social influence

Question 1

what is conformity

Answer 1

when a person changes their beliefs and behaviour to fit – or conform – to those of a group.

Question 2

who identified the 3 types of conformity

Answer 2

kelman 1958

Question 3

what is compliance

Answer 3

• weakest type of conformity
• person publicly changes their behaviour and beliefs to fit that of a group and avoid disapproval
• BUT privately, the person does not accept the behaviours and beliefs of the group

Question 4

example of compliance

Answer 4

pretending to like a film you dislike so as not to stand out from a group who all really love that film.

Question 5

what is idenitification

Answer 5

• stronger than compliance
• person both publicly and privately changing their behaviour and beliefs to fit that of a group they want to be part of
• only identifies with these beliefs as long as they are associated with the group – upon leaving the group, the original behaviours and beliefs return.

Question 6

example of identification

Answer 6

adopting the same music and fashion tastes as your friendship group. When you move away, though, you revert back to your old clothes and music

Question 7

what is internalisation

Answer 7

• strongtest type of conformity
• person both publicly and privately changes their behaviour and beliefs to those of a group – but permanently
• internalise beliefs and behaviours maintain those beliefs and behaviours even after leaving the social group

Question 9

example of internalisation

Answer 9

a person who undergoes a genuine religious conversion. This person will still pray and believe in God even if they move away from the social group of their church

Question 10

what was the aim of asch’s conformity study

Answer 10

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

Question 11

procedure for asch

Answer 11

123 male participants were told they were taking part in a study of visual perception.
Participants were put in groups with between 7 and 9 confederates (i.e. fake subjects pretending to be part of the experiment too).
Each participant completed 18 trials where they would be shown the sets of lines above (A, B, or C) and then asked which one was closest to the original line.
In the 12 critical trials, the confederates would all give the same wrong answer – the participant was always asked to give their answer last (or second to last) so as to hear the group’s answers first.
The control group for this experiment consisted of 36 participants. In the control trials, participants were asked the same question as above – but this time alone.

Question 12

results of asch’s study

Answer 12

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 13

during post experiment interviews what were the 3 explanations for conforimtiy given

Answer 13

Distortion of perception: A small few subjects actually came to perceive the majority estimates as correct and were completely unaware of their mistake.

Distortion of judgement: The majority of conforming subjects were aware of their mistake but did not trust their own judgement and instead decided that the majority was correct.

Distortion of action: These subjects were aware of – and trusted – their judgement that the majority was wrong but nevertheless gave the wrong answer so as not to stand out and be different.

Question 14

strength of asch’s conformity study

Answer 14

Practical applications: Asch’s experiments demonstrate the extent to which humans follow the herd. This is a valuable psychological insight that may have practical applications. For example, understanding the influence of conformity may encourage scientific researchers to think outside of the current paradigm and come up with revolutionary discoveries.

Question 15

weaknesses of asch’s conformity study

Answer 15

Questions of ecological/external validity: Guessing the length of lines is a specific and unusual task. As such, it is not clear the extent to which Asch’s findings generalise to conformity in the real world.

Gender bias (beta bias): All the participants in Asch’s study were male, so it is not clear whether the findings are valid in females as well.

Ethical concerns: Asch told participants they were taking part in a study of visual perception, and thus did not give informed consent to the actual study (which was on conformity).

Question 16

3 variable affecting conformity

Answer 16

unanimity
group size
difficulty

Question 17

unanimity on conformity

Answer 17

Participants’ conformity declined from 32% to 5.5% when one ‘partner’ confederate was instructed to give the correct answer and go against the incorrect answer of the majority.

Asch’s findings are consistent with other research which finds conformity rates decline when the majority answer is not unanimous. In other words, if the majority all agree, the participant is more likely to conform to the group than if there is some disagreement.

Question 18

group size on conformity

Answer 18

Increasing the size of the group tended to increase conformity – up to a point. In trials with just one confederate and one participant, conformity rates were low. Increasing the number of confederates to 2 also increased conformity to 12.8% and increasing the number of confederates to 3 increased conformity even further to 32% (the same as the original study). However,** adding extra confederates (4, 8, or 16) beyond this did not increase conformity**.

Asch’s findings on conformity and majority size have been replicated in other studies, but other studies suggest conformity continues to increase with majority size beyond this.

Question 19

difficulty on conformity

Answer 19

Increasing the difficulty of the task was also found to** increase conformity.** Asch adjusted the lengths of the lines in the study above to make it either more easy or more difficult to see which line was closest in length to the original line. If the difference between the incorrect answer and the correct answer was very small (and thus harder to notice), participants were more likely to conform to the incorrect answers of the majority.

