spoke to Zimbardo in his role as the superintendent, Zimbardo responded concerned about the running of his prison rather than as a researcher with responsibilities to his participants.

Question 18

What is a limitation of Zimbardo’s research regarding exaggeration?

Answer 18

A limitation is that Zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of social roles to influence behaviour.

Only 1/3 of the guards behaved in a brutal manner.

Another 1/3 tried to apply the rules fairly.

The rest actively tried to help and support the prisoners by offering them cigarettes and privileges.

Most guards were able to resist situational pressure to conform from brutal violence

Question 19

What was the aim of Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 19

Following the disgusting actions of the Nazis during WW2, he wanted to investigate whether people would obey orders from an authority figure, even when asked to perform unethical actions, and to understand the role of authority in obedience.

Question 20

Who were the participants in Milgram’s study?

Answer 20

40 male volunteers, aged 20-50, from various occupations and educational backgrounds, recruited from the local area of Yale University.

Question 21

What was the procedure in Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 21

The participant, assigned the role of teacher, was asked to administer increasingly severe shocks (15V to 450V) to a confederate learner when they answered questions incorrectly, with the experimenter urging them to continue.

Question 22

What was the key finding of Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 22

65% of participants administered the full 450V shock, showing a high level of obedience to authority, even though they showed distress.

Question 23

What is the agentic state in Milgram’s study?

Answer 23

The agentic state is when individuals follow orders from an authority figure and do not feel responsible for their actions, as seen when participants obeyed the experimenter’s commands without considering personal morality.

Question 24

What is the agentic shift in Milgram’s study?

Answer 24

The agentic shift occurs when a person moves from an autonomous state (where they choose their actions) to an agentic state (where they carry out orders from an authority figure).

Question 25

How did proximity affect obedience in Milgram’s study?

Answer 25

Obedience dropped when the teacher and learner were in the same room (40%) or when the teacher had to physically force the learner’s hand onto a shock plate (30%).

Question 26

How did the location affect obedience in Milgram’s study?

Answer 26

When the experiment was moved from Yale University to a rundown office building, obedience dropped to 48%, showing the influence of a prestigious setting on obedience.

Question 27

How did the experimenter’s uniform affect obedience?

Answer 27

When the experimenter wore no uniform (appeared as an ordinary person), obedience dropped to 20%, showing the influence of authority figure appearance.

Question 28

What is a limitation of Milgram’s study regarding ethical concerns?

Answer 28

Ethical issues, such as lack of protection from harm (participants displayed distress), deception (participants thought they were administering real shocks), and the stress of potentially harming someone, were significant drawbacks.

Question 29

How did Milgram address the ethical concerns of deception and harm?

Answer 29

Milgram argued that deception was necessary to obtain valid results and debriefed participants immediately after the study, with follow-up checks a year later, showing no long-term psychological effects.

Question 30

What is a limitation of Milgram’s study regarding ecological validity?

Answer 30

The study lacks ecological validity as it was conducted in a laboratory, with an artificial shock generator, meaning the findings may not generalise to real-world situations where obedience tends to involve more subtle commands.

Question 31

What is operationalisation of human behaviour in Milgram’s study?

Answer 31

Operationalisation refers to measuring abstract human behaviour (like obedience) through observable actions (shock administration) and quantifying it (in volts), making the study more scientific and allowing comparison.

Question 32

What is a strength of Milgram’s study in terms of research validity?

Answer 32

Milgram’s use of quantifiable data (volts) enabled objective analysis and comparison, enhancing the scientific rigor of his research

Question 33

What is the autonomous state in the context of obedience?

Answer 33

In the autonomous state, individuals are in control of their actions and are responsible for the consequences of their behaviour.

Question 34

How did Milgram’s study show the role of legitimacy of authority in obedience?

Answer 34

Milgram’s participants obeyed more when the authority figure was seen as legitimate. When the experimenter in a lab coat gave commands, participants obeyed, but when the experimenter was dressed as an ordinary person, obedience dropped.

Question 35

What did Hofling et al (1966) find in their study on obedience in a real-life setting?

Answer 35

Hofling found that 21 out of 22 nurses obeyed a doctor’s order over the phone to administer an overdose, despite it going against hospital protocol, supporting the agentic state and legitimacy of authority in real-world settings.

Question 36

What is a limitation of the agentic state theory?

Answer 36

A limitation is that it ignores individual differences, as not all participants in Milgram’s study obeyed fully. This suggests that other factors, like personality traits or situational variables, also play a role in obedience.

Question 37

What is the authoritarian personality, according to Adorno?

Answer 37

The authoritarian personality is a dispositional trait characterized by a strong preference for conformity, submission to authority, and hostility towards those seen as inferior or outside social norms.

Question 38

How did Adorno measure the authoritarian personality?

Answer 38

Adorno used the F-scale to assess authoritarian traits, with 30 questions that measured dimensions like conventionalism, submission to authority, and aggression towards norm violators.

Question 39

What is a criticism of the F-scale used to measure the authoritarian personality?

Answer 39

The F-scale is prone to acquiescence bias, where participants may agree with statements regardless of their true beliefs, leading to inaccurate measurements of authoritarian traits.

Question 40

How did Elms and Milgram's study support the authoritarian personality theory?

