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A-level Psychology (Paper 1) > Social Influence > Flashcards

Social Influence Flashcards

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1
Q

What is social psychology?

A

How people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are affected by the presence of others

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2
Q

What is conformity?

A

A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or a group

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3
Q

What are examples of conformity?

A

-Uniform
-Fashion
-Belief

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4
Q

What is majority influence (also known as yielding to group pressure)?

A

When the beliefs held by the larger number of individuals in the social group prevail

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5
Q

What are the 3 types of conformity?

A

-Compliance
-Identification
-Internalisation

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6
Q

What is compliance?

A

Conforming to fit in and be accepted, however, there is public but not private acceptance of values

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7
Q

What is identification?

A

Conforming because there is something they value about the group, however, there is temporary acceptance of values

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8
Q

What is internalisation?

A

When there is public and private acceptance of values. Change is permanent

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9
Q

What is the evaluative acronym used for studies?

A

GRAVE

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10
Q

What does G stand for?

A

Generalisability. Does it represent everybody?

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11
Q

What does R stand for?

A

Reliability. How consistent are the results?

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12
Q

What does A stand for?

A

Applicability. How useful is the study in the real world?

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13
Q

What does V stand for

A

Validity. Are the results a true measure of what they are supposed to measure?

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14
Q

What does E stand for?

A

Ethics - Is the study moral?
Was there consent?
Did they face harm?
Were they given right to withdraw?
Did they recieve a debrief?

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15
Q

Who created the two process method?

A

Deutsch and Gerard (1955)

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16
Q

What is the two process method?

A

A theory arguing there are two main reasons for why people conform i.e. ISI,NSI

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17
Q

What is ISI?

A

Informational social influence. Conforming out of a need to be right

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18
Q

What is NSI?

A

Normative social influence. People conform out of a desire to be accepted and fear of rejection

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19
Q

What is a social role?

A

Parts people play as members of various social groups e.g. parent, child, student

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20
Q

What was the aim of Zimbardo’s study?

A

-How readily people would conform to the
roles of guard and prisoner

-He also wanted to examine whether the behaviour displayed was due to the people themselves (internal dispositional factors-t) or the environment and conditions of the prison (external situational factors)

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21
Q

What was the procedure of Zimbardo’s study?

A

•Zimbardo converted a basement of Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison
•He advertised for 21 male students •Participants were randomly assigned
•Prisoners
-Blinfolded,strip searched,issued a uniform,referred to by number only
•Guards
-Issued a khaki uniform together with whistles,handcuffs, and dark glasses
•Guards work shifts , eight hours each
•No physical violence was permitted
•Zimabardo observed behaviour as researcher and prison warden

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22
Q

What were the findings for Zimbardo’s study?

A

Guards:
-Harassed prisoners
-Behaved in a brutal and sadistic manner
and apparently enjoyed it
-As the prisoners became more submissive,
the guards became more aggressive and
assertive

Prisoners:
-Soon adopted prison-like behaviour
-They told tales on each other to please the
guards
-They started taking prison rules very seriously

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23
Q

What were the conclusions from Zimbardo’s research?

A

-People quickly conform to social roles even
when the role goes against their moral
principles

-Situational factors were largely responsible
for the behaviours found as participants
had never previously demonstrated these
behaviours

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24
Q

What is social influence?

A

The process by which individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours

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25
Q

What is obedience?

A

When an individual follows an order from an authority figure who has the power to punish when obedient behaviour does not occur

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26
Q

What is destructive obedience?

A

When an individual obeys an order to do something immoral

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27
Q

What are situational variables?

A

Features of an environment that impact the degree to which individuals obey

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28
Q

What are the 3 things involved in a situation that could impact obedience levels?

A

Proximity, location , uniform

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29
Q

What is proximity?

A

The physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to

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30
Q

What is location?

A

The place where the order is issued. The status or prestige of a place can impact obedience

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31
Q

What is uniform?

A

The clothes an authority figure wears that symbolise their position of authority

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32
Q

What was the procedure of Milgram’s experiment?

A

-40 male participants from a range of occupations and backgrounds
-They had responded to an ad in the local paper to take part in an experiment on “punishment and learning “
-At Yale University
-The experimenter explained one person would be randomly assigned to role of teacher , the other , learner
-The real participant was always teacher
-Teacher watched learner being strapped to to electric chair and were given an example shock to convince them the procedure was real
-Learner gave predetermined answers
-Learner was placed in adjacent room and were given a series of words to read
-Their recall was then tested
-The teacher was told to give a shock for each incorrect answer and to increase after each incorrect answer
-As shocks increased the screaming became louder
-300v =weak heart, 315=bang on wall, 330=silence
-Experimenter continued until participant refused to continue or 450v was reached

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33
Q

What were the findings from Milgram’s experiment?

A

-All real participants went to at least 300v
-65% continued until 450v
-Many trembled,stuttered,bit their lip,3 had seizures

34
Q

What were the conclusions from Milgram’s experiment?

A

-Under the right circumstances ordinary people will obey unjust orders

-The Germans are not different to other people from different countries

35
Q

What was the aim of Milgram’s experiment?

A

-Wanted to know if the Germans were different and more obedient to authority figures than people in other countries

-If ordinary American citizens would obey an unjust order from an authority figure to inflict pain on another person because they were instructed to

36
Q

Evaluating Milgram’s experiment

A

-Participants were allowed to leave, however may have felt uncomfortable exercising this right as they were being ordered to continue
-Participants were informed thoroughly
-Deception was necessary for realism. Questionnaires afterwards revealed they thought it was valuable
-Participants thought shocks were real so potentially faced psychological harm

37
Q

Evaluating Zimbardo’s study

A

-Random allocation of roles
-All male
-Zimbardo had a dual role
-Prisoners were abused both mentally and physically
-Didn’t last full 14 days

38
Q

What uniform did the experimenter wear in Milgram’s study?

A

A grey lab coat

39
Q

In Milgram’s study, what was the level of conformity when it was done at Yale University?

A

65%

40
Q

In Milgram’s study, what was the level of conformity when it was done in a run down office?

A

47.5%

41
Q

In Milgram’s study, what was the level of conformity when the teacher and learner were in the same room?

A

40%

42
Q

In Milgram’s study, what was the level of conformity when the teacher forced the learner’s hand onto a plate?

A

30%

43
Q

In Milgram’s study, what was the level of conformity when the experimenter was giving orders by the phone?

A

20.5%

44
Q

In Milgram’s study, what was the level of conformity when the experimenter played a member of the public?

A

20%

45
Q

What are the 4 explanations for obedience?

A

-Situational variables
-Legitimacy of authority
-Agentic state
-Authoritarian personality

46
Q

What is legitimacy of authority?

A

People are more likely to obey to people who they perceive have authority over them

47
Q

Explain legitimacy of authority

A

-The authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy e.g. teacher, parent, police officer

-Individuals are taught to recognise the value of obedience to an authority figure to keep stability in society

-If the authority figure is seen as legitimate, then they are granted the power to punish others

-People are willing to give up some of their independence and to hand over control of their behaviour to people they trust to exercise their authority appropriately

-Problems arise when legitimate authority becomes destructive e.g. Hitler

48
Q

What is agentic state?

A

When an individual no longer feels responsible for their actions, giving up their free will and morality. They will act for another figure

49
Q

What do the explanations for resistance to social influence mean?

A

The ability to withstand the social pressure and resist the desire to conform to the majority

50
Q

What are the 2 explanations for resistance to social influence?

A
  • Situational factors (social support)
  • Dispositional factors (locus of control)
51
Q

What is social support?

A

Having an ally that agrees with your point of view and that helps you resist group pressure

52
Q

What research backs social support?

A

Asch’s research - when a confederate was instructed to give the correct answer throughout, conformity dropped by 5%

Milgram’s research - when a participant was paired with 2 additional confederates, the percentage of those who went to the full 450 volts dropped from 65% to 10%

53
Q

What is authoritarian personality?

A

The explanation that argues certain personality characteristics are associated with higher levels of obedience

54
Q

What research backs authoritarian personality?

