Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

A-Level Psychology > Social Influence > Flashcards

Social Influence Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Psychology 101 flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

9

Define Conformity

A

A change in a person’s behaviour due to social pressure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are the 3 different types of Conformity

A

Internalisation
Identification
Complience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Define Internalisation

A

When an individual hears a view and acts accordingly to it
They will follow that view and it will become their own belief
The deepest form of Conformity
Conform publicly and privately

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Give an example of Internalisation

A

Jack has never been a big environmentalist, but he went to university and lived with 4 active environmentalists
He now believes that the environment is crucial to human survival and will continuously protest against deforestation across the world. Even alone

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Define Identification

A

Publictly act like we accept a concept, but in private we do not
Temporary form of Conformity
Not necessarily believe, need to fit in

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Give an example of Identification

A

Jack’s girlfriend has brought him into an environmentalist group with her friends.
He wants her friends to like him, so he goes to rallies and protests with them, but does nothing on his own to help the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Define Compliance

A

‘Going along with others’, Its the easy way to just comply with others
Follow people in public but privately do not agree and do not change their personal behaviours or opinions whatsoever
No personal effort to support an act

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Give an example of Compliance

A

Jack has moved in with four extremely environmentally people. Jack will spend time with them as they have good intentions, but does not necessarily agree with their actions and will do not actions of his own to support their cause

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What similarity do all types of conformity have

A

All types of conformity cause a change in behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What does the 2 process theory show

A

It is a theory that states that there are 2 main reasons as to why people change behaviours socially

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are the 2 reasons as to why we conform

A

The need to be Right
The need to be Liked

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Define Normative Social Influence

A

Going along with a majority behaviour so that you can gain approval. In fear of being isolated and wanted to be in the group
To ‘fit in with the norm’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Define Informational Social Influence

A

Wanting to be correct
Unsure how to behave so look at majority as we believe they’re right

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the difference between the Normative SI and the Informational SI

A

Normative is focused on wanting to be liked, whereas Informational focuses on wanting to be right

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Why do people Conform

A

To fit in during social interactions
Sometimes in fear of rejection

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is the difference between Compliance and Identification

A

Compliance - You act accordingly for a cause, because it is the ‘easy way out’
Identification - You want to be involved in something the group has, it has a value

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Explain Sherif’s experiment

A

Used the autokinetic effect where a dot is in a point of light in the dark
Asked to see how far it moved, even though it didnt move at all
Our eyesight makes us believe that the dot moves
Groups discuss and influence other’s to change answers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Give a positive of Sherif’s experiment

A

Controlled environment, so it limits extraneous variables

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Give a negative of Sherif’s experiment

A

No real life application with use of artificial task
- Cannot generalise to everyday conformity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Define Personal Norm

A

An individual truth influenced by nothing but a person’s own perspective

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is a criticism of the Informational Social Influence

A

It is moderated by the task / situation we are put in
Decreases validity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What study supports the Normative SI Theory

A

Asch’s Line Experiment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Outline the procedure of Asch’s study (4 marks)

Lines

A

Asch (1951) conducted a laboratory experiment examining conformity. He wanted to examine the extent to which social pressure from a majority, could affect a person to conform.

1 participant was paired with 5 confederates (liars). The real participant was deceived and was led to believe that the other seven people were also real participants. The real participant always sat second to last.

The correct answer was always obvious. Though it was apparent that the participant conformed often when the ‘group’ would say the wrong answer. Asch measured the number of times each participant conformed to the majority view’s answer to an unambigous task

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What were the results of Asch’s study (statistically)

A

Asch found that 76 per cent of participants conformed at least once to the wrong majority answer.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What were the results of Asch’s study (quantative)

What was said during interview after

A

Asch interviewed his participants after the experiment to find out why they conformed. Most of the participants said that they knew their answers were incorrect, but they went along with the group in order to fit in, or because they thought they would be ridiculed. This confirms that participants conformed due to normative social influence and the desire to fit in.

