Social Influence Flashcards
What are ethics?
The moral considerations that researchers have to make in the course of their research
What guidelines do psychologists work from?
The British Psychological Society guidelines
Ethics are used to ensure research doesn’t cause what type of harm?
- Psychologically
- Emotionally
- Physically
What are ethical guidelines?
Requirements set out by the BPS to be used by researchers to ensure their research is deemed as ethical
What are ethical issues?
The consequences of research that occur if research doesn’t meet ethical guidelines
What are the 8 ethical guidelines for the use of human research?
Brief
Consent
Confidentiality
Deception
Debrief
Protection of Participants
Privacy
Withdrawal
How do you remember the 8 guidelines?
BCCDDPPW
What does the ethical guideline ‘Brief’ mean?
When you let them know what’s going to happen
What does the ethical guideline ‘Consent’ mean?
An under 16 needs a parent/guardian
consent (gatekeepers)
What does the ethical guideline ‘Confidentiality’ mean?
Everything is said in private and their identity isn’t disclosed
What does the ethical guideline ‘Deception’ mean?
Not telling the truth - the participant is mislead
What does the ethical guideline ‘Debrief’ mean?
Discussing the results and possible deception
What does the ethical guideline ‘Protection of participants’ mean?
Participants leave the way they came - protect them during research
What does the ethical guideline ‘Privacy’ mean?
Participants shouldn’t be observed in their private life
What does the ethical guideline ‘Withdrawal’ mean?
Participants are allowed to leave research at any stage and their research is to be destroyed
What is social influence?
SI is the way that a person or group can affect the attitudes and behaviour of another individual or group
What are the 3 types of Social Influence?
Conformity
Obedience
Independent behaviour
What is conformity?
The tendency to change what we do (our behaviour) or think and say (attitudes) in response to the influence of others
What is the main aim of conformity?
That our behaviour meets with what the majority do
What are some examples of conformity?
Music taste
Fashion trends
Friendship groups
School rules
Laws
Who put forward the 3 types of society?
Kelman in 1958
Why were 3 types of society created by Kelman?
He argued that there were a variety of reasons as to why an individual will conform or not
So, conformity will change the social situation an individual is in
What are the 3 types of society Kelman suggested?
Compliance
Identification
Internalisation
Why do we conform?
To fit in with norms and society
No other choice
Expectation
Desire to fit in with others
Survival
To be deemed as normal
Become part of a group
To be included
What are the consequences of not conforming?
Punished physically/socially/emotionally
Unwanted attention
You get deemed a troublemaker
You get deemed as unruly
You get stereotyped unfairly
What are some real-life examples of compliance?
A school rule
Peer group likes and dislikes
What are some real-life examples of indentification?
Similar clothes as peers
Use of social media apps
Gender-specific behaviour
What are some real-life examples of internalisation?
Converting to a different religion
Adopting a new religion
Radicalisation
What is majority influence?
Where a larger group influences a minority to change their behaviour or attitude so that it fits with the majority and their ideal
What is the key research experiment for majority influence?
The Line Experiment
Who created the Line Experiment?
Asch (1950s)
What are the positives of the line experiment?
+ Lab experiment - variables are strictly controlled, meaning that replication of the experiment is easy
+ Large sample size - 123 pp
+ Supports NSI - pp reported that they conformed to fit in with the group, so it supports the idea of NI, which states that people conform to fit in when privately disagreeing with the majority
What are the negatives of the line experiment?
- Controlled condition - artificial environment
- Task lacks realism
- Ethical Issues = deception and psychological harm
- Gender bias - only used males
- Lacks universality - used white American undergraduate students
What are the three main variables that impacted conformity the most in Asch’s experiment?
Group size - the bigger the group size, the more confidence
The unanimity of majority- higher conformity when all the confederates gave the wrong answer
Task difficulty- the harder the task, the more conformity
How did group size affect Asch’s experiment?