Question 20

2 explanations for conformity

Answer 20

informational social influence [ISI]

normative social influence [NSI]

Question 21

what is ISI

Answer 21

desire to be correct motivates individuals to act on information provided by members of the group because they believe that information to be true or the correct way to do things.

Question 22

example of ISI

Answer 22

conforming to others’ behaviour at a formal restaurant. You don’t know which cutlery is the correct set to use, so you just copy someone else who seems to know what they’re doing.

Question 23

what is NSI

Answer 23

desire to fit in motivates individuals to conform to the beliefs and opinions of a group so as not to stand out. The motivation of normative social influence is not a desire to be correct (like ISI), but is instead a desire to be liked and accepted.

Question 24

example of NSI

Answer 24

being peer pressured into agreeing with the group’s opinions on politics.

Question 25

aim of zimbardo’s prison experiment

conformity to social roles

Answer 25

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

Question 26

procedure of zimbardo’s prison experiment

conformity to social roles

Answer 26

• Zimbardo and his team converted the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University into a fake prison.
• 21 male students were selected from a total of 75 participants for their mental stability and lack of antisocial tendencies.
• These 21 participants were randomly divided into two groups: 10 ‘guards’ and 11 ‘prisoners’
• Prisoners were arrested by real police and then subjected to real police booking procedures (e.g. fingerprinting and mug shots). They were put in cells in groups of 3 and were confined throughout the experiment.
• Guards worked in 8 hour shifts and were instructed to refer to the prisoners by their assigned numbers rather than their names.
• A realistic prison routine was established with meal times, etc.
• The prisoners wore jackets with their number on, and a chain around one ankle. Guards wore khaki uniforms, mirrored sunglasses to prevent eye contact, and carried handcuffs and wooden batons.
• The study was scheduled to** run for 2 weeks.**

Question 27

results of zimbardo’s prison experiment

Answer 27

• The guards became increasingly sadistic. For example, they forced the prisoners to continually repeat their assigned numbers and made them go to the toilet in buckets in their cells. As punishment, the guards refused to allow prisoners to empty these buckets, took away their mattresses and made them sleep on the concrete floor, and took away their clothes.
• The** prisoners became increasingly submissive**. Many stopped questioning the guards behaviour and sided with the guards against rebellious prisoners
• After 35 hours, one prisoner began to “act crazy, to scream, to curse, to go into a rage that seemed out of control” and had to be released. Three other prisoners had to be released for similar reasons throughout the duration of the experiment.
• The guards’ sadism became so harmful that Zimbardo stopped the experiment after just 6 days instead of the scheduled 2 weeks.

Question 28

interviwes following zimbardo’s experi

Answer 28

both the prisoners and the guards expressed** shock at how out-of-character their behaviour had become**.

Remember, the **participants were selected for their mental stability, yet they behaved in ways that they would ordinarily consider to be wrong **(particularly the guards).

This supports a situational hypothesis of behaviour over a dispositional one: these people did not necessarily have a sadistic disposition, but were instead conforming to the social roles of the situation.

Question 29

strengths of zimbardoes prisom experi

practica lapplication

Answer 29

Practical applications: Zimbardo’s study demonstrates the influence of conformity to social roles, which is an important psychological insight that has resulted in useful applications in society. For example, Zimbardo’s research prompted reform in the way juvenile prisoners were treated (at least initially).

Question 30

weaknesses of zimbardo’s prisom experi

Answer 30

Questions of ecological/external validity: Both the guards and prisoners knew they were taking part in a study, and so this might have affected how they behaved. For example, they might have felt they were expected to act a certain way. This is somewhat confirmed by post-study interviews: Many of the participants said they were just acting. As such, the findings of this study may not apply to real life situations.

**Ethical concerns: **It’s clear the study subjected many of the participants to high levels of stress, as evidenced by the prisoner who “went crazy” and had to be released, as well as the other participants who had to be released. Further, participants did not explicitly consent to all aspects of the experiment, such as being ‘arrested’ at home.

Question 31

what is obediance

Answer 31

when a person complies with – obeys – the orders of an authority figure.

Question 32

aim of milgrams obediance study

Answer 32

to investigate the extent to which people obey the orders of an authority figure.

