Social Influence P1 Flashcards
what is NSI?
. where people comply to be liked and to gain approval from a social group.
. can happen with friends and strangers due to fear of being rejected.
. produces compliance
what is ISI?
. where behaviour is changed to try and be right
. following behaviour of a group due to uncertainty
. thinking others are right especially in new or ambiguous situations where the correct answer is unclear
. produces internalisation
what is internalisation conformity?
. a deep kind that involves a change in private views to match those of a group
. beliefs persist in the absence of the group as well
. attitudes become part of the way the person thinks
what is identification conformity?
. a moderate kind that involves a change in public opinion to fit that of a group with something we value, even if we don’t agree
what is compliance conformity?
. a superficial kind where you publicly conform but privately your views stay the same
. ends as soon as group pressure stops
What is an example of supporting evidence for NSI and why?
. Asch’s experiment where the majority of p’s went along at least once with an answer they could obviously see was incorrect
. this was done due to self conscious and fear of disapproval thus supporting NSI
What’s a limitation of NSI and why?
. It may ignore individual differences e.g. it affects some people more than others due to some having a greater need to be liked and converse
. this is supported by McGhee and Teevan (1967) who found students who have a greater need to be liked are more likely to conform
. this is a limitation
What’s some supporting evidence for ISI and why?
. Lucas et al (2006) asked students to answer maths questions with varying difficulty.
. a greater conformity rate was found in incorrect answers when the questions were difficult rather than easy
. this was especially high in those who ranked their maths skills as poor
. this is a strength
What year was Asch’s study in?
1956
What was the aim of Asch’s study?
to see if p’s would conform to majority social influence and give incorrect answers in situations where the correct answer was clear
What was the procedure for Asch’s study?
. told p’s they were taking part in test of vision relating to perception of line length
. 123 male American college students volunteered
. groups of 6 and 7 asked to take turns calling out which line they thought matched the length of the subject
. only one p was real, rest were all confederates
. real p always seated last or second to last
. confederates always gave wrong unanimous answers in 12 of the 18 trials
What were the findings in Asch’s study?
. in 12 critical trials, mean conformity was 33%
. 75% conformed at least once
. in control trial with no confederates incorrect answers only given 1% of the time
What was the conclusion of Asch’s research?
. a majority can influence a minority even in an unambiguous situation where answers are obvious demonstrating NSI
What 3 variables were used in Asch’s research?
. group size
. unanimity of confederates
. difficulty of task
How did group size effect conformity in Asch’s experiment?
. 1 p with 1 c 3%
. 1 p with 2 c 13%
. 1 p with 3 c 32%
. further increases didn’t lead to a change in rate of conformity
How did unanimity affect conformity in Asch’s experiment?
. Asch broke unanimity by introducing 1 confed who gave the right answer 5%
. confed then gave wrong answer 9%
. this suggests unanimity is a major factor in conformity
How did difficulty of task affect conformity in Asch’s experiment?
. they made the differences in line length smaller
. led to an increase in conformity
. likely due to ISI
Who replicated Asch’s research and what did they find?
. Pernh and Spencer replicated in 1980 in the uk and found only 1 conforming response out of 396 trials
. this suggests cultural change and change in the importance of conformity
. this is a limitation as it means Asch’s research lacks temporal validity
. this suggests Asch’s research is a child of its time and it was conducted in a time in America where conformity was extremely important
What where the issues with Asch’s method?
. p’s may have been aware of true aims of study and responded to demand characteristics
. the way they responded may not be accurate so findings cant be generalised
. the task lacked mundane realism, the task as trivial so there was no real reason not to conform
What limits the application of Asch’s research?
. an all male sample was used
. research suggests women may have conformed more as they care more about social relationships (Neto 1995)
. men were all from the United States
. Studies in China found a much higher rate of conformity
. Asch’s findings may not apply to all
What was the aim of the Stanford prison experiment (1971)?
. to find out if guards behave brutally due to their own sadistic personalities or if there was something in the environment causing it
What procedure was used in the Stanford Prison Experiment?
. Zimbardo set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford university
. advertised the research in a paper and selected 24 students with no criminal records who were deemed emotionally stable
. the roles of prisoner and guard were randomly assigned
. prisoners were arrested in their homes and delivered, they were blindfolded, strip searched, delouse, issued a uniform, and given a number
. prisoners daily routines were regulated, they had 16 rules enforced by guards who worked in shifts
. the prisoners were referred to only by number
. guards had uniform, clubs, handcuffs, and shades
. they were told they had complete power over the prisoners
What were the findings of Zimbardo’s research?
. guards became increasingly tyrannical, they enjoyed the harsh treatment and did things like make the prisoners clean toilets with their bare hands
. after 2 days of strict rule from guards, p’s rebelled
. g’s put down rebellion with fire extinguishers, p’s became depressed and anxious
. meant to last 2 weeks but had to end after 6 days after intervention from a postgraduate student
What was the conclusion drawn from Zimbardo’s research?
. power of the situation can influence a persons behaviour, Guards and pp’s both conformed to their social roles
What were the ethical issues involved in Zimbardo’s research?
. right to withdraw - Z spoke to one man who wanted to leave as a superintendent rather than a researcher and stopped him leaving
. protection from harm - both physical and mental
How did demand characteristics affect Zimbardo’s study?
. its speculated that Jaffe, another researcher, suggested to the guards to behave in immoral ways
. this makes the research invalid
. the study lacks internal validity
Why do Zimbardo’s findings lack reliability?
. Reicher and Haslam (2006) conducted a modern replication of the study in the UK
. findings were different, instead the p’s took charge, disobeyed and harassed the guards
. limitation as findings aren’t consistent
What is one strength of Zimbardo’s experiment?
. Abu Gharib, military prison in Iraq, known for its torture and abuse of prisoners from US military soldiers in 2003 and 2004
. Zimbardo states that guards were abusive due to situational factors rather than because they were sadistic themselves
What is obedience?
a form of social influence involving acting on the orders of an authority figure
What was the aim of Milgram’s (1956) study?
. to find out whether ordinary Americans would obey to unjust orders from a person in authority
