Social Conformity

Question 1

What does NSI stand for

Answer 1

Normative Social Influence

Question 2

What is Normative Social Influence

Answer 2

Conforming to a group in order to be liked or approved

Question 3

What does ISI stand for

Answer 3

Informative Social Influence

Question 4

What is Informative Social Influence

Answer 4

Conforming to a group to be correct

Question 5

When was Milgram’s study conducted

Answer 5

1963

Question 6

When was the Stanford prison experiment

Answer 6

1971

Question 7

When was Asch’s study

Answer 7

1951

Question 8

What was Milgram’s study investigating

Answer 8

Milgram’s study was investigating obedience in a high pressure situation

Question 9

What was Zimbardo investigating

Answer 9

Zimbardo was investigating conformity to social roles in a prison environment

Question 10

What was Asch investigating

Answer 10

Asch was investigating conformity to social pressure

Question 11

What was Milgram’s study and what were the findings

Answer 11

Participants were asked to shock a confederate learner when they got the answer to a question wrong, the voltage increasing every time from 15V (small shock) to 450V (XXX). Milgram found that all participants shocked to 300V and 65% shocked up to 450V. However participants showed signs of nervousness and extreme emotional distress throughout the experiment

Question 12

What was Zimbardo’s experiment and what were the findings

Answer 12

Dr. Philip Zimbardo turned the basement of Stanford University into a mock prison. He found 24 mentally stable male participants and randomly assigned them prisoner or guard. The experiment had to shut after 6 days because of extreme signs of aggression from the guards and psychological distress from the prisoners.

Question 13

What was Asch’s study and what were the findings

Answer 13

Asch gathered 123 male participants who were asked to judge the length of one line to another three and determine which one was the same length. However the ppt was in a room of confederates who were told to purposefully say the wrong answer.

Question 14

What is conformity

Answer 14

a change in behaviour to suit the rules or actions of a group

Question 15

What is social identity theory

Answer 15

the study of interplay between personal and social identities. Behaving differently because of your social group

Question 16

What is temporal validity

Answer 16

a type of external validity that refers to the validity of the findings in relation to the progression of time

Question 17

Define Internalisation

Answer 17

A form of conformity where an individual truly accepts and adapts to a group’s norms, agrees with them publicly and privately. Longest lasting conformity because it can last after the individual leaves the group

Question 18

Define identification

Answer 18

A form of conformity where an individual goes along with a group in order to be accepted and not stand out

Question 19

Define Compliance

Answer 19

A form of conformity where an individual publicly goes along with a group but privately disagrees

Question 20

What are social roles

Answer 20

The ‘parts’ people play in different social groups.

Question 21

What variations affect levels of obedience

Answer 21

Location, uniform, proximity

Question 22

How does a uniform affect obedience

Answer 22

A uniform can be a sign of legitimacy of authority e.g. police uniform

Question 23

How does location affect obedience levels

Answer 23

If the experiment is done in a professional building (e.g. a part of Milgram’s study was conducted at Yale University) the participant has trust in the experiment whereas in an odd or different location (e.g. a part of Milgram’s experiment was done in a run down office building) there is less trust and could make the participant nervous

Question 24

How does proximity affect obedience levels

Answer 24

Proximity affects obedience levels because it makes the experiment more personal for the participant. For example in Milgram’s study, some participants had the ‘learner’ in the same room as them and had to physically place their hand on a shock plate, making it far more personal. Obedience dropped to only 40% reaching maximum voltage.

Question 25

What is Locus of Control

Answer 25

The degree to which people believe they have control over their lives

Question 25

What are Externals and what do they believe

Answer 25

They are people ho believe that everything that happens to them is a result of external factors.Externals believe that they cannot change a destined situation. They often feel hopeless when confronted with difficult tasks and/or situations

Question 25

Who first proposed the concept of Locus of Control

Answer 25

Julian B. Rotter (1954)

Question 26

What are Internals and what do they believe

Answer 26

They are people who think that everything that happens to them is a consequence of their own actions. Internals believe they have full control over their actions and behaviour. There are no external things that influence them such as fate or destiny.

Question 26

What is minority influence

Answer 26

A minority rejects the established norm of the majority of the group members and persuades the majority to move to the position of the minority.

Question 26

Define Synchronic consistency

Answer 26

people in the minority are all saying the same thing

Question 27

Define Diachronic consistency

Answer 27

people in the minority have been saying the same thing for a long time.

Question 27

What are the three factors that make minority influence

Answer 27

consistency, commitment and flexibility

Question 28

What are the limitations of Asch’s research

Answer 28

The situation and task are artificial- demand characteristics

Participants were American men-lack of cultural variation

Ethical problems- consent

Question 29

What are the strengths of Asch’s research

Answer 29

Research support- agreeing with wrong maths problems

Question 30

What are the strengths of NSI

Answer 30

Evidence support as an explanation for authority- Asch’s participants felt self conscious of being judged for saying a different answer

Question 31

What are the limitations of NSI

Answer 31

Does not predict conformity- individual differences

Question 32

What are the strengths of ISI

Answer 32

Research evidence support- Lucas et.al. (2006) people confirmed more when problems were hard

Question 33

What are the strengths of Zimbardo’s experiment

Answer 33

Control over key variables- emotionally stable individuals

Behaviour did seem realistic- 90% of conversations between prisoners were about ‘prison life’

Question 34

What are the limitations of zimbardos experiment

Answer 34

Did not have the realism of a true prison- based on stereotypes of prisoners and guards

Exaggerates the power of roles- most guards resisted situational pressures, only 1/3 of guards were violent

Question 35

What were the strengths of Milgrams research

Answer 35

Replicated in France- exact behaviour and similar results

Question 36

What were the limitations of Milgrams research

Answer 36

Demand characteristics- only 75% of participants fully believed the shocks were real

Blind obedience is not justified- participants did not follow when told to blindly follow someone but did when the experiment required them to

Question 37

What are the strengths of situational variables

Answer 37

Research support for uniform- people were more likely to help a professional looking person

Replicated in other cultures-similar results

Question 38

What are the limitations of situational variables

Answer 38

Demand characteristics- member of public replaces researcher

Not completely cross cultured- countries similar to USA