Social Influence

Question 1

Conformity

Answer 1

The process of yielding to majority influence.

Question 2

Compliance

Answer 2

Going along with others/majority in public despite not really agreeing with them privately.
- the behaviour/ opinion stops as soon as group pressure stops

Question 3

Identification

Answer 3

we publicly change our opinions or behaviour to be accepted by the group, even if people don’t privately agree with everything the group stands for. i.e we identify with the group, we want to be apart of.

Question 4

Internalisation

Answer 4

When a person accepts the group norms. The change is permanent because the attitudes have been actualised. This occurs in both private and public.

Question 5

Dual Process model
1. Informational social influence

Answer 5

Informational social influence is where a person conforms because they have the desire to be right, and look to others who they believe may have more information.

ISI is a cognitive process because it is to do with what you think. It leads to a permanent change in behaviour and opinion. (internalisation)

Question 6

Normative social influence

Answer 6

Normative social influence involves a change in behaviour that is deemed necessary in order to fit in a particular group.

• NSI is an emotional rather than a cognitive process - temporary change.
  NSI is likely to occur in situations with strangers where you may feel concerned by rejection. it may also happen with the people with know because we are concerned about the social approval of our friends.

Question 7

Lucas et al (2006)

Answer 7

Procedure/Method - students solve mathematical problems that were easy or more difficult.
Findings - there was greater conformity to incorrect answers when they were difficult.
- students with poor mathematical ability are more likely to conform.
What type of conformity did the students demonstrate?
Informational social influence

Question 8

External validity

Answer 8

is concerned with things outside the research study.

Question 9

Internal validity

Answer 9

Concerns about inside the study. It also concerns the control as it may have other factors that affected our findings.
Researchers need to try to control everything that could cause the findings to be other than was intended.

Question 10

Group size
Asch wanted to know whether the size of the group would be more important than the agreement of the group

Answer 10

To test this he varied the no. of confederates from 1-15, conformity increases with group size, but the rate soon levelled off. This suggests that most people are very sensitive to the views of others because just 1 or 2 confederates was enough to sway opinion

Question 11

Unanimity
Asch wondered if the presence of a non-conforming person would affect the naive participant’s conformity

presence of a dissenter.

Answer 11

The p conformed less often in the presence of a dissenter. the rate decreased to less than a quarter of the level it was when the majority was unanimous. The dissenter appeared to free the P to behave more independently .
This suggests that the influence of the majority depends to a large extent on it being unanimous. And that non-conformity is more likely when cracks are perceived in the majority’s unanimous view.

Question 12

Task Difficulty
Asch wanted to know whether making the task harder would affect the degree of conformity.

Answer 12

When the task got harder, it was unclear to the participant what the right answer was. it was natural to look at other people for guidance and to assume that they are right and you are wrong (this is informational social influence)

Question 13

Lucas et al - supporting evidence

Answer 13

The Ps conformed more often when the problems were harder. This shows Asch was correct in claiming that task difficulty is one variable that affects conformity.
Ps with high confidence in their maths abilities conformed less on hard tasks than those with low confidence. This shows that an individual-level factor can influence conformity by interacting with situational variables. Asch didn’t research individual factors.

Question 14

Culture bias

Answer 14

the tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena behaviour through the lens of one’s own culture.

Question 15

Ethnorcentrism

Answer 15

seeing the world from ones’s own cultural perspective, and behaving that this own perspective is both normal and correct.

Question 16

Cultural relativism

Answer 16

Behaviour can be appropriately understood if culture is taken into account.

Question 17

Most research into conformity takes place in a laboratory. Outline 1 strength of conducting research in a laboratory. (2 marks)

Answer 17

1. it is easily replicable as it has high levels of control.

Question 18

Outline the procedures and findings of Zimbardo’s research into conformity to social roles. 4 marks

Answer 18

As the roles were strongly sterotyped, the guards and prisoners easily conform to the role they were given. Zimbardo also found out that prisoners obeyed the guards as they had a level of authority. The Guards also abused their power by mistreating the prisoners by demonstrating their powerlessness.