However, private answers saw less conformity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What are 2 negatives to Asch’s study (4 marks)

A

Asch used a biased sample of 50 male students from Swarthmore College in America. Therefore, we cannot generalise the results to other populations, for example female students, and we are unable to conclude if female students would have conformed in a similar way to male students. As a result Asch’s sample lacks population validity and further research is required to determine whether males and females conform differently

Furthermore, it could be argued that Asch’s experiment has low levels of ecological validity. Asch’s test of conformity, a line judgement task, is an artificial task, which does not reflect conformity in everyday life. Consequently, we are unable to generalise the results of Asch to other real life situations, such as why people may start smoking or drinking around friends, and therefore these results are limited in their application to everyday life.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Give 2 positives of Asch’s study

A

Reliable - Asch used a standardised procedure which is easily replicable

Validity - Becuase the answers were obvious, Asch’s study shows the impact of the majority, rather than knowledge (cause and effect established)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Who were the participants of Asch’s study

A

123 males American undergraduates

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What was the DV and IV of Asch’s line study

A

DV - Who would conform to the confederates answers
IV - Variations of Experiment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

How can group size influence conformity

A

A small group is less likely to influence a participants answer and cause them to conform

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

How did Asch study Group Size’s effect on conformity

A

Varied from 1 confederate to 15 confederates
When there was one confederate, the real participants conformed on just 3% of the critical trials. When the number of confederates increased by 1 each time, the conformity rate doubled in percentage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

How did Unanimity affect conformity in Asch’s variation

A

Conformity decreased by 25% when a participant had a friend
Naïve participant was allowed to behave more independentlys

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

How did Asch study Unanimity’s effect on conformity

A

When the real participant had a ‘friend’ they were more likely to go against majority
Internalisation present - More likely to identify strongly with someone who originally had same opinion as him

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

What would happen when a task is more difficult

A

People are more likely to conform
So the they could be correct

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

How did Asch study Task Difficulty’s effect on conformity

A

Asch tested the experimental group by giving them a harder task (Much similar lines)
With more difficult tasks, conformity levels increased
This shows the informational social influence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Why does Asch’s difficult line task support Informational SI

A

Participants did not know the answer so would conform to be correct

37
Q

Define Social Role

A

A behaviour role that is expected of an individual of a given social position of status

38
Q

Define Obedience

A

The extent to which tasks are followed given by an Authority Figure

39
Q

What was the procedure of the Zimbardo Experiment

A

Mock prison was set up in the basement of Stanford University
Advertised for volunteers and selected those who were deemed ‘emotionally stable’
Students were randomly assigned role of guard or prisoner
Prisoners were arrested and strip searched and given uniform and number
Guards also had their own uniform and were told they had complete power over the prisoners
Results of the conformity were acknowledged with a debrief at the end

40
Q

What happened in the Zimbardo Experiment

A

Guards became fully invested in their social role
Dehumanized prisoners by making them dao many cruel things (pushups, sing, clean toilets etc.)
Within days the prisoners rebelled, but this was quickly crushed by the guards, who then grew increasingly abusive towards the prisoners, causing psychological harm
Study was withdrawn on Day 6

41
Q

What was the main thing that the guards did to the prisoners of the Zimbardo study

A

The guards dehumanised the prisoners, waking them during the night and forcing them to clean toilets with their bare hands; the prisoners became increasingly submissive, identifying further with their subordinate role. Therefore causing severe psychological harm

42
Q

What was the conclusion of Zimbardo’s study

A

Zimbardo concluded that people quickly conform to social roles, even when the role goes against their moral principles

43
Q

Explain 2 disadvantages of Zimbardo’s study

A

Lacks ecological validity - The study suffered from demand
characteristics. For example, the participants knew that they wereparticipating in a study and therefore may have changed their behaviour, either to please the experimenter or in response to being observed -. The participants also knew that the study was not real so they claimed that they simply acted according to the expectations associated with their role rather genuinely adopting it. This was seen particularly with qualitative data gathered from an interview with one guard, who said that he based his performance from the stereotypical guard role portrayed in a film

Zimbardo’s experiment has been heavily criticised for breaking many ethical guidelines, in particular, protection from harm and no right to withdraw. Five of the prisoners left the experiment early because of their adverse reactions to the physical and mental torment. Furthermore, some of the guards reported feelings of anxiety and guilt, as a result of their actions during the Stanford Prison Experiment.

44
Q

Advantage of Zimbardo’s study

A

High variable control - participants were screened for emotional stability and mental health issues (with consent), meaning that any behaviours during the experiment were as a result of social roles rather than extraneous variables

45
Q

What is the situational v dispositional hypothesis

A

Popular view at the time of the study was criminals were bad by nature (innate) or disposition and therefore needed correction. Zimbardo argued that bad situations (situational) are what what create bad behaviours

46
Q

Dispositional

A

Explanation of individual behaviour caused by internal characteristics that reside within the individual’s personality

47
Q

Situational

A

Explanations that focus on the influences from the environment the individual is in

48
Q

What is the Agentic State

A

The state in which a person does not take responsibility for their actions
- They believe they are not in control
- More likely to obey an authoritative figure

49
Q

What is Agency Theory

A

The idea that people are more likely to obey when they are in the agentic state as they do not believe they will suffer the consequences of those actions

