social influence

Question 1

types of conformity

Answer 1

• internalisation (change public and private opinion)
• identification (change public but not private opinion because you value groups)
• compliance (change public but not private to fit in)

Question 2

Asch

Answer 2

• 123 male undergrads
• 33% conformed
• task difficulty (conformity went up)
• group size (31.8% conformed)
• unanimity (conformity decreased)

Question 3

Asch evaluation

Answer 3

• low mundane realism
  + replicable
  + internal validity
• not generalisable

Question 4

Stanford prison experiment

Answer 4

• Zimbardo
• 21 male students
• revolt in first 2 days
• hunger strike
• 6 days
• guards became more violent and prisoners more submissive

Question 5

Stanford prison experiment evaluation

Answer 5

+ lab setting (control)
- demand characteristic (guard basing role off of movie character)
+ Orlando (mock psychiatric ward ended early)

Question 6

Milgram

Answer 6

• 40 american men
• 15V - 450V
• 100% did 300V
• 12.5% stopped at 300V
• 65% did 450V
• signs of stress (3 seizures)
• 14 psychology students (no more than 3% do 450V
• 84% of participants don’t regret baseline study

Question 7

Milgram variation

Answer 7

proximity
- teacher had to force learners hand into shock button (30% obedience)
- remote instructions: teacher was given instructions by the experimenter (20.5% obedience - teacher would pretend to press the button)
- the teacher and the learner in the same room (40% obidience)
Location
- test done in a run down office block (47.5% obedience)
Uniform
- was an ordinary member of the public (20% obedience)

Question 8

milgram evaluation weaknesses

Answer 8

-volunteer bias
- only american men (not generalisable)
- ethical issues (inflicting pain, deception and right to withdraw)
- low mundane realism
- artificial situation (loss of validity

Question 9

milgram evaluation strengths

Answer 9

+ replicable
+ more control
+ easier to establish cause effect relationship
+ Hoffing et al (95% of nurses would deliver and unknown drug from an unknown doctor)
- Rank and Jacobson (only 2/18 nurses would deliver an overdose of a known drug from a known doctor)
+ Sheridan and King (Milgrams but with puppies 54% of men and 100% of women gave lethal shocks

Question 10

who developed the idea of the Authoritarian personality?

Answer 10

Adorno - argued high levels of obedience was a psychological disorder

Question 11

how was the authoritarian personality measured?

Answer 11

the F scale

Question 12

when did Adorno suggest this personality developed?

Answer 12

early in life by strict parenting with harsh physical punishments

Question 13

what is a strength of the Authoritarian personality study?

Answer 13

+ Elmes and Milgram interviews of those who did the whole 450v in Milgrams studies scored higher on the F scale

Question 14

what are weaknesses of the Authoritarian personality research?

Answer 14

• the link between AP and following orders is correlations
• the F scale lacked internal validity (response bias)
• AP can be seen as “left wing” and biased

Question 15

what is Social Support as an explanation for resistance to social influence?

Answer 15

seeing others resist social influence reduces pressure to conform - breaks the unanimity of the groups and challenges the legitimacy of authority

Question 16

what is Locus of Control as an explanation for resistance to social influence?

Answer 16

Rotter suggests personality is a sense of what controls people’s lives
- a high internal LOC means a person is more likely to take responsibility onto themselves
- a high external LOC means a person is more likely to push responsibility onto external factors
- a person with a high internal LOC is more likely to resist pressure to conform

Question 17

what are the strengths of Explanations of Resistance to social influence?

Answer 17

+ Hollands replication of Milgram, 37% of participants with internal LOC refuses to go to 450v whereas 23% of external LOC refused
+ Asch showed conformity dropped to 5.5% when Social Support was present
+ 24% of people didn’t conform once in Aschs, 35% in Milgrams and most guards in Zimbardos suggesting many people are able resist social influence

Question 18

what is Minority Influence?

Answer 18

it requires individuals to reject majority beliefs and be converted to the views of a minority - the minority attempts to change views through informational social influence - resulting in internalisation

Question 19

what effect is used in minority influence as it grows?

Answer 19

the snowball effect

Question 20

what are the 3 behaviours needed in order to succeed in minority influence?

Answer 20

• Consistency (the minority needs to demonstrate confidence in its view and repeat the message over time)
• Commitment (if the minority are willing to suffer for their views and still hold them they are more likely to be taken seriously, this is the augmentation principle)
• Flexibility (if seen as dogmatic, minorities will be more persuasive)

Question 21

what are the strengths of minority influence?

Answer 21

• Moscovici showed consistency. when showed blue slides a participant majority were more likely to report slides were green if a confederate minority were consistent in calling the slide green (8.4%)
• Nemeth showed flexibility. when a confederate minority was inflexible when arguing for a low level of compensation for a ski accident, 3 participants were less likely to change the amount than if the confed was flexible
• Minority groups often show commitment by suffering (e.g. suffragettes