Retrieval practice questions Flashcards
What were the results of Asch’s original study?
75% of participants conformed at least once and there was an overall conformity rate of 37%.
Why was Asch’s sample criticised?
It was white, American, middle class men
What did the participants in Asch’s study think the aim of the experiment was?
To look at visual perception
How many participants were tested in Asch’s study at a time?
1
In Asch’s variations, did conformity increase or decrease with an ally?
Decrease
What social phenomena was Asch interested in?
Conformity
Which was the theory that Deutsch and Gerrard proposed to explain conformity?
Two process model with ISI and NSI
If a person is conforming because they think the others in the room are more intelligent than them, which explanation is it?
Informational Social Influence
Summarise Lucas et al’s study into explanations for conformity
They looked at task difficulty and found the harder the maths problem, the more participants conformed, showing ISI.
Asch’s private response variation supported which explanation of conformity?
NSI
Name the key term for a deep type of conformity where we take on the majority view because we accept it as correct
Internalisation
Which type of conformity is the most superficial?
Compliance
Were the results of Zimbardo’s prison experiment qualitative or quantitative?
Qualitative
How long should Zimbardo’s experiment have lasted and how long did it last?
2 weeks but it lasted 6 days
Name three (groups of people) who conformed to their social roles in Zimbardo’s experiment
Prisoners, prison guards, superintendent (Zimbardo)
How were the prisoners and guards divided in Zimbardo’s experiment?
They were randomly assigned roles
How were the prisoners dehumanised in the SPE?
Their belongings were taken away and they were referred to as numbers
What was the aim of Zimbardo’s prison experiment?
To look at how we conform to social roles and why there is police brutality in American prisons
What were the conclusions of Milgram’s shock experiment?
That we obey authority figures instructions
Give two ethical concerns of Milgram’s shock experiment
Participants were deceived as they believed they were giving real shocks and they may suffer psychological harm as they believed they were hurting someone.
What percentage of people went to 300V and 450V in Milgram’s study?
100% continued to 300v and 65% went to 450v.
What was the aim of Milgram’s experiment?
To look at obedience to authority figures and to find out why so many people obeyed Hitler’s orders during WW1.
What was the job of the ‘experimenter’ in Milgram’s shock experiment?
To say phrases encouraging the participant to continue administering shocks
What were participants asked to do in Milgram’s experiment?
They were asked to teach a ‘student’ words and when they couldn’t remember them, to give increasingly severe electric shocks.
Identify three situational variables that may affect obedience
Location, proximity, uniform
What is the possible ethical implication from Milgram’s study and variations?
It gives an alibi for war crimes as they can say they were acting under an authority figure.
Which of Milgram’s studies gave the highest obedience rate?
His original study
What type of experiment was Bickman’s experiment?
Field experiment
What did Bickman’s experiment show?
The effects of uniform on obedience
Define ‘demand characteristics’ with reference to Milgram’s study and variations
When participants guess the aim and so their behaviour reflects what they think the experimenter wants them to do. For example, giving the maximum shock voltage.
Give an example in history that shows how social-psychological factors can lead to high levels of obedience
Hitler instructed Nazis to kill Jews and other ethnic minorities.
Milgram argued that people could be in two states when it comes to personal responsibility. Name these two states
Autonomous and agentic state
Give an example of a binding factor that might have been seen in Milgram’s experiment
Gradual commitment
How does Blass and Schmitt’s study support psycho-social variables of obedience?
They showed Milgram’s experiment to students and they said the participants were not responsible for their actions but instead the experimenter was.
Which explanation of obedience tells us why a student would obey the headmaster in the playground, but not obey a sixth former?
Legitimacy of authority
How did Adorno suggest people develop an authoritarian personality?
From childhood and strict parenting
What did Adorno find through his questionnaire?
People who scored highly on the f-scale were more obedient in Milgram’s experiment.
How have people criticised the questions of the F-scale questionnaire?
There are methodological issues as the same box can be ticked and it is also politically biased.
What was the aim of Adorno’s work?
To see why there was anti-semitism in the Holocaust and to look at personality vs obedience.
Name three characteristics of the authoritarian personality
Respectful to authority, obedient, contempt for people of lower social status.
What was the procedure of Adorno’s study?
They used the F-scale to measure the authoritarian personality.
Define social support
When there is someone else who doesn’t conform, providing a model for participants.
Give contradictory evidence for the link between LOC and resistance to obedience
Twenge et al found that in America, people have become more external and also less obedient.
Define resistance to social influence
Not being influenced by others
Give supporting evidence for the link between LOC and resistance to obedience
Holland repeated Milgram’s study and measured whether participants were internals or externals. He found 37% of internals didn’t continue to the highest shock whereas only 23% of externals didn’t.
Give one example of research support for social support as an explanation for resistance to social influence
In Asch’s experiment, when there was a non-conforming dissenter, conformity dropped.
Who is more likely to resist social influence - someone with an internal locus of control or someone with an external locus of control?
Externals
How did Moscovici investigate minority influence?
He showed participants blue slides and there were confederates saying they were green. With the consistent minority, 8.2% copied the minority whereas in the inconsistent minority only 1.25% conformed.
What is the difference between minority influence and conformity?
Conformity is complying to what other people are doing whereas minority influence is when a small number of people change the views of a majority.
Give an example of real-life minority influence in history
Views changing on gay relationships
Define the snowball effect
When a minority view becomes the majority and more and more people change their opinions.
What did Moscovici’s study show?
That a consistent minority is more effective than an inconsistent minority.
Name three key factors of minority influence
Consistency, commitment, flexibility
Explain one barrier to social change
Bashir found people were likely to resist social change as they didn’t want to be seen as stereotypes.
Give research that supports the role of NSI in social change
Nolan hung messages saying residents were reducing their energy usage and found significant reductions due to NSI.
Define social cryptoamnesia
When views change and we forget how change occured.
Define social change
When societies beliefs change
What can campaigners learn from the augmentation principle?
Showing extreme commitment is more effective in causing social change.
