Social influence Flashcards
1
Q
What is ISI?
A
Informational social influence.
2
Q
What is NSI?
A
Normative social influence.
3
Q
What is compliance?
A
- A superficial and temporary type of conformity.
- We outwardly go along with the majority view whilst privately disagreeing.
- This change in behaviour only occurs whilst in the presence of the group.
4
Q
What is identification?
A
- A moderate type of conformity.
- We act in the same way as the group because we value and want to be a part of it.
- This occurs even if we do not necessarily agree with everything the group / majority believes.
5
Q
What is internalisation?
A
- A deep type of conformity.
- We take on the majority view as we accept it as the correct view.
- This leads to permanent change in behaviour, functioning even when the group is absent.
6
Q
What study did Asch do
A
Line judgment study into conformity.
7
Q
List Asch’s 3 variables.
A
- Group size
- Unanimity
- Task difficulty
8
Q
Explain ISI
A
- This is an explanation of conformity wherein we agree with the opinion of the majority as we believe it is correct.
- We accept this as we want to be correct aswell.
- It is a cognitive process.
- Happens in situations of ambiguity.
9
Q
What does ISI lead to?
A
Internalisation.
10
Q
Explain NSI
A
- An explanation of conformity where people agree with the majority view as we want to gain approval.
- This occurs from the human need to be liked, avoiding rejection.
- This is an emotional process
- This leads to compliance
(non permanent)
11
Q
Evaluate types and explanations of conformity.
A
- Presence of nAffiliators.
There are individual differences in NSI.
Being an nAffiliator (having a higher need to affiliate and be liked) may be a factor in how people conform. Studies have outlined how students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform.
This shows how NSI underlies conformity for some people more than it does for others. Individual differences cannot be fully explained by one singular theory of situational pressures in NSI. - Research support for NSI
Asch followed up his investigation on conformity with an interview. In this, some reported that they conformed to the groups line judgement due to feeling self-conscious in giving the correct answer in fear of disapproval. When the answers were written, conformity fell to 12.5% due to privacy meaning that there was no normative group pressure. This suggests that at least some conformity is due to fear of being rejected from the group if they disagreed. - Research support for ISI
Lucas found that participants, in a study on task difficulty, conformed more to incorrect answers when the math problems became more difficult. This can be explained by ISI: the participants felt more confident when the questions were easy, however, when the math problems became harder the situation became ambiguous. The participants did not want to be incorrect and so relied on the answers of the group. This shows how ISI is a valid explanation of conformity because the results were predicted by this reason. - Difficulty in distinguishing.
It is often unclear whether ISI or NSI is operating in research studies or real life. For example, Asch found that conformity decreased when there was one other dissenting confederate. The dissenter may reduce the power of NSI through offering social support, or alternatively, they may decrease the power of ISI through providing an alternate source of social information). Both interpretations are possible. Therefore, it is hard to separate NSI and ISI as both processes most likely interact in most real world conformity situations.
12
Q
What percent of the time did genuine participants agree with the incorrect answer?
(Asch baseline)
A
36.8 % of the time.
13
Q
What percentage of participants never gave an incorrect answer?
(Asch)
A
25 %
14
Q
Define “social roles”
A
- The ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups.
- These are accompanied by expectations we and over have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role.
15
Q
Who did the Stanford prison experiment?
A
Zimbardo et al. (1973)
16
Q
What is the relationship between task difficulty and conformity?
A
- The more difficult the task, the higher the level of conformity.
17
Q
What is the relationship between group size and conformity?
A
- There is a curvilinear relationship between group size and conformity.
(It levels off) - Conformity increases with group size, only up to a certain point.
-With three confederates, conformity to the wrong answers rose to 31.8%
However, adding more confederates made little difference.
18
Q
What is the relationship between unanimity and conformity?
A
- Conformity rises with group unanimity.
- The influence of the majority depends to a large extent on it being unanimous.
19
Q
Outline Aschs baseline procedure.
A
- 123 American male students were tested in groups of 6 to 8.
- Each participant were shown two large white cards on each trial.
Line X was the standard line, displayed on the left hand card.
Lines A, B and C were offered as three comparison lines. - One of the comparison lines was clearly the same length as X, the other two were substantially different.
- On each trial the participant had to say (out loud) which of the comparison lines was the same length as standard line X.
- Only one person in the group was a genuine participant (naïve), and they were always seated either last or next to last in the group.
The other participants were confederates of Asch, being scripted to give the same incorrect answers each time. - The genuine participant did not know the others were ‘fake’ participants.
20
Q
How did Asch manipulate the variable of group size?
A
- Asch varied the number of confederates from 1 - 15.
(Total group size was from 2 - 16) - With three confederates, conformity rose to 31.8%, but there was little difference following that.
21
Q
How did Asch manipulate the variable of unanimity?
A
- Asch placed another confederate in to act as a dissenter, making them give the correct answer on one variant and an incorrect answer on another variant.
- The naïve participant conformed less often in the presence of a dissenter.
- This was because the presence of a dissenter gives the genuine participant social support, freeing them to behave more independently.
- This was true even when the dissenter disagreed with the genuine participant.
22
Q
How did Asch manipulate the variable of task difficulty?
A
- Asch made the stimulus line and the comparison lines more similar to each other in length.
- This meant that it because harder for the genuine participant to identify the difference between lines, creating a situation of ambiguity.
23
Q
Evaluate Asch’s research
A
- Artificial situation and task
Demand characteristics may have been present as the participants knew they were in a research study. The line task was relatively trivial so there was no reason not to conform. The groups did not resemble groups present in everyday life meaning that the findings cannot be generalized to real life settings, especially to those where conformity may be important. - Limited application
The participant demographic was restricted to American men. The US is an individualist culture meaning that the findings cannot be applied to collectivist cultures where conformity is higher according to separate studies. This also disregards the conformity patterns in women, believed to be higher due to valuing social relations more.
This means that Asch’s findings tell us little about the population outside of American men in their conformity behavior. - Research support
There is support from Lucas’s study on task difficulty. Todd Lucas gave participants math’s questions ranging from easy to hard. The participants were able to be provided answers from 3 separate people. The findings showed that participants conformed more often, agreeing with incorrect answers when the questions were harder. This demonstrates how Asch was correct in claiming that task difficulty was a variable influencing conformity. - Disregards individual factors.
Conformity is more complex than Asch suggested. This is seen in Lucas’s study where those more confident in their mathematical ability conformed less even on the harder questions compared with participants with low confidence. This demonstrates that individual-level factors can impact conformity, interacting with situational variables such as task difficulty in Asch’s study. Asch, however, did not research the roles of individual factors.
24
Q
Outline the process of Stanford prison experiment.
A
- A mock prison was set up in the basement of Stanford’s psychology department.
- 24 male college students were selected.
They underwent psychological examinations and then were randomly allocated for the role of a prison guard or prisoner. - Prisoners and guards were encouraged to conform to to their social roles through uniforms and instructions about their behavior.
25
How was uniform used in Stanford prison experiment?
- DE-INDIVIDUATION.
- Prisoners were given a loose smock and assigned numbers, confiscating their personal identity.
- Guards were provided with uniform that reflected the status of their role.
They were equipped with a wooden club, handcuff and mirror shades.
- These uniforms created a loss of personal identity, meaning that the participants would be more likely to conform to their perceived role.
- Along with uniform, guards were encouraged to play their role by being reminded that they had complete control over the prisoners.
26
Evaluate conformity to social roles.
- Control
Zimbardo maintained control over VARIABLES.
An example of this was in the selection of participants. Emotionally stable individuals were selected and random assigned to roles, this was to eliminate the possibility of individual personality differences interfering in the findings. This means that if guards and prisoners behaved very differently, but were in those roles by chance, this behavior would be attributed to adopting this social role.
This means that from this degree of control, we can feel confident in drawing conclusions
- Lack of realism
The Stanford prison experiment did not have the realism of a real prison. Psychologists argue that participants were merely play acting rather than genuinely conforming to a role. This claim can be supported by the fact that a prison guard admitted to mimicking a character from the film 'Cool Hand Luke' - this means that participants were mainly acting on the stereotypes of how they expected the roles to behave. This would explain why prisoners rioted - because they assumed that this was what real prisoners did. This suggests that the SPE findings tell us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons.
- Exaggerates the power of roles
Zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of social roles in the SPE. Only 1/3 of the guards actually behaved in a brutalist manner, with 1/3 taking a neutral and fair role and the remainder actively trying to support the prisoners. This was seen in their actions of sympathy, offering the prisoners cigarettes and reinstating privilege's. Most guards were able to resist situational pressures to conform to a brutal social role. This suggests that Zimbardo overstated his view that SPE participants were conforming to social roles and disregarded dispositional influences such as personality.
- Potential high internal validity
Contrary to the idea that the prison lacked realism, some psychologists argue that participants did behave as if the prison was real to them. For example, 90% of the prisoners conversations surrounded prison life - discussing how it was impossible to leave the SPE before their 'sentences' were over. This is reinforced by Prisoner 416 later explaining how he thought the prison was a real one, but run by psychologists as opposed to the government. This suggests that the SPE did replicate the social roles of prisoners and guards in the prison, giving the study a high degree of internal validity.
27
How many men took part in Milgrams experiment?
40 men
28
How many men took part in Zimbardos experiment?
24 men passed the test.
29
In Milgrams obedience experiment what was the range in voltage?
15 - 450 volts
30
Define 'Obedience'
- A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order.
- This order is usually issued by a figure of authority who holds the right to punish disobedience.
31
How many, in Milgram's experiment, delivered the maximum voltage?
65%
32
How many, in Milgram's experiment, stopped delivering shocks after 300 volts?
12.5% (5 participants)
33
What qualitative data did Milgram record in his participants?
- EXTREME TENSION
- stuttering
- trembling
- sweating
34
What can be concluded from Milgram's experiment on obedience?
