Social Influence Flashcards

Question

What was found when Asch varied his study (unanimity)?

Answer 1

* In the original Asch study the confederates all gave the same wrong answer and conformity was 37% * However when Asch varied his study and had one confederate give the correct answers throughout the research conformity dropped to 5.5% * Asch then researched whether a ’lone’ confederate who gave an answer that was both different from the majority and different to the correct answer. In this variation it was found that conformity dropped to 9% * Asch concluded that when a dissenter breaks the group’s unanimous position conformity decreases.

Answer 2

Conformity increases when the difficulty of a task increases.

Answer 3

* In one variation of Asch’s research he made the stimulus line and comparison lines more similar in length so that the correct answer was less obvious and therefore the task was harder. When the difficulty of the task increased conformity rates increased. * This suggests that Informational Social Influence plays a greater role when the task becomes harder. When situations are unclear, we are more likely to look to others for guidance. * As the right answer becomes less obvious we lose confidence in our own ability and are more likely to conform.

Answer 4

Research to support the variables affecting conformity was conducted by Lucas et al. He asked students to solve ‘easy’ and ‘hard’ maths problems. Participants were given three other answers from other ‘students’(not actually real). The participants conformed more often (agreed with the wrong answers) when the problems were difficult rather than easy. Therefore, supporting Asch’s research into variables affecting conformity BECAUSE it suggests that when the task is harder, conformity increases.

Answer 5

However, Lucas et al’s study found that conformity is more complex than Asch suggested. Participants with high confidence in their maths abilities conformed less on the hard math’s problems than those with low confidence. This shows that an individual-level factor can influence conformity and interact with situational variables (such as task difficulty). Limiting Asch’s research into variables affecting conformity, as he did not research the roles of individual factors.

Answer 6

Asch’s research into variables affecting conformity can be criticised as it is gender bias, as only males were tested. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to females as it is suggested that females might be more conformist, regardless of the variable affecting conformity, because they are more concerned about social relationships and are more concerned with being liked by their peers (Neto, 1995). This weakens the external validity of research into variables affecting conformity.

Answer 7

Social roles are the parts that people play as members of various social groups e.g. teachers and students. These are accompanied by expectations that we, and others, have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role. We internalise these expectations, so they shape our behaviour.

Answer 8

To investigate how freely people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that re-created prison life.

Answer 9

A volunteer sample of 24 ’emotionally stable’ (determined by psychological testing prior to the study) US male university students

Answer 10

* Prisoners – Arrested at their homes, taken to the prison, searched, deloused and dressed in smock uniforms. They were referred to as a number rather than by name. * Guards – Given uniforms, a ‘night stick’ and mirrored glasses. They were instructed to keep the prisoners under control but to use no physical violence. * These uniforms created a loss of personal identity (de-individuation), encouraging particiapants to conform to their social role. * The basement of the psychology department at Stanford University was converted into a mock prison. * Prisoners were placed in cells and a regular routine of shifts, meal times etc. was established, as well as visiting times, a parole and disciplinary board and a prison chaplain. Zimbardo took on the role of prison superintendent. If a ‘prisoner’ wanted to leave, they had to go through a parole process.

Answer 11

* Within a day the prisoners rebelled and ripped off their numbers and the guards responded by locking them in their cells and confiscating their blankets. * As the experiment continued, the punishments by the guards escalated. Prisoners were humiliated and deprived of sleep by the guards conducting head counts. * Identification was noticeable by the prisoners referring to each other and themselves by their prison numbers instead of their names. * The prisoners rapidly became subdued, and depressed, with some showing serious stress-related reactions to the experience. Three prisoners were released early due to showing symptoms of psychological disturbance. * The role play had been intended to run for two weeks, but was called off after just six days.

Answer 12

* Guards, prisoners and researchers conformed to their role within the prison. * Social roles have an extraordinary power over individuals, making even the most well-adjusted capable of extreme brutality towards others.

