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Social Influence Flashcards

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1
Q

What is obedience?

A

Following the orders of someone who we perceive to have authority.

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2
Q

Milgram’s research into obedience.

Aim

A

To test the “Germans are different hypothesis”.

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3
Q

Milgram’s research into obedience.

Participants

A

40 men, age between 20-50.

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4
Q

Milgram’s research into obedience.

Procedure

A

At the beginning of the experiment, they were introduced to another participant, who was a confederate. They drew straws to determine their roles – learner or teacher –
Two rooms in the Yale Interaction Laboratory were used - one for the learner (with an electric chair) and another for the teacher and experimenter with an electric shock generator.
The teacher is told to administer an electric shock every time the learner makes a mistake, increasing the level of shock each time. There were 30 switches on the shock generator marked from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 (danger – severe shock).

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5
Q

Milgram’s research into obedience.

Results

A

65% of participants (i.e., teachers) continued to the highest level of 450 volts. All the participants continued to 300 volts.

Milgram did more than one experiment – he carried out 18 variations of his study. All he did was alter the situation (IV) to see how this affected obedience (DV).

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6
Q

Evaluation of Milgram.

2 strengths

A
  • High reliability.

- High internal validity.

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7
Q

Evaluation of Milgram.

3 limitations

A
  • Gender biased sample.
  • Breaks ethical guidelines.
  • Low ecological validity.
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8
Q

Which are the 2 explanations of obedience?

A
  1. Agentic state

2. Legitimate authority

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9
Q

Define agentic state.

A

People allow others to direct their actions and then pass off the responsibility for the consequences to the person giving the orders.

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10
Q

Define autonomous state.

A

People direct their own actions, and they take responsibility for the results of those actions.

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11
Q

What is the agentic shift?

A

From autonomous state to agentic state.

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12
Q

What is legitimate authority?

A

When a person demonstrate social power, usually with a uniform.

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13
Q

Evaluation of explanations of obedience.

3 strengths

A
  • Evidence to support legitimate authority: Blass and Schmitt (2001).
  • Evidence to support legitimate authority: Bickman (1974).
  • Helps us understand events of Nazi Germany.
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14
Q

Evaluation of explanations of obedience.

1 limitation

A

Evidence to contradict: Milgram’s study itslef.

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15
Q

Milgram Experiment Variations.

Proximity

A

The teacher is in the same room as the learner, within one meter distance.

65% to 40%

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16
Q

Milgram Experiment Variations.

Location

A

The experiment was moved to a set of run down offices rather than the impressive Yale University.
Obedience dropped to 47.5%. This suggests that status of location effects obedience.

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17
Q

Milgram Experiment Variations.

Uniform

A

In the original baseline study – the experimenter wore a grey lab coat as a symbol of his authority. Milgram carried out a variation in which the experimenter was called away because of a phone call right at the start of the procedure.

The role of the experimenter was then taken over by an ‘ordinary member of the public’ ( a confederate) in everyday clothes rather than a lab coat. The obedience level dropped to 20%.

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18
Q

Evaluation of Milgram’s Experiment Variations.

2 strengths

A
  • Evidence to support: Bickman (1974).

- High internal validity.

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19
Q

Evaluation of Milgram’s Experiment Variations.

3 limitations

A
  • Ethical issues.
  • Lacks ecological validity.
  • Real life evidence to contradict: Poland.
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20
Q

Dispositional Explanation for obedience - authoritarian personality.

A

Adorno interviewed former Nazi soldiers at the end of World War II, and developed the ‘F-Scale’ (F standing for ‘fascist’), which measured how authoritarian a person is. He used this in a study of American participants. He found that a high F-Scale score was linked with excessive respect and deference to those of higher status, and concluded that an ‘authoritarian personality’ is a factor in obedience.

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21
Q

Evaluation of Dispositional Explanations for obedience.

1 strength

A
  • Evidence to support: Elms and Milgram (1966).
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22
Q

Evaluation of Dispositional Explanations for obedience.

4 weaknesses

A
  • Use of questionnaires.
  • Based on correlations.
  • Deterministic.
  • Reductionist.
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23
Q

Which are the 2 explanations of resistance to social influence?

A
  1. Social support and resisting pressure to obey.

2. Locus of control.

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24
Q

Evaluation of social support and resisting pressure to obey.

2 strengths

A
  • Evidence to support: Asch’s variation, unanimity.

- More evidence to support: Milgram’s variation.

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25
Q

Evaluation of social support and resisting pressure to obey.

1 limitation

A
  • It’s reductionist.
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26
Q

What is locus of control?

A

It refers to wether we think we control our own behaviour or something else.

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27
Q

What is internal locus of control?