- An individual is more likely to conform when in a larger group
- Evidence: There was low conformity with the group size of confederates were less than 3 - any more than 3 and the conformity rose by 30%
- Must be at least 3 to exert an influence, but an overwhelming majority is not needed in all instances to bring about
conformity
How did unanimity of majority affect Asch’s experiment?
- An individual is more likely to conform when the group is
unanimous i.e. all give the same answer, as opposed to them all giving
different answers - Evidence: When joined by another participant or disaffected confederate
who gave the correct answer, conformity fell from 32% to 5.5%. If different answers are given, it falls from 32% to 9%. - Link: Unanimity is vital in establishing a consistent majority view, which is
particularly important by providing normative social influence through
preventing any conflicting views arising.
How did task difficulty affect Asch’s experiment?
- An individual is more likely to conform when the task is difficult
- Evidence: Asch altered the (comparison) lines making them more similar in length. So, since it was harder to judge the
correct answer, conformity increased. - Evidence: When the task is difficult, we are more uncertain of our answer
so we look to others for confirmation. - Link: This suggests that informational social influence is a major mechanism for conformity when the situation is ambiguous and the individual does not have enough of their knowledge or information to
make an informed decision independently, and so has to look towards others.
What are the factors that affect levels of conformity?
Gender
Age
Social class
Situation
Difficulty level
Size of majority
Historical time era
Place/culture
Visual presence
What are the 3 real-life examples of conformity?
Compliance
Identification
Internalisation
What is compliance and an example?
Because identifying with the majority is desirable, they change their views/actions to fit in with the reference group in public.
EG school rules
What is identification?
When an individual changes their public views to match those of a group because they value the group and wish to be part of it. The change is likely to last as long as the individual is with the group.
EG Similar clothes as peers
What is internalisation?
When an individual changes their public and private views to match those of a group. This is a long-lasting change and will continue outside of the group situation.
EG Converting to a different religion
What is normative social influence?
Prompts individuals to conform to the groups norms to fit in, gain acceptance and to feel good
What is informational social influence?
This leads people to conform, and they believe the group possesses correct information, especially in ambiguous situations and tasks
Pros of using NSI and ISI to explain why individuals conform?
NSI is evidenced by Asch and adds weight to the theory when examining conformity taking place as part of a group
Both have RLA
Both provide a partial explanation for conformity- explains why some will conform
Research support for both- Asch
Cons of using NSI and ISI to explain why individuals conform?
Don’t provide a universal explanation
Conformity is open to cultural differences, and situational factors - NSI and ISI can’t solely be used to explain conformity
Conformity is open to individual differences
Ignores those who don’t conform
How many participants took part in Asch’s?
- 123 male American undergraduates in groups of 6; consisting of 1 true
participant and 5 confederates (actors/people in on the experiment) - White undergraduate males
What was the aim of Asch’s line experiment study?
To investigate conformity and majority influence
What was the procedure of Asch’s line experiment?
- Participants and confederates were presented with 4 lines; 3
comparison lines and 1 standard line
They were asked to state which of the three lines was the same length as a
stimulus line - The real participant always answered last or second to last
- Confederates would give the same incorrect answer for 12 out of 18
trials - Asch observed how often the participant would give the same
incorrect answer as the confederates versus the correct answer
What were the findings of Asch’s experiment?
- 36.8% conformed
- 25% never conformed
- 75% conformed at least once
What did Zimbardo investigate?
Conformity to social roles
Who were the pp in Zimbardo’s study?
24 American male undergraduate students
What was the aim of Zimbardo’s study?
To investigate how readily people would conform to social roles in
a simulated environment, and specifically, to investigate why ‘good
people do bad things’.
What was the procedure of Zimbardo’s study?
- American student volunteers were paid to take part in the study
- They were randomly issued one of two roles; guard or prisoner.
- Both prisoners and guards had to wear uniforms.
- Prisoners were only referred to by their assigned number
- Guards were given props like handcuffs and sunglasses (to make
eye contact with prisoners impossible) - Guards worked eight-hour shifts
- Prisoners were only allowed in the hallway which acted as their yard,
and to the toilet. - The guards were allowed to control such behaviour to emphasise their complete power over the prisoners!