50
Q

What is the Autonomous State

A

The state in which a person believes they will take responsibility for their own actions
- Shows free will

51
Q

What is an Agentic Shift

A

The switch from the autonomous to agentic state in which we perceive someone to be a legitimate source of authority and allow them to control our behaviour

52
Q

How does the Agentic Sate explain obedience

A

When people believe that they are not in control of their actions and cannot be blamed for the consequence, they have more freedom in doing things for an authoritative figure

53
Q

Explain Legitimacy of Authority

A

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

54
Q

Give an example of Legitimacy of Authority with real life application

A

Students are more likely to listen to their parents or teachers than other unknown adults because they are deemed to be knowledgable and responsible

55
Q

Aim of Milgram’s study

A

To observe whether people would obey a figure of authority when told to harm another person i.e. evaluating the influence of a destructive authority figure

56
Q

Procedure of Milgram’s study

A

Experiment took place in a basement of Yale University
Advertised as a memory test (deception) - £4.50 to participate
Paid money at beginning of experiment and lied saying roles of teacher and learner were randomly assigned
Confederate was learner, participant was always teacher (shocker)
Learner strapped with wires in chair
Everytime answer was wrong, participant gives ‘shock’ to learner, increasing in voltage (by 15) after every wrong answer
Participants were assessed on how many volts they were willing to
shock the confederate with

57
Q

Name all positions of Milgrams Study and their role

A

Participant - Teacher (shocker)
Confederate - Learner (getting shocked)
Actor - Experimenter (authoritive figure)

58
Q

Findings of Milgram’s study

A

Every participant went to 300 volts

None stopped before 300 volts. 12.5% stopped at 300 volts, and 65% continued to the highest voltage (450 volts), showing that the vast majority of participants were prepared to give lethal electric shocks to a confederate.

Participants showed signs of extreme tension – sweating, trembling, biting their lips
etc

59
Q

What are the 3 situational variables that Milgram discovered were affecting obedience

A

Proximity
Location
Uniform

60
Q

How did Milgram study Location as a factor affecting obedience

A

Milgram conducted his original research in a laboratory of Yale University - Yale being a prestige university. In order to test the power of the location, Milgram conducted a variation in a run down building in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The experiment was no longer associated with Yale University and was carried out by the Research Association of Bridgeport. In this variation the percentage of participants who administered the full 450 volts dropped from 65% to 47.5%. This highlights the impact of location on obedience, with less credible locations resulting in a reduction in the level of obedience.

61
Q

How did Milgram study Proximity as a factor affecting obedience

A

Participants obeyed more when the experimenter was in the same
room i.e. 62.5%. This was reduced to 40% when the experimenter
and participant were in separate rooms, and reduced to a further
30% in the touch proximity condition i.e. where the experimenter
forcibly placed the participant’s hand on the electric plate

62
Q

How did Milgram study Uniform as a factor affecting obedience

A

In this variation, the man in ordinary clothes replaced the ‘professor’ came up with the idea of increasing the voltage every time the leaner made a mistake. The percentage of participants who administered the full 450 volts when being instructed by an ordinary man, dropped from 65% to 20%, demonstrating the dramatic power of uniform.

63
Q

Bickman (1974)

A

Bickman used three male actors: one dressed as a milkman; one dressed as a security guard; and one dressed in ordinary clothes. The actors asked members of the public to following one of three instructions: pick up a bag; give someone money for a parking metre; and stand on the other side of a bus stop sign which said ‘no standing’.
On average the guard was obeyed on 76% of occasions, the milkman on 47% and the pedestrian on 30%. These results all suggest that people are more likely to obey, when instructed by someone wearing a uniform. This is because the uniform infers a sense of legitimate authority and power.

64
Q

Name 3 Strengths of Milgram’s study

A

Debriefing - The participants were thoroughly and carefully debriefed on the real aims of the study, in an attempt to deal with the ethical breach of the guideline of protection from deception and
the possibility to give informed consent and the deception was justified by the aim of avoiding demand characteristics

Highly replicable – The standardised procedure has been repeated all over the world, where consistent and similar obedience levels have been found

External Validity - The lab environment reflected real-life authoritarian relationships e.g. a work setting

65
Q

Name 3 Weaknesses of Milgram’s study

A

Ethical issues:
- There was deception and so informed consent could not be
obtained, and the right to withdraw wasn’t classified
- There was psychological harm inflicted upon the participants. They
showed signs of psychological and physiological distress such as
trembling, sweating and nervous laughter

Lack of ecological validity:
The tasks given to participants are not like those we would encounter in real life e.g. shooting somebody in the face is different from flicking a switch, meaning that the methodology lacks realism,
producing results which are low in ecological validity

