Section 1: Social Influence Flashcards
Define conformity.
Conformity is a type of social influence defined as when a person changes their beliefs and behaviour to fit – or conform – to those of a group.
What are the three types of conformity?
Compliance
Identification
Internalisation
What is compliance?
Compliance is the weakest type of conformity. It is where a person publicly changes their behaviour and beliefs to fit that of a group and avoid disapproval. However, privately, the person does not accept the behaviours and beliefs of the group – they just comply with them.
An example of compliance would be pretending to like a film you dislike so as not to stand out from a group who all really love that film.
What is identification?
Identification is a stronger type of conformity than compliance because it involves the person both publicly and privately changing their behaviour and beliefs to fit that of a group they want to be part of. However, the person only identifies with these beliefs as long as they are associated with the group – upon leaving the group, the original behaviours and beliefs return.
An example of identification would be adopting the same music and fashion tastes as your friendship group. When you move away, though, you revert back to your old clothes and music.
What is internalisation?
Internalisation is the strongest type of conformity. It is where a person both publicly and privately changes their behaviour and beliefs to those of a group – but permanently. So, unlike identification, individuals who internalise beliefs and behaviours maintain those beliefs and behaviours even after leaving the social group.
An example of internalisation would be a person who undergoes a genuine religious conversion. This person will still pray and believe in God even if they move away from the social group of their church.
Who investigated conformity using a line experiment?
Asch
What was the aim of Asch’s experiments?
The aim of these experiments was to find out the extent to which people would conform to an obviously wrong majority consensus.
Describe the participants that were involved in Asch’s experiment
- 123 of them
- male
- undergraduates
- completed 18 trials
What % of participants conformed at least once?
75%
What 3 variables did Asch use?
- group size
- difficulty
- unanimity
How can conformity be explained? (two ways)
NSI and ISI
What is ISI?
ISI is about who has the better information- you or the rest of the group. The reason individuals follow the behaviour of the group is because people want to be right. ISI is a cognitive process because it is what you think.
When is ISI most likely to happen?
ISI is most likely to happen in situations that are new to a person or situations where there is some ambiguity; so it isn’t clear what is right. It is also typical in crisis situations where situations have to be made quickly and also when one person or group is regarded as being more of an expert.
What is NSI?
NSI is about norms, i.e. what is normal or typical for a social group. Norms regulate the behaviour of groups and individuals so it is not surprising that we pay attention to them. People do not like to appear foolish and prefer to gain social approval than be rejected
How did Asch investigate his variables?
Difficulty- Lines being closer together in length so it was harder to tell the correct one
Group size- from 1-15 confederates
Unanimity- Confederates giving the same incorrect answer
Name some disadvantages of Aschs study
- Artificial task and setting
- Limited sample
- Poor ethics
What are advantages of Aschs study?
+ Use of lab study so reliable and replicable
Define social roles
The ‘parts’ people say in social groups. e.g teacher etc
These come with expectations we have of what is appropriate behaviour for each role, e.g. kind
What did Zimbardo investigate?
conformity to social roles
In Zimbardo’s experiment, where did it take place?
Stanford University
In Zimbardo’s experiment, why was he doing the experiment?
To see what happens when you put good people in an evil place. (conformity to social roles)
In Zimbardo’s experiment, why were prisoners put in a hole?
as punishment
In Zimbardo’s experiment, what did the guards wear?
Military uniform with silver sunglasses. Uniform gave power
In Zimbardo’s experiment, who were the participants and how much did they get paid?
Students, $15 a day
In Zimbardo’s experiment, how did he choose who became guards and prisoners?
Randomly
In Zimbardo’s experiment, what did the guards say happened when they put on the uniform?
They took on the role, and became the person
In Zimbardo’s experiment, what did he say when he briefed the guards?
Maintain order, can’t use physical violence
In Zimbardo’s experiment, what did the guards make the prisoners do?
Physical task e.g. clean toilet with bare hands, wake at any hour
In Zimbardo’s experiment, when the prisoners said they wanted to leave, what were they told?
They weren’t allowed to be a snitch, told they couldn’t leave
In Zimbardo’s experiment, what process did the prisoners first go through?
Blindfolded, striped, deloused
In Zimbardo’s experiment, what happened to the prisoners identity?
Overtime they lost it
In Zimbardo’s experiment, what did the study show?
Power corrupts- shows how victims of abuse struggle to stand up for themselves
In Zimbardo’s experiment, why did it end?
Young boys were suffering, Zimbardo told to end it after 6 days, not two weeks
Why was Zimbardo’s study unethical?
-no one had the right to withdraw
- psychological harm
In Zimbardo’s experiment, what happened when the good people were put in an evil place?
evil won the good people
people conformed to social roles
What are weaknesses of Zimbardo’s study?
- Lack of realism
- Ethical issues
- Contradictory findings
