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Psychology Paper 1 > Social Influence > Flashcards

Social Influence Flashcards

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1
Q

Asch’s researchers

A

123 men tested to see if they would conform
Asked to state which line was longer
Confederates would say the wrong answer
Participants agreed with the confederates 36.8% of the time

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2
Q

Asch- Group size

A

Varied number of confederates from one to fifteen
Conformity increased with group size but only up to a point
Three confederates was 31.8%
Presence of more confederates made little difference
Suggests that people are very sensitive to the views of others

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3
Q

Asch- Unanimity

A

Confederates who disagreed with each other
Participants conformed less in the presence of a dissenter
Rate decreased to less than 25% when the majority unanimous
Suggests that influence of the majority depends to a large extent on it being unanimous

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4
Q

Asch- Task difficulty

A

Made the stimulus line and the comparison lines more similar
Harder for participants to see the differences between the lines
Found conformity increased
Natural to look to other people for guidance and to assume that they are right and you are wrong

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5
Q

Asch’s Ao3

A

Limitation- artificial situation and task
- Demand characteristics
Limitation- limited application
- Only studied American men
Strength- research support
- Lucas et al- conformed when maths problems were harder

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6
Q

Types of conformity
Internalisation

A

Person genuinely accepts the group norms
Private and public change

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7
Q

Types of conformity
Identification

A

Conform to opinions of a group because we value something about the group
Public change but not private change

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8
Q

Types of conformity
Compliance

A

Simply going along with others in public
Not changing personal opinions

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9
Q

Explanations of conformity
Informational social influence

A

We follow the behaviour of the group because we want to be right
Leads to permanent change in opinions

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10
Q

Explanations of conformity
Normative social influence

A

What is normal or typical behaviour for a social group
Gain social approval
Temporary change in opinions

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11
Q

Explanations of conformity
Ao3

A

Strength- research support for NSI
- Asch; participants said they conformed because they felt self conscious about giving correct answer
Strength- research support for ISI
- Lucas; participants relied on answers given so they weren’t wrong
Limitation- individual differences in NSI
- does not predict conformity in every case

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12
Q

Zimbardo procedure

A

Mock prison
21 ‘emotionally stable’ men
Randomly assigned guard or prisoner
Encouraged to conform to social roles through uniform and instructions about behaviour
Guards given guard uniform
Prisoners given prison uniform

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13
Q

Zimbardo findings

A

Guards treated prisoners harshly
Prisoners rebelled in two days
Guards used divide and rule tactics
Harassed prisoners
A prisoner went on hunger strike
Study ended after 6 days rather than 14 days

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14
Q

Zimbardo evaluation

A

Strength- control
- control over key variables
Limitation- lack of realism
- did not have realism of a true prison
Limitation- exaggerates the power of rules
- Zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of social roles to influence behaviour

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15
Q

Milgram
Baseline procedure

A

40 men volunteered to take part
Learner was strapped to a chair and wired up with electrodes
Each time an error was made the participant deliver a stronger shock to the learner
If participant asked to stop, experiment gave 4 prods
Participants were debriefed at the end

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16
Q

Milgram
Baseline findings

A

100% went to 300 volts
65% continued to 450 volts
Participants sweated, stuttered, three had seizures

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17
Q

Milgram
Baseline Ao3

A

Strength- Research support
- Le Jeu de la Mort
Limitation- low internal validity
- 75% said they believed shocks were genuine
Limitation- alternative interpretation of findings
- conclusions about blind obedience may not be justified

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18
Q

Milgram
Proximity

A

Participant and learner were in the same room
Dropped from 65% to 40%
Touch proximity- 30%
Remote instruction- 20%

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19
Q

Milgram
Location

A

Run down office block
Dropped 47.5%

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20
Q

Milgram
Uniform

A

Confederate in everyday clothes as experiment
Dropped to 20%

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21
Q

Situational variables- Milgram
Ao3

A

Strength- Research support
- Bickman- more likely to pick up little from security guard than suit and tie
Strength- Cross-cultural replications
- Dutch replication with 90% obedience
Limitation- Low internal validity
- Participants may have been aware the procedure was faked

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22
Q

Agentic state

A

Mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure
We act as an agent

23
Q

Autonomous state

A

Free to behave according to their own principles and feels a sense of responsibility for their own actions
Shift from autonomy to agency is called Agentic state

24
Q

Binding factors

A

Aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour
Reduce the moral strain they are feeling

25
Q

Agentic state
Ao3

A

Strength- Research support
- Milgram
Limitation- A limited explanation
- Rank and Jacobson 16/18 nurses disobeyed

26
Q

Legitimacy of authority

A

We are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified by the individuals position within a social hierarchy

27
Q

Consequences of legitimacy of authority

A

Some people are granted the power to punish others
Police and court have the power to punish wrongdoers

28
Q

Destructive authority

A

Problems arise when legitimate authority becomes destructive
Ordering people to behave in ways that are cruel and dangers
Hitler and Stalin

29
Q

Legitimacy of authority
Ao3

A

Strengths- Explains cultural differences
- Mantell 85% of German participants went up to 450
Limitation- Cannot explain all (dis)obedience
- Cannot explain instances of disobedience in a hierarchy where legitimacy of authority is clear and acceptable