Question 19

Briefly discuss 2 criticisms of Zimbardo’s research into conformity to social roles. (4 marks)

ethical issues
biased sample

Answer 19

It is biased as it only includes white American males of the same age group and didn’t include any females. He also physical and psychological abused the participants which later on introduced ethical guidelines regarding safety.

Question 20

The effects of 3 variations?

Answer 20

Group size: the curvilinear relationship between group size and conformity. conformity rate increases as group size increases until a certain point then its level of suggests people are sensitive to the views of others. 1 or 2 confederates swayed their opinions.

Unanimity - conformity decreases. The dissenter allowed the P to answer more independently and truthfully suggesting that the influence of the majority depends to a large extent on it being unanimous.

Task difficulty - conformity increased as answers became more unclear so they assume others are right. (Informational social influence).

Question 21

Histograms

Answer 21

Histograms are a type of graph used for continuous data. There should be no space between the bars, because the data is continuous.

Question 22

Bar chart

Answer 22

A bar chart is used to show frequency data for discrete (separate) variables.

Question 23

scatter graph

Answer 23

A scattergraph is a graphical display that shows the correlation or relationship between 2 sets. of data.

Question 24

Legitimate authority

Answer 24

• This explanation suggests that people will obey someone they perceive to be ‘above’ them in the social hierarchy, and therefore think they have the right to give orders.
• The lack of a uniform and questionable position of authority reduced the credibility of the authority, which meant the Ps are less likely to obey.

Research
- The percentage of Ps administering a full 450 volts was a high 65% in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Milgram’s research was replaced by another participant in ordinary clothes, the obedience levels drops to 20%.

Question 25

Agentic state

Answer 25

: Is when an individual carries out the orders of an authority figure and acts as their agent, with little personal responsibility.

• In Milgram’s original experiment, the Ps were told that the experiment had full responsibility and therefore they could act as an agent, carrying out the experimenter’s orders. If the Ps were told that they were responsible, it is. possible that Milgram would have obtained very different results.
• Individuals can act autonomously and choose their behaviour, or they can enter an agentic state, where they carry out orders of an authority figure and do not feel responsible for their actions. When a person changes from an autonomous state to an agentic state, they have gone to an agentic state.

Question 26

Authoritarian Personality

Answer 26

was first identified by Adorno et al. (1950) and refers to a person who has extreme respect for authority and is more likely to be obedient to those who hold power over them.

Question 27

external locus of control

Answer 27

describes when someone believes what happens to them is luck or fate and that they are not in control of their life; it is all due to external forces in their environment
less likley to resist conformity or obedience

Question 28

internal locus of control

Answer 28

describes someone who believes they are in control of what happens to them
more likley to resist obedince and conformity - they behave independetely using their own conscious

Question 29

Explain how Adorno’s theory differs from the work of Milgram.

Answer 29

Unlike Milgram, who suggests we are all capable of extreme obedience, Adorno argued that high levels of obedience was a psychological disorder linked to personality.

Question 30

Social Support

Answer 30

Having an ally can build confidence and allow individuals to remain independent.
they avoid Normative social influence.
- Someone else is not following the majority is social support. It enables naive Ps to be free to follow their conscience. The confederate acts as a ‘model’ of independent behaviour.

Question 31

Consistency

Answer 31

The minority must be consistent in their views. Over time, this consistency increases the amount of interest from other people.
- Consistency and commitment are linked, if a minority is consistent they are seen as committed.

Question 32

Commitment

Answer 32

The minority must demonstrate commitment to their cause or views. Sometimes minorities engage in extreme activities to draw attention to their views.

Question 33

Flexibility

Answer 33

Members of the minority need. to be prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable and valid counterarguments

Question 34

Jessica Nolan et al 2008

Answer 34

Jessica Nolan et al 2008 aimed to see if they could change people’s energy use habits. There was a significant decrease in energy usage in the 1st group compared to the 2nd. This shows that conformity (majority influence) can lead to social change through the operation of normative social influence.

