social influence Flashcards
conformity
the tendency to change what we do think or say in response to the influence of real or imagined pressure
social influence
the scientific study of the ways peoples thoughts feelings and behaviours are affected by other people
compliance
agree in public but disagree is private
identification
temporary change in public and private
internalisation
long term change of public and private beliefs
informational conformity
looking to others for guidance on things they are uncertain about, usually leads to internalisation
- avoid being odd one out
normative conformity
change behaviour to fit in and be accepted by others or avoid disapproval from other group members, usually leads to compliance
- social rewards
Asch’s research into conformity
showed ppts a standard line abs another with 3 lines and they had to match it to the standard line.
123 American graduates
each ppts matched but confederate
75% of ppts conformed to confederates answer
unanimity - factors influencing conformity
the influence of the majority depends on the group being unanimous
task difficulty - factors affecting conformity
more difficult the task, the more people conform
group size - factors affecting conformity
greater amount of confederates the higher the conformity
evaluating Asch
all ppts were male undergrads - cannot be generalised
controlled lab so can replicated - reliable
not a daily task
lacks external validity, lack ecological validity
ppts we’re deceived
zimbardos stamford Prison experiment
do people behave badly because of sadistic personalities or is it the situation
> male ppts payed $15 a day
> treat like real prisoners dehumanised
problems with Zimbardos study
he became too involved as head of the guards and the researcher
> he didn’t let a person leave
study stopped after 6 days due to mental and physical abuse, rebellion after 2 days, depression/ anxiety, prisoners were submissive to guards
evaluating Zimbardos prison experiment
+ researchers had control over variables - roles given by chance so down to situation not behaviour
- ethical issues Zimbardo responded to someone who wanted to leave as a guard not a researcher
- biased sample - white college males
deindividuation
taking away someone’s individualism. stripping humanity. eg) called by number, uniforms
learned helplessness
learning that what you do has little affect on helping you eg) prisoners submission to guards
investigator effects
when a researcher acts in a way to support prediction
situational vs depositional
environment vs personality
social roles
ideas of how people should act based on their roles in society
obedience
when an individual acts to an order from an order from someone who they see as an authority figure
Milgrims aim
researching how far people go in obeying an instruction if it involves hurting someone