- No physical violence was permitted, in line with ethical guidelines
and to prevent complete overruling. - The behaviour of the participants was observed.
Where did Zimbardo’s study take place?
The basement of the Stanford University psychology building was
converted into a simulated prison
What were the findings of Zimbardo’s study?
- Identification occurred very fast, as both the prisoners and guards
adopted their new roles and played their part in a short amount of
time - Guards began to harass and torment prisoners in harsh and
aggressive ways – they later reported to have enjoyed doing so - Prisoners would only talk about prison issues (forgetting about their
previous real life), and snitch on other prisoners to the guards to
please them. - This is significant evidence to suggest that the prisoners believed the prison was real and were not acting simply due to demand characteristics.
- The guards became more demanding of obedience towards the prisoners while the prisoners became
more submissive. - This suggests that the respective social roles became increasingly internalised
What are the strengths of Zimbardo’s study?
+ Real-life applications – This research changed the way US prisons
are run
+ Debriefing – participants were fully and completely debriefed about
the aims and results of the study
What are the negatives of Zimbardo’s study?
- Lacks ecological validity = The study suffered from demand
characteristics. E.g the pp knew that they were participating in a study and therefore may have changed their
behaviour - Lacks population validity = The sample only consisted of American
male students and so the findings cannot be generalised to other
genders and cultures - Ethical issues = Lack of fully informed consent due to the deception required to avoid demand characteristics and participant reactivity
What is the definition of obedience?
The change of an individual’s behaviour to comply with a demand by an authority figure
What are the explanations for obedience?
Agentic state
Legitimacy of authority
Situational factors
What is meant by agentic state?
- This is when a person believes that someone else will take responsibility for their actions
- The idea that people are more likely to obey when they are in the agentic state as they do not believe they will suffer the consequences of those actions.
- Automonous state -> Agentic state = Agentic shift
What is meant by Legitimacy of Authority?
- This describes how credible the figure of authority is.
- People are more likely to obey them if they are seen as being morally good/right, and legitimate
What is meant by Situational factors?
- These include the appearance of the authority figure, the location/
surroundings and proximity - A person is more likely to obey someone wearing a uniform as it gives them a higher
status and a greater sense of legitimacy - A person is more likely to obey someone in a location linked to higher status
- A person is more likely to obey when they are in closer proximity to the authority figure
What did Milgram’s study investigate?
Variables affecting Obedience including Proximity, Location and Uniform
Who were the pp in Milgram’s study?
Randomly selected participants - 40 male volunteers
What was the aim of Milgram’s study?
To observe whether people would obey a figure of authority when
told to harm another person
What was the procedure of Milgram’s study?
- A participant was given the role of ‘teacher’ and a confederate was given the role of ‘learner’.
- This was decided through a random allocation.
- Participants had to ask the confederate a series of questions
- Whenever the confederate got the answer wrong, the participant
had to give him an electric shock, even when no answer was given. - The electric shocks increased by 15 volts at a time, ranging from
300V to 450V, where 330V was marked as ‘lethal’. - Participants thought the shocks were real when in fact there were
no real shocks were administered, and the confederate was acting. - Participants were assessed on how many volts they were willing to
shock the confederate with. - The experimenter’s role was to give a series of orders/prods when
the participant refused to administer a shock, which increased in
terms of demandingness every time the participant refused to
administer a shock. - The same 4 prods were used each time when participants refused to administer the shocks.
What were the 4 prods used by the experimenter in Milgram’s study?
- Please continue
- The experiment requires you to continue
- It is essential you continue
- You have no other choice but to continue
How did Milgram’s research impact the factors of obedience?
Uniform - Participants obeyed more when the experimenter wore a lab coat
Location - Participants obeyed more when the study was conducted at a
prestigious university i.e. Stanford
Proximity - Participants obeyed more when the experimenter was in the same room (62.5%) but this was reduced to 40% when the experimenter and participant were in separate rooms
What were the findings of Milgram’s study?