Question 35

Argumentation principle

Answer 35

Individuals risked their lives numerous times this indicates a strong belief and reinforces their message
‘freedom riders’ boarded buses in the south challenging racial segregation of transport- many were beaten this shows commitment

Question 36

Impact on social change - Milgram

Answer 36

• in one variation to his base line study, Milgram placed the P with 2 peers who defied the experimenter and refused to punish the victim against his will. In this setting 36/40 Ps also defied the experimenter.

Question 37

Impacts on social change - Milgram - Gradual commitment

Answer 37

The foot-in-the-door technique. Researchers have found that merely signing a petition leads to increased monetary support for charities, and filling up as organ donors.
- Zimbardo suggested how obedience can be used to create social change through the process of gradual commitment. Once a small instruction is obeyed, it becomes much more difficult to resist a bigger one.

Question 38

Situational variables affecting obedience
proximity, location and uniform investigated by Milgram.

Answer 38

Milgram carried a large number of variations to consider the situational variables that might create greater or lesser obedience. In the proximity variation, both teacher and learner weren’t sat in the same room, the obedience rate dropped from 65% to 40% whereas in the remote location where the instructions were given by phone. Decreased proximity caused the obedience rate to drop to 20.5 %. In the location variation, it was conducted in a run down office block, obedience rate dropped to 47.5%. Ps were more likely to be obedient in the university environment as they received the experimenter had legitimate authority and obedience is expected. In the uniform variation, the experimenter was replaced by an ordinary member of the public, meaning they weren’t wearing a uniform of grey lab coat. The obedience rate dropped to the lowest of all the variations. Uniforms are often associated as a symbol of authority and therefore encourages obedience as those around them see them as legitimate authority figures.

Question 39

Authoritarian personality AO1 - 6 markers

Answer 39

The authoritarian personality refers to a specific personality held by people which makes them more prone to obedience. It can be measured through a system, devised by Adorno et al (1950), called the California F Scale, which presents the reader with statements to which they either agree or disagree, which in turn measures how authoritarian they are. The personality is thought to be caused by a strict upbringing, as hostility cannot be expressed towards the individual’s parents, and so is expressed towards other during adulthood. People with an authoritarian personality have strict adherence to social values, hostility to inferiors and obedience to superiors

Question 40

Minority social influence - Moscovici

A01 - 6 marks

Answer 40

A01 - 6 marks

Minority influence refers to a situation where one person or a small group of people influences the belief and behaviour of other people. This leads to internalisation. Minority influence happens through consistency, flexibility and commitment. Consistency is when they were consistent in their views and over time the consistency in the minority view increases the amount of interest from other people. For example, the suffragettes were consistent in their views as protests continued for many years and women had a significant role in WW1, this convinced society that women were ready to vote. Commitment is when Minorities engage in extreme activities to draw attention to their views and they spend their own personal time doing so. The suffragettes were willing to risk imprisonment and even death from a hunger strike, their influence became more powerful, more augmented. Flexibility is where the minority needs to be prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable and valid counterarguments. Suffragettes helping out during war times, with medical assistance and making weapons, this can show that women are helping out.

Question 41

resistance to social influence

Answer 41

Social support refers to the presence of people who resist pressures to obey or conform and acts as model and can help others to do the same. Pressures to conform can be reduced if there are other people present who are not conforming

Locus of control, refers to the sense we have about what directs events in our lives. Rotter proposed the concept of LOC a concept concerned with internal belief that things that happen to them are largely controlled by themselves and are responsible for their own actions and fate. Externals believe everything happens outside of their control, external factors are a always being responsible for actions. Internal LOC more likely to resist social influence generally more confident, achievement orientated where external more commonly submit to Social influence.

Question 42

the Role of Social Influence in Social Change A01

Answer 42

Minority influence is one process which can result in social change. This is how the minority view influences the majority. Moscovici conducted a study showing the impact of minority influence, where participants were asked whether slides were blue or green. They were all blue but with varying brightnesses. He found that 32% of participants conformed at least once. In order for minority influence to occur, you must have three conditions; commitment, consistency, and flexibility. However, it is a gradual process, and thus social change may take years to establish, and may not be noticeable to those involved.