Socially sensitive issue:
Milgram’s findings suggest that those who are responsible for killing innocent people can be excused because it is not their personality that made them do this, but it is because of the situation that they were in and the fact that it is difficult to disobey

66
Q

What is the Authoritiarian Personality

A

Succseptible to obeying authority
Belief in completely obeying and submitting to their authority figures, and suppress their own beliefs

67
Q

Characteristics of Authoritarian Personality

A

Tendency to be especially obedient to authority
Extreme respect for authority and submissiveness to it

68
Q

What score did obedient participants score on the F scale

A

Elms and Milgram found that the obedient participants scored higher on the F scale, in comparison to disobedient participants

69
Q

What did the F scale determine

A

Determines the level of authoritarian personality

70
Q

What is the Locus of Control

A

The term ‘ Locus of control ’ refers to how much control a person feels they have in their own behavior

71
Q

Define an internal Locus of Control

A

People with an internal locus of control perceive themselves as having a great deal of personal control over their behavior and are therefore more likely to take responsibility for the way they behave

72
Q

Define an external Locus of Control

A

In contrast a person with a high external locus of control perceive their behaviors as being a result of external influences or luck

73
Q

Why are people with an internal Locus of Control more likely to be leaders

A

They take more responsibility for their actions and see themselves as in control
So are more likely to make decisions based on their own morals
Therefore people with a high internal locus of control are more likely to be leaders, not followers

74
Q

Give an example of Internal LOC

A

E.G. if you passed an exam it’s because you worked
hard, and if you didn’t pass it’s because you didn’t work hard enough

74
Q

Give an example of External LOC

A

E.G. I did well in an exam because Mr. Russell is an
excellent teacher OR I did terrible in the exam
because Mr. Russell doesn’t know what he’s talking
about

75
Q

How does LOC link to conformity

A

People with a high internal LOC are more likely to resist pressures to
conform or obey, by taking on own responsibilities

People with a high external LOc are likely to conform or obey to social pressures. Do not take responsibility for their actions

76
Q

How does LOC explain resistance to conformity

A

Dependant on the type of LOC, it determines whether people o more or less likely to conform due to the inability or acceptance of one’s responsibility

77
Q

What is the idea of Social Support

A

The presence of other people who similarly resist pressures to conform can allow individuals to not conform

78
Q

How did Asch’s variational study explain social support

A

Unanimity Variation - When participants had a confederate turn naive, their conformity rates dropped.

This is thought to be because the presence of an ally gave the true participant social support and made them feel more confident in their own decision and more confident in rejecting the majority position

79
Q

What is minority influence

A

A form of social influence in which a minority of people persuade majority to adopt beliefs
Most likely leads to internalisation (Both public and private beliefs are influenced)

80
Q

What are 3 factors that affect Minority Influence

A

Consistency
Flexibility
Commitment

81
Q

Explain Consistency as an influence to minority

A

Minority influence is most effective if the minority keeps the same beliefs
Consistency allows views to change over time and between each individual in the group
Gives an idea that if a person constantly says something, its likely to be believed by majority

82
Q

What were the findings of Consistency in Miscovici’s Colour Perception Study

A

Moscovici found that in the consistent condition, the real participants agreed on 8.2% of the trials, whereas in the inconsistent condition, the real participants only agreed on 1.25% of the trials

83
Q

Explain Flexibility as an influence to minority

A

Relentless consistency may become ineffective if it is seen by the majority as unbending or unreasonable
Minority influence is more effective if the minority show’s flexibility by accepting the possibility of a compromise

84
Q

Nemeth 1986 - Flexibility

A

Nemeth (1986) investigated the idea of flexibility in which participants, in groups of four, had to agree on the amount of compensation they would give to a victim of a ski-lift accident

Nemeth found that in the inflexible condition, the minority had little or no effect on the majority, however in the flexible condition, the majority was much more likely to compromise and change their view

85
Q

Explain Commitment as an influence to minority

A

Minority influence is more powerful if the minority demonstrates dedication to their position
Shows the minority is not acting out of self-interests E.G. making self-sacrifices
Sometimes minorities might engage in extreme activities to draw attention to their views (as shown in the suffragette movement)

86
Q

What is the Snowball Effect

A

Snowball Effect - If you hear a new piece of information from a minority, it makes you stop and think . Especially if the view is consistent and passionate. This results in deeper processing

87
Q

Explain the Snowball Effect as an explanation for Social Change

A

Over time, increasing numbers of people will switch from the majority to the minority

A-Level Psychology (19 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions