Social Influence Flashcards
define conformity and name 3 types
- yielding to group pressure
compliance
internalisation
indentification
define compliance
- individual accepts influence in hope to achieve a favourable reaction from the group around them
- public acceptance but not private
- fairly weak form of conformity
Define internalisation
- individual goes along with the group because of an acceptance of their views
- exposed to the belief system of others
- public and private acceptance
-it is maintained once the person leaves the group
Define identification
- individual may accept influence because membership of that group is desirable
- stronger influence
- public and private acceptance
- temporary
Name two explanations for conformity
- normative social influence
- informative social influence
Describe informative social influence as an explanation for conformity
- acceptance of information from others as evidence about reality
- more likely if the situation is ambiguous or where others are experts
Describe normative social influence as an explanation for conformity
- conforming based on the desire for approval
- ## more likely when they believe they are under surveillance by the group
what is the definition of a confederate
- someone who pretends to be participants or researchers in studies, but who are actually playing a part
Research: Describe the procedure and findings of Asch’s Study
procedure:
- participants viewed lines of different lengths and compared them to a standard line
- confederates gave wrong answer to see if the real participant would conform
Findings:
- participant conformed to avoid dissaproval
- conformity was 33% but without confederates there was only 1 % mistake
Describe Group size as a variable affecting conformity
- conformity rates increase as the size of a majority influence increases
- however it gets to a point where further increases in the size of majority doesn’t lead to further increases in conformity
Describe Unanimity as a variable affecting conformity
- conformity rates have been found to decline when majority influence is not unanimous
- for example in Asch’s study there was one confederate who went against the other confederates, conformity dropped
Describe Task difficulty as a variable affecting conformity
- greater conformity rates where seen when task difficulty increases as the correct answer becomes less obvious
- therefore people will look for others for the correct response
what is the study used to explain the conformity to social roles in psychology and explain it
Stanford prison experiment (Zimbardo)
procedure:
- took place in the basement of the university
- male volunteers assigned roles of either prisoners or guards
- prisoners referred to as numbers
- guards were given uniform and had power to make rules
Findings:
- guards became tyranical and abusive with the prisoners
- prisoners conformed to their roles
What is the study used to explain situational variables in psychology and explain it
Milgram
procedure:
- 40 volunteer participants in each condition
- real participant = teacher
- confederate = learner
- teacher had to administer an increasing shock every time there was a wrong answer (up to 450 volts)
- teacher was given 4 prompts to continue
findings:
- 65% went to 450 volts
- everyone went to 300 volts
Explain proximity as a situational variable affecting conformity
- obedience levels decrease with increasing proximity
- if the learner was in the same room as the teacher
Explain location as a situational variable affecting conformity
- obedience levels dropped to 48% for Milgram in a rundown building
- compared tot he uni lab which was higher
Explain Uniform as a situational variable affecting conformity
- people are more likely to obey someone in uniform
Define the Agentic state and what it is
- a person sees themselves as an agent for carrying out another person’s wishes
- involves moving from an autonomous state where they are responsible for themselves to the agentic state
why people adopt an agentic state
- maintain positive self image
- binding factors operate to maintain obedience
Define legitimate authority
- someone who is perceived to be in a position of social control within a situation
explain legitimate authority and defining a situation using Milgram’s study as an example
- although a participant is performing the action they allow for the authority figure to define its meaning
- reffering to Milgram:
the apparent suffering of the learner convinces him that he should quit however the authority figure (experimenter) orders him to continue
KEY STUDY: Elms and Milgram
Explain it
procedure :
- 20 obedient, 20 defiant participants
- completed MMPI and Rscale and asked open ended questions
Findings:
- higher levels of authoritarianism in obedient participants
- obedient participants reported to be less close to their fathers
What is the Authoritarian personality
- people scoring high on the F scale raised within authoritarian family backgrounds
What is an internal locus of control
- greater independence and less reliance on the opinions of others
Explain social support when referring to resistance to social influence
- presence of social support enables individuals to resist conformity (ASCH)
- breaks unanimity
- disobedient peers act as role models
- when confederates didn’t conform obedience rates dropped to 10% in Milgram
What is an external locus of control
- more passive attitude and greater acceptance of the influence of others
- believe things happen due to external factors
KEY STUDY: Moscovici (minority influence)
Procedure:
- groups of four naive participants and 2 confederates
- shown blue slides varying in intensity (confederates called them green)
- group 1 answered consistently and group 2 answered inconsistently
Findings:
- consistent minority influenced naive participants to say green on 8% of trails
- inconsistent minority exerted very little influence
What 3 factors can affect minority influence and explain each one
Commitment: important as it suggest certainty and confidence
Flexibility: more effective at changing opinion than rigid arguments
Consistency: minorities who were consistent were most influential
Describe the process of social change (minority)
1- draw attention to issue
2- Consistent
3- Deeper processing of the issue
4- Flexibility
5- Commitment
6- augmentation principle: suffer
7- snow ball affect (initial small effect grows)
8- social cryptomnesia (source of minority influence is often forgotten