American participants were no 'different' to Germans, the participants were still willing to obey orders even if it harmed another individual.
35
What were the switches labelled in Milgrams experiment?
- Slight shock
- Intense shock
- Danger - severe shock
36
What were each of the three participants labelled in Milgram's experiment?
- Teacher (T): genuine participant
- Learner (L): confederate
- Experimenter (E): confederate
37
Outline the baseline procedure of Milgram's experiment into obedience.
(Best to write down this one)
- 40 American men volunteered to take part, under the assumption that they were participating in a memory test.
- The participants were introduced to another participant, this participant was a confederate for Milgram.
- They drew lots (which were fixed) to determine who would take the role of 'teacher' or 'learner'
As these lots were fixed, the genuine participant always got the role of teacher.
- The confederate 'learner' was strapped to a chair and was wired up with electrodes - being asked to remember pairs of words.
- The 'teacher' was required to deliver a stronger electric shock each time the 'learner' said an incorrect answer by pressing switches on a shock machine.
! the shocks were not real !
- The experimenter acted as an authority figure, prompting the 'teacher' to continue: (please continue, the experiment requires that you continue, it is absolutely essential that you continue, you have no other choice you must go on)
38
Evaluate Milgram's obedience.
- Research support
Milgram's results were replicated in a French documentary. This documentary focused on a game show setup where participants were paid to give fake electric shocks to other (confederate) participants under the orders of the presenter. The findings showed that 80% delivered the maximum shock of 460 volts, even when the confederate victim was seen to be unconscious. The qualitative information such as behavior paralleled to those in Milgram's baseline study - exhibiting nervous laughter, nail biting and other signals of anxiety.
The implication of this was that it supports Milgram's original findings about obedience, demonstrating that these results were not by chance or special circumstances - this also demonstrates TEMPORAL VALIDITY.
- Low internal validity
Milgram's procedure may not have been testing what it was intending to.
Milgram had reported that 75% of participants said they believed the shocks were real, however, one can argue that they only behaved that way due to doubting the setup. Gina Perry supports this, re-evaluating the tapes and finding that only around half believed that it was real. Two thirds of these participants were disobedient. This proposes that demand characteristics may have been involved, meaning that the participants were only attempting to fulfill study aims - LOW INTERNAL VALIDITY.
- Alternative interpretation of findings (SIT).
Milgram's conclusion upon blind obedience may not be justified. Haslam demonstrated that Milgram's participants only had obeyed up to the third 3 verbal prompts, however following the forth ("you have no choice, you must go on") many without exception disobeyed. According to social identity theory, participants in Milgram's study only obeyed when they identified with the scientific aims of the experiment: "the experiment requires that you continue). When they were ordered to blindly obey an authority figure, they refused. This suggests that SIT may provide a more valid interpretation of Milgram's findings, reinforced by the fact that Milgram himself proposed that 'identifying with science' contributes.
- Counterpoint to validity argument.
Two psychologists (Sheridan and King) conducted a study using a procedure like Milgram. Student participants gave real shocks to a puppy in response to orders from an experimenter. Despite the real distress exhibited by the animal, 54% of males and 100% of females gave what they believed to be a fatal shock. This reinforces how Milgram's propositions were genuine as people still behaved obediently when it was evident and confirmed that real harm was involved.
39
What is a situational variable?
Features of the immediate physical and social environment that could influence a persons behaviour.
40
Who created the F-scale?
Adorno
41
What is the authoritarian personality?
A personality type that Adorno argued was susceptible to obeying people in authority. Such individuals are also thought to be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors.
42
How did Adorno research the authoritarian personality?
Adorno created the F-scale, using 2000 middle-class white Americans to measure unconscious attitudes towards other groups.
This scale measures the authoritarian personality.
43
What did Adorno find from the F-scale?
- People who scored higher on the F-scale were people with authoritarian leanings.
- These people identified with "strong" people and were contemptuous of the "weak".
- They were conscious of their status, and others status, - showing extreme respect, defense and servility to those of a higher status.
- Authoritarian individuals hold a unique cognitive style in which they favor a fixed 'black and white' way of thinking.
This means that they have fixed and distinctive stereotypes of other groups.
- Adorno identified a positive correlation between the authoritarian personality and prejudice.
44
What does the F-scale stand for?
Fascism scale.
45
What is the origins of the authoritarian personality?
- Adorno believed the authoritarian personality forms in childhood, being a result of parenting.
- The parenting style associated with the authoritarian personality features extremely strict discipline, expectation of absolute obedience. Impossibly high standards and criticism of perceived failings creates conditional love.
46
What type of explanation is the authoritarian personality?
A dispositional explanation for obedience.
47
What did Adorno believe of the Authoritarian personality?
- They show an extreme respect (and submissiveness) to authority.
- View society as 'weaker' than it once was
- Believe that we need strong and powerful leaders to enforce values.
- Like traditional values such as patriotism and family.
- Show contempt for those of inferior social status
- Inflexible: no grey areas! (uncomfortable with uncertainty)
- More likely to obey a figure of authority.
48
What parenting features can cause the authoritarian personality?
- Extremely strict discipline
- Expectations of absolute obedience / loyalty.
- Impossibly high standards.
- Severe criticism of "failings"
- Conditional love.
49
How does upbringing cause the authoritarian personality?
Childhood experiences create resentment and hostility in the child.
The child cannot express these feelings directly against their parents due to the fear of punishment.
These feelings are displaced onto others they perceive to be weaker in a process known as **scapegoating.**
50
What psychological approach explains why the authoritarian personality forms?
Psychodynamic approach.
51
Evaluate dispositional explanations for obedience.
- Research support
Evidence from Milgram supports the authoritarian personality dispositional explanation. Milgram had interviewed a small sample of people who had initially participated in the original obedience study who had been fully obedient. They all completed Adorno's F-scale (and other measures) as part of this interview. The findings showed that these participants scored higher on the overall F-scale than a comparison group of 20 disobedient participants.
The two groups were clearly quite different in terms of authoritarianism. This finding supports Adorno's view that obedient people may show similar characteristics to those with an authoritarian personality.
- Counterpoint to research support.
When researchers analyzed the individual subscales of the F-scale, they found that obedient participants could possess a number of characteristics that were unusual for authoritarians. For example, unlike authoritarians, Milgram's obedient participants generally did not glorify their fathers, as expected for those with authoritarian personalities. In addition, they did not experience unusual levels of punishment in childhood and did not display hostile attitudes towards their mothers. This suggests that the link between obedience and authoritarianism is complex. The obedient participants were unlike authoritarians in multiple characteristics meaning that authoritarianism may not be a useful predictor of obedience.
- Limited explanation
Authoritarianism cannot explain obedient behavior in the majority of people, for example across a whole country. Applying this point to Nazi Germany, millions of individuals displayed obedient and anti-Semitic behaviors. It is very unlikely a whole nation could share the same personality, let alone an authoritarian personality. This means that SIT can explain this better, the majority of German people identified with the anti-Semitic Nazi state, and scapegoated the Jewish people. This suggests that Adorno's theory is limited because an alternative explanation is much more realistic.
- Political bias
The F-scale only measures the tendency towards an extreme form of right-wing ideology, disregarding those obedient to the opposite end of the political spectrum. The F-scale is named after fascism, being a politically biased interpretation of authoritarianism. This ignores authoritarianism in the form of left-wing ideologies such as Bolshevism or Maoism on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Extremist ideas, whether right or left wing have a lot of things in common - making it inappropriate to base this theory solely on right-wing tendency. Both emphasize the importance of complete obedience to political authority. This means that Adorno's theory isn't comprehensive as a dispositional explanation, accounting only for right wing authority without consideration of the whole political spectrum.
52
What is a situational variable?
Features of the immediate physical and social environment that may influence a persons behavior.
53
What were the 5 situational variables Milgram studied for obedience?
- Location
- Proximity (teacher and learner in the same room)
- Proximity (Touch proximity - teacher forces hand onto plate)
- Proximity (Remote instruction - experimenter left the room)
- Uniform
54
How did Milgram manipulate the variable of uniform?
The experimenter, who wore a grey lab coat, was 'called away' from the experiment - making the role of experimenter be taken over by a member of the public (a confederate) who wore normal attire.
55
What % did obedience drop to with the variable of uniform
20%
56
Why does uniform influence obedience?
Uniforms 'encourage' obedience as they are widely recognized symbols of authority. We accept that someone in a uniform is entitled to expect obedience because their authority is perceived as more legitimate.
57
How did Milgram manipulate the variable of location?
Milgram changed the experiment setting to a run-down office block rather than in the original Yale University where the baseline study took place.
58
What % did obedience fall to when location changed?
47.5%
59
How did location influence obedience in Milgram's study?
Having a prestigious university environment gave the experiment more legitimacy and authority.
Despite this, obedience was still fairly high in the office block as the participants still 'perceived' the scientific nature of the experiment.
60
What variables of proximity did Milgram investigate?
- Touch proximity: teachers had to force learners hand onto plate
- Remote instruction: teachers were issued orders via telephone
- Basic proximity: the learner and teacher were in the same room
61
Why does proximity influence obedience?
Decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions.
62
What was the baseline % of obedience, relating to situational variables?
65%
63
What % did obedience fall to with touch proximity?
30%
64
What % did obedience fall to with remote instruction?
20.5%
65
What % did obedience fall to with physical proximity?
40%
66
What % did obedience fall to in the uniform variation?
20%
67
What % was obedience in the location variation?
47.5%
68
In order from highest to lowest obedience levels, list the % conformity of each variable investigated by Milgram.
BASELINE
Location variation
Proximity variation
Touch proximity variation
Remote instruction variation
Uniform variation.
69
Evaluate situational variables of obedience.
