Social Influence Flashcards
What is conformity?
a form of social influence that results from exposure to the majority position and leads to compliance with that position.
What is compliance?
a type of conformity, public views change but private views do not. Changes to views only last while group is present. Superficial and temporary form of conformity
What is internalisation?
a type of conformity, publics views and private views both change as the subject agrees with the majority. This is a deeper and more permanent form of conformity.
What is identification?
A moderate type of conformity where we act in the same way with the group because we value it and want to be part of it. But we don’t necessarily agree with everything the majority believes.
Who argued that we can distinguish between three types of conformity?
Kelman (1958)
What is informational social influence?
when you defer to the judgement of people who you think have more knowledge of the topic than you
What is normative social influence?
influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
What type of conformity does ISI usually lead to?
Internalisation
What type of conformity does NSI usually lead to?
Compliance
strengths of the explanations of conformity
- research support (Lucas et al (2006) for ISI, Asch (1951) for NSI
Which situations lead to ISI?
- when the situation is ambiguous
- when the situation is more difficult or complex
- the situation is a crisis
- we believe others to be experts
weaknesses of the explanations of conformity
- lab studies which lack ecological validity and could lead to demand characteristics
- nAffiliators are more likely to conform
Key studies in conformity:
Jenness (1932): jelly bean experiment estimate changed after collaboration (ISI)
Sherif (1935): autokinetic light experiment (ISI)
Asch (1951): line experiment to see if the subject would conform to confederates clearly incorrect answer (NSI)
What is ecological validity?
if the findings in the study would be replicated in the real world
What are demand characteristics?
cues in an experiment that tell the participant what behavior is expected
What is the method of Jenness’ study?
Jenness used an ambiguous situation that involved a glass bottle filled with jelly beans. PPs were told to estimate how many were in there individually and then again in a group.
What were the findings of Jenness’ study?
The results were converging. People’s results came closer after discussing with a group which demonstrates ISI.
What is the method of Sherif’s study?
Sherif used an illusion called the auto kinetic effect where a light looks like it moves but it doesn’t. They were asked to guess how much the light moved individually and in groups. One person in a group was very different from the other two.
Who developed the two process theory for conformity? (ISI and NSI)
Deutsch and Gerard (1955)
What were the findings of Sherif’s study?
The group was converging. The person whose result was different was changed drastically to the other people’s guess demonstrating ISI.
What is the method of Asch’s study?
123 male US undergraduates participated in a ‘vision test’. Asch took a pp and placed them last or second to last amongst a group of confederates. Confederates were told to pick a blatantly wrong answer to see if the pp would conform.
- There were 18 trials, 12 of which were critical trials.
What were the findings of Asch’s study?
75% conformed at least once and 25% of participants never conformed. There was overall conformity rate of 35%.
What are the 3 variables affecting conformity as researched by Asch?
Group size
Unanimity of the majority
Task difficulty
How does group size affect conformity?
From 2 to 3 confederates, the conformity rates increased to 30 percent. Any increase in group size doesn’t make much change.
How does the unanimity of the majority affect conformity?
When all confederates conform to one wrong answer, the pp is more likely to conform. The pp is much less likely to conform even if there is one break in the chain (regardless of if this other answer is right or wrong)
How does task difficulty affect conformity?
when the differences between the lines were smaller so it was more difficult, conformity was higher
What is temporal validity and how does it lack in Asch’s study?
Perrin and Spencer (1980) repeated Asch’s experiment at later and saw conformity rates drop in the line experiment meaning Asch’s findings do not hold up over time.
What is ecological validity and how does Asch’s study lack it?
They may have shown demand characteristics. The task of identifying a line is quite silly and not applicable to the real world. The groups don’t resemble real world groups. The study may not replicate what we see in the real world.
What is population validity and how does Asch’s study lack it?
Asch only had male, undergrad pps meaning the findings may not be applicable to females or those of other ages. Bond and Smith (1996) also point out how the US is an individualistic culture where people worry about themselves so conformity may be less which opposed by a collectivist culture like China which is community based.
What ethical issues does Asch’s study have?
Asch deceived pps since the participant didn’t know the group were confederates. The deception could’ve led to psychological harm. There is a debate if debriefing makes up for the deception and the possibility if he gave his participants fully informed consent.
What is conformity to social roles?
When an individual adopts a particular behaviour and belief, while in a particular social situation
Who devised the SPE?
Zimbardo (1974)
What was the aim of the SPE?
To see whether people will conform to new social roles.
What was Zimbardo interesting in finding?
Whether brutality reported among guards in prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards (dispositional) or due to the prison environment (situational)
What was the procedure of the SPE?
- basement was converted into mock prison
- 24 male college students who were checked to ensure there were no psychological problems
- randomly assigned guard or prison (11 guards and 10 prisoners)
- paid $15 a day
- prisoners were arrested in their own home and were booked like normal prisoners
- prisoners were given an ID, a smock and a nylon cap
- guards had khaki uniform with shades to prevent eye contact
- Zimbardo acted as superintendent
What were the results of Zimbardo’s study?
- pps conformed to roles very quickly
- prisoners were dehumanised
- prisoners were interrupted in sleep and were made to do meaningless tasks
- experiment ended early
- prisoners had severe reactions like nervous rashes and breakdowns
- five prisoners were released early