Other processes that affect social change are the augmentation principle, the snowball effect and social-crypto amnesia. The augmentation principle proposes that if there are risks involved with putting your views forward then it is taken more seriously by others, and you are more likely to have social change. The snowball effect refers to the gradual build up of the minority becoming the majority. As some people adopt the minority view, they will influence a lot of people, increasing the minority size. By the time this view has become the majority, people forget it was ever a minority. This is social-crypto amnesia.

Question 43

Standardisation

Answer 43

procedures used in research are kept the same.

Question 44

Randomisation

Answer 44

A way of controlling for the effects of extraneous/confounding variables. Allocating participants to tasks, selecting samples of participants, and so on, should be left to chance as far as possible, to reduce the investigator’s influence on a study.

Question 45

snowball effect -

Answer 45

more people adapt the minority opinion until gradually the minority becomes the majority

Question 46

Social cryptomnesia

Answer 46

is a failure to remember the origin of a change, in which people know that a change has occurred in society, but forget how this change occurred

Question 47

Asch’s research into conformity A01

Answer 47

Asch tested conformity by showing ppts 2 large white cards at a time. One card had a standard line and the other card had 3 comparison lines and one of the 3 lines was the same as the standard line. There were 123 American male students who were individually tested with 6-8 confederates and were asked which of the 3 lines matched the standard line. There were 18 trials for each ppt and 12 of which the confederates answered incorrectly. The naive ppt gave wrong answer 36.5% of the time and 75% of all ppt conformed at least once whereas 25% never. Most ppt they conformed because of normative social influence.

Asch then further investigated the conditions that may lead to an increase or decrease in conformity. He investigated this by carrying out variations of his original procedure. The variations were group size, unanimity and task difficulty. In group size, with 3 confederates, conformity was 31.8%, but adding more had little effect, a minimum of 3 needed to have an effect. Unanimity, dissenting confederates were introduced who went against other confederates. Having a dissenter enabled the naive ppt to behave more independently when another disagreed with the group, and conformity decreased. Task difficulty, they found when comparison lines were made more similar to baseline, resulting in the task getting harder conformity increased due to ISI as people were genuinely not sure and assumed others were right.

Question 48

conformity to social roles A01

Answer 48

Zimbardo set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University for a 2-week study. They advertised for students to volunteer and recruited 24 emotionally stable students who were then randomly assigned the role of guards or prisoners. The prisoners were arrested from their own homes to increase the realism of the study and delivered to the prison and were searched and given a number. The social roles of prisoners and guards were strictly divided. The prisoners were forced to follow 16 rules enforced by guards and were referred to only by number. Guards were given their own uniforms, handcuffs, club and shades.

They found within 2 days the prisoners rebelled against conditions by ripping their uniforms and swearing at guards, the guards highlighted the difference in social roles by spraying them with fire extinguishers and punishing the prisoners for the smallest mistakes. One prisoner left the study on the 1st day, with 2 more leaving on the 4th. They found the guard’s behaviour became more brutal and aggressive and some enjoyed their power the study had to be stopped after 6 days. The study revealed the power of the situation to influence people’s behaviour as guards, prisoners and researchers all conformed to their social role in prison.

Question 49

Milgram’s study on obedience AO1

Answer 49

The aim of Milgram’s study was to investigate the effect of an authority figure on behaviour. Milgram had the naive participant meet with the confederate and gave them a rigged draw so that the naive participant would always become the teacher and the confederate would become the learner. The teacher was told that they must administer a shock to the learner if they answered a question wrong - they believed all shocks were real when they were in fact fake. Every time the learner got a question wrong the shock level would increase, ranging from 15v to 450v. The teachers could not see the learner, but could hear their cries and pleas to stop. At different time throughout the experiment the learner would say different things, and at 300v they would be completely silent (assumed to have passed out or even died), and the teacher was encouraged to continue to give shocks. The authority figure was the ‘investigator’ that was there to add pressure and would say ‘you must carry on’ and so on if the teacher asked to leave. It was found that 100% of participants continued to give shocks up to 300v, and 65% gave shocks to 450v. This was a complete shock to Milgram and his team as they expected a much lower percentage of people to ‘fully obey’.