Social Influence Flashcards
What are the 3 topics in Conformity?
Types and Explanations of Conformity
Asch’s research
Conformity to Social Roles
Who are the key researchers for Conformity?
Asch and Zimbardo
Who did the baseline study for Conformity?
Asch
Who researched Conformity to Social Roles?
Zimbardo
How many types of Conformity are there?
3
Who identified the types of Conformity? (*)
Kelman
What are the 3 types of Conformity?
Compliance
Identification
Internalisation
What is the weakest type of Conformity?
Compliance
What is Compliance?
The weakest type of conformity that includes:
- Conforming publicly but not privately
- Superficial change
- Going along with others in public but not changing personal opinions or behaviour
- The behaviour or opinion stops when the group pressure stops
What explanation of conformity does Compliance support?
Normative Social Influence
What is the moderate type of Conformity?
Identification
What is Identification
The moderate type of conformity that includes:
- Conforming to some of the opinions and behaviours of a group because we share some of their values and want to be accepted
- We value the group and identify with it, so we want to be accepted
- We sometimes publicly change our beliefs or behaviours, although we do not privately agree with all the group stands for
What is an example of Compliance?
Laughing with everyone at something we do not find funny
What is an example of Identification?
Religion
Politics
Police
Teachers
- They enforce the rules to remain part of the group they value, but it may not be a private view
What is the strongest type of Conformity?
Internalisation
What is Internalisation?
The strongest type of conformity that includes:
- A person genuinely accepting group norms
- Public and private change of beliefs
- Attitudes have been internalised, so there is likely permanent change
- Changes often persist when the group is absent
What is an example of Internalisation?
Becoming a vegetarian because of a group and staying vegetarian in private
How many Explanations of Conformity are there?
2
What are the 2 Explanations of Conformity?
Normative Social Influence
Informational Social Influence
What is the Emotional Explanation of Conformity?
Normative Social Influence
What is the Cognitive Explanation of Conformity?
Informational Social Influence
What does Normative Social Influence include?
- Fitting in with group norms to gain social approval and avoid rejection
- Wishing to be liked by the majority, and going along with the majority so we don’t appear foolish
- Usually temporary change (compliance)
When is NSI most likely to occur?
- With strangers –> concern of rejection
- With people you know –> concerned with social approval of friends
- Stressful situations –> greater need of social support
What does Informational Social Influence include?
- Beliefs of what is right or wrong, and the desire to be right
- Looking to the majority group for information when we are unsure of how to behave as we wish to be right
- Genuinely believing the majority are more likely to be right, so we conform to also be right
- Leads to a more permanent change (internalisation)
When is ISI most likely to occur?
- New situations –> unclear of the correct way to behave
- Crisis situations –> decisions need to be quick and right
- When one person is regarded as more of an expert
Evaluate Explanations of Conformity
Good - Research support for NSI
- Asch’s research shows conformity due to NSI
- In a follow-up interview, participants said they conformed to be liked, and because they felt self conscious giving the correct answer
- When he repeated the experiment and participants wrote their answers down, conformity fell as there was no normative group pressure
Good - Research support for ISI
- Lucas et al
- Repeated Asch’s line test with maths problems
- The maths problems went from easy to difficult
- He found there were higher rates of conformity when the problems were more difficult, as participants did not want to be wrong in the ambiguous situation
(BAD - Low mundane realism)
Bad - There could be external factors or individual differences for NSI
- Some people have a stronger desire to be liked by others
- nAffiliators are people with a stronger need for ‘affiliation’, which is relatability to others
- These nAffiliators have been shown to be more likely to conform
- This suggests individual differences can’t be fully explained by general theories
What is Conformity?
The tendency to change what we do, think, or say in response to the influence of real or imagined pressure off others.
Who researched Conformity?
Asch
What did Asch test?
He tested the extent to which people will conform to the opinions of others in an unambiguous situation (when the answer is clear)
What was the procedure of Asch’s baseline study?
- 123 male American undergraduate students
- He individually tested the participants, and had them in groups of 6-8 confederates
- The naive participants were unaware of the confederates
- The task was to compare 2 cards with lines on, and match the length of the first one to one of 3 on the second one (A, B, or C)
- The matching line length was always obvious (unambiguous)
- The confederates initially answered correctly, but they started making errors until they all gave the same wrong answer
- The naive participant was always asked last
What were the findings of Asch’s baseline study?