A

Adorno et al (1950)

55
Q

What was the procedure for Adorno et al’s research?

A
  • He studied more than 200 middle class white Americans and their conscious attitude towards other racial groups
  • This was done primarily using the F- scale (the F stands for fascist)
56
Q

What were the findings for Adorno et al’s research?

A

People who scored high on the F-scale:

-Identified with “strong” people
-Were generally disrespectful and had hatred for the “weak”
-They were conscious of their own and others’ status
-Showed excessive respect, submission and were slave like to those of higher status
-They had distinctive stereotypes
-They saw things as black and white

57
Q

What are the characteristics associated with an authoritarian personality?

A

-Tendency to be obedient to authority
-Extreme respect to authority
-Hatred for people they perceive as having inferior social status
-Traditional attitudes towards sex, race and gender
-View society as going downhill

58
Q

What are the origins of authoritarian personality?

A

-Harsh parenting
-Expectation of complete loyalty
-Impossibly high standards
-Severe criticism of perceived failures
-Conditional love

59
Q

What is locus of control?

A

The degree and individual feels they have control over their own life

60
Q

How is locus of control measured?

A

On a continuum from external to internal

61
Q

What do internals believe?

A

That things happen to them, and happen largely because of themselves

62
Q

What do externals believe?

A

Things happen out of their control

63
Q

Who is more likely to resist social pressure between internals and externals ?

A

Internals because they take personal responsibility

64
Q

What is minority influence?

A

Situations where one person or small group influence the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of others

65
Q

Who studied the process of minority influence?

A

Moscovici

66
Q

What are the 3 things the power of minority influence rely on?

A

Consistency, commitment, flexibility

67
Q

What is consistency?

A

Minority influence is most effective if the minority keeps the same beliefs, both over time and between all individuals that form the minority. Its effective because it draws attention to the minority view

68
Q

What is commitment?

A

When the minority demonstrates dedication to their position, for example by making personal sacrifices

69
Q

What is flexibility?

A

-Relentless consistency could be counter productive if it is seen by the majority as unbending and unreasonable

-Instead members of the minority need to be prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable and valid counter arguments

70
Q

What research backs locus of control?

A

Susan Albrecht et al (2006)

71
Q

Explain Susan Albrecht et al’s research on locus of control

A

-Evaluated Lean Fresh Start USA, an eight week programme to help pregnant adolescents aged 14-19 to resist pressure to smoke

-Social support was provided by an older mentor or “buddy”

72
Q

What did Susan Albrecht et al’s research find?

A

Adolescents who had a “buddy” were less likely to smoke than a control group of adolescents who did not have a buddy

73
Q

What is research support that backs minority influence?

A

Moscovici

74
Q

Explain Moscovici’s research on minority influence

A

-Six people were asked to to view a set of 36 differing blue-coloured slides and state whether they were blue or green

-In each group there were two confederates who consistently said that slides were green on two-thirds of the trials

75
Q

What were the findings of Moscovici’s research on minority influence?

A

-When there were two confederates giving consistent answers, participants gave the same wrong answer on 8.42% of trials

-When confederates gave inconsistent answers, participants only agreed on 1.25% of trials

-When there were no confederates, participants got the answer wrong on 0.25% of trials

76
Q

What research goes against social support?

A

-Rotter (1982)
-Twenge et al (2004)

77
Q

Explain Rotter’s research that gives a limitation for locus of control

A

He placed participants into groups to come up with ideas for a smear campaign for an oil company

78
Q

What were Rotter’s findings for a limitation of locus of control?

A

Higher levels of resistance than Milgram’s study. However, this could be because participants were in groups and could therefore discuss their ideas

79
Q

What is the conclusion from Rotter’s research for a limitation of locus of control?

A

-Locus of control is only helpful in explaining a narrow range of new situations

-Even if people are internal, peer support can lead to disobedience as it undermines the legitimacy of an authority figure

80
Q

What are other factors that can affect resistance to social influence in spite of locus of control?

A

-Whether people have peer support

-Society being unstable, therefore more things are out of people’s control

A-level Psychology (Paper 1) (7 decks)

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