Social influence

Question 1

What are the factors influencing conformity?

Answer 1

Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty

Question 2

How does group size affect conformity?

Answer 2

Asch - manipulated the size of the group of confederates in his experiment and found that conformity increased as the number of confederates rose:

No. of confederates Rate of conformity
1 3%
2 13%
3 33%

And a meta-analysis by Bond found conformity to be similar with a majority size of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (conformity was greater at 8 which suggested it reaches a plateau).

Question 3

How does unanimity affect conformity?

Answer 3

In Asch’s study when one confederate was instructed to disagree with the majority conformity decreased from 33% to 5.5% - the presence of a dissenter = a reduction in conformity

Question 4

How does task difficulty affect conformity?

Answer 4

Asch found that if the task is difficult - when the comparison lines are similar in length to the standard line, conformity increases.

Question 5

How do situational variables affect obedience?

Answer 5

Proximity - Milgram’s variations - increased proximity of teacher and learner drecreases obedience - In the same room obedience = 40% , Putting hand on shock plate = 30% and orders given remotely = 21%

Location - when they repeated the experiment in a run own office rather than at Yale university, obedience decreased to 48%

Uniform - Bickman used 153 randomly selected pedestrians and gave them orders, the orders were given by someone who either wore A) A jacket and tie, B) Milkman uniform, C) a guards uniform. When asked to lend money by an experimenter in a guard’s uniform obedience was 92% in comparison to 49% when the experimenter was in ordinary clothes.

Question 6

How does legitimacy of authority affect obedience?

Answer 6

Legitimacy of authority = the degree of social power held by the person who gives the order - may be associated with social roles.

Hofling et al - A doctor (a confederate) asked a nurse to give 20mg of Astrofen to his patient as he was in a hurry. To comply the nurse would have to be breaking rules (1, Give a dose above the maximum recommended, 2.The nurse would have to be absolutely sure he is a real doctor). 21/22 Nurses complied unhesitatingly.

Question 7

How does the agentic state affect obedience?

Answer 7

The argument we are in a different state of mind which makes us more obedient.

Autonomous state - aware of individual consequences accepts responsibility for their behaviour
Agentic state - sees themselves as an ‘agent’, does not accept personal responsibility sees the one giving orders as responsible.
Agentic shift - switch from operating in the autonomous state to the agentic state - more likely when there is the perception of legitimate authority

Question 8

How does the Authoritarian personality affect obedience?

Answer 8

Adorno et al argued that people with an authoritarian personality make them more likely to be obedient. They have the characteristics of:

• rigid beliefs in conventional values
• intolerance to ambiguity
• strict adherence to social rules
• general hostility to other groups

he created the ‘F’ scale (fascist scale) as a result - agreeing with statements was an indicator of an authoritarian personality.

Question 9

What is the locus of control?

Answer 9

This is a dispositional factor in resistance to social influence. It refers to the individual differences in people’s beliefs and expectations about what controls events in her lives and their perception of the extent of personal control they have over their behaviour.

Internal LOC - belief that what happens to an individual is a result of internal factors = they control events in their lives through personal decisions.

External LOC - belief that what happens is a result of external factors (what others do, luck, fate) - their lives and what happens is uncontrollable so they take less responsibility for their actions.

Question 10

What is the locus of control?

Answer 10

This is a dispositional factor in resistance to social influence. It refers to the individual differences in people’s beliefs and expectations about what controls events in her lives and their perception of the extent of personal control they have over their behaviour.

Internal LOC - belief that what happens to an individual is a result of internal factors = they control events in their lives through personal decisions.

External LOC - belief that what happens is a result of external factors (what others do, luck, fate) - their lives and what happens is uncontrollable so they take less responsibility for their actions.

Those with an internal LOC are more likely to be resistant to social influence.

Question 11

What research is there into the locus of control?

Answer 11

Avtgis - meta-analysis of studies that considered LOC and conformity - those who scored higher on external LOC were more easily persuaded and likely to conform. the average correlation was 0.37 which was statistically significant.

Elms and Milgram - investigated participants who were disobedient in the first 4 of Milgram’s experiment. Those who had been disobedient had a high level of internal loc and scored high on a social responsibility scale.

Question 12

What is minority influence?

Answer 12

When people reject the established norm of majority group members and gradually move toward the position of the minority - involves conversion and results in internalisation of the view of the minority.

Question 13

What factors do you need to ensure minority influence?

Answer 13

Consistency - stability in expressed opinion over time.
Commitment - degree of dedication to a particular cause = suggests certainty and confidence.
Flexibility - willingness to compromise on expressed opinion - more effective at changing majority opinion than validity of arguments.

Question 14

What research support is there for the factors of minority influence?

