SOCIAL INFLUENCE Flashcards
What is a definition of conformity?
Behaviour or thinking changes as a result of real or imagined group pressure
The participants in Asch’s key conformity study = ?
123 male American students
How many critical trials were there in Asch’s study?
12/18 were critical
What % of times did participants conform to the wrong answer in Asch’s study?
Overall = 36.8%
75% conformed at least once
25% never conformed
Who found that Asch’s study may be a ‘child of the times’?
Perrin and Spencer (1980) only 1/396 conformed in their UK study
Name 2 social factors that could affect conformity?
- Group size - magic number 3
- Anonymity
- Task difficulty
When Asch made his task harder (more ambiguous) what happened to conformity?
It decreased
Name 2 dispositional factors that can affect conformity?
- Personality - locus of control
- Expertise
Who were Milgram’s participants?
40 American men, aged 20-50 from a range of jobs
What was the name of the confederate in Milgram’s study who was always the learner?
Mr Wallace
What % of participants went to 300V in Milgrams study?
100%
What % of participants went to 450V in Milgrams study?
65%
What does Milgrams study suggest about obedience?
That situational factors are more important than dispositional factors in explaining destructive obedience
Name 1 criticism of Milgrams study?
- Ethical issues
- Artificial = participants may have guessed it wasn’t real
Milgrams A…………… theory?
Agency
According to Milgram people are either in an agentic state or an a………………………. state?
Autonomous
What did Milgram call it when people moved from an autonomous state to an agentic state?
Agentic shift
What is a social hierarchy?
The shared societal knowledge that some people have greater authority than others
Who suggested that dispositional factors were most important in explaining obedience?
Adorno
Adorno suggested that AP individuals have a rigid ………………. style
cognitive
Who does Adorno blame for the origin of the AP individual?
Overly strict parents
What is it called when you displace your hostility onto someone else?
Scapegoating
How did Adorno collect his data to come up with his AP theory?
A questionnaire called the F-scale
Who studied Prosocial behaviour on the New York subway?
Piliavin
How many trials did Piliavin conduct?
103 trials
Who were the 2 victims in Piliavins study?
- Alcoholic
- Disabled = blind
What % of the time were the following helped in Piliavins study?
1. Disabled
2. Drunk
- 95%
- 50%
Which effect does the Piliavin study seem to dispute?
The bystander effect (as people helped on busy and quiet train carriages)
One criticism of Piliavins study?
- Urban sample
- Field experiment = hard to get informed consent
Name 2 social factors that influence prosocial behaviour?
- Presence of others
- Cost of helping
Name 2 dispositional factors that influence prosocial behaviour?
- Similarity to victim
- Expertise
What is it called when a person loses their identity and takes on the group identity of the people around them?
Deindividuation
Name 2 social factors that affect crowd behaviour?
- Social loafing
- Culture
Name 2 dispositional factors that can influence crowd behaviour?
- Personality - locus of control
- Morality
What is the Ringlemann effect?
Individual performance decreases as the size of the group grows (tug of war)
Which type of culture are NOT affected by social loafing?
Collectivist = eg Chinese