Answer 13

One criticism of Zimbardo’s research into conformity to social roles is that it is prone to demand characteristics. This is because within his procedure, Zimbardo took on the role of the prison superintendent. Therefore, Zimbardo could have influenced how the participants acted within the study. For example, they may have conformed to their role because this is what they believed Zimbardo wanted them to do (demand characteristics), rather than because they were actually conforming to their social role of prisoner or guard due to the prison environment. THINK FURTHER: The fact the participants were paid for taking part in this experiment may have influenced this further. Therefore, lowering the internal validity of the research into conformity to social roles.

Answer 14

A further weakness of Zimbardo’s research is that there were major ethical issues. There was a lack of informed consent, as the prisoners did not consent to being arrested at their homes. In addition, there was a lack of the right to withdraw, when one prisoner wanted to leave he spoke to Zimbardo and had to ask to be ‘released’ from the prison, Zimbardo responded as the superintendent, rather than an experimenter with a responsibility to the participant. Finally, the prisoners were not protected from harm as some showed signs of psychological disturbance. Counter argument: However, Zimbardo carried out debriefing sessions with the participants for several years afterwards, and concluded that there were no long lasting negative effects.

Answer 15

Findings from Zimbardo's study can be used in the real world. The actions displayed by soldiers in Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq were found to be similar to Zimbardo’s findings as prisoners were tortured, humiliated and physically abused. Therefore, Zimbardo’s research can be used when developing prevention programmes to be used for training purposes in prisons. This means that it has become an important part of applied psychology and has good external validity.

Answer 16

This is a type of social influence where somebody acts in response to a direct order from a figure with perceived authority. The person who receives the order may also respond in a way that they would have not done without the order.

Answer 17

To investigate if individuals would obey the orders of an authority figure even if this led to negative consequences.

Answer 18

Laboratory Experiment at Yale University

Answer 19

40 American males aged 20-50

Answer 20

Milgram placed an advert in a newspaper seeking volunteers for an experiment supposedly researching memory on learning and they were paid $4.50. Once the participant arrived at the university, they were introduced to another particpant (who was actually a confederate). They drew lots, which were rigged, and the real participant was assigned the role of the ‘teacher’ and the confederate was always the learner. The teacher’s job was to administrate a learning task and deliver ‘electric shocks’ to the learner (in another room) if the learner got a question wrong. The shocks began at 15 volts and increased in increments of 15 volts to a maximum of 450 volts. The experimenter used prompts if the ‘teacher’ refused (this tested the obedience to authority): * “Please continue (or please go on).” * “The experiment requires that you continue.” * “It is absolutely essential that you continue.” * “You have no other choice; you must go on.”

Answer 21

All ppts went to at least 300 volts, with only 12.5% stopping at that point. 65% of ppts continued to the maximum 450 volts, showing high levels of obedience.

Answer 22

Ordinary people are obedient to authority when asked to behave in an inhumane way. It is not necessarily evil people who commit evil crimes but ordinary people who are just obeying orders.

Answer 23

Milgram’s research could be argued to be prone to demand characteristics, this is because the method was a lab and the participants knew that they were taking part in an experiment. Therefore, they may have changed their natural behaviour to help the researcher, for example by giving the electric shocks as they believed this is how they were supposed to act in the experiment, rather than because they were being obedient to the authority figure. This could be especially true as the participants were paid for taking part in the research. Thus, reducing the internal validity as Milgram may not have been truly measuring how obedient they were to authority.

Answer 24

Research to support Milgram’s research in to obedience to authority was conducted by Hofling. He conducted a study using nurses on a hospital ward who were ordered by an unknown doctor to give a dangerous dose of a drug (Astroten) to patients via a telephone. 21 out of the 22 nurses agreed to give the medication even though they knew not to take orders over the phone (they were stopped before they actually gave it). Therefore, this supports the idea that we are obedient to authority (doctor) as the majority of nurses obeyed. This strengthens Milgram’s research as it has good external validity and findings can be generalised to other settings.

