social influence

Question 1

what does conformity mean?

Answer 1

yielding to group pressure.

Question 2

outline Asch’s study of conformity:

Answer 2

A: to investigate group pressure in an unambiguous situation.

M: -participants (123 male students) thought they were taking part in a study of visual perception.
-participants were shown a standard line and three comparison lines, they were told to pick which line was the same as the standard line.
-each participant was tested with a group of 6/8 confederates and the true participant was always sat at the end so they could hear everyone else’s answers first.
-the first 12 trials the participants said the correct answer to gain trust.
-the last 6 trials the confederates all gave the identical wrong answer.
-Asch counted how many times the participant agreed with this wrong answer.

R: when wrong answers were given:
-32% conformed overall.
-5% always conformed.
-75% conformed at least once.
-25% never conformed.
C:-majority of people are influenced by group pressure.
- though many can resist.

Question 3

weakness of Asch’s study of conformity:

*collectivist

Answer 3

P- Asch’s research is more reflective of conformity in individualist cultures (UK and America).
E- research has found that conformity studies done in collectivist countries (China) produce higher conformity rates as they’re more oriented to group needs.
L- suggests that Asch’s findings are probably less reflective of conformity in collectivist cultures.

Question 4

weakness of Asch’s study of conformity:

*artificial task

Answer 4

P- task and situation was artificial.
E- judging the length of a line with strangers isn’t an everyday task.
L- results may not reflect everyday situations (especially when the consequences of conformity are more important).

Question 5

what is a social factor?

Answer 5

explanation in terms of the social world around you.

Question 6

what are the social factors affecting conformity?

Answer 6

anonymity
task difficulty
group size

Question 7

how does anonymity affect conformity?

social factor

Answer 7

reduces our concern (less pressure) about people disagreeing with our views.
lowers conformity as we aren’t worried about what others will think of us.

Question 8

how does task difficulty affect conformity?

social factor

Answer 8

-as the difficulty of the task increases, the answer becomes less certain so people will feel less confident about their own answer and look to others for the right answer.

Question 9

how does group size affect conformity?

social factor

Answer 9

• more people in a group = greater pressure to conform.
• two confederates: 13.6% conformity.
• three confederates: 31.8% conformity.
• more than three made little difference.

Question 10

what are disposition factors?

Answer 10

explanation in terms of the individual’s personal characteristics

Question 11

what are the dispositional factors that affect conformity?

Answer 11

personality (locus of control)
expertise

Question 12

how does personality affect conformity?

dispositional factor

Answer 12

Locus of control:
-personality dimension (on continuum).
-extent to which people believe they’re in control in their lives.

Internal Locus:
-in control of what happens to them.
-personal responsibility.
-more likely to resist social influence.

External Locus:
-feel they can’t control situations.
-don’t feel in control of their actions (fate, luck).
-likely to conform/obey.

Question 13

how does expertise affect conformity?

dispositional factor

Answer 13

• increases your confidence in your opinions.
• more knowledgeable = conform less.
• research found that math experts were less likely to conform to other’s answers on math problems.
• older people consider themselves more knowledgeable = less likely to conform.

Question 14

obedience:

Answer 14

response to a direct order from an authority figure.

Question 15

social factors affecting obedience:

Answer 15

proximity
authority
culture

Question 16

outline Milgram’s study of obedience:

Answer 16

A: to investigate whether in certain circumstances a normal person would give somebody a potentially lethal electric shock if told to do so by an authority figure.

M: -40 paid male volunteers (thought it was for a study on memory).
-a confederate was the “learner” while the participant always ended up being the “teacher”.
-an “experimenter” (other confederate) directed the study.
-experimenter instructed the teacher to give the (fake) electric shock (15 increasing to 450 volts) to the learner every time he answered incorrectly on a memory task.
-learner began to pound on wall and stop giving responses at 300 volts.
-teacher was asked to continue when asked for guidance.

