Social Influence 1

Question 1

Outline Aschs baseline procedure

Answer 1

123 American men each in a group with other “pp” given a line x to compare line abc to one line clearly same as x. Only 1 was genuine agreed w pp incorrect answer 37% of the time

Question 2

What effect did group size have on asch study

Answer 2

Varied confederates from 1-15 conformity increased with group size levelled off after majority =3

Question 3

What was the effect of unanimity in asch study

Answer 3

Introduced confederate who didn’t conform
Pp confirmed less decrease the rate to less than 25% before predissenter

Question 4

What was the effect of task difficulty on Asch study

Answer 4

When task became harder asch found conformity increased therefore look to others (informational social influence)

Question 5

Limitation of Asch study

Answer 5

Tasks were artificial - pp knew they were in a research study and may have gone along with the aim (demand characteristics). Trivial no reason not to conform
= this means that the findings cannot generalise to real world important situations

Question 6

Limitation of Asch Study 2

Answer 6

American men - women have been found to conform more as more concerned over social relationships. - USA is an individualistic culture whereas this studies that take place in collectivist have found conformity higher
=limited application tells us little about different people of culture and gender

Question 7

Strength of Asch Study

Answer 7

Supporting research task difficulty - Lucas et al solve east and hard maths pp confirmed more when the problems were harder
=shows Asch was correct incr internal validity

Question 8

3 types of conformity

Answer 8

-Internalisation - genuine accept private and public change
-Identification - conform to opinion of group as we identify w group (public)
- Compliance - going along with others behaviour stops when group pressure stops

Question 9

What is NSI

Answer 9

Normative social influence - temporary change in opinion or behaviour to gain social approval / support

Question 10

What is ISI

Answer 10

Informational social influence- agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe it is correct - we want to be correct as well ( permanent change)

Question 11

Strength of NSI

Answer 11

Support - Asch pp interviewed some said they confirmed as the felt self conscious . When po wrote down answer drop to 12.5%
=shows conformity is due to desire not to be rejected

Question 12

Strength of ISI

Answer 12

Research evidence - Lucas et al found those given the harder maths problem conformed more than easy as they didn’t want to be wrong
= shows ISI is a valid explanation

Question 13

Zimbardo procedure

Answer 13

21 American men volunteered split into guards and prisoners randomly assigned
- encourages to conform to social roles
Guards wore uniforms and prisoners had numbers

Question 14

Zimbardo findings

Answer 14

Guards took up their roles w enthusiasm
Prisoners rebelled they were harassed
Guards enforced rules and punishments
Prisoners showed psychological disturbance
Ended after 6 days

Question 15

Zimbardo conclusion

Answer 15

Social roles have a strong influence on individuals behaviour roles were taken on very quickly

Question 16

Strength of Zimbardo

Answer 16

Zimbardo controlled key elements - selection of participants emotionally stable individuals were assigned roles
- researchers ruled out personality differences by random assignment - we k the behaviour is due to the role itself
= increase internal validity

Question 17

Limitation of Zimbardo

Answer 17

Didn’t have realism of true prison - pp were play acting off of stereotypes and not taking on actual roles.
1 guard based behav off of CoolHand Luke explain why riot occurred as they think this is what occurs in prison
= tell us little about real conformity to social roles in prison

Question 18

Limitation of Zimbardo 2

Answer 18

May have exaggerated power of social roles to influence behaviour
Only 1/3 guards were brutal 2/3 fairly ruled or sympathised . Most resisted pressures to conform to a brutal role
= suggests Zimbardo overstated his view that pp confirmed to social roles and minimised dispositional factors

Question 19

Milgrams procedure

Answer 19

American men gave a fake electric shock to a “learner” in response to instructions from an experimenter

Question 20

Milgrams findings

Answer 20

65% up to 450v
100% up to 300v
Many showed signs of uncomfortable and anxiety - biting nails seizures anxiety attacks etc

Question 21

Strength of Milgrams study

Answer 21

Research support by French tv show found 80% gave max shock also showing same nervous symptoms
= supports findings and they were not due to special circumstances

Question 22

Limitation of Milgrams study

Answer 22

Lacks internal validity - pp realised shocks were fake so play acted (Orne and Holland) Supported by Perry tapes only show that 50% believed real shocks
=pp may have shown demand characteristics going along w the study

Question 23

Strength of Milgrams study 2

Answer 23

Sheridan and King supporting research gave a real shock to a puppy 100% of women shocked to max
= effects were genuine as behave obediently even when shocks were real

Question 24

Effect of proximity to obedience rates

Answer 24

obedience dropped to 40% with teacher and learner in same room
30% with touch proximity
Psychological distance affects obedience

Question 25

Effect of Location on Obedience rates

Answer 25

Obedience drops to 47.5 % in run down office building
Universities prestige gave authority to study

Question 26

Effect of uniform on obedience rates

Answer 26

Obedience dropped to 20% when experimenter was a “ member of public”
Uniform is a symbol of legitimate authority