- Lack of internal validity
Orne and Holland claimed that many of Milgram's participants had realization that the situation was fake, and this was only enhanced by the manipulation of situational variables. This is seen in the variation where a confederate playing a normal member of the public took the role of experimenter in their absence. This situation seems too unrealistic and obscure - leading to the emergence of demand characteristics. Reinforcing this point, even Milgram had admitted that this variant was so far fetched that participants would have easily inferred its intentions. This implies that situational variables manipulated may not have held ecological validity meaning that you can not make conclusions upon how this impacts obedience.
- Supporting research
Other studies have observed the influence of situational variables on obedience. An example of this was in a field experiment set in New York City. Bickman had three confederates dress in different outfits - jacket and tie, milkman outfit and a security guards uniform. The confederates individually stood in the street and asked passers by to perform tasks such as picking up litter. It was found that people were twice as likely to obey the assistant dressed as a security guard compared to the one dressed in a jacket and tie. This supports the idea that a situational variable, such as uniform, has a powerful effect on obedience.
- Cross cultural replications
A strength of Milgram's research is that findings have been replicated in other cultures. This is seen in a Dutch study where participants were ordered to say stressful things to a confederate interviewee who acted desperate for a job. 90% of participants obeyed. The researcher further replicated Milgram's findings in the proximity situational variable. When the person giving orders was absent, obedience declined dramatically. This suggests that Milgram's findings about obedience are not just limited to Americans or men, but are valid cross culturally.
- Cultural counterpoint
Replications of Milgram's research are not generally viewed to be very 'cross-cultural'. There have only been two main culturally dissimilar replications, occurring in Jordan and India. Most others were carried out in countries such as Australia and Scotland which are relatively similar to the USA in a cultural sense. This suggests that it may not be appropriate to conclude that Milgram's findings, including those in situational variables, apply to people in most cultures.
70
What is the definition of agentic state?
A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behavior as we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure.
This frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure.
71
What is the definition of legitimacy of authority?
An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey individuals who we perceive to have authority over us.
This authority is justified (made LEGITIMATE) by the individuals position of power within a social hierarchy.
72
What are the agentic state and legitimacy of authority?
Situational explanations for obedience.
73
What is an 'agent' ?
Someone who acts for or in place of another.
74
Do agents experience moral strain?
YES.
They experience high anxiety when they realize what they are doing is wrong, but feel powerless to disobey.
75
What is autonomous state?
The opposite of agentic state.
A person in an autonomous state is independent, free to behave according to their own principles and feels as sense of responsibility for their own actions.
76
What is 'agentic shift' ?
The shift from autonomy to 'agency'
This, according to Milgram, occurs when a person perceives someone else as an authority figure.
77
What are 'Binding factors'
Aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimize the damaging effect of their behavior - thus reducing 'moral strain'
78
Give two examples of binding factors.
- Deferring blame to victim
- Denying damage they are doing to victim
79
Where do we learn legitimacy of authority?
We learn acceptance of legitimate authority in childhood, from parents initially and then teachers / adults generally.
80
What is a consequence of 'legitimacy of authority'
- Some people are granted the power to punish others.
- We are willing to give up some of our independence, handing control of our behavior over to those we trust to exercise their authority appropriately.
- This means there is a risk one will not exercise authority appropriately.
81
What is destructive authority?
Where those in positions of authority will exercise their powers for destructive purposes - ordering people to behave in ways that are cruel and dangerous.
82
Was destructive authority modelled in Milgram's study on obedience?
YES.
The experimenter used prods to order participants to behave in ways that went against their consciences.
83
Evaluate situational explanation of legitimacy of authority for obedience.
- Explains cultural differences.
It is a useful account of cultural differences in obedience. Many study replications can identify differences between cultures - such as only 16% of Australian women, in a Milgram style experiment, going up to 450 volts whereas 85% of Germans did this. This shows that, in some cultures, authority is more likely to be perceived as legitimate and entitled to demand obedience from individuals. This reflects the ways that different societies are structured and how children are raised to perceive authority.
- Cannot explain all (dis)obedience.
It cannot explain all instances of disobedience in a hierarchy where legitimacy of authority is clear and accepted. This extends to the nurse study previously mentioned. In this hospital environment, most nurses disobeyed even despite the rigidly hierarchal structure. Also, a significant minority of Milgram's participants disobeyed despite recognizing the experimenters scientific authority. This suggests that some people may just be more (or less) obedient than others. This means that dispositional factors may play a more significant influence on obedience.
84
Evaluate the situational explanation of agentic state for obedience.
- Research support
Milgram's own studies support the role of agentic state in obedience. Most of Milgram's participants resisted giving the shocks at any one point, and often asked questions to the experimenter about the procedure. An example of these was enquiring who would be responsible if the Learner was harmed. When the experimenter clarified that they (the experimenter) would be responsible, the participants often went through the procedure quickly with no further objections. This conveys that once participants perceived that they were no longer at fault for their own behavior, they acted more easily as the experimenters agent, predicted by Milgram.