R: -no participant stopped below 300 volts.
-65% shocked to 450 volts.
-caused participants extreme tension.
C: ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure even to the extent of killing someone.

Question 17

weakness of Milgram’s study of obedience:

*lab

Answer 17

P- was done in lab conditions.
E- may not represent how we obey in everyday life.
L- lacks ecological validity.

Question 18

weakness of Milgram’s study of obedience:

*ethical issues

Answer 18

P- participants experienced considerable stress.
E- caused psychological damage to participants (3 seizures were reported) as they thought they were causing paint to the learner.
L- brings psychology into disrepute.

Question 19

social factor of obedience: outline Milgram’s agency theory.

Answer 19

Agency:
act as an agent (for someone else) because they assume that the person giving orders is taking responsibility.

Agentic State:
act on behalf of someone else and would follow their orders blindly (person feels no responsibility for their actions.

Autonomous State (free):
where they behave according to their own principles and feel responsible for their own actions.

Agentic Shift:
moving from making own free choices to following orders (occurs when someone is in authority).

Culture (social hierarchy):
-some people have more authority than others because of their position in the social hierarchy.
-depends on society and socialisation.

Proximity:
-proximity increases the “moral strain” that a person feels which leads to an increased sense of personal responsibility.
-Milgram: less obedient if the learner was in the same room as them

Question 20

weakness of the social factor of obedience: Milgram’s agency theory:

*doesn’t explain all findings

Answer 20

P- doesn’t explain why there isn’t 100% obedience.
E- 35% of participants didn’t obey fully.
L- social factors can’t fully explain obedience.

Question 21

what is a weakness of the social factor of obedience: Milgram’s agency theory:

*obedience alibi

Answer 21

P- it “excuses” people who blindly follow destructive orders.
E- offensive to the holocaust survivors as it suggests that the Nazis just obeyed orders and ignores roles that racism and prejudice played.
L- dangerous, as it allows people to think they aren’t always personally responsible.

Question 22

dispositional factors affecting obedience:

Answer 22

authoritarian personality.

Question 23

dispositional factor of obedience: Adorno’s theory of the authoritarian personality (9t)

Answer 23

The Authoritarian Personality:
-exaggerated respect for authority.
-more likely to obey orders.
-very aware of their own and other’s social status.
-look down on people of inferior social status.
-very respectful to people of higher status.

Cognitive Style:
-“black and white”
-belief in rigid stereotypes.

Originates in Childhood:
-develops when a child experiences strict parenting/discipline.
-child only receives love when they behave correctly.
-the child internalises these values and expects all people to behave the same.
-child also feels hostility towards parents but can’t express these feelings directly as they fear reprisals.

Scapegoating:
-hostility felt towards parents for being critical is put onto people who are socially inferior

Question 24

weakness of the dispositional factor of obedience: Adorno’s theory of the authoritarian personality:

*lack of support

Answer 24

P- lack of support due to the flawed questionnaire.
E- the F scale used has a response bias.
L- challenges validity as it’s based on poor evidence.

Question 25

weakness of the dispositional factor of obedience: Adorno’s theory of the authoritarian personality:

*results are correlational

Answer 25

P- data is correlational.
E- can’t claim that authoritarian personality causes greater obedience as it may also be caused by a lower level of education.
L-suggests that other factors may explain apparent link between obedience and the authoritarian personality.

Question 26

prosocial behaviour:

Answer 26

behaviour that is beneficial to other people and may not necessarily benefit the helper.

Question 27

bystander behaviour:

Answer 27

the observation that the presence of others reduces the likelihood that help will be offered in an emergency situation.

Question 28

outline Piliavin’s subway study:

Answer 28

A: to investigate if characteristics of a victim affect help given in an emergency.

M: -103 trials -4 researchers.
-“victim” (male student) staged a collapse on the subway and remained on the floor until help was coming.
-38 trials: victim smelled of alcohol and carried a bottle of alcohol wrapped in a brown bag (drunk condition).
-65 trials: victim appeared sober and carried a black cane (disabled condition).
-victim dressed and behaved the same in both conditions.

