paper one - social influence

Question 1

define conformity

Answer 1

matching your attitude , belief or behaviour to fit in with the group

Question 2

what did Jeness do in (1932)

Answer 2

-asked participants to guess how many beans were in a jar
- could discuss estimates in group and give a final estimate
FINDINGS: final estimates tended to converge to a group norm

Question 3

define compliance

Answer 3

conforming to gain approval/avoid disapproval. motivated by the desire to ‘fit in’. doesn’t result in private change or attitude, only changed views and behaviour expressed in public

Question 4

define Internalisation

Answer 4

when an individual conforms because they accept the group views, individual has engaged in a validation process of their own beliefs , may become convinced they are wrong and group is correct , leads to acceptance of groups point of view privately and publicly

Question 5

define Identification

Answer 5

conforming to what is expected of you based upon social roles, involves conforming to gain approval and is motivated by desire to ‘fit in’ with the group

Question 6

define normative social influence

Answer 6

conforming so people in the group will like you. Motivated by the need to fit in with the group

Question 7

define informational social influence

Answer 7

conforming because you believe the group to be correct. motivated by the desire to be correct

Question 8

what are the issues with distinguishing between compliance and internalisation

Answer 8

• they aren’t really two separate things
• more of a continuum
• start at compliance and self doubt begins leading to internalisation

Question 9

explain the research supporting informative social influence

Answer 9

Wittenbrink and Henley (1996)
-if P’s were given fake newspaper with negative opinions about African Americans shown to be majority view
- accepted this view later
Fein et al
- ‘political expert’ is shown to p’s (political neutral) reacting to political debate (clear favourite) influence p’s choice

Question 10

explain the research supporting normative social influence

Answer 10

Halekala nature park
- issue with people taking rocks
- put a sign saying “most people who visit choose not to take rocks”
- this was more effective than threat of fines
Yale + havard
- used stop smoking SNI signs over 30% reduction over 3 months of exposure

Question 11

explain the proof that normative influence may not be detected

Answer 11

Nolan et al (2008)

• people believed neighbours had least impact on energy consumption
• however it was the strongest
• suggests we don’t detect normative influence impact

Question 12

how is informational influence moderated by the type of task

Answer 12

if we can tell what is correct through non social means then informational conformity has less impact
- if we can find out if statement is true less likely to conform
eg. bristol is biggest city , can google so less likely to conform
bristol is the best city , we can’t find out
- more likely to conform when it comes to issues of social rather than physical reality

Question 13

what is the agentic state

Answer 13

• feeling like an agent carrying orders
• don’t take blame/ responsibility
  high obedience rates

Question 14

what is the autonomous state

Answer 14

• taking blame and responsibility

- feeling personal responsibility

Question 15

why do we adopt an agentic state

Answer 15

• to maintain a positive self image

- guilt free and not affect self image

Question 16

what are the binding factors in an agentic state

Answer 16

social etiquette

- awkward and rude to stop

Question 17

give an another example of agentic state apart from milgram

Answer 17

Hoffling et al (1996)

- nurses ask by doctors to administer 2xs the dosage to a patient , 21 out of 22 did

Question 18

apart from agentic state name another reason for higher obedience rates

Answer 18

legitimacy of authority

• we need to perceive authority as being legitimate before we shit into an agentic state
• requires an institution structure (eg. lab in Yale for milgrim)

Question 19

How does agentic state not apply to real life always (eg.)

Answer 19

Milgram believes we shift rapidly back and forth between the autonomous and agentic state

• doesn’t explain gradual and irreversible transition found by Lifton (1986) with German doctors in Aushwitz changed from medical professionals to criminals
• cultural differences in tendency to shift, some cultures are more likely to accept authority (individualistic and collectivist)

Question 20

explain and describe limitations to agentic state theorty

Answer 20

1) milgrim believed we shift back and forth from agentic state to autonomous but doesn’t explain irreversible changes found by Lifton
- german doctors in Auschwitz changed from medical professionals to committing crimes against humanity
2) in Milgrims experiment some people disobeyed
- doesnt apply to everyone must be alternate explanations
- p’s shown video clips and all said obedience was down to legitimacy of authority

