Social Influence Flashcards
What is social influence?
How people influence each other
What is conformity?
Type of social influence involving a change of belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a group
Change in response to real or imagined group pressure
Is conformity implicit or explicit instructions?
Implicit
What people does conformity happen around?
People with similar status
What are the types of conformity?
Compliance
Identification
Internalisation
What is compliance?
Agreeing in public but disagreeing in private
What type of change is compliance?
Superficial
What is identification?
Identifying as part of a group so conforming to behaviour of that group
Acting a certain way in a certain place
What is internalisation?
A person genuinely accepts group’s norms so opinions changed in public and private
What type of change is internalisation?
Permanent change
What did Asch test?
Compliance
What was the sample of Asch’s research?
50 (or 123) men
All men
All American
All same age (ish)
What was the procedure of Asch’s experiment?
Naive participant in a room of 7 confederates
Participant sat second to last
18 trials in total
Confederates gave the wrong answer 12 times
Look at 3 lines of different lengths and said aloud which they thought was the same length as the standard line (clear which was correct)
Why were participants sat second to last?
To rush their answer
What were the results of Asch’s experiment?
Experimental group = 36.8% complied for all 12 “wrong” trials
Control group = less than 1% gave the wrong answer
25% never conformed
75% conformed at least once
Limitation of Asch - cultural bias
Smith and Bond
Did meta-analysis of research in number of different cultures
Conformity high in Fiji at 58% (collectivist culture - family centred)
Lowest rates in Belgium at 14% (individualistic culture - self-centred)
Limitation of Asch - ethical problem
Lied to them
Told them it was a vision test
Reduces demand characteristics
Limitation of Asch - engineering students
Same experiment
Only 1 student conformed
More confident
Limitation of Asch - lacks ecological validity
Artificial situation and task
Participants knew they were in a research study (demand characteristics)
Task was trivial so no reason not to conform
Fiske
- groups weren’t like real-life groups
Limitation of Asch - gender bias
Only American men tested
Neto
- women might be more conformist because possibly more concerned about being accepted
Strength of Asch - research support
Lucas et al
Participants given answers that claimed to be from other students
Conformed more with wrong answers when questions were harder
What are the explanations of conformity?
ISI
NSI
What does NSI stand for?
Normative Social Influence
What is NSI?
Desire to be LIKED
When does NSI occur?
With strangers when rejection is a concern
Stressful situations when greater need for social support
With people we respect and want to be liked by
What type of process is NSI?
Emotional
What does NSI lead to?
Compliance
Strength of NSI - research support
Asch
Many confederates conformed rather than give correct answer because afraid of disapproval
When writing down answers, conformity fell to 12.5%
Conformity is desire to not be rejected by disagreeing
Limitation of NSI - individual differences
McGhee and Teevan
nAffiliators = strong need for affiliation
Students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform
NSI underlies conformity for some people more than others
Strength of NSI - supporting evidence
Linkenback and Perkins
Put posters about smoking and how majority of people didn’t smoke
Less people smoked on uni campus after posters had been put up
What does ISI stand for?
Informational Social Influence
What is ISI?
Desire to be RIGHT
When does ISI occur?
Situations that are new to a person so they don’t know what’s right
Ambiguous situations
Crisis situations where decisions have to be made quickly
Where one person/group seen as more of an expert
What type of process is ISI?
Cognitive
What does ISI lead to?
Internalisation
Strength of ISI - research support
Lucas et al
Participants conformed more when maths questions were harder
For hard problems, situation was ambiguous so relied on answers given
Limitation of ISI and NSI - separating them
Unclear if NSI or ISI operate in studies and real life
Dissenter could reduce power of NSI or ISI
What are the factors affecting conformity?
Group size
Task difficulty
Unanimity - “rebel” confederate
How did Asch test group size?
Reduced number of confederates
When it was 3 confederates, went down to 31.8%
How did Asch test unanimity?
Added “rebel” confederate
Conformity rate reduced to 5.5%
How did Asch test task difficulty?
Made differences between line lengths smaller
Conformity increased
Limitation of factors affecting conformity - opposing evidence
Campbell and Fairey
Group size only has an effect when it’s an NSI situation
If ISI situation, only need 1/2 confederates for support
Strength of factors affecting conformity - engineering students
Repeated Asch’s study on engineering students
Only 1 out of 396 conformed
More confidence
Strength of factors affecting conformity - research support
Get people to write down their confidence in maths then gave them a very difficult maths question
More conformity
What does SPE stand for?
Stanford Prison Experiment
Who conducted the SPE?
Zimbardo
What was the aim of the SPE?
Investigate identification
To work out whether prison guards behaved brutally because they have sadistic personalities or whether it was the situation that created such behaviours
Whether prisons affect humans
What was the sample of the SPE?
24 participants
Only 21 made it through the whole experiment
All American male students
Tested for emotional wellbeing
Randomly allocated as prison guard or prisoner
What was the procedure of the SPE?
Fake prison set up in basement of psychology department
Prisoners and prison guards had uniforms (prison guards = uniforms, clubs, whistles, reflective sunglasses)
Prisoners only addressed by number
Prison guards came up with 17 rules but weren’t allowed to physically harm prisoners
Participants were arrested at their own houses, stripped and deloused
Observation
Paid $15 a day
What were the results of the SPE?
Guards quickly conformed to roles and were harsh to prisoners
Prisoners treated awfully and rebelled on second day, which was quickly suppressed
Guards kept treating prisoners awfully and harassed prisoners constantly, playing them against each other
Experiment ended on 6th day
Cleaned toilets with bare hands etc
3 prisoners left experiment
Limitation of SPE - ethical issues
R - couldn’t withdraw voluntarily, had to have a mental breakdown, paid $15 to stay
A - were kept anonymous but institute published, newspapers found participants
P - protected from physical (not mental) harm
I - prisoners didn’t know everything (i.e. being arrested at home)
D - lied to
Limitation of SPE - critical distance
Zimbardo didn’t keep critical distance
Placed himself as superintendent
Took superintendent role more seriously than psychological role
Refused to let one prisoners leave
Limitation of SPE - not realistic
Banuazizi and Movehedi
Present some details of SPE experimental procedure to large sample of students who had never heard of study
Vast majority of students guessed purpose of study was to show ordinary people assigned role of prisoner or guard would act like it
Prison not realistic enough - one participant claimed he had based role on character from film Cool Hand Luke
Counterpoint SPE - not realistic
Even when participants in SPE were unaware being watched, behaviour still conformed to “guard” or “prisoner” role
One prisoner asked for “parole” rather than asking to withdraw
McDermott
- 90% of prisoners conversations about prison life
Discussed how impossible it was to leave before “sentences” over
Strength of SPE - ecological validity
In Abu Ghraib (military prison in Iraq), Iraqi prisoners