Paper 1 - Social Influence AO3 Flashcards
What is a limitation of Asch’s study into conformity regarding its EI’S?
- Ethical concerns, particularly deception and psychological harm
- Participants were misled about the study’s purpose believing it was about perception meaning no informed consent. Also showed stress, with some questioning their eyesight
- Suggests ethical concerns, as participants were not fully aware of what they were agreeing to and may have experienced psychological distress.
What is a strength of Asch’s study into conformity regarding research supporting variables inbfesgaited ?
- Research supports the idea that task difficulty influences conformity
- Lucas et al. (2006) found that participants were more likely to conform to incorrect answers when solving difficult maths problems.
- Supports Asch’s findings, suggesting that when tasks are harder, people are more likely to rely on others’ answers, increasing conformity.
What is a limitation of Asch’s study into conformity regarding complexity of conformity ?
- Conformity is more complex than Asch suggested, as individual differences also play a role
- Lucas et al. (2006) found that participants with higher confidence in their maths ability conformed less on difficult problems compared to those with lower confidence
- Suggests that Asch focused too much on situational factors and overlooked how participant variables can influence conformity.
What is a limitation of Asch’s study into conformity regarding cultural bias ?
- Asch’s findings may not apply to all cultures, as he only studied American participants
- Smith & Bond (1998) analysed 133 conformity studies done in 17 different countries and found that collectivistic cultures (e.g., China) showed higher conformity than individualistic cultures (e.g., USA).
- Suggests that Asch’s findings cannot be generalised to collectivistic cultures
What is a strength of the working memory model regarding case studies?
- Evidence from case study of brain damaged patient
- Shallice & Warrington (1970) studied KF, a patient who suffered brain damage from a motorbike accident. KF had difficulty processing verbal information in short-term memory but retained his ability to process visual information
- Suggests the phonological loop was damaged while the visuospatial sketchpad remained intact. Proving evidence that STM is not a unitary store as it would be expected to affect both types of information equally.
What is a strength of the working memory model regarding extra research ?
- Supported by research from dual task studies
- Baddeley et al. (1975) conducted an experiment where participants completed a visual tracking task, whilst simultaneously performing either a visual task or a verbal task. Results showed participants struggled to complete both visual tasks at the same time but had no difficulty performing the visual and verbal tasks together
- Concluded that performing two visual tasks simultaneously is difficult because they compete for the same limited resources in the visuospatial sketchpad, where as when one visual and one verbal they are using separate components so can work simultaneously. Supporting claim that short-term memory consists of multiple independent stores
What is a limitation of the working memory model regarding lack of EV ?
- Dual task studies lack ecological validity
- Baddeley et al.’s (1975) study, participants were asked to complete artificial tasks which are not commonly encountered in everyday life
- Suggests findings cannot be generalised to real life weakling dual studies as a source of evidence
What is a limitation of the working memory model regarding issues with case studies?
- Limiations in the research
- Shallice & Warrington’s (1970) study of KF. Although showing evidence for separte memory stores, case studies focus on unique individuals with specific brain damage.
- Each case has unique characteristics, it is difficult to generalise the findings to the wider population so cannot be applied to people with typical cognitive functioning
What is a strength of explanations into conformity regarding ISI and its research ?
- Individual differences in ISI and that it does not affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way.
- For example, individuals who are more confident in their own abilities are less affected by ISI. Perrin & Spencer (1980) conducted a study involving science and engineering students and found very little evidence of conformity
- This suggests that the desire to be right underlies conformity for some people more than others.
What is a limitation of explanations into conformity regarding ISI and its research findings issue with individuals?
- Individual differences in ISI and that it does not affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way.
- For example, individuals who are more confident in their own abilities are less affected by ISI. Perrin & Spencer (1980) conducted a study involving science and engineering students and found very little evidence of conformity
- This suggests that the desire to be right underlies conformity for some people more than others.
What is a strength of explanations into conformity regarding NSI and its research ?
- Reserach support
- Asch found that after the procedure was conducted when participants were interviewed they explained that they changed their answer to avoid disapproval
- This supports NSI and suggestion that it often results in compliance
What is a limitation of explanations into conformity regarding NSI and its individual differences ?
- Individual differences that it does not affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way.
- For example, individuals who are more concerned with being liked are more affected by NSI. Individuals who are more concerned with being liked are called nAffiliators. McGhee & Teevan (1967) found that students who were nAffiliators are more likely to conform
- This suggests that the desire to be liked underlies conformity for some people more than others
What is a strength of the research by Zimbardo into conformity to social roles regarding real-world relevance ?
- Real world relevance
- Zimbardo argued that the SPE reflects events at Abu Ghraib, where US soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners. He suggested that the power associated with the role of prison guard led to prisoner abuse in both situations.
- Suggests the findings help explain real-life events, cases of prisoner abuse.
What is a strength of the research by Zimbardo into conformity to social roles regarding control ?
- Well controlled
- Zimbardo only selected ‘emotionally stable’ participants and randomly assigned them to prisoner or guard roles = Attempt to control participant variables avoiding them acting as extraneous variables
- Ensures behavior was influenced by roles, increasing the study’s internal validity
What is a limitation of the research by Zimbardo into conformity to social roles regarding exaggeration ?
- Exaggerated the influence of social roles on behaviour
- In the SPE, guard behavior varied—one-third were brutal, one-third were fair, and one-third actively helped prisoners by offering support and reinstating privileges.
- Suggests that dispositional factors (personality) also played a role, meaning Zimbardo may have overstated the power of social roles
What is a limitation of the research by Zimbardo into conformity to social roles regarding demand characteristics ?
-Behaviour in the SPE may have been influenced by demand characteristics
- Banuazizi & Movahedi (1975) argued participants were play-acting based on stereotypes rather than genuinely conforming to roles. One guard admitted he based his behavior on a character from Cool Hand Luke.
- Suggests the SPE lacks internal validity and may not accurately show the real influence of social roles.
