Social influence Flashcards
What study did Solomon Asch do
Put three lines up on a board, and asked which was the shortest to a group of people, one of which was a naive participant. The other confederates called the blatantly wrong answer to see if the participant would conform.
What were the results of Aschs study
75% of participants conformed at least once
25% didn’t conform at all
36% conformed every time
What variables did Asch implement
Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty
How did group size affect results
When there were 2 confederates, conformity was 13%.
When there were 3, this increased to 31%.
There was little difference beyond 3.
How did Unanimity affect results
If one dissenter was entered into the study, then conformity dropped to less than a quarter of what it was when answer was unanimous.
How did task difficulty affect results
When the lines were made more similar in length, conformity increased.
What are three limitations of Asch’s study
Ecological validity - participants knew they were in a study. Test was unimportant and had no reason not to conform. Cannot generalise to wide population.
Culture bias - Era of McCarthyism in America, conformity encouraged and speaking out frowned upon.
Gender bias - only male students were selected for the study, reducing validity.
What is a strength of Asch’s study
Lucas et al (2006)
Asked participants to solve “easy” and “hard” maths problems. Participants were given answers that were claimed to be from other participants in the study which were “correct” (they werent).
The harder the question, the more likely the participant was to mark it as correct.
What are the three types of conformity
Internalisation - genuinely accepts groups beliefs, causing a private and public change in opinions and behaviour.
Identification - Identify with the group that we value publicly while disagreeing privately. Wanting to be a part of group.
Compliance - Going along with others in public but privately not agreeing. Superficial change that ends as soon as pressure leaves.
What are the two explanations for conformity
Informational social influence - Believing the majority of others are more probably right so you go along with it.
Leads to internalisation.
Occurs in ambiguous situations.
Normative social influence - Following behaviour of majority.
Preference for social approval over rejection.
Leads to compliance
Occurs in unfamiliar situations
What is a strength of ISI
Lucas et al
Participants conformed more to the maths question when it was more difficult.
Supports ISI as the ambiguity increased, so did the belief that the others knew better.
What is a strength of NSI
Asch (1951)
Many participants gave wrong answers as they were afraid of disapproval.
What did Zimbardo do
Stanford Prison Experiment
Outline the Stanford prison experiment
Zimbardo et al (1973)
Set up a mock prison to investigate social roles and their effect on conformity.
21 male students randomly allocated to be either guards or prisoners.
Prisoners rebelled within 2 days, shouting and swearing at guards.
Guards retaliated with fire extinguishers and harassed prisoners.
Study stopped after 6 days.
How were the social roles encouraged
Uniform - prisoners strip searched and given a uniform and number (no name), encouraging de-individuation
Guards had handcuffs and uniform, enforced rules.
Behaviour instructions - Prisoners told they could not leave but have to ask for parole
Guards told they had complete power over prisoners
What is a strength of SPE
Internal validity - Participants tested and only psychologically stable ones made it through
Guards and prisoners randomly allocated
What are two weaknesses of SPE
Lacks realism - Banuanzi and Mohavedi (1975) suggested parcipants were play acting as behaviour fitted into stereotypes of roles.
One guard based his role on a character from “Cool Hand Luke”.
Suggests that SPE tells us little about actual prisons and conformity.
Unethical - the experiment was hugely unethical, as participants faced severe mental distress, were refused their right to withdraw, and deceived.
What did Milgram study
Obedience
What was Milgrams experiment
40 American males, told they were taking part in a memory study.
Had an experimenter dressed in a lab coat, and a learner called “Mr Wallace”, which the teacher (the participant) could hear but not see.
The teacher was told to give the learner increasingly strong electric shocks every time he failed a task, increasing by 15 volts until it reached 450.
If teacher wished to stop then the experimenter would give a verbal prompt for him to continue.
What were the results of Milgrams experiment
12.5% stopped at 300 volts.
65% went all the way to 450 volts.
Participants showed extreme tension, and three “had seizures”.
What variables did Milgram alter
Proximity
Location
Uniform
How did Milgram alter proximity
What affect did this have on the results
By placing the teacher and learner in the same room was the first iteration - decreased from 65% to 40%
The second version the teacher physically forced the learners hand onto the shock plate - decreased from 65% to 30%.
How did Milgram alter location
What affect did this have on results and what does that show.
The original study was held at Yale University. This was changed to a run down building in Connecticut.
Participants going to the full 450 volts decreased from 65% to 47.5%.
Shows credibility of the building is needed for obedience.
How did Milgram alter uniform
What affect did this have on the results
In most variations the experimenter wore a lab coat. In this variation he wore ordinary clothes.
Obedience fell from 65% to 20%, showing credibility of the experimenter is needed for obedience.