The naive participants conformed to the same wrong answer 36.8% of the time
25% did not conform at all
75% conformed at least once
How many naive participants conformed at least once in Asch’s baseline study?
75%
How many naive participants did not conform at all in Asch’s baseline study?
25%
How much of the time did naive participants conform in Asch’s baseline study? (%)
36.8%
What did the follow-up interview reveal in Asch’s baseline study?
Most participants said they conformed to avoid rejection
(to be liked, or to avoid feeling self conscious giving the wrong answer)
What did Asch do after his baseline study?
He manipulated 3 variables to test their effects on conformity
How many variables of Conformity did Asch study?
3
What were the 3 variables of Conformity Asch studied?
Group Size
Task Difficulty
Unanimity
How did Asch manipulate the variable Group Size?
He varied the number of confederates from 1 to 15
What did Asch find happened to Conformity when he manipulated the Group Size?
With 3 confederates, conformity rose to 31.8%, and more confederates did not make a difference
This showed a curvilinear relationship (it rose to a certain point)
This suggests 3 is the optimal group size for conformity?
What does Curvilinear Relationship mean?
The results rise to a certain point, but then they stop
What did Asch find to be the optimal group size for Conformity?
3
What is a confederate?
Someone who knows the aims and objectives of a study, and is ‘acting’ or ‘going along with it’
How did Asch manipulate the variable Unanimity?
He introduced a Dissenter to see if the presence of a non-conforming confederate would affect conformity
What is a dissenter?
Someone who disobeys and provides someone with social support to do the same
What did Asch find happened to Conformity when he manipulated the Unanimity?
Conformity reduced by 1/4 with the presence of a dissenter
- This shows dissenters allowed the participants to behave independently, and suggests majority influence depends on unanimity
How did Asch manipulate the variable Task Difficulty?
He increased the difficulty of the task by making the stimulus line more similar to the comparison lines
What did Asch find happened to Conformity when he manipulated the Task Difficulty?
When task difficulty increased, conformity increased
- This suggests in a more ambiguous situation, ISI plays a greater role as we look to others for guidance and assume they are right and we are wrong
Evaluate Asch
Bad - Artificial tasks
- lack mundane realism
- has low ecological validity so shouldn’t be generalised
Bad - Androcentric
- male only sample
- more recent research was conducted on females and it found them to be more conformist than males
- suggests we shouldn’t generalise his findings
Bad - Lacks temporal validity
Perrin and Spencer
- repeated Asch’s research 30 years later with UK engineering students
- found less conformity
(Could also mention may be cultural differences –> American only sample)
Bad - Ethical issues
- Deception and lack of informed consent
Could say:
Good - Research support for task difficulty
Lucas et al
- used maths problems
- more difficult –> more conformity
Good - Highly controlled lab study
What study did Zimbardo do?
The Stanford Prison Study on Conformity to Social Roles
What sample did Asch use?
123 Male American Undergraduates
What sample did Zimbardo use?
21 Volunteer Male University Students
- They tested as ‘emotionally stable’
What was Zimbardo’s procedure?
- Used a 21 volunteer male students
- Set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University
- Randomly assigned students to the social role of a prisoner or prison guard
Prisoners were:
- Arrested at home by local police and delivered to the mock prison
- Strip-searched, deloused, given a uniform and a number for de-individuation
Guards were:
- Given a uniform with a wooden club, handcuffs, keys, and mirrored sunglasses
- Told they had complete control over the prisoners
Why did Zimbardo give the prisoners and prison guards uniforms?
De-Individuation
- They created a loss of personal identity, which meant they were more likely to conform to their social roles
What were some of the things that happened during Zimbardo’s prison study?
- Prisoners had to apply for parole instead of leaving the study (Zimbardo was the Superintendent that decided and spoke to them)
- Within 2 days, the prisoners rebelled by ripping their uniforms, shouting and swearing at guards
- The guards retaliated to the prisoners with fire extinguishers
- The guards created opportunities to enforce the rules and punish the prisoners, highlighting their difference in social roles
- 1 prisoner was released on the first day due to psychological disturbance
- 2 were released on the 4th day due to psychological disturbance
- Prisoners showed depression and anxiety
- One prisoner went on hunger strike and guards attempted to force-feed him and put him in a small, dark closet
- The guards became more aggressive and brutal each day, and they appeared to enjoy their power
How long was Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Study?
It was ended after 6 days instead of 14
What did Zimbardo conclude from his Stanford Prison Study of Conformity to Social Roles?