Question 33

procedure for milgrams experiment

Answer 33

• 40 American male participants aged 20-50 were told they were taking part in an study of the effects of punishment on memory and learning.
• The confederate ‘experimenter’ (wearing a lab coat to create an impression of authority) told the participant that he had been randomly assigned the role of ‘teacher’ and that another participant (who was another confederate) had been randomly assigned the role of ‘learner’.
• The experimenter told the participant the test would involve giving increasingly powerful electric shocks to the learner from a machine in the room next door (marked with different voltage levels).
• The participant watched the learner be strapped into into a chair and have electrodes attached to his body. The participant was also given a 45 volt shock himself so that he believed everything was real.
• The participant teacher (in the room next door) was instructed to teach the learner a list of word pairs. For each wrong answer from the learner, the teacher had to give him an electric shock. These electric shocks increased in power with each wrong answer – starting at 15 volts and increasing by 15 volts each time all the way up to 450 volts.
• Once electric shocks reached 150 volts, the learner began to protest. These protests (pre-recorded and played via a tape recorder) increased in intensity with the increasing voltage. At 315 volts, the learner screamed in pain. After 330 volts, the learner went silent.
• If the participant asked to stop the experiment, the experimenter would reply with one of four successive verbal prods:
  “Please continue” or “please go on”
  “The experiment requires that you continue”
  “It is absolutely essential that you continue”
  “You have no other choice, you must go on”

Question 34

results of milgrams experiment

Answer 34

26 out of 40 participants (65%) administered shocks all the way up to the maximum of 450 volts.
40 out of 40 participants (100%) administered shocks up to** 300 volts.**

Most participants displayed physical symptoms of discomfort at what they were doing such as sweating, twitching, and nervously laughing. 3 participants suffered seizures from the stress of what they were doing.

Question 35

strengths of milgrams experiment

Answer 35

Reliable: Milgram’s results have been replicated several times over the decades, which suggests the results are reliable.

Practical applications: Milgram’s experiments demonstrate the extent to which humans obey authority – even if doing so may be dangerous. This is a valuable psychological insight that could have beneficial applications in society. For example, there are several examples of (typically junior) doctors and nurses knowingly following orders that have injured or killed patients. Training junior doctors and nurses of the dangers of obedience (as demonstrated by Milgram’s experiments) could avoid this.

Question 36

weaknesses of milgrams experiment

Answer 36

**Unethical: **Milgram’s study was initially considered so unethical that Milgram’s membership of the American Psychological Association was suspended. Among the criticisms was the extreme stress placed upon the participants, as evidenced by the 3 who suffered seizures. However, the participants were debriefed after the study and it can be argued that the findings of the experiments are so valuable that the benefits of conducting them outweigh the distress caused to participants.

Methodological concerns: There have also been several methodological criticisms levelled at Milgram’s study. For example, some psychologists have argued that many participants in Milgram’s study didn’t actually believe the shocks were real. If so, then Milgram’s findings would likely not be valid when applied to real life. However, in post-study interviews, 75% of participants said they believed the shocks were real. And further, the physiological symptoms of stress observed in many of the participants suggest they really did believe they were inflicting harm.

Question 37

variables affecting obediance

Answer 37

proximity
location
uniform

Question 38

proximity on obedicance [milgram]

Answer 38

Milgram found that obedience declined if the participant was physically closer to the learner. For example, when the participant and the learner were in the same room, obedience fell to 40% from 65%. In one experiment, the participant teacher had to actually hold the learner’s arm onto a shock plate, which resulted in just 30% of participants completing the experiment (again vs. 65% in the original experiment).

The proximity of the authority figure also affects obedience. In experiments where the experimenter gave instructions to the participant via telephone, obedience fell to 21% compared to the original 65%.

Question 39

location on obedicance [milgram]

Answer 39

Milgram also carried out the study in different settings and found that obedience increases in institutional and official-seeming environments. For example, Milgram’s original experiment (65% obedience) was conducted at the prestigious Yale University. But when Milgram replicated the experiment in an office in a** bad part of town**, obedience dropped to 47.5%.

Question 40

uniform on obedicance [milgram]

+suppotying evidence

Answer 40

In Milgram’s original experiment, the experimenter wore a lab coat and instructed the teacher to increase the voltage. However, in another variation of the experiment, the experimenter was replaced mid-way through by someone wearing ordinary clothes, who told the participant to increase the voltage with each wrong answer. In this variation, obedience was 20% rather than 65%.

The influence of uniform is further supported by Bickman (1974). Bickman found that** 38% of participants obeyed the orders of someone wearing a security guard’s uniform compared to 19% when wearing ordinary clothes and 14% when wearing a milkman’s uniform.**

Question 41

what are explanations for obediance

Answer 41

agentic state
legitimacy of authority
the authoritarian personality

Question 42

what is autonomous state

Answer 42

When an individual is freely and consciously in control of their actions and thus takes responsibility for them.

Question 43

what is agentic state

Answer 43

When an individual becomes de-individuated and considers themselves an agent (tool) of an authority figure and thus not personally responsible for their actions.