A

We control our behaviour, what happens to us is under our own control.

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28
Q

What is external locus of control?

A

What happens to us is determined by something else.

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29
Q

Evaluation of locus of control.

2 strengths.

A
  • Evidence to support: Oliner & Oliner (1998).

- More evidence to support: Holland (1967).

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30
Q

Evaluation of locus of control.

1 limitation

A
  • There are methodological problems: explanation is based on questionnaires.
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31
Q

What is minority influence?

A

It refers to when one person or a small group (the minority) influences the beliefs and behaviour of the majority.

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32
Q

What is a social change?

A

When society adopts to a new belief that become widely accepted as the norm.

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33
Q

Define consistency.

A

If the minority sticks to their viewpoint over time and between members of the minority, it makes others reassess the situation and consider the issue more carefully.

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34
Q

What is commitment?

A

If the minority are dedicated to their opinion it makes others consider changing their behaviour, this is because it show others confidence and certainty in their view.

35
Q

What is flexibility?

A

Where the minority are not too strict or rigid in their opinion, this is effective at changing behaviour as they believe that the minority is willing to compromise.

36
Q

Define the snowball effect.

A

In order for social change to occur it should start out as a minority perspective and then gradually more and more people adopt the opinion, until it has become widely accepted by the majority.

37
Q

What is social cryptoamnesia?

A

Over a period of time the views become the dominant position in society, and people tend to forget where the view originated from.
e.g. recycling in the UK

38
Q

Explain the case of Rosa Parks (1913-2005).

A

She refused to give her bus seat to a white man in Alabama in 1995, this led to the local black community organizing a bus boycott (refusing the use of busses, causing the company a loss of money).
This has helped to initiate the civil rights movement against racial segregation.

39
Q

Rosa Parks.

Evidence of consistency.

A

Boycotted the buses for 381 days.

40
Q

Rosa Parks.

Evidence of flexibility.

A

Refused to use violence but continued to boycott the buses.

41
Q

Rosa Parks.

Evidence of commitment.

A

She stuck to her beliefs despite being arrested, fined and found guilty.

42
Q

Rosa Parks.

Evidence of the snowball effect.

A

The movement started with just Rosa Parks and gradually increased to a group of black people which the led to the Civil Rights Act.

42
Q

Rosa Parks.

Evidence of the snowball effect.

A

The movement started with just Rosa Parks and gradually increased to a group of black people which the led to the Civil Rights Act.

43
Q

What is the suffragette movement (1903)?

A

Emmeline Parkhurst decided to set up a society (woman’s social and political union). There was a rough treatment of the suffragettes as they were arrested and jailed during the protests, but this increased sympathy and support.
The WSPU were willing to use violence. During the war the women paused the movement to help. 1918 women over 30 allowed to vote, all allowed after 1928.

44
Q

The suffragette movement.

Evidence of consistency.

A

They didn’t change their position, regardless of the attitudes around them.

45
Q

The suffragette movement.

Evidence of flexibility.

A

They agreed to postpone their campaigning to help the war effort.

46
Q

The suffragette movement.

Evidence of commitment.

A

They were willing to suffer to make their point heard. e.g. imprisonment or even death from hunger strikes

47
Q

The suffragette movement.

Evidence of the snowball effect.

A

Initially only small numbers moved to adopting their opinion, but with time more and more people accepted that. Eventually it became the opinion of the majority.

48
Q

Evaluation of minority influence.

2 strengths

A
  • Evidence to support consistency: Mocsovici.

- Evidence to support flexibility: Nemeth.

49
Q

Evaluation of minority influence.

Limitation

A

Most research (Moscovici and Nemeth) is conducted using lab experiments.

50
Q

What is conformity?

A

Tendency to change what we do, think or say in response to the influence of real or imaginary pressure from others.

51
Q

What are the 3 types of conformity?

A
  1. Internalisation
  2. Compliance
  3. Identification
52
Q

Explain the following type of conformity: internalisation.

A

Going along with the majority because the person has accepted the beliefs as their own. The individual accepts the group’s point of view both publicly and privately.

53
Q

Is internalisation permanent or temporal?

A

Permanent.

54
Q

Explain the following type of conformity: compliance.

A

The individual goes along with the majority in order to gain or avoid disapproval. It involves agreeing only publicly.

55
Q

Is compliance permanent or temporal?

A

It’s temporal.

56
Q

Explain the following type of conformity: identification.

A

An individual changes their opinion to that of the majority because they want to be a member of that group. It changes public and private beliefs.

57
Q

Is identification permanent or temporal?

A

Temporal, until they leave the group.