- Social roles have a strong influence on behaviour
- Everyone easily conformed to their roles inside the prison and acted as if they were in a real prison
Evaluate Zimbardo
Good - High control
- He used emotionally stable individuals for clear cause and effect
- He used random allocation to reduce bias
- This suggests there was high internal validity, and that his findings measure what he set out to measure
Bad - Lack of realism
- It is argued that the participants were merely play acting according to stereotypes from movies
- This would explain their prison riots and extreme behaviour in little time
- This suggests that the SPE tells us little about conformity to social roles in everyday life
Bad - Extreme ethical issues
- Some prisoners were removed due to anxiety, depression or severe psychological distress
In Addition
Bad - Researcher Bias
- Zimbardo was the Superintendent and he refused prisoners’ applications for parole
- This is bad because he should not have been involved in his own study, and also because he removed the participants’ right to withdraw, causing them psychological harm
Bad - May have over exaggerated findings
- It is thought that only 1/3 of the guards were brutal
- Lots of guards were recorded to sympathise with the prisoners, reinstate privileges and offer cigarettes
- This suggests Zimbardo overstated his view that SPE participants were conforming to social roles, and he minimised the influence of dispositional factors
What are dispositional factors?
Personality influences
Who studied Obedience?
Milgram
What is Obedience?
Following an authority figure despite your own opinions and beliefs
What was the procedure of Milgram’s baseline study used for?
To assess obedience levels
To act as a control group to compare the variations
What is some general information about Milgram’s baseline study?
Facts about sample:
- 40 American Male Participants
- Volunteer sample who applied through a newspaper advert that said it was looking for people to take part in a memory study
- $4.50 was given to each participant beforehand
- Ages of participants were from 20-50
- Jobs of participants varied from unskilled to skilled
Facts about procedure:
- There was a rigged draw for the role of teacher and learner so the naive participant was always the teacher and a confederate was the learner
- A confederate in a grey lab coat acted as an ‘experimenter’
- Participants were told they could leave the study at any time
What was the Procedure for Milgram’s baseline study?
(Meaty)
- Rigged draw so naive participant was always the teacher
- Learners (confederates) were strapped into a chair in another room and were wired with electrodes
- Electric shocks were demonstrated to the Naive Participant (Teacher), but were faked thereafter
- The teacher was told by the experimenter to give electric shocks to the learner after each incorrect answer on a learning task
- The electric shocks increased by 15 volts each time
- The electric shocks reached 450 volts, which was labelled “Danger - Severe Shock”
- After 300 volts, the learner pounded on the wall and did not answer the next question
- After 315 volts, the learner pounded again and then was unresponsive for the rest of the study
- The experimenter told the teacher to treat no answer as a wrong answer
- If the teacher felt unsure about continuing, the experimenter used 1 of 4 ‘prods’
How much did Milgram’s electric shocks increase by with each incorrect answer?
15 volts
What was the maximum number of volts in Milgram’s study?
450 volts
What happened after 300 volts in Milgram’s baseline study?
The learner pounded on the wall and did not answer the next question
What happened after 315 volts in Milgram’s baseline study?
The learner pounded on the wall and was unresponsive for the rest of the study
What happened if the teacher felt unsure about continuing in Milgram’s baseline study?
The experimenter used 1 of 4 prods
What was the sample for Milgram’s baseline study?
40 American Male Volunteers
How did Milgram obtain his sample for his baseline study?
He put an advert in the newspaper for volunteers for a memory study
How much were the participants paid for Milgram’s baseline study?
$4.50 - before the experiment
How old were the participants in Milgram’s baseline study?
Between 20 and 50
What year was Milgram’s baseline study?
1963
What year was Asch’s baseline study?
1951
What year was Zimbardo’s prison study?
1973
What were some of the experimenter prods in Milgram’s baseline study?
Please continue
The experiment requires you to continue
It is absolutely essential that you continue
You have no other choice, you must go on
What were the findings of Milgram’s baseline study?
- No one stopped below 300 volts
- 65% went to 450 volts when only 3% was predicted to
- Participants showed extreme signs of distress?
How many people went to 300 volts in Milgram’s baseline study?
100%
How many people stopped before 300 volts in Milgram’s baseline study?
0%
How many people went to 450 volts in Milgram’s baseline study?
65%
How many people were predicted to go to 450 volts in Milgram’s baseline study?
3%