Answer 14

Moscovici et al - 4 participants, 2 confederates shown blue slides which varied in intensity. In ‘consistent’ experimental condition confederates called the blue slides ‘green’. Inconsistent said ‘green’ of 2/3 of the trials, control had no confederates.

Question 15

What are the ethical issues of Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 15

Deception - Led to believe the learner was a real participant when they were a confederate, believed they were administering real electric shocks ALTHOUGH Milgram argued deception was necessary or it would lack experimental realism.
Right to withdraw - participants had the right to withdraw although it was unclear whether they actually could as experimenters gave them verbal prods to continue ‘it is vital that you continue’.
Informed consent - As a result of deception there is consequently a lack of informed consent but he gained PRESUMPTIVE CONSENT.
Failure to protect participant from harm - high levels of stress and distress - nervous twitching, awkward laughter, uncontrollable seizures were observed in 3 participants BUT participants were debriefed afterwards and met the confederate afterwards who reassured them.

Question 16

What did Asch do?

Answer 16

123 male students, participant was placed om a group of 7-9 confederates and were shown a paid of cards which had a standard line and comparison lines. Their task was to say aloud which of the 3 comparison lines matched the standard line. The correct answer was obvious. Confederates gave the wrong answer on 12 of the 18 trials. 26% never conformed. 76% conformed at least once. 5% conformed on every single trial.

Question 17

Evaluate Asch research.

Answer 17

Lab experiment - control, replicable BUT lack of ecological validity no mundane realism. Although shows the power of pure group pressure as these people are complete strangers - so shows how storng conformity is.

Temporal validity - done in 1950s - a time when non-conformity was discouraged Nicholson et al replicated Asch’s experiment in the 1980s and found lower conformity levels.

Ethics - deception (told visual perception task + thought confederates were real participants), lack of informed consent, participants were debriefed, failure to protect participants from harm as they may have suffered a loss of self esteem.

Question 18

What did Milgram do?

Answer 18

40 male participants, had a learner (confederate), teacher (participant) and experimenter, participants were deceived into thinking they were administering electric shocks, the learner had to memorise words and the teacher had to gradually increase electric shocks (15-450V). 65% of participants went on giving shocks up to and including 450V. Only 12.5% stopped at 300V. Only 1 person regretted taking part. All participants went up to 300V. People obey instructions although they do not demonstrate unquestioning obedience.

Question 19

Evaluate Milgram.

Answer 19

Internal validity - demand characteristics Orne and Holland - took place at Yale uni, argued p’s could not have believed investigation as they could not see the confederate and would assume that Yale would nto allow harm to p’s. ALTHOUGH stress was so real, p’s did not obey unquestioningly and there was a believable false aim.

External validity - population validity, ecological validity (lab experiment).

Ethical issues.

Question 20

Give a situational factor in resistance to social influence and give evidence.

Answer 20

Social support - can increase individuals confidence that their viewpoint is correct, presents an alternative way to respond to a situation.

Asch - presence of a dissenter - conformity levels dropped from 37% to 5.5%, breaks the unanimity, indicated individual had alternative.

Milgram experiment - when teacher paired with two other ‘teachers’ (confederates), at 150V the first confederate refused to continue, at 210 the second refused. complete obedience lowered from 65% in original study to 10%.

Question 21

What is social change?

Answer 21

When a society as a whole adopt a new belief or way of behaving which then becomes widely accepted as the 'norm'. Can involve:
Social progress (e.g. introduction of anti-discriminatory laws)
Social revolution (e.g. removal of tyrannical regime).

Question 22

How does minority influence produce social change?

Answer 22

x

Question 23

What research is there for social change through majority influence?

Answer 23

Nolan et al - placed door hangers on door of San Diego residents, which carried one of 4 messages, one which included that neighbours were trying to conserve energy (group norm condition), control group had door hanger which simply encouraged energy conservation. Only group norm condition led to significant decreases in energy consumption.

Goldstein et al - tried to get hotel guests to reuse their towels. compared impact of 4 hangers, some said help save the environment and others said join fellow citizens - the final ‘group norm’ message increased towel reuse by n average of 34%

Question 24

What is deindividuation?

Answer 24

When people believe they cannot be personally identified.

Question 25

Evaluate resistance to social influence

Answer 25

Social support - Research support - from Milgram and Asch. Real world support - the Rosentrasse protest - in 1943 German women protested where the gestapo were holding 2000 Jewish men who were often married to non-Jewish women. The Gestapo threatened to open fire on them but eventually the women prevailed and the Jews were set free.

LOC - is related to normative but not informational social influence - Spector found a correlation between lOC and predisposition to normative social incluence, with externals more likely ro conform to this form of influence than internals. However there was no relationship for predisposition to informational social influence
AVTGIS.