Social Influence Flashcards
Aims of Asch’s study on conformity
To assess what extent people will conform to the opinion of others, even in a situation where the answer is certain
Participants of Asch’s study on conformity
123 white male undergraduate Americans
Procedure of Asch’s study on conformity
- Each participant saw 2 white cards - ‘x’ being the standard line & lines A,B,C being 3 comparison lines - one = same length as ‘x’
- Each trial, participants had to say out loud which comparison line matched ‘x’
Results of Asch’s study on conformity
- 36.8% conformed = 1/3 of the time
- 25% participants never conformed
What were Asch’s variables?
Group size, unanimity & task difficulty
Group size - Asch’s study
- He found curvilinear relationship between group size & conformity rate
- Conformity increased with group size to an extent
- 3 confederate, conformity to wrong answer rose to 31.8% - presence of more made little difference
What does group size suggest?
Suggests that most people are sensitive to the views of others because 1 / 2 confederates was enough to manipulate opinion
Unanimity - Asch’s study
- He wondered if presence of non-conforming person would affect naïve p’s conformity
- One variation, person gave correct answer & in another, he gave a wrong answer
- P conformed less often in presence of dissenter
- Rate decreased less than 1/4 when majority was unanimous
- Presence gave p independence - true when they gave alt answer to p
What does unanimity suggest?
Suggests that influence of majority depends on it being unanimous & that non-conformity is more likely when cracks are perceive in majority’s unanimous view
Task difficulty - Asch’s study
- Wanted to know whether making task harder would affect degree of conformity
- Increased difficulty by making stimulus line & comparison lines more similar in length
- Found conformity increased - situation is more ambiguous when task becomes harder
- Ambiguous situations = natural to look for guidance & assume they are right (ISI)
Strengths of Asch’s study
- Lucas et al 2006 asked p’s easy & hard maths q’s - p’s given answer claimed to be from 3 other students - conformed more often when harder - task difficulty = variable that affects conformity
Limitations of Asch’s study
- Participants knew they were in a research study - demand characteristics
- Tasks were artificial
- Deceived (6th p) - informed consent - however, stress was minimal
Define internalisation
- When person genuinely accepts group norms & values
- Public & private change of opinions / behaviour
- Permanent change - absence of group members
Define identification
- Value the group & want to become part of it
- Publicly change opinion / behaviour but privately disagree with group norms
Define compliance
- Going along with others in public but privately disagrees
- Results in superficial change
- Behaviour stops with group pressure
Define conformity
- Change in person’s behaviour / opinions as result of real / imagines pressure from person / group
One explanation for conformity - informational social influence
- Desire to be right
- Occurs when we agree with opinion of majority as we believe it’s correct
- Some ambiguous situations - where decisions need to be made quickly
- Cognitive response
- May lead to internalisation
One explanation for conformity - normative social influence
- Desire to be liked
- Occurs when we agree with majority opinion as we want to be accepted
- Situations with strangers / friends
- Emotional response
- May lead to compliance
- nAffiliators = strong need for affiliation / relate to others
Two process theory - Deutch & Gerard 1955
- Brought both explanations of conformity together in this theory of social influence
- Argued that people conform because of the need to be right (ISI) & liked (NSI)
Strengths of ISI
- Lucas et al 2006 asked students to answer maths problems - easy & hard - conformed more when harder (ambiguous) - most true for students with poor ability
Strengths of NSI
- Asch 1951 p’s conformed to wrong answer because others did - when asked = felt self conscious giving correct & afraid of disapproval - when repeated & asked to write answer, conformity fell to 12.5%
Limitation of NSI
- McGhee & Teevan 1967 students who were nAffiliators = more likely to conform
- Individual differences affect conformity rate
Aims of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 1973
- Set up mock prison in basement of psychology department at Stanford University to investigate effect of social role on conformity
Participants of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 1973
- 21 male student volunteers
- Selected by psychological testing that showed them to be emotionally stable
- Randomly allocated role of guard / prisoner
Procedure of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 1973
- Prisoners arrested in real time & were issued a number & uniform which encouraged de-individuation
- 16 rules enforced by guards
- Social roles = strictly divided
- Guards given wooden club, handcuffs, keys & mirror shades
Results of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 1973
- Within 2 days prisoners rebelled (swearing) - prisoners became subdued, depressed & anxious after
- 3 p’s released on 4th day
- 1 went on hunger strike - guards attempted force feed & punished by putting him in ‘the hole’ (small dark closet)
- Ended in 6 days rather than 14
Conclusion of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 1973
- Social roles have strong influence in behaviour - were easily taken on by p’s - given authorative position?
Strength of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 1973
- Emotionally stable p’s = recruited & randomly allocated roles - only by chance - behaviour due to roles not personality - increased internal validity
Limitation of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment 1973
- Ethical issues - Zimbardo talked to them as their social role - arrested in real time - psychological harm - right to withdraw (talked back into it)
- Lost validity - Zimbardo being part of study - player roles well
Aims of Milgram’s Baseline Obedience Study
- To what extent people would obey instructions involving harming another person
- Although told it was a study for memory