Question 27

Strength of uniform + obedience

Answer 27

Research support - Bickman showed power of uniform suit and tie milkman security guard. Obey more security guard - legitimate authority
= reinforces Milgrams belief

Question 28

Limitation for situational variables

Answer 28

Conducted in USA maybe culture bound may see security guard as more legit than Nigerian person may think for example

Question 29

Agentic state

Answer 29

Acting as an agent of another person no responsibility for own behaviour

Question 30

Autonomous state

Answer 30

Free to act accordingly all behaviour is own responsibility

Question 31

Agentic shift

Answer 31

Switching between autonomous and agentic state

Question 32

Binding factors

Answer 32

Allow individual to ignore damaging effects of their obedient behaviour reduce moral strain

Question 33

Strength of Agentic state

Answer 33

Research support Milgrams resistant pp continued to max when told the experimenter took responsibility
=shows once pp knew they weren’t responsible they acted more easily - agent

Question 34

Limitation of Agentic state

Answer 34

Contradicts nurse study 16/18 nurses disobeyed doctor who was a authority figure. Almost all autonomous and gave the dose
= can only account for some situations of obedience

Question 35

Legitimacy of authority

Answer 35

Created by hierarchal nature of society
Some people entitled to expect obedience
Learned in childhood

Question 36

Destructive authority

Answer 36

When legitimacy of authority used in destructive ways eg Hitler

Question 37

Strength of legitimacy of authority

Answer 37

Explains cultural differences- in Australia on 16% obeyed what was perceived to be a legitimate authority figure whereas in Germany 85% obeyed authority. Can relate to structure of society
=shows in some cultures authority is perceived to be far more legitimate

Question 38

Limitation of legitimacy of authority

Answer 38

Cannot explain all obedience - 16/18 nurses disobeyed a doctor authority figure to give a deadly dose of drugs perched higher in social ladder
=suggests that some people may be more obedient than others rather than respect of authority

Question 39

Authoritarian personality

Answer 39

Someone who has extreme respect for authority and submissive contempt for inferiors (scapegoats) (Adorno)

Question 40

Origins of AP

Answer 40

Harsh parenting leads to hostilities that cannot be expressed against parents however can be displaced to those lower

Question 41

F scale

Answer 41

Measure of unconscious attitudes towards ethnic groups - ap scored high on the fscale showing extreme respect for authority and contemptuous of the weak

Question 42

Strength of AP

Answer 42

Support from Milgrams study - this who obeyed the most scored higher on the fscale representing that high score = AP so obey authority figure the experimenter
= this reinforces the fact that those who score on the fscale respect orders of legitimate authority

Question 43

Limitation of AP

Answer 43

When analyse results of fscale obedient participants had features uncommon for AP as they didn’t idolise father and belittle mother
= far more complex than a personality

Question 44

Minority influence 3 factors

Answer 44

• Consistency = if minority is consistent this attracts attention of majority over time
• Commitment = personal sacrifices show commitment attract attention reinforce message - augmentation principle
  -Flexibility - minority more convincing if they accept some counter arguments

Question 45

Process of change

Answer 45

Majority think more deeper about message and shifts minority to majority called the snowball effect

Question 46

Strength of minority influence

Answer 46

Moscovici blue green slides - consistent minority opinion greater effect
= minimum requirement for minority to convey and persuade others

Question 47

Limitation of minority influence

Answer 47

Evidence is very artificial v different to how they work in the real life such as political campaigns or jury decision making
= lack external validity

Question 48

Social change w minority

Answer 48

1. Draw attention
2. Consistency
3. Deeper Processing
4. Augmentation
5. Snowball effect
6. Social cryptomnesia

Question 49

Lessons of social influence from conformity

Answer 49

Asch dissenter breaks conformity of group
NSI draws attention to majority

Question 50

Strength of social change

Answer 50

NSI support San Diego energy usage decrease in group w poster of NSI
= shows conformity can lead to social change through the operation of NSI

Question 51

Strength of social change

Answer 51

Beneath believed minorities inspire - divergent thinking weigh up more options and think about opinion this leads to better decisions and more better solutions to social issues
= show why dissenting is valuable

Question 52

Limitation of social change

Answer 52

Deeper processing may not play a role in minority social change - majority influence creates deeper processing if you do not share their views - like to believe views are shared
= casts doubt on validity of explanation

Question 53

Strength for social support

Answer 53

Rwa having buddy helps resist peer pressure to smoke
= shows social support can help young adults stop smoking and improve lives

Question 54

Locus of control

Answer 54

A sense of what directs events in our lives

Question 55

Internal loc

Answer 55

Resist social influence due to belief that they are in control of everything which directs them in their lives

Question 56

Strength of loc

Answer 56

Research support - internals less likely to obey in Milgrams like study37% didn’t continue whereas externals only 20% stopped
= reinforces belief incr internal validity

Question 57

Limitation of loc

Answer 57

Contradictory research over 40yrs Twenge et al people resist social influence more however are more external
= questions credibility and application of locus of control in todays society