Social Influence Flashcards
Define conformity.
A change in behaviour due to real or imagined pressure
What is compliance?
Changing behaviour in public but not changing private beliefs
What is identification?
Changing our behaviour to be fit a group we identify with
What is internalisation?
A private and public acceptance of group norms (long term)
What is informational social influence?
Want to be right.
When we conform to the opinion of others because we believe they have superior knowledge and are more likely to be right.
What is normative social influence?
Want to be liked.
When we conform because we want to be liked and accepted by others.
Name 3 features of informational social influence.
Most likely in new/ambiguous situations.
Cognitive process.
Leads to internalisation.
Name 3 features of normative social influence.
To gain social approval.
Emotional process (avoid emotions e.g. embarrassment)
Leads to compliance and identification.
Explain one strength of normative social influence.
Supporting research evidence.
When Asch asked participants to write down an answer instead of say it out loud, conformity decreased.
When answering in private NSI is reduced as there is less pressure to fit in, which is what NSI predicts.
Explain one weakness of normative social influence as an explanation for conformity.
Individual differences in how people respond to NSI.
People known as Naffiliators have a greater need for social approval than others and therefore are more likely to conform.
NSI does not affect everyone in the same way.
Explain one strength of informational social influence as an explanation for conformity.
Supporting research evidence.
As Asch made the task more difficult conformity increased as participants did not want to be wrong.
Shows people are more likely to look to others when unsure, which is what ISI predicts.
Evaluate informational social influence and normative social influence.
They work together.
During Covid we wore masks to avoid social disapproval (NSI) but also we believed the professionals about reducing transmission (ISI).
In some cases the best explanation is both.
What was Asch’s aim?
To investigate whether people conformed to a majority view when it is obviously incorrect.
What was Asch’s method?
123 American male college students.
Shown 2 cards, one with test line and other with 3 comparison lines.
Asked which of the 3 comparison lines was the same as the test line.
Correct answer always obvious.
All people in the room were confederates except the one participant.
Confederates gave wrong answers in 12 out of 18 trials.
What were the results of Asch’s study?
75% of participants conformed at least once.
What was the conclusion from Asch’s study?
People would conform to a majority view even when it is obvious that it is incorrect.
Explain one weakness of Asch’s study.
Used a limited sample.
Only used American male college students.
Cannot generalise findings to explain conformity in other genders/ages/cultures.
Explain one strength of Asch’s study.
Lab study so have control over variables.
Could alter specific variables such as group size/task difficulty to see how conformity is affected.
Therefore helping to identify social factors affecting conformity.
How did Asch investigate the effects of group size?
Changed the number of confederates in the group.
Biggers groups increased conformity.
After 3 confederates there was little difference in the levels of conformity.
Normative social influence.
How did unanimity affect conformity?
Varied whether or not all confederates gave the same incorrect answer.
The presence of a non-conforming* actor reduced conformity by 1/4.
*Dissenter.
How did Asch investigate the effects of task difficulty on conformity?
Standard and comparison lines made more similar in length.
As difficulty increase, conformity increased.
Informational social influence plays greater role when task is harder as situation is more ambiguous.
Define obedience.
Following the orders of an authority figure.
Briefly describe Milgrams study.
Aim - investigate how far people would go in obeying orders from an authority figure.
Participants recruited, arrived at Yale.
Participants assigned to be the teacher, confederate was the actor.
Read out word pairs which the learner had to remember. If wrong, gave an electric shock which gradually got stronger.
All participants reached 300V.
65z reached 450V.
How does proximity affect obedience?
Oropiginal study - teacher and learner in adjoining room.
Same room = 40%.
On the phone = 20.5%.
Easier to ignore instructions when not face to face.
How does uniform affect obedience.
Experimenter wears lab coats - 65%.
Everyday clothes - 20%.
Uniform indicates LOA.
How does location affect obedience.
When repeated in a run down building the experimenter had less authority.
Obedience fell to 47.5%.
Yale has a reputation/status.
What is legitimacy of authority?
Authority is agreed by society.
Allowed to exercise social power as it allows society to function.
Some are granted the power to punish.
Learn about and accept this power from childhood.
What is another word for legitimate?
Justified.