- All participants went up to 300V
- 65% went up to 450V.
- No pp stopped below 300V, whilst only 12.5% stopped at
300V - Showed that the vast majority of pp were prepared to give lethal electric shocks to a confederate.
What are the strengths of Milgram’s study?
+ Debriefing - The participants were thoroughly and carefully
debriefed on the real aims of the study
+ RLA - This research opened our eyes to the problem of obedience and so may reduce future obedience in response to destructive authority figures
What are the weaknesses of Milgram’s study?
- Ethical issues = There was deception so informed consent could not be
obtained. - Lack of ecological validity = The tasks given to participants are not like those we would encounter in real-life
- It raises a socially sensitive issue
What is the definition of a dispositional explanation for obedience and what is an example of one?
It is an internal explanation ie. personality factors
The authoritarian personality
Which psychologist suggested about the authoritarian personality?
Adorno
What is meant by an authoritarian personality?
When you believe that people should completely obey or
submit to their authority figures, and suppress their own beliefs.
How can the authoritarian personality be measured?
F scale
What does the F scale require participants to do?
Requires participants to rate
the extent of their own agreement to certain statements using a Likert-style scale
What is the explanation for someone being resistant to social influence?
Locus of control
Who came up with the Locus of Control?
Rutter (1966)
What is the locus of control?
The locus of control is a measurement of an individual’s sense of control over their lives, i.e to what extent they feel that events in their lives are under their control, versus
under the control of other external powers like fate.
What is one side of the locus of control scale where there is more control?
Internal (more control)
Behaviour is caused by their own personal decisions and effort
What is one side of the locus of control scale where there is less control?
External (less control)
Behaviour is caused by luck or fate
What is an example of a high locus of control?
I won the award because I worked
hard for it
What is an example of a low locus of control?
I won the award because it was
meant to be – it was my destiny
What is the study investigating minority influence?
Moscovici
Who were the pp were there in Moscovici’s study?
Randomly selected participants and confederates
What is the aim of Moscovici’s study?
To observe how minorities can influence a majority
What was the procedure of Moscovici’s study?
- It was a lab experiment
- Pp were in a group where there were two Confederates (minority) and four participants (majority).
- Everyone was shown 36 blue slides, each with a different shade
of blue - They were asked whether the slide was blue or green.
- Confederates deliberately said they were green on two-thirds of
the trials, thus producing a consistent minority view. - The number of times the real participants reported that the
slide was green was observed. - A control group was also used consisting of participants only – no
confederates.
What were the findings of Moscovici’s study?
When the confederates were consistent in their answers about 8% of participants said the slides were green. However, when the
confederates answered inconsistently about 1% of participants said
the slides were green. This shows that consistency is crucial for a
minority to exert maximum influence on a majority.
Why was consistency key in Moscovici’s minority influence study?
This is because it makes
the opposition think that the views
of the minority are real and
serious enough to pay attention to
(i.e. the augmentation principle), if
they are so determined to stay
consistent.
Why was commitment key in Moscovici’s minority influence study?
Because when the minority has so much passion and confidence in their point of view, it suggests to the majority that their view must somehow be valid, and it encourages them to
explore why
Why was flexibility key in Moscovici’s minority influence study?
If they appear flexible, compromising and rational, they are less likely to be seen as extremists and
attention seekers. They are more likely to be seen as reasonable and considerate
What is the main cause of social change?
The minority group - manages to persuade the majority to
adopt their point of view by being
consistent, committed and flexible but they must have an internal locus of control
What happens when the minority begin to be successful in their attempts to influence the majority?
Triggers a snowball effect as the new idea spreads and builds up over time in the majority, to eventually, be adopted as the majority opinion
What is an example of social change via minority influencing the majority?
Being racist and homophobic used to be the norm, but after influences from minority groups, it eventually became accepted as the new norm and those who continue to be racist and homophobic are pressured to hide it or change.