30
Q

Dispositional explanation
Authoritarian Personality and obedience

A

A type of personality trait especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. Such individuals are also thought to be submissive and dismissive of inferiors
Show contempt for those of inferior social status

31
Q

Origins of authoritarian personality

A

Formed in childhood
Result of harsh parenting and condition love
Create resentment and hostility in a child
Fears are displaced onto others who they perceive to be weaker

32
Q

Adorno et al’s research
Authoritarian personalit

A

F-scale
Found people with authoritarian leanings identified strong people and were generally contemptuous of the weak
Found a strong correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice

33
Q

Authoritarian personality
Ao3

A

Strength- Research support
- Milgram; found 20 obedient participants scored higher on the F-scale than 20 non obedient participants
Limitation- limited explanation
- Cannot explain obedient behaviour in the majority of a country’s population- Nazi Germany
Limitation- Political bias
- Only measures the tendency towards an extreme form of right-wing authority

34
Q

Resistance to social influence
Social support- resisting support

A

Pressure to conform can be resisted if there are other people present who are not conforming
The fact that someone else is not following the majority is social support

35
Q

Resistance to social influence
Social support- resisting obedience

A

Pressure to obey can be resisted if there is another person who is seen to disobey
Disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure, making it easier for others to disobey

36
Q

Resistance to social influence
Social support- Ao3

A

Strength- Real-world research support
- Albrecht- resist peer pressure to smoke, those who had a buddy were less likely to smoke than those who did not have a buddy
Strength- research support for dissenting peers
- Gamson; 29/33 participants rebelled against orders to help an oil company run a smear campaign because they were in groups and could discuss

37
Q

Resistance to social influence
Locus of control

A

Rotter proposed locus of control as a concerned with internal control versus external control

38
Q

Internal locus of control

A

Believe that things happen to them are largely controlled by themselves

39
Q

External locus of control

A

Believe that the things that happen to them are outside of their control

40
Q

Resistance to social influence
The locus of control continuum

A

People are not just internal or external
A scale and individuals vary in their position on it

41
Q

Resistance to social influence
Locus of control- resistance to social influence

A

People with high internal locus of control are more able to resist pressure to conform or obey
People are with high internal locus of control tend to be more self confident
Traits lead to greater resistance to social influence

42
Q

Resistance to social influence
Locus of control- Ao3

A

Strength- Research support
- Holland; repeated Milgram’s study and found 37% of internals did not continue to highest level, 23% externals didn’t continue
Limitation- Contradictory research
- Twenge; analysed data from locus of control studies and found people became more resistant to obedience but also more external

43
Q

Minority Influences

A

Situations where one person or a small group of people influences the believes and behaviour of other people

44
Q

Minority influences
Moscovici et al- blue slides experiment

A

Asked participants to state whether the slides were blue or green
Two confederates consistently said they were green
Participants gave the wrong answers on 8.42% of trials
Second group exposed to inconsistent minority found wrong answers fell to 1.25%

45
Q

Minority influences
Consistency

A

Minority keeps the same beliefs over time and between all individuals that form the minority
Consistent minority makes other people start to rethink their own views

46
Q

Minority influences
Commitment

A

Minority demonstrates dedication to their position
Effective because it shows the minority is not acting out of self-interest
Example; woman who threw herself under a horse during suffrage movement

47
Q

Minority influences
Flexibility

A

Accepting the possible of compromise
Members of the minority need to be prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable and valid counterarguments

48
Q

Minority influences
Explaining the process of change

A

Deeper processing important in the process of conversion to a different minority viewpoint
Over time, increasing numbers of people switch from the majority position to the minority position
They have become converted
More this happens, the faster the rate of conversion (snowball effect)

49
Q

Minority influences
Ao3

A

Strength- Research support for consistency
- Wood; meta-analysis of 100 similar studies, found that minorities who were seen as being consistent were more influential
Strength- Research support for deeper processing
- Martin; people were less willing to change their opinions if they listened to a minority group than if they had listened to a majority group
Limitation- artificial tasks
- Research is far removed from how minorities attempt to change the behaviour of majorities in real life

50
Q

Social influence and social change
Lessons from minority influence research

A

Six steps;
Drawing attention
Consistency
Deeper processing
Augmentation principle
Snowball effect
Social cryptomnesia

51
Q

Social influence and social change
Lessons from conformity research

A

Asch’s research
Highlighted the importance of dissent in one of his variations
Broke the power of the majority, encouraging others to do the same

52
Q

Social influence and social change
Lessons from obedience research

A

Milgram; demonstrates the importance of disobedient role models
Zimbardo; suggested obedience can be used to create social change through the process of gradual commitment

53
Q

Social influence and social change
Ao3

A

Strength- Research support for normative influences
- Nolan; hung messages on the front doors of houses every week for one month. Found decreases in energy usage
Strength- Minority influence explains change
- Nemeth; claims social change is due to the type of thinking that minorities inspire
Limitation- Role of deeper processing
- may not play a role in how minorities bring about social change

Psychology Paper 1 (4 decks)

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