Answer 40

Elms and Milgram found a correlation between high F-scale scores and those who administered the full 450V shock in Milgram’s study, suggesting a link between the authoritarian personality and obedience.

Question 41

What is a limitation of correlational studies supporting the authoritarian personality theory?

Answer 41

Correlational studies cannot prove causation; for example, a third variable, like education level, could influence both higher obedience and higher F-scale scores

Question 42

What did Adorno argue about the development of the authoritarian personality?

Answer 42

Adorno suggested that harsh, punishing parenting leads to suppressed anger and conflict, which can later be displaced onto ‘safer’ targets, fostering the development of an authoritarian personality.

Question 43

What percentage of participants resisted conformity at least once in Asch’s experiment?

Answer 43

67% of participants resisted the pressures to conform, as 33% conformed

Question 44

What percentage of participants resisted obedience in Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 44

35% of participants resisted the pressures to obey, while 65% obeyed to the maximum shock level.

Question 45

What was the result of Hofling’s study on obedience and resistance?

Answer 45

In Hofling’s study, 21 out of 22 nurses obeyed, but one nurse resisted the pressure to administer the overdose.

Question 46

How does social support help in resisting conformity?

Answer 46

Social support can help by providing models of resistance. If others resist, it can give someone the confidence to resist as well, reducing pressure to conform.

Question 47

How did Asch’s variation on unanimity affect conformity? (social support)

Answer 47

In Asch’s variation, when one confederate broke from the majority and did not conform, conformity dropped from 33% to 25%.

Question 48

How did Milgram’s variation on social support affect obedience?

Answer 48

Another variation with 3 teachers, 2 of which were confederates. When one of the teachers disobeyed in Milgram’s experiment, obedience rates dropped from 65% to 10%

Question 49

What is the concept of Locus of Control (LoC)?

Answer 49

Locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals believe they can control events in their lives. Internal LoC means they believe they control their actions, while external LoC means they believe outside forces control events.

Question 50

How does an internal locus of control (LoC) affect resistance?

Answer 50

People with an internal LoC are more likely to resist social influence because they feel responsible for their actions and are less influenced by others.

Question 51

What did Holland (1967) find in relation to Locus of Control and resistance to obedience?

Answer 51

Holland found that 37% of participants with an internal locus of control were disobedient in Milgram’s study, compared to 23% of participants with an external locus of control.

Question 52

What did Oliner and Oliner (1988) discover in their study on the Holocaust?

Answer 52

Oliner and Oliner found that those who had rescued Jews during the Holocaust scored higher for internal locus of control, suggesting that internal LoC may contribute to resistance to authority

Question 53

What is a limitation of the research on locus of control?

Answer 53

A limitation is that research on locus of control may lack validity due to social desirability bias. Participants may give inaccurate responses on questionnaires to appear more socially acceptable, which weakens the evidence.

Question 54

What is minority influence?

Answer 54

Minority influence occurs when a small group or individual persuades others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors, leading to social change.

Question 55

What are the key stages of minority influence? D-CATS

Answer 55

Drawing Attention Cognitive Conflict The Augmentation Principle The Snowball Effect Social Cryptoamnesia

Question 56

What is the Augmentation Principle in minority influence?

Answer 56

The Augmentation Principle in the context of minority influence refers to the idea that if a minority appears to be suffering or putting themselves at risk for their beliefs, it amplifies the impact of their message.

Question 57

What is the Snowball Effect in minority influence?

Answer 57

The Snowball Effect refers to the gradual accumulation of support for a minority view, which, once it reaches a tipping point, leads to widespread social change.

Question 58

What is Social Cryptoamnesia in minority influence?

Answer 58

Social Cryptoamnesia is when people remember that social change has occurred but forget how it happened.

Question 59

What did Moscovici suggest were the key factors for successful minority influence?

Answer 59

Moscovici suggested that commitment, flexibility, and consistency are key for minority influence to be successful.

Question 60

What is Consistency in minority influence?

Answer 60

Consistency refers to the minority maintaining the same view over time (diachronic consistency) and within the group (synchronic consistency) this level of persistence causes doubt in the majority, for them to reconsider their views as they realise the majority may have a valid point.

Question 61

What is Commitment in minority influence?

Answer 61

Commitment is demonstrated when the majority shows dedication to their cause, often by making personal sacrifices or risks. This suggests they genuinely believe in their message, making the majority more likely to internalize their viewpoint.

Question 62

What is Flexibility in minority influence?

Answer 62

While the minority holds strongly to their beliefs however the minority need to show some level of flexibility through accepting compromise rather than being unreasonable.

Question 63

What did Nemeth (1986) find regarding flexibility in minority influence?

Answer 63

Nemeth (1986) demonstrated that minorities who were flexible in a simulated jury decision-making task (e.g., adjusting their compensation offer slightly) were more influential than those who were rigid. This suggests that a balance between consistency and flexibility is most effective.

Question 64

What is a general limitation of research into minority influence?

Answer 64

A limitation is that the studies lack ecological validity. Do not reflect the real life minority influence which involves deeply held beliefs and high stakes decision making. reduces generalisability of the findings as influence in a control lab setting may not translate to complex social change in the real world.