Question 21

explain strengths to agentic state theory

Answer 21

1) Fennis and Aarts suggested agentic shift is not confined to obedience to authority, may extend to other forms of social influence eg. bystander effect ( tendency to remain passive in the presence of unresponsive others when faced with emergency)
2) Tarnow provided support for legitimacy of authority throughout a study of aviation accidents
- excessive dependance on the captain’s authority

Question 22

explain another reason other than AS and LA to why people obeyed in milgrim’s study

Answer 22

Authoritarian Personality
- a distinctive personality pattern characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority

Question 23

how do we measure authoritarian personality

Answer 23

the F scale
- used to measure different personality components making up an authoritarian personality
- agree or disagree to statements
people who score high:
- raised by parents who had an authoritarian parenting style inc violence
- gained through learning and inimidation

Question 24

how did Altemeyer change the authoritarian personality concept

Answer 24

by identifying a cluster of 3 personality variables that he referred to as right wing authoritarianism

• conventionalism, adhere to conventional norms and values
• authoritarian aggression, aggressive feelings to who breaks the rules
• authoritarian submission, submit to authority figures

Question 25

explain altemeyers experiment highlighting the correlation between RWA and obeying authority

Answer 25

He conducted a Milgrim variation experiment

• give themselves a shock when get question wrong
• people with RWA personalities gave themselves the most shocks

Question 26

explain Elms and Milgrims F scale experiment

Answer 26

did p’s obey because of situational factors or was obedience dispositional?

• gathered 40 ps who had taken part in Milgrim’s original study, 20 obeyed and 20 disobeyed
• each completed F scale and also asked questions about their relationships with parents and attitudes towards experimenter ( authority figure )
• found higher levels of authority in those who were classed as obedient
• found obedient p’s were less close to their dad and were likely to describe them as negative
• also find experimenter more admirable

Question 27

describe and explain limitations to the F scale and authoritarian personality

Answer 27

1) education role
- less educated = high F , maybe simply lack of education
2) limited explanation
- in nazi Germany millions showed obedience , can not say all had AP, social identity (identify with nazi state)
3) ‘F scale is comedy of methodological errors’ greenstein
- every question worded in the same direction
- if you tick same line of boxes down side of page get high AP , acquiescence bias (people who agree with everything) invalid results

Question 28

describe and explain strengths to F scale and authoritarian personality

Answer 28

1) argument of demand characteristics
- some argued demand characteristics came into play with Milgrim’s experiment bc they knew shocks were fake
- however Dambrun et al replication where p’s knew shocks were fake still found high correlation to obedience and F scale score
2) left wing less obedient?
- Begue et al replication found evidence for lower obedience in left wing vs right

Question 29

name the 2 reasons why people resist social influence

Answer 29

social support and locus of control

Question 30

explain social support in reference to resisting social influence

Answer 30

assistance from others

eg. Asch introduce an ally where they also gave a correct answer
- lowered conformity to rest of the group, make us feel like we can go against majority
eg. milgrim variable where P was in a team with 2 other confederates who both refused to continue at some point
- defiance lowered obedience only 10% went to 450 volts , confidence to disobey

Question 31

what is locus of control

Answer 31

refers to a persons perception of personal control over their own behaviour
- you can have a high internal locus of control or high external locus of control

Question 32

what is a high internal locus of control

Answer 32

type of individual who believes what happens to them is largely a consequence of their own ability and effort
- rely less on opinion of others and take more responsibility of their own actions - better resist SI

Question 33

what is a high external locus of control

Answer 33

type of individual who believe what happens to them is more based on external factors eg. luck
- less personal responsibility and more likely to ACCEPT social influence

Question 34

explain the importance of response order in reference to social support

Answer 34

Asch variation by Allen and Levine
confederate answered first correct answer = significantly more important than correct answer being said 4th
- correct answer being said 1st confirms p’s own judgement, produces initial commitment to correct response

Question 35

explain the importance of the validity of the support within social support

Answer 35

Asch variation by Allen and Levine
confederate wore glasses with obviously thick lenses and gave correct answers ( support may not be valid within this case as confed has clear vision impairment)
- still reduced conformity (valid support more effective)
-strength as highlights social support as being important to resisting social influence , however, must consider the extent of the validity for optimum results

Question 36

explain strengths and weaknesses to locus of control within resisting social influence

Answer 36

Spector:
measured LOC and predisposition to normative and informative conformity in 157 undergrads
- sig correlation between LOC and normative conformity ( high external more likely to conform)
- however no correlation with informational conformity
strength : highlights LOC is significant within conformity and resisting social influence (prove it)
weakness : we can only comment on normative conformity not conformity as a whole

Question 37

explain the issues around LOC not being static

Answer 37

research suggests a historical trend in LOC. Meta analysis by twenge et al found young Americans to have an increasingly high external LOC. Weakness as showing factors are effecting LOC and may not be able to be. used to explain social influence.