- Limited explanation
A limitation of the agentic shift is that it does not explain research findings surrounding obedience. This can be witnessed in a study on nurses where 16/18 nurses disobeyed orders from a doctor to administer an excessive dose of a drug to a patient. The doctor was an obvious authority figure, however, almost all of the nurses remained autonomous, as did many of Milgram's participants.
This suggests that agentic shift can only account for rare situations of obedience.
85
What is resistance to social influence?
The ability of people to withstand the social pressures to conform to the majority or obey authority.
This can be influenced by both dispositional and situational factors.
86
What is social support?
The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey.
These people act as models to allow others to find independence in their views and dissent.
87
What is the locus of control?
Refers to the sense we each have surrounding what directs events in our lives.
88
Who created the locus of control theory?
Rotter (1966)
89
What two studies is social support seen in?
Asch. (RESISTING CONFORMITY)
In Asch's study on unanimity, it was found that a dissenting confederate provides social support as they are not following the majority.
This allows the naïve participant to be free and follow their own conscience.
(This dissent gives rise to more dissent as it breaks majority unanimity)
Milgram. (RESISTING OBEDIENCE)
In one of Milgram's variations the rate of obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the genuine participant was joined by a disobedient confederate.
This disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure, making it easier for others to disobey.
90
What is at both ends of the LOC continuum?
- High internal LOC
- High external LOC
91
What does having an external LOC mean?
People with an external LOC tend to believe that things that happen are out of their control.
92
What does having an internal LOC mean?
People with an internal LOC tend to believe that they can ultimately control what happens to them.
93
Is someone definitely internal or external.
NO.
The LOC is a continuum or binary, it is presented as a scale meaning that individuals may vary in their position on it.
On opposite ends are high external and high internal, in-between someone may be low external or low internal (moderate) etc...
94
What LOC standing is most likely to resist social influence?
- A high internal LOC.
These people are more likely to resist pressures to conform or obey.
If someone takes personal responsibility for their actions and experiences, they tend to base decisions from their own beliefs rather than the majority's.
Another explanation is that high internal LOC individuals tend to be more self-confident, more aspirational and higher in intellect.
These traits may explain greater resistance to social influence.
95
Evaluate social support in resistance to social influence.
- Real-world research support.
There is research evidence for the positive effects of social support.
A psychologist evaluated an eight week program to help pregnant adolescents resist peer pressure to smoke. Social support was provided from a slightly older mentor or 'buddy'. At the end of the program adolescents who had a 'buddy' were much less likely to smoke compared to a control group of participants without one.
This supports the notion that social support can help young people resist social influence as part of real world intervention :)
- Research support from dissenting peers
There is research evidence to support the role of dissenting peers in resistance to obedience. In one study, participants were told to produce evidence that could be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign. Researchers found higher levels of resistance in their study than previously found by Milgram in his.
This was attributed to the fact that participants were in groups so they could discuss what they were told to do. 88% rebelled against their orders. This promotes the idea that peer support can lead to disobedience by undermining legitimacy of an authority figure.
96
Evaluate locus of control in resistance to social influence.
- Research support
There is evidence to support the link between LOC and resistance to obedience. In a repetition of Milgram's baseline study participants were measured to see if they were internal or external on the LOC. The psychologist found that 37% of internals did not continue to the highest shock level, whereas only 23% of externals did not continue. To simplify, internals showed greater resistance to authority in a Milgram-type situation. This demonstrates that resistance is at least partly related to LOC, which increases the validity of LOC as an explanation for disobedience.
- Contradictory research.
There is evidence that challenges the link between LOC and resistance. A psychologist analyzed data from American locus of control studies. The data showed that, over a time span, people became more resistant to obedience, meanwhile, becoming more external - a surprising outcome. If resistance is linked to an internal locus of control, we would expect people to have become more internal rather than external. This challenges the validity of locus of control as an explanation of resistance to social influence.
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What is minority influence?
A form of social influence in which a minority group can persuade others (usually from the majority group) to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviors.
This often leads to internalization or conversion (where beliefs are altered privately as well as public beliefs)
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What are the 3 main processes in minority influence?
- Consistency
- Commitment
- Flexibility
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How can you distinguish between conformity and minority influence?
Conformity is where the majority are doing the influencing, minority influence is where the minority is influencing.
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What is meant by consistency in minority influence?
The minority maintain the same beliefs both over time and between all individuals that form the minority.
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What is synchronic consistency?
Synchronic consistency is where the minority group will all be unified in their belief.
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What is diachronic consistency?
Diachronic consistency is where the minority group will maintain the same view over a long period of time.
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Why is consistency effective in minority influence?
Consistency is effective as it draws attention to the minority view.
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What is meant by commitment in minority influence?
Commitment is where the minority will demonstrate their dedication to their cause.
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Why is commitment effective in minority influence?
It allows the majority to recognize that the minority are not performing actions out of self interest.
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What is meant by flexibility in minority influence?
Flexibility is where the minority will adapt their point of view and accept reasonable counter-arguments.