R: -disabled condition: helped at some point on 95% of the trials and 87% of the of the victims were helped in the first 70 seconds after they collapsed.
-drunk condition: helped at some point on 50% of the trials and 17% of the of the victims were helped in the first 70 seconds after they collapsed.
C: -characteristics of victim affects help given.
-number of onlookers doesn’t affect help in natural setting.

Question 29

strength of Piliavin’s subway study:

*high realism

Answer 29

P- high realism.
E- participants weren’t aware that their behaviour was being studied so they responded how they would normally (natural).
L- results have high validity.

Question 30

weakness of Piliavin’s subway study:

*urban sample

Answer 30

P- people studied were likely to be mainly people who lived in the city.
E- they might have been accustomed to seeing beggars and may have become more used to ignoring someone in need.
L- observed behaviour may not be typical of all people (info can’t be generalised).

Question 31

what are the social factors affecting prosocial behaviour?

Answer 31

presence of others
cost of helping

Question 32

how does presence of others affect prosocial behaviour?

social factor

Answer 32

the more people present = less likely someone will help.

Question 33

how does cost of helping affect prosocial behaviour?

social factor

Answer 33

cost of helping: possible danger to yourself, effort, time taken and possible embarrassment.

cost of not helping: feeling guilty, blame of others and leaving someone in need of help.

cognitive conflict between these 2 costs and possible rewards

Question 34

what are the dispositional factors affecting prosocial behaviour?

Answer 34

similarity to the victim
expertise

Question 35

how does similarity to the victim affect prosocial behaviour?

dispositional factor

Answer 35

if you identify with the victim you are more likely to help.

Question 36

how does expertise affect prosocial behaviour?

dispositional factor

Answer 36

people with specialist skills are more likely to help in emergency situations

Question 37

crowd:

Answer 37

large but temporary gathering of people with a common focus.

Question 38

antisocial behaviour:

Answer 38

behaviour that is harmful to others.

-behaving aggressively and doing things that may distress others.

Question 39

link between anonymity and antisocial behaviour:

Answer 39

Le bon predicted that anonymity would lead to antisocial behaviour in a harmful way.

when we can’t be identified (anonymity) we lose our normal restraints and normal sense of responsibility for our actions as punishment is harder to issue.

Question 40

collective behaviour:

Answer 40

• behaviour that emerges when a group of people join together.
• the group may behave in a way that’s different from the way the individuals might have behaved on their own.
• the group creates their own identity.

Question 41

deindividuation:

Answer 41

psychological state in which an individual loses their personal identity and takes on the group identity of the people around them.

Question 42

what are the social factors affecting crowd and collective behaviour?

Answer 42

deindividuation
social loafing
culture

Question 43

how does deindividuation affect crowd and collective behaviour?

(social factor)

Answer 43

group norms determine crowd behaviour.
-may result in freeing the individual of personal norms and them becoming less aware of their responsibility for their actions.

Question 44

how does social loafing affect crowd and collective behaviour?

(social factor)

Answer 44

when working in a group, people put in less effort as you can’t identify individual effort.

Question 45

how does culture affect crowd and collective behaviour?

social factor

Answer 45

individualists (US): focused on individual result.

collectivists (Chinese): decisions are made with reference to the needs of the group, social loafing is likely to be lower.

Question 46

what are the dispositional factors affecting crowd and collective behaviour?

Answer 46

personality
morality

Question 47

how does personality affect crowd and collective behaviour?

dispositional factor

Answer 47

internal locus of control enables individuals to be less influenced by crowd behaviour as they’re more likely to follow their personal norms than the social norms created by others around.

Question 48

how does morality affect crowd and collective behaviour?

dispositional factor

Answer 48

“morals” are our ideas of right and wrong.
people with a strong sense of right and wrong helps resist pressure from group norms.