58
Q 
Explain Asch (1956) research into conformity.
Aim
A

To see how the “real” participant would react to the behaviour of confederates.

59
Q 
Explain Asch (1956) research into conformity.
Procedure
A

Participants were seated in a room and asked to look at three lines of different lengths. They were asked “which of the three lines is the same length as the standard line”. Question was asked in the same order, real participant las or second last.
Confederates gave incorrect answer in 12/18 trials.

60
Q 
Explain Asch (1956) research into conformity. 
Results
A

On the 12 critical trials:

  • 32% real participants conformed (incorrect) on ALL trials.
  • 75% of participants conformed at least once.
  • one quarter of participants never conformed on any of the trials.
61
Q

Asch (1956) research into conformity.

What was the “test” for?

A

It was a “vision” test.

62
Q

Asch (1956) research into conformity.

How many pp’ participated?

A

123 male American undergraduates, volunteered.

63
Q

Asch (1956) research into conformity.

What type of conformity is demonstrated?

A

Compliance

64
Q

Variables affecting conformity.

Define variation.

A

Change to the original Asch study, they allow us to see which factors affect the DV, in this case, conformity.

65
Q

Variables affecting conformity.

Group size

A

He altered the group size:

  1. When the majority consists of just 1/2 individuals.
  2. When the majority consists of 3/4 individuals.
66
Q

Variables affecting conformity.

What effect does the group size have on conformity?

A
  1. The smaller the group there’s less pressure, so there was lower levels of conformity (12.8%).
  2. The bigger the group there is more pressure, so there was higher levels of conformity (32%).
67
Q

Variables affecting conformity.

Unanimity

A

Asch asked one of his confederates to give a different answer to the rest of confederates (correct answer) to break the unanimity.

68
Q

Variables affecting conformity.

What effect does the unanimity have on conformity?

A

Conformity levels decrease to 5.5% from 75% as they felt more confident with their answer so they hardly conform.

69
Q

Variables affecting conformity.

Difficulty of task

A

Asch made the lines more similar in length so it was more difficult to see which was the most similar.

70
Q

Variables affecting conformity.

What effect does the difficulty of task have on conformity?

A

Conformity levels are increased.

71
Q

What are 2 strengths of research into conformity.

A
  • It has real life application. Findings can be used to explain jury decision making.
  • Lab experiment.
72
Q

Name 4 limitations of research into conformity.

A
  • Ethical issues, participants were lied about the aim.
  • It lacks ecological validity.
  • Gender bias.
  • Cultural bias.
73
Q

What are the explanations of conformity based on the Dual Process Dependency Model?

A

Normative Social Influence (NSI).

Informational Social Influence (ISI)

74
Q

What does NSI suggest?

A

Person conforms to gain approval (need to be liked), this leads to a change in public behaviour but not private belief.
E.g. Asch

75
Q

What does ISI suggest?

A

Person conforms so others believe them to be right (need to be right), this leads to changing public and private belief.

76
Q

Evaluation of the Dual process dependency model.

2 strengths.

A
  • Evidence to support: Asch studies.

- More evidence to support: Lucas study, maths problems.

77
Q

Evaluation of the Dual process dependency model.

3 limitations

A
  • Individual differences.
  • Other factors might be more important than the need to be liked or right.
  • It’s too simplistic and difficult to establish which explanation is to blame for specific conformity.
78
Q

Define social roles.

A

Parts that people play as members of social groups.

79
Q

Zimbardo’s research on conformity to social roles.

Aim

A

To see wether the prison guards/prisoners will conform to their social roles.

80
Q

Zimbardo’s research on conformity to social roles.

Procedure

A

He created a mock prison in the basement of the university of Stanford and randomly assigned the role of guards and prisoners to mentally stable students who were selected from a volunteer sample (12p+12g).
The exp. tried to imitate real life procedures of an arrest. The guard enforced 16 rules and had complete control over the prison.

81
Q

Zimbardo’s research on conformity to social roles.

Findings

A

The guards overused their power and their behaviour became so psychologically and physically threatening towards the prisoner that the exp. had to be stopped just after 6 days.
When the prisoners rebelled the guard harassed them showing aggressive behaviour by using obscence methods to punish the prisoners. The guards begin to enjoy having their own rules and when the prisoners were released they were subdued, depressed and anxious.

82
Q

Evaluation of Zimbardo’s research.

2 strengths

A
  • High internal validity

- Evidence to support: case of Abu Gharib.

83
Q

Evaluation of Zimbardo’s research.

3 weaknesses

A
  • Unethical: participants were put in situations that caused a great deal of stress.
  • Lacks ecological validity: lab exp.
  • Evidence to contradict: BBC prison study.

Psychology (11 decks)

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