Social Influence

Question 1

What is conformity?

Answer 1

when an individual changes their beliefs or behaviour to fit in with those of the group, due to group pressure

Question 2

Who investigated conformity?

Answer 2

Asch

Question 3

What was Asch’s procedure?

Answer 3

‘vision test’ using a line judgement task. 123 male Americans, 1 naive participant in a room of 7 confederates. each participant stated which comparison line (ABC) was most like target line - answer always obvious, real participant answered last. at the start the confederates answered correctly then started to provide incorrect answers, 18 trials in total, they gave incorrect answers in 12 called critical trials

Question 4

What were Asch’s findings in his baseline procedure?

Answer 4

Over 12 critical trials, 75% conformed at least once

Question 5

What were the 3 variables investigated by Asch?

Answer 5

Group size
Unanimity
Task Difficulty

Question 6

What were the conclusions of each of Asch’s variables?

Answer 6

Group size – had a higher number of confederates – more conformity
Unanimity – getting a confederate to give same answer as participant – decreased conformity
Task Difficulty – making the correct answer less obvious by making the line length more similar – increased conformity

Question 7

Who suggested there were 3 types of conformity?

Answer 7

(herbert) KELMAN

Question 8

What were the 3 types of conformity?

Answer 8

Compliance
Identification
Internalisation

Question 9

What is internalisation?

Answer 9

when someone changes their public and private views or behaviour to match the group because the group has genuinely changed their mind, this is the deepest level of conformity and it is a long lasting change that will continue outside of the group

Question 10

What is compliance?

Answer 10

when you change your public not private behaviour or views to match the group (to not stand out), it is a superficial type of conformity and is a short-term change that will only last as long as they are in that group

Question 11

What is identification ?

Answer 11

when you change your public views to match the group as you want to be a part of it (you identify with it) the change will last as long as the individual is in the group (actively wanting to be part of the group

Question 12

What is the two-process theory?

Answer 12

suggests there are 2 main reasons why people conform, based on 2 central human needs: the need to be right and the need to be liked?

Question 13

Who came up with the two-process theory?

Answer 13

Deutsch & Gerald (1955)

Question 14

What are the 2 components of the two-process theory?

Answer 14

Normative social influence
Informational social influence

Question 15

What is normative social influence?

Answer 15

when someone wants to fit in with the social norms to gain the groups approval, often leads to compliance

Question 16

What is informational social influence?

Answer 16

when someone looks to the group for guidance because they are unsure on how to behave, often leads to internalisation

Question 17

Who researched into conformity to social roles?

Answer 17

Zimbardo

Question 18

What was the Stanford prison experiment?

Answer 18

Volunteer participants were randomly assigned to prisoner and guard, they were arrested and transported to a makeshift prison which was in the basement of Stanford university. They had to wear a uniform, prisoners were given numbers to replace names and guards were given sunglasses so their eyes couldn’t be seen. Guards were told they could do whatever necessary to keep order within the prison bar physically assault.

Question 19

What role did uniforms play in Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 19

de-individualise the participants making them more likely to conform.
guards had mirrored glasses so the prisoners couldn’t see their eyes
prisons were identified with numbers to de-humanise them

Question 20

What were Zimbardo’s findings?

Answer 20

eventually they all conformed to their roles, the guards acted increasingly brutally. Prisoners fell into their roles, one went on hunger strike and was confined to the ‘hole’. By the end both guards and prisons were fully conformed to their roles

Question 21

What psychologist investigated obedience levels?

Answer 21

Milgram

Question 22

What was Milgram’s baseline procedure?

Answer 22

40 American males recruited through a newspaper advert, told the study was on how punishment affects learning. Participant was assigned the role of teacher through a rigged draw whilst the confederate was given the role of learner. Learner had to answer word pairing questions (in separate rooms), if they gave the wrong answer the teacher would have to give a shock. Electric shocks increased in intensity form 15-450V, in reality no shocks were administered and 4 prompts were used to encourage the participant to continue ‘the study requires you to continue’.

Question 23

What was Milgram’s baseline findings?

Answer 23

65% participants went to the maximum 450V. None stopped before 300V. many showed signs of anxiety

Question 24

What was Milgram’s baseline conclusion?

Answer 24

people will obey orders from an authoritative figures, potentially harming a stranger

Question 25

What were the 3 variations of Milgram’s study?

Answer 25

Proximity
Location
Uniform

Question 26

What was the role of proximity in Milgram’s study?

Answer 26

seeing the person you’re harming
40% went to 450V; decrease in obedience
greater the distance between the teacher and experimenter, the lower levels of obedience
the smaller the distance between the teacher and learner, the less likely people will obey

Question 27

What was the role of location in Milgram’s study?

Answer 27

less prestigious environment/less trusted
47.5% went to 450V; decrease in obedience
the less official the location, the less likely people will obey

Question 28

What was the role of uniform in Milgram’s study?

Answer 28

uniform was less prestigious
20% went to 250V; decrease in obedience
the less official the uniform the lower the obedience