social influence Flashcards
definition of conformity
yielding to group pressure
what are the 3 types of conformity ?
• internalisation - deep type of conformity (change to match group as you believe in what your doing)
• compliance - shallow type of conformity (change to match group and keep your views in secret)
• identification - conform to social roles you have been given (leave this role your behaviour go back to normal)
in explanations of conformity what is normative influence ?
conform in order to accept the group
• supported by Asch’s research as he found that participants purposefully said the wrong answer to match the group
• Deutsch and Gerrard support that most likely to happen when part of a group (conformity rates higher)
in explanations of conformity what is informational social influence ?
conform for information- don’t know the answer so we answer the same as the group
• Lucas et al support when he found that conformity rates were higher when the tasks were harder
• Baumesiter et al (2012) study in which confederate told a participant to drive faster or slower - continued when driving alone - suggests they thought the confederate to be more knowledgeable
Asch’s research into conformity …
aims - if people conform, and give wrong answer to easy task
carried out - American collage students, individually - line length test
findings - 74% participants conformed at least once , average conformity rate was 32% , they didn’t wanna be rejected from the group
conclusion - pressure to conform is strong
evaluation for Asch’s research into conformity ?
~ unethical - participants deceived to the true nature of the experiment (mild psychological harm due to anxiety and embarrassment)
~ low temporal validity - at the time a lot of pressure on Americans to fit in (higher rates than normal)
~ low ecological validity - artificial set up, meaning results might not apply to real life
~ influential - first of its kind to show just how strong the pressure to conform is
what are the variables affecting conformity ?
~ group size - larger the group the greater conformity, easier to disagree with a smaller group
~ unanimity - Asch found if one confederate disagrees with the majority, conformity for the genuine participant decreases dramatically
~ task difficulty - in general harder tasks produce greater conformity
what is a conformity to social roles ?
a social role could be a job or an identity - when we have a social role we change our behaviour to fit what is expected of the role
what is Zimbardo’s research ?
~ created a fake prison in basement of Stratford uni, randomly allocated student volunteers as prisoners or guards
~ he found that guards soon conformed to their role by asserting their authority over the prisoners - often involved subjecting them to u pleasant and degrading tasks
experiment had to be stopped after 5 days
what is the evaluation of Zimbardo’s research ?
~ ethical concerns as the prisoners were subjected to physical and emotional abuse at hands of the guards (2 distressed had to leave)
~ concerns his approach was unscientific- didn’t plan study, making decisions at the spur of the moment
~ useful in understanding why people are similar in real world
~ findings are unreliable - Reicher and Haslam ran a similar study and didn’t find the same conformity to social roles
what is the difference between conformity and obedience ?
conformity - no direct pressure just pressure, influenced by peers, don’t like to admit this
obedience - direct order, influenced by those in position, happy to admit it
what is Milgram’s research ?
aims ~ see if ordinary people will harm another person if told so
how ~ participants tested individually, Yale university, with confederate, participant shock confederate started at 15 volts max was 450volts - wasn’t actually receiving the shocks- always had to continue even if they didn’t want to
findings ~ 65% went to 450volts, all went to 300volts
conclusion ~ people will obey to do things they don’t want to when it’s said through authority
what is the evaluation for Milgram’s research ?
~ study gave us an insight into human behaviour
~ unethical - deceived at every stage no informed consent showing psychological distress
~ low internal validity - if not believing the set up they would probably go along with what was expected
~ low ecological validity - not represent obedience in real world - Hofling et al nurses obeyed a fake doctor giving patients twice daily allowance of fake drugs
what is the agentic state and legitimacy of authority in explanations of obedience ?
when we don’t feel responsible for our own actions but are acting as the agent of someone in authority
~ Milgram found that obedience dropped from 65% to 20% when the orders were given by an ordinary person rather than someone with authority
what is proximity in explanations of obedience ?
obedience is higher when the person giving orders is closer to us - harder to disobey someone when they are face to face with you
~ Milgram found that obedience rates dropped from 65% to 23% when orders were given by phone also
- obedience has dropped from 65% to 40% when participants were in the same room as the person supposedly receiving the shocks
what is location in explanations of obedience ?
obedience is higher when the location seems more official - Milgram’s study originally was at Yale University when it was transferred to run down an office block obedience dropped from 65% to 48%
what is uniform in explanations of obedience ?
obedience rates are higher when the person giving orders is wearing a uniform
~ Bickman asked people (in New York) to do minor things such as picking up litter - found that the rates were higher when the person giving orders wore an official looking guards uniform
what is authoritarian personality in dispositional explanations of obedience ?
according to this idea people are blindly to obey if they have an authoritarian personality
~ research found that those with that personality are more likely to deliver more shocks in Milgram’s type study
explanations of resistance to social influence by social support in conformity
see how conformity rates dripped when Asch introduced a non conformist confederate into his study - having another person who doesn’t go along with the group gives a person confidence to resist pressure to conform
explanations of resistance to social influence by social support in obedience
in variations of Milgram had participants work alongside confederates when they refused to deliver shocks the rates dropped to 10%
~ Powers and Green (1972) found things little more complex, using Milgram style procedure they found that disobedient only had influence when they seemed calm - if they seemed anxious in disobeying the real participant was unaffected by them
explanations of resistance to social influence of internal locus of control
people feel that they control their futures and recognise their efforts can influence their futures - these are less likely to conform or obey because of this belief
explanations of resistance to social influence of external locus control
people feel that external factors such as fate and luck control their futures
~ more likely to conform and obey as they see themselves as powerless to control their own futures
research of explanations of resistance to social influence
~ Holland found support - in a Milgram set up internals were more likely to disobey orders
~ Williams and Warchal found evidence against - didn’t find internals were less likely to conform, found a link between assertiveness and resisting social influence
~ Avtgis found positive correlation of 0.37 between external locus of control and conformity rates supporting the idea that internals are more likely to resist social influence
~ Schurtz used Milgram set up and didn’t find a link between internals and likelihood to disobey - find they took more responsibility of their actions
what is minority influence ?
small group influencing the majority