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Why is flexibility effective in minority influence?
Being flexible and open to compromise reduces the appearance that they are rigid and dogmatic (if they only use consistency)
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What is the augmentation principle?
Classified as a form of commitment, the augmentation principle is where individuals will put themselves in situations of danger to emphasize their dedication.
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What is deeper processing?
Deeper processing is where the minorities actions force others to consider the cause deeply, analyzing the unjustness etc...
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What does the snowball effect explain?
It explains the process of change.
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Describe the snowball effect.
Conversion will occur from deeper processing in the majority.
Over time, increasing numbers of people switch from the majority position to the minority position.
This gains traction - the more this happens the faster the rate of conversion.
Eventually, the minority view has become the majority view and a social change has occurred.
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Outline Moscovici blue/green slide study.
- Moscovici demonstrated minority influence.
- 6 women were asked to view a set of blue-colored slides that varied in brightness.
- They were asked to state whether the slide was green or blue
- 2/6 of these women were confederates who consistently said that the slides were green (consistent minority)
- From this, the true participants increased their wrong answers.
- In a second study:
- Participants were exposed to an inconsistent minority.
- The confederates said blue 12 times and green 24 times.
- From this, agreement with the green answer declined substantially.
- In a third variant with no confederates...
- The answer was wrongly stated green below 1% of the time.
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Evaluate minority influence.
- Research evidence: Importance of consistency.
There is research that outlines the importance of consistency. Moscovici in the blue/green slide study showed that a consistent minority opinion had a greater effect on changing others views than an inconsistent opinion. In a meta-analysis of similar studies, it was found that minorities who were seen as consistent were the most influential. This suggests that presenting a consistent view is a minimum requirement for a minority attempting to influence the majority.
- Research support for deeper processing
There is evidence suggesting that a change in the majorities opinion DOES involve deeper processing. Participants heard either the majority or a minority group agree with a certain viewpoint and this was always followed by a conflicting view. If participants has listened to the minority group agree with the first view then they were much less likely to change their opinions to support the conflicting view. This would suggest that those who heard the agreement from the minority group had processed it in a deeper way and this view was then more long-lasting. This gives support for the central argument that minority influence causes deeper processing.
- Artificial tasks ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY.
A limitation of minority influence research is that tasks involved are often artificial. This includes Moscovici's color identification task. Research into this, therefore, is far removed from how minorities attempt to change the majorities behavior in real life settings. In real life, minority influence can operate in court situations where jury decision making and political campaigning can have important consequences. This means findings of minority influence studies are lacking in external validity and are limited in what they reveal about minority influence in real-world social situations.
- Studies make unnecessary distinction
studies are often set up to make a very clear distinction between the majority and the minority. Many would argue that this is a strength of such research because it is down to a high level of control. However, in a real-life setting, it is often a lot more complex. For example, it usually isn’t just numbers that determine who the majority and minority are. The majority group often more power and the minority have to be committed as they face a strong opposition. This means that the way that research into minority influence is carried out is often very simplistic and tells us little about it in a real-world setting.
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Define social influence.
The process by which individuals and social groups change each others attitudes and behaviors.
This consists of: conformity, obedience and minority influence.
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Define social change.
When all societies, rather than just individuals, change to adopt new attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.
(Examples: women's suffrage, gay rights and environmental concerns)
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Name the processes involved in social change.
(LESSONS FROM SOCIAL CHANGE)
- Drawing attention
- Consistency
- Deeper processing
- Augmentation principle
- The snowball effect
- Social crypto-amnesia.
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What is drawing attention in social change.
Give examples.
Drawing attention to a situation with social proof.
Examples of this is the US civil rights marches that drew attention to the cause, offering social proof of the problem.
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What is social crypto-amnesia
Where people have memory that a change has occurred, however, they cannot identify how it happened.
This means they have no memory of the events that led to change.
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Outline lessons from conformity research.
- Asch's study into conformity highlights the importance of dissent in social influence.
Dissent breaks unanimity of the majority, encouraging others to follow through offering social support - this means that it has the power to lead to social change.
- On an alternate note, conformity research into NSI suggests that campaigners may exploit conformity processes through appealing to NSI.
Like anti-littering campaigns, social change can be encouraged by drawing attention to what the majority are doing.
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Outline lessons from obedience research.
- Milgram's research reinforces clearly the **importance of disobedient models**
This can be witnessed in the variation where a separate confederate teacher refused to give shocks to the leaner, making the rate of obedience plummet.
- Zimbardo has proposed that obedience can be used to create social change through the process of gradual commitment.
Once a small instruction is obeyed, it becomes much more difficult to resist a bigger one - this makes people essentially 'drift' into a new behavior.
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What does the process of gradual commitment mean
(Social influence and social change)
Suggested by Zimbardo, this is a psychological technique wherein an individual will be required to perform trivial and harmless tasks.
These tasks would soon escalate and the person obeying would find it increasingly difficult to disobey.
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Evaluate social influence and social change.
- Research support for normative social influence.