Answer 25

Milgram’s research had major ethical issues. There was a lack of informed consent, as the participants believed that they were taking part in a study of punishment on memory rather than obedience to authority. There was deception, as ppts were led to believe the electric shocks were real. In addition, there was a lack of the right to withdraw, as if they wanted to stop the experiment, they were prompted to continue by the experimenter. Limiting Milgram’s research into obedience

Answer 26

1. Proximity 2. Location 3. Power of uniform

Answer 27

How near or far (close) the ppt (teacher) is to the victim (learner) or experimenter (authority figure).

Answer 28

* In Milgram’s original experiment the teacher could not see the learner, only hear them and obedience was 65%. When both the teacher and learner were in the same room obedience fell to 40%. This was because the teacher could directly see how their behaviour was having an unpleasant consequence on the learner. * Furthermore, when the teacher was required to force the learners hand onto the electric shock plate (touch proximity) obedience dropped even further to 30% * In one proximity variation (remote instruction), the experimenter left the room and gave instructions to the teacher by telephone. In this variation obedience fell to 20.5%, which suggests that, the closer an authority figure is to an individual, the more obedient that individual will be.

Answer 29

The original experiment was conducted in a prestigious university (Yale University). Milgram wanted to test what would happen to obedience when the location of the experiment was changed.

Answer 30

* When the location was changed to a run-down office in a run-down part of town obedience fell from 65% at Yale University to 48% in the run down office. * Milgram argued that this was because when the experiment was conducted in a run-down office the amount of perceived legitimate authority of the experimenter was reduced.

Answer 31

The wearing of uniforms can give a perception of added legitimate authority to the individual delivering the orders.

Answer 32

* In Milgram’s experiment the researcher wore a grey lab coat, which gave him an ‘air’ of authority. * In one variation of Milgram’s study, at the beginning of the study the experimenter in the lab coat was called away from the experiment to answer a phone call. The role of the experimenter was taken over by an ‘ordinary member of the public’ who wore everyday clothes. In this variation obedience dropped to 20%. This suggests that uniform does act as a strong visual authority symbol and a cue to act in an obedient manner, and that when not in uniform the perceived legitimate authority of the experimenter was reduced.

Answer 33

Research to support situational variables affecting obedience was conducted by Bickman in New York. He had confederates dress in three different outfits (a security guard, a milkman and a business man) and ask passers-by to give money to pay for parking or pick up litter. It was found that participants were twice as likely to follow the instructions of the confederate wearing a security guard uniform than the business man. Therefore, supporting the power of uniform as a variable affecting obedience as participants were more likely to follow these orders.

Answer 34

Moreover, it could be argued that the participants in the study were displaying demand characteristics. Orne and Holland (1968) made this point for Milgram’s original study and believed it was even more likely in his variation studies due to the extra manipulation of variables. An example of this is in the power of uniform variation when the experimenter left the room and a ‘member of the public’ gave the orders, even Milgram recognised that this situation was very staged and participants may have worked out the truth. This limits the internal validity of Milgram’s research into situational variables affecting obedience as it is unclear whether the findings are due to obedience or because participants saw through the deception and ‘play acted’.

Answer 35

Milgram’s research into situational variables affecting obedience has been criticised by Mandel (1998). For example, Milgram suggests that obedience decreases when the proximity between the teacher and learner is decreased, however, the mass killing of Jews in the holocaust was conducted in close proximity. Moreover, Milgram states that obedience increases due to the presence of a uniform, Mandel argues that this offers an excuse or ‘alibi’ for evil behaviour. In his view, it is offensive to survivors of the holocaust to suggest that the Nazi’s were simply obeying orders and were victims themselves of situational variables beyond their control.