Question 44

what is agentic state tehory

Answer 44

Milgram’s theory, is that we are taught from a young age that obedience is necessary for an orderly society. But this requires individuals to give up some amount of free will. In situations where an individual obeys an authority figure, they (mentally) hand over responsibility for their actions to the person giving the orders. In the agentic state, a person will obey instructions that go against their moral compass because they do not consider themselves personally responsible for them.

Question 45

what is legitimacy of authority

Answer 45

Another reason for obedience is that individuals may accept an authority figure has a legitimate right to be giving orders. This ties in with the agentic state: we are taught that obedience to authority figures (e.g. parents, teachers, police) is necessary for an orderly society and thus are more likely to do as they say.

Some of the variables in Milgram’s experiments clearly added to the perceived legitimacy of the experimenter’s authority. eg uniform
If a person accepts an authority figure as legitimate, that person will feel they have a duty to do as the authority figure says.

Question 46

what is authoritarian personality

Answer 46

• an internal explanation of obedience because it explains obedience as part of someone’s personality
• people whose disposition makes them submissive to authority and dominating of people with lower status within the hierarchy and members of an out-group.
• Adorno et al (1950) created the **F-scale **personality test to measure the authoritarian personality in people. In later research, Milgram found that people who were highly obedient in his experiments scored higher on the F-scale than those who disobeyed.
• This suggests that the authoritarian personality type can (at least partly) explain obedience.

Question 47

explanations of resistance to social influence

Answer 47

• social support
• locus of control

Question 48

social support as resistanve to conformity

Answer 48

Asch observed that participant conformity declined from 32% to 5.5% when one of the confederates went against the group and said the correct answer. Having someone else break the unanimity of the group provided social support for the participant to give the answer he really thought.

Question 49

social support in obediance

Answer 49

In another variation of Milgram’s experiments, participants took part in the experiment with two other (confederate) teachers. When the** other teachers refused** to administer any more electric shocks and left the study, participant obedience dropped from 65% to 10%.

Question 50

who made locus of control

Answer 50

Rotter, 1966

Question 51

what is locus of control

Answer 51

the extent to which they believe they are in control of their life:
Internal locus of control: The person believes their own choices shape their life
E.g. if you do badly in an exam, you blame yourself
**External locus of control: **The person believes their life is controlled by things outside their control – such as luck, fate, and circumstance
E.g. if you do badly in an exam, you blame the exam paper or the teacher

Question 52

locus of control on conformity

Answer 52

A meta-analysis by Avtgis (1998) found that people with an **internal locus of control are less likely to conform **to group influence than people with an external locus of control.

Question 53

locus of control on obediance

Answer 53

Research linking obedience and locus of control is more mixed, but leans in the direction of also suggesting that those with an internal locus of control are less likely to obey an authority figure than those with an external locus of control. This may be because people with an internal locus of control feel they have control over their actions and thus are able to resist the influence of an authority figure.

Question 54

minority influence in social chnage

Answer 54

minority influence can convert individuals to reject these social norms and adopt the beliefs and behaviours of a minority. Eventually, if enough people are converted to the minority’s beliefs, they become the new majority and establish new social norms.

Social cryptoamnesia is the process whereby the minority influences a few members of the majority at first, but as these numbers grow it causes a snowball effect where more and more members of the majority get converted at a growing pace.

Question 55

what are the 3 variable affecting minority influence

Answer 55

1. consistency
2. commitment
3. flexibility

Question 56

consistency and commitmnet on minority influence

study

Answer 56

Moscovici and Naffrechoux (1969)- Participants were divided into** groups of 6 (4 real participants and 2 confederates) **+ told they were taking part in a study of visual perception. The participants were shown 36 shades of blue and asked to say out loud what the colour was.

1. In the control group** (no confederates)**, participants said the colours were green 0.25% of the time.
2. In the inconsistent minority group (where** confederates said 24/36 colours were green**), participants said the colours were green 1.25% of the time.
3. In the consistent minority group (where confederates said 36/36 colours were green), participants said the colours were green 8.4% of the time.

This suggests minority influence is more effective when the minority are consistent in their beliefs and behaviours.

Moscovici also argues that minority influence is most effective when the minority remain committed to their beliefs over time (especially in the face of adversity).

Question 57

flexibility of minority influence

study

Answer 57

Although consistency is important, minority influence is less effective if the minority is completely inflexible and unwilling to compromise with the majority.

For example, Nemeth (1986) divided participants into groups of 4 (with 1 confederate) to negotiate how much insurance money to pay someone. She found that confederates who **demonstrated flexibility were more effective at persuading the majority to accept a low amount than confederates who inflexibly stuck to a very low amount.**