A study in California aimed to see if they could alter peoples energy-use habits. Researchers hung messages on the front doors of houses in San Diego every week for a month. The key message stated that most residents were trying to reduce their energy usage. As a control, some residents had a different message that just asked them to save energy, making no reference to others behaviors.
There were significant decreases in energy usage in the first group compared to the control.
This shows that conformity can lead to social change through the operation of normative social influence - making it a valid explanation.
- Minority influence explains change
Psychologists can explain how minority influence brings about social change. It is claimed that social change is due to a type of thinking that minorities inspire. When considering minority arguments, people engage in divergent thinking - deeper processing. This type of thinking is broad as opposed to narrow, meaning the thinker actively searches for information and weighs up arguments. It is argued that this leads to better decisions and more creative solutions to social issues. This shows how dissenting minorities are valuable as they stimulate new ideas and open minds in a manner that majorities cannot.
- Role of deeper processing.
Deeper processing may not always play a role in how minorities bring about social change. Deeper processing suggests that some people are supposedly converted as they contemplate the minorities views on a deeper level. Psychologists may disagree, instead proposing that majority views creates deeper processing if you do not share them views. This is because we like to believe that other people share our views and think in the same way as us. When the majority believes something different, we are forced to think deeply about their arguments and reasoning. This means that this central element of minority influence is challenged, creating doubt on it's validity as an explanation for social change.
- Barriers to social change.
Contrary to other successful studies, there is still resistance to social change. A study showed that participants who were less likely to behave in an environmentally friendly way did so as they did not want to be associated with stereotypical minority 'environmentalists.' They described environmental activists in a negative way, referring to them as 'tree-huggers'. Despite this resistance, researchers were still able to suggest ways in which minorities can overcome these barriers to social change. This means that from social feedback, practical advice can be given to minority groups in their attempts to alter the majorities opinions - such as being more flexible.
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What are the situational explanations for obedience?
- Agentic state (including autonomous state and binding factors)
- Legitimacy of authority (including destructive authority)
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What is the dispositional explanations for obedience?
- The authoritarian personality
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What comes under the topic of conformity?
- Asch's baseline procedure
- Variables investigated by Asch including:
- Task difficulty
- Unanimity
- Group size
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What comes under the topic of: conformity, types and explanations.
- What conformity means
- The 3 types of conformity: internalization, identification and compliance.
- The 2 explanations of conformity: ISI and NSI (informative social influence and normative social influence)
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What comes under the topic of: conformity to social roles
- Social roles definition
- Stanford prison experiment procedure and findings
- How participants were encouraged to conform to their roles
- How SPE findings relates to social roles
- Conclusions related to social roles
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What comes under the topic of: obedience
- Definition of obedience
- Milgram's baseline procedure and findings
- Other data collected: from psych students and debriefing
- Conclusions from obedience research
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What comes under the topic of: obedience with situational variables ?
- The variants of Milgram's experiment
- The 3 situational variables: uniform, proximity and location
- The 5 variant experiments and their percentage conformity
- Explanations as to why these situational variables affect ob.
130
Differentiate between situational variables and situational explanations of obedience
- Situational variables were variables studied in Milgram's experiment that affect obedience which were: location, uniform and proximity
- Situational explanations are agentic state and legitimacy of authority
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What comes under the topic of: situational explanations of obedience ?
- The 2 situational explanations: agentic state and legitimacy of authority.
- **Agentic state**
- Including: autonomous state and binding factors
- **Legitimacy of authority**
- Including: destructive authority
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What comes under the topic of: dispositional explanations of obedience?
- What dispositional explanations mean
- The **authoritarian personality**, including features and origins
- Adorno et al research into this theory and the findings - the **F scale.**
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What comes under the topic of: Resistance to social influence?
- What is meant by resistance to social influence
- **Social support**
- The role of social support in resisting conformity
- The role of social support in resisting obedience
- **Locus of control**
- Rotter's concept of the locus of control
- Locus of controls role in resistance to social influence.
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What comes under the topic of: minority influence?
- Definition of minority influence
- Consistency (including *synchronic and diachronic*)
- Commitment (including the *augmentation principle*)
- Flexibility
- Deeper processing and the snowball effect to explain the process of change.
- Moscovici's study into minority influence
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What comes under the topic of: social influence and social change?
- What social influence and social change is
- **Lessons from minority influence research**
- Lessons from MI research include: *drawing attention*, *consistency*, *deeper processing*, the augmentation principle, *the snowball effect* and *social cryptoamnesia*.
- These should include real life examples.
- ** Lessons from conformity research**
- This looks at the role of confederate dissenters with Asch
- Also, the role of *normative social influence*. For example, drawing attention to what the majority is doing to reduce litter or prevent smoking etc.
- **Lessons from obedience research**
- How Milgram demonstrated the importance of disobedient role models, seen in obedience plummeting where a confederate Teacher refused to give shocks to the Learner.
- Zimbardo's input of *gradual commitment*, explaining how obedience can be used to create social change.