Question 38

name and explain an example of social support in the real world

Answer 38

1943 German women protested in Berlin where nazis were holding 2,000 jewish men.
- nazis threatened to open fire but women refused to back down , normally people were afraid to disobey but as a group they knew they were among friends and risked it together

Question 39

name and explain research support for resisting social influence and LOC

Answer 39

meta -analysis study of the relationship between LOC and different forms of social influence. P’s who scored higher on external LOC tend to be more easily persuaded and more easily influenced

Question 40

what 3 things do a minority need to be to influence the majority view

Answer 40

1) consistent
- when first introduced to a minority we may believe they are wrong. However, if their message is consistently repeated we are forced to re-asses and consider their view
2) committed
- suggests certainty, courage and confidence - makes it harder to dismiss the minority
3) flexible
- minorities must negotiate with the majority rather than forcing their view
- if refuse to compromise are seen as narrow minded and difficult but if too flexible they are seen as inconsistent

Question 41

what is the augmentation principle within minority influence

Answer 41

suffering to have views heard

Question 42

explain research evidence for flexibility being an important factor in minority influence

Answer 42

study in the role of flexibility in a stimulated Jury situation

• p’s must decide how much compensation to give a ski lift accident
• when confed gave different view but refused to change position had no effect
• if confed was flexible did exert influence

Question 43

explain the benefits of minority influence

Answer 43

• minorities liberate people to say what they believe and stimulate creative thought
• study showed various work groups had improved decision quality when exposed to minority view highlighting they can encourage positive change

Question 44

do we process the minority’s message more?

Answer 44

study shows minority views aren’t necessarily processed more… but rather an alternate view from the majority creates greater message processing
- if the majority express a different belief to us, we must process it more to understand why so many think differently to us

Question 45

explain minority perceived negatively issue

Answer 45

often afraid of becoming a minority because of the negative associations
eg. narrow minded
majority views persist

Question 46

explain the tipping point for commitment and the snowball effect

Answer 46

study highlighted ‘tipping point’ where number of people holding a minority position is sufficient to change majority opinion

• used computer models to stimulate the situation
• 10% committed opinion holders to tip majority to accept minority (snow ball effect)

Question 47

name the five stages required to moscovici’s conversion process to take place

Answer 47

1) draw attention to an issue
2) creates a cognitive conflict in the minds of the majority
3) minority must ensure consistent but also committed and flexible such that the cognitive conflict continues
4) minorities must adhere the augmentation principle
5) eventually lead to the snow ball effect (rapid change in opinion until the norm)
possible sixth ; social crypto-amnesia - people not recalling having a different view in the first place

Question 48

explain the link between SNI and majority influence

Answer 48

if we think something is the norm we tend to alter our behaviour to fit in with this norm
eg. advertising to reduce anti social behaviour is often lead by the idea of a majority view for example ‘most people dont smoke’

Question 49

explain the issue with minority influence being slow

Answer 49

is very slow

- natural instinct is to conform to a majority rather than a minority

Question 50

explain the issue with minorities being viewed as deviant

Answer 50

will limit the affect of a minority as the majority do not want to be viewed as deviant also

Question 51

explain how SNIs have limitations

Answer 51

don’t always work eg. plenty of alcohol SNIs which have shown null effect

Question 52

explain the boomerang effect with SNIs

Answer 52

supposed to make our behavior more desirable however, due to high spread nature it can spur p’s who already possess desirable nature into now having the undesirable nature

Question 53

how do you overcome deviant minority problem

Answer 53

if minority present themself having some of the same view (flexible) less likely to be seen as deviant , overcoming problem.