Social Influence

Question 1

Types of Conformity

Answer 1

Compliance
Identification
Internalisation

Question 2

Compliance

Answer 2

Type of conformity

External change of behaviour but internal disagreement with majority (group acceptance)

Comes from normative social influence (want to appear normal)

Question 3

Internalisation

Answer 3

Type of conformity (strongest type)

Internal & external behavioural/belief change (genuine acceptance of group norms)
E.g., becoming vegan because you agree with your vegan roommate’s values.

Caused by informative social influence (want to be right)

Question 4

Identification

Answer 4

Type of conformity

Conform to expectations of a role
External & internal behavioural change, only for however long they are associated with the role/group

E.g., teacher behaves & believes differently when they become a teacher but when they aren’t a teacher they may lose those beliefs/behaviours

Question 5

Conformity VS Obedience

Answer 5

Conformity: Doing what the group does

Obedience: Doing what an authority figure tells you to do

Question 6

Solomon Asch’s Line Study (1955) AIM

Answer 6

To find out the extent to which people would conform to an obviously wrong majority consensus

Question 7

Solomon Asch’s (1955) Line Study PROCEDURE

Answer 7

123 male participants (Ps) told they were taking part in visual perception study

Ps put in groups with 7 and 9 confederates

18 trials where they’re shown a set of lines (A, B or C) and asked what was closest to the original line

In 12 critical trials, confederates all gave wrong answer & P was always asked last or second to last

Control group: 36 Ps asked same question when alone

Question 8

Solomon Asch’s (1955) Line Study FINDINGS

Answer 8

Across all critical trials, participants conformed to the incorrect group consensus 32% of the time

75% of participants conformed to at least one incorrect answer

5% of participants conformed to every incorrect answer

This is compared to an error rate of just 0.04% in the control trials.

Question 9

Variables effecting conformity (Asch)

Answer 9

Unanimity: if more people agree conformity is more likely

Group Size: increasing group size increased conformity up to 4 confederates (after 4, no increase in conformity)

Difficulty of Task: more difficult, more conformity

Other Variables: mood, gender, culture

Question 10

Explanations of Conformity

Answer 10

Informational Social Influence: desire to be correct

Normative Social Influence: desire to be accepted by others/perceived as normal

Question 11

Normative Social Influence

Answer 11

Desire to be accepted by others/perceived as normal

Question 12

Informational Social Influence

Answer 12

Desire to be correct

Question 13

Zimbardo et al (1973) Stanford Prison Experiment PROCEDURE

Answer 13

• Converted basement of Stanford Uni into fake prison for 2 weeks
• 21 male students selected from 75 for their mental stability
• Divided into 2 groups: 10 ‘guards’, 11 ‘prisoners’
• Prisoners arrested & put into cells in groups of 3 in cells
• Guards worked 8 hour shifts, told to refer to prisoners by assigned numbers
• Prisoners wore jackets with number and chain around ankle, guards wore khaki uniform & mirrored sunglasses, carried batons and handcuffs

Question 14

Zimbardo et al (1973) Stanford Prison Experiment AIM

Answer 14

Find out how much people conform to the social roles of prisoner and guard in a prison situation

Question 15

Zimbardo et al (1973) Stanford Prison Experiment FINDINGS

Answer 15

• Guards became increasingly sadistic
• Prisoners became increasingly obedient/submissive
• After 35 hours, one prisoner went “crazy” and had to be released, 3 others released throughout experiment
• Guards sadism became so harmful that Zimbardo stopped the experiment after 6 days instead of the scheduled 2 weeks