Social Influence Flashcards
What is compliance
When a person publicly changes their behaviour to agree with others but secretly believes their own views
What is identification
When an individual adopts the behaviour and attitudes of a group the identify with and want to be associated with. Demonstrate same beliefs as group in public and private
What is internalisation
If you change and adopt a new set of beliefs or behaviours that become part of your own personal values and are not dependant upon being part of a group, you have internalised them.
e.g making friends with a vegetarian and becoming vegetarian too, then falling out with friends but continue to be a vegetarian
What are 3 types of conformity
Compliance
Identification
Internalisation
What is informational social influence
Explanation of conformity suggests individuals conform because they want to be right and don’t want to seem foolish by getting something wrong.
Individuals often look to others to help decide correct choice or decision.
If an individual doesn’t know what to do they may copy others around them because they thought that was the right thing to do
What is normative social influence
This explanation suggests individuals conform because they want to be liked and accepted by a group. This is because people generally want to behave in a way that is typical for that group.
there is a strong influence on a person to do something if there whole group does it, doing or thinking something different can leave the person feeling embarrassed
Evaluate explanations of conformity
Supportive evidence - for explenation people conform because of informational social influence. Study asked students to answer easy and difficult maths questions, and were shown incorrect responses. Greater conformity found to the difficult questions, particularly with those who said they where bad at maths. Suggests more likely to agree with others when faced with a difficult task and uncertain about a correct answer.
Supporting evidence - for explenation people conform because of normative social influence. Study found adolescents given simple message that most people their age did not smoke, were less likely to start smoking than those who were not given the message. Another study showed hotel guests who where told 73% of guests more likely to reuse their towels, reused their towels. Suggests people conform to the behaviour of others because of a desire to fit in with and be the same as a group similar to themselves
Critisicm- individual differences in conformity behaviour exist. Not everyone is affected by social influence to the same extent. One study showed students less likely to agree with others who have the wrong answer to length lines compared to controls. Some people are less concerned about being liked by others and being accepted so react differently to the pressure to conform. This is a problem for scientific credibility as science adopts a nomothetic approach which aims to identify general explanations for behaviour.
Explain Asch research into conformity
123 male American students individually tested with a group of 6 or 8 confederates
Task to say which line out of 3 was the same as target line, it was very clear which was right. At the beginning all confederates gave correct answer then confederates began to give wrong answers
74% participants conformed with the wrong answer at least once
People feel strong pressure to be the same as others and conform even if it’s incorrect
Asch - how does group size affect conformity
2 confederates lead to 13% participants conforming
3 confederates lead to 32% conforming
A group of just 3 people is enough conformity pressure on an individual
Asch - how does unamity affect conformity
In original study all confederates unanimously gave wrong answer, in variation one confederate gave correct answer and conformity rates fell to 5%
A majority has influence largely because of unanimity. If a group is non unanimous conformity rates fall drastically
Asch - how does task difficulty affect conformity
Asch variation of study increased difficulty of which line similar, this increased conformity
If a task is difficult more likely to conform however this is also down to individual differences
Evaluate Asch research
Strength - practical applications. Understanding decision making of jurors and understanding why people gain in harmful behaviours (smoking)
Weakness - research culturally biased only American participants. Individualistic culture where people are more concerned with themselves than a wider society group where membership is more valued. Other research found conformity rates in collectivist societies to be higher than the US. Asch research can not explain conformity in all cultures.
Weakness - criticised unethical. Participants believed confederates where participants like them, they were also deceived about the true nature of the study. Participants experienced stress and embarrassment when confederates gave wrong answers
Why do people conform to social roles
A social role - different positions people occupy as a member of society e.g parent, teacher, nurse, patient.
Each of these have certain expectations of behaviour as attitude. Conformity to these social roles means how long we show the expected behaviour once we adopt a social role
What is Zimbardos investigation into conformity social roles
Mock prison made in basement of Stanford university. Advert asked volunteers to take part in prison role play for 2 weeks, most emotionally stable volunteers chosen and randomly allocated prisoner or guard
Prisoners unexpectedly arrested in their homes, blindfolded, strip searched and given a uniform and number. Only referee to by number. Guards had uniform, handcuffs, keys and were told they had absolute power over prisoner even when deciding when they could go to the toilet.
After first few days guards became controlling and abusive. They woke prisoners up in middle of the night and made them clean toilets with their bare hands and carry out humiliating tasks. Prisoners rebelled and guards reacted with increasingly severe behaviour, prisoners then became depressed, 5 prisoners left early due to extreme responses. One prisoner asked to withdraw from study, another hunger strikes. After 6 days role play terminated
Concluded people rapidly conform to social role they occupy, behaviour strongly influenced by social situations
Evaluate zimbardos research
Weakness - serious ethical issues. It followed guidelines of convent however participants were exposed to considerable psychological harm and the study continued even when it was clear participants were experiencing unacceptable levels of stress. Zimbado had thought about Ethics, showing how difficult it can be to anticipate ethical issues when conducting experiment
Strength - research well controlled in examination of conformity to social roles. Able to show behaviour seen was caused purely by social roles occupied. Participants randomly allocated so behaviour demonstrated could be confidently attributed to role not individual. Confident on conclusions people conform to social roles
Challenging evidence that people readily conform. Critics claimed participants were showing demand characteristics and play acting rather than actually conforming. They were behaving in response to strong indications within the research m. We can not be confident people conform to social rules
Explain milgrama research into obedience
40 men volunteered. A learner was attached to electrodes which delivered an electric shock and told to remember words. Participant seated in another room and had to give increasingly powerful electric shocks if learner messed up. Learner shouted when given shocks and made no response after 315 volts. When participant wanted to stop researcher told them to continue. 65% of participants gave shocks up to 450 volts
Study found people find it difficult to refuse to obey authority, they loose sight of their morals. He then researched how different situational variables affect obedience such as proximity location and uniform
Explain how proximity has an affect on obedience
Proximity - degree of physical closeness. If teacher and learner in close proximity only 30% gave max voltage
If researcher gave orders over the phone only 20.5% gave shocks
How does location have an affect on obedience
Original study conducted at university, so more people thought it was legitimate. Changed the research to a shabby study and only 47.5% gave max voltage
How does uniform affect obedience
Bickman found in an experiment where the public where asked to do soemthing by a security guard, a milkman and someone in normal clothes
Security guard obeyed 76%
Milkman obeyed 47%
Ordinary clothes obeyed 30%
Uniform gives a legitimate sense of authority
Evaluate milgrams research
Weakness - many people argue participants did not really believe they was giving shocks and so study was not a valid demonstration which is why participants gave such high levels of shocks.
However supportive evidence as researchers got participants to give actual electric shocks to a puppy 77% obeyed and gave what they believed to be a fatal electric shock to a puppy. This suggests milgrams findings are accurate as participants gave high levels of obedience even when shocks where genuine
Weakness - high levels obedience wouldn’t take place out of a lab setting as that’s artificial and in natural. However in hospital 21 out of 22 nurses followed orders of a doctors that went again hospital procedure. Suggests milgrams findings are correct and seen everydsy
How does legitimacy of authority explain obedience
Society structured in a hierarchy that accepts certain roles have control over situations and people. We are socialised into following orders from authority figures. We believe police officers and bouncers have the authority to tell us what to do as they have legitimate authority over us and their social roles are important for maintaining order.
Legitimacy of authority is often signalled by wearing a uniform. These positions have the authority to punish people people who do not obey