Answer 36

1. Agentic State 2. Legitimacy of authority

Answer 37

This is where people may move from being in a state where they take personal responsibility for their actions (an autonomous state) to a state where they believe they are acting on behalf of an authority figure (agentic state). This is known as the agentic shift. When an individual is in the agentic state, they lose sense of personal responsibility and no longer feel guilty for their actions as they see themselves as carrying out the wishes of a more knowledgeable authority figure (implicit or explicit instruction). If a person is in an agentic state, they will be more likely to obey.

Answer 38

Obedient individuals accept the power and status of authority figures e.g. parents, teachers and police officers, and see them as being in charge. The authority they have is legitimate in the sense that it is agreed by society. We accept people’s credentials and believe they know what they are doing. It is ingrained in us to obey these people- even when we believe the order may be un-ethical or unjust. Factors that can affect LOA are uniform and location. This is shown in Milgram’s research as when he changed the experiment and instead conducted his research in a seedy office or gave orders over the telephone, obedience reduced as the experimenter has less legitimate authority.

Answer 39

Research to support the agentic state as an explanation of obedience to authority was shown in Milgram’s obedience studies. Most of Milgram’s participants resisted giving the shocks at some point and often asked the experimenter questions such as ‘Who is responsible if the learner is harmed?’. When the experimenter responded ‘I am responsible’ the participant often continued to obey and give the electric shocks. This supports the agentic state as an explanation for obedience as once the participants no longer believed they were responsible for their actions they obeyed the experimenter.

Answer 40

Further research to support the explanations for obedience to authority was conducted by Hofling. He conducted a study using nurses on a hospital ward who were ordered by an unknown doctor to give a dangerous dose of a drug to patients via a telephone. 21 out of the 22 nurses agreed to give the medication even though they knew not to take orders over the phone (they were stopped before hand). Therefore, supports legitimacy of authority as an explanation for obedience because the doctor had more authority than the nurses, moreover, it could also support the agentic state as the nurses may have felt that the doctors were ultimately responsible as the authority figure, and this is why they obeyed.

Answer 41

However, there is also research to contradict the agentic state as an explanation for obedience to authority. Mandel (1998) described one incident involving German Nazi Soldiers where men obeyed the orders to shoot civilians in a small town in Poland. However, they were told before hand that they could be given other duties instead. This contradicts the agentic state as an explanation of obedience as the soldiers chose to shoot the civilians over other duties, meaning that they would not be able to place the blame on an authority figure.

Answer 42

The Authoritarian Personality

Answer 43

Adorno proposed the dispositional explanation (authoritarian personality) as an explanation of obedience. It is an internal explanation for obedience, as the focus is on the idea that certain personality characteristics are associated with higher levels of obedience. The authoritarian personality is a collection of personality traits said to develop from strict parenting during an individual’s childhood e.g. extremely strict discipline, an expectation of loyalty, impossibly high standards, and severe criticisms of failings. The personality traits include showing extreme respect for perceived authority and submission to people in perceived authority as they see them as superior. People with an authoritarian personality also disapprove of individuals perceived as low status and direct anger towards them as they view them as inferior. They have black and white thinking and have strict adherence to social rules and hierarchies.

Answer 44

The authoritarian personality was assessed using the F-Scale (potential for facism scale) questionnaire by Adorno on a sample of over 2000 American participants. Those who scored highly on the questionnaire had the authoritarian personality and displayed the characteristics described above.

Answer 45

Research to support the authoritarian personality was conducted by Milgram & Elms, who interviewed participants who had taken part in Milgram’s experiment and asked them to complete the F scale questionnaire to measure their levels of authoritarianism. They found higher levels of authoritarianism among those participants classified as obedient (who gave electric shocks to 450V) compared with those classified as defiant. Therefore, suggesting that the authoritarian personality is associated with obedience. Supporting the dispositional explanation of authoritarian personality as an explanation for obedience

Answer 46

To evaluate, the research conducted by Adorno et al. into the authoritarian personality can be criticised for social desirability, as ppts may have lied on the F scale questionnaire to present themselves in the best possible light. For example by trying to minimise any fascist views. Therefore, Adorno may not be measuring what he set out to measure e.g. the authoritarian personality. This reduces the internal validity of research into the authoritarian personality as an explanation of obedience.

Answer 47

An alternative explanation for obedience is situational factors. This would argue that obedience is due to external factors for example, obedience increases when the authority figure is wearing a uniform. RATHER THAN internal factors such as an authoritarian personality where the individual has extreme respect for authority due to harsh parenting in childhood. Therefore, suggesting that obedience may not just be due to an authoritarian personality (internal factors). This weakens the research into dispositional factors as an explanation for obedience as it is not the sole explanation.

Answer 48

1. Social Support 2. Locus of Control

Answer 49

People can resist pressures to conform or obey when they receive social support. This is because having an ally gives us confidence and support making it possible to resist the pressures to conform or obey and remain independent in our behaviour. Individuals who have support for their point of view no longer fear being ridiculed, allowing them to avoid normative social influence.

Answer 50

Research to support resistance to conformity comes from Asch. In Asch’s original conformity study the confederates all gave the same wrong answer and conformity was 37%. However, when Asch varied his study and had one confederate give the correct answers throughout the research conformity dropped to 5.5%. Therefore, this supports social support as an explanation for resistance to conformity because it suggests as the confederate provided the real participant with social support, it gave them confidence to remain independent and resist the pressure to conform.

Answer 51

Research to support resisting the pressure to obey comes from Milgram. In one of the variations of Milgram’s study, the real participant was paired with two additional confederates (who also played the role of teachers). The two additional confederates refused to go on and withdrew from the experiment early. In this variation, the participants who proceeded to the full 450V dropped to 10% (from 65% in the original). Therefore, this supports social support as an explanation for resistance to obedience because it shows that if the real participant has support they are more likely to resist obedience to the authority figure.

Answer 52

Locus of control is a personality trait which refers to a person’s perception of personal control over their behaviour. There is a scale of locus of control, with internal at one end and external at the other.

Answer 53

Those with an internal locus of control believe they control what happens to them and their behaviour is caused by their own personal decisions and effort. Individuals with a strong internal locus of control are more likely to remain independent in their behaviour and rely less on the opinions of others, which means they are better able to resist social influence.

Answer 54

Those with an external locus of control believe that what happens to them is determined by external factors such as the influence of others, luck or fate. Individuals with an external locus take less personal responsibility for their actions and are less likely to remain independent in their behaviour so are less able resist social influence.

Answer 55

Research to support locus of control was conducted by Milgram & Elms. They interviewed Milgram’s original participants and found that those who had an internal locus of control were significantly more likely to refuse to continue giving shocks, whereas those with an external locus of control were more likely to be within the 65% that gave the full 450v. Therefore, supporting the existence of locus of control as an explanation for resistance to social influence because those with an internal locus of control were more likely to resist obedience and remain independent in their behaviour.

Answer 56

Research to support the existence of locus of control was carried out by Spector, who measured locus of control and predisposition to NSI and ISI in students. Spector found that students with an external locus of control were more likely to conform to NSI than those with an internal locus of control. However, there was no difference between the two groups for situations of ISI. This supports the idea that individuals with an internal LOC are more likely to resist social influence in certain situations.

Answer 57

Minority influence is a form of social influence where members of the majority group change their beliefs or behaviours because of the minority influencing their decision, this usually leads to internalisation. The

Answer 58

1. Consistency 2. Commitment 3. Flexibility

Answer 59

If the minority keep repeating the same beliefs to the majority, both over time (diachronic synchrony) and between all individuals that form the minority (synchronic consistency), the majority then reassess the situation and consider the minority idea more carefully.

Answer 60

This suggests the minority must show dedication and make personal sacrifices when facing a majority. Some minorities engage in quite extreme activities to draw attention to their views. If these activities present some risk to the minority, this shows greater commitment. Majority groups may then pay even more attention. This is known as the augmentation principle.

Answer 61

It has suggested that whilst consistency of argument is important, that too much consistency can be seen as dogmatic and rigid and may stop the majority moving over to the minority viewpoint. Members of the minority need to be prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable counter-arguments. The key is to strike a balance between consistency and flexibility.

Answer 62

If the minority remain consistent, committed and flexible, the majority listen to their ideas, internalise them and move over to the minority’s viewpoint. This starts slowly but builds momentum with more and more people moving over to the minority view point (snowball effect).

Answer 63

172 females

Answer 64

In condition one a minority group of two people inconsistently called a set of blue slides “green” this shows little commitment. This had little effect on the majority (only 1% changed their minds) the rest continued to call them blue.In the second condition, the minority group called all of the blue slides green. In this condition where the minority were consistent and committed, 8% of the majority changed their answers to be in line with the minority. This shows the importance of showing a consistent and committed argument when a minority is trying to influence a majority.

Answer 65

Research to support consistency from a minority influence was conducted by Moscovici et al. Two confederates sat with a majority group of six participants, they were shown blue slides that differed in intensity and had to state the colour. When the minority consistently called the blue slides green, participants gave the same wrong answer 8% of the time; however when the minority group inconsistently called the blue slides green, agreement fell to 1%. This therefore supports the notion that consistency is important when a minority is influencing a majority.

Answer 66

The research by Moscovici to support the role of consistency in minority influence lacks mundane realism, as it used an unrealistic task of stating the colour of a slide. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to explain how minorities attempt to change the behaviour of majorities in real life social situations where the outcomes are more important, for example if a jury is deciding on a verdict. Thus, lowering the external validity of the research into minority influence.

Answer 67

Research to support flexibility comes from Nemeth and Brilmayer (1987) who created a mock jury situation to decide on the amount of compensation to be paid to someone involved in a ski-lift accident. When a confederate put forward an alternative point of view and refused to change his position, this had no effect on other group members. However, a confederate who compromised did have an influence on the rest of the group. Therefore, as the confederate was flexible in his opinion he was able to change majority opinion. This supports the idea that flexibility is an important feature of minority influence.

Answer 68

Social change refers to a change in attitudes, behaviours or laws. These aren’t just with individuals but on a large scale, how societies (social norms) have changed. An historical example of Social change is increased rights for women- The suffragette movement in the UK won the campaign for women’s right to vote in the 1920’s.

Answer 69

When a minority has an idea, they must remain consistent (Moscovici et al.) by having the same belief between members of the group, over a long period of time. They must also show commitment (Xie et al.) by showing dedication and making personal sacrifices. However, the minority also must be flexible and not completely rigid, by showing compromise if they want to change the majority opinion. If the minority remain consistent, committed and are flexible they can change the beliefs of the majority publicly and privately (Internalisation). Once a few members of the majority start to move towards the minority, the influence of the minority begins to gather momentum as more people pay attention until eventually the minority idea eventually becomes a majority idea (Snowball effect). When the majority remembers the minority idea, but not that the idea came from the minority group the two become separated (Social crypto-amnesia). Social change has occurred, where there is a change in society’s attitudes, behaviours and laws.

Answer 70

To evaluate, some critics argue that social change through minority influence may be limited as social change does not occur quickly. This is because there is a tendency for human beings to conform to the majority position and maintain status quo, rather than engage in social change. Therefore, this suggests that a minority often creates the potential for social change, rather than a social change itself.

Answer 71

Critics also argue that social change through minority influence may be limited as they can be seen as ‘deviant’ in the eyes of the majority. Therefore, the majority may not want to change their views to be in line with them as they may be seen as deviant themselves. Moreover, the message from the minority may then be forgotten whilst people focus on the ‘deviant’ behaviour instead. Thus limiting minority influence as a social influence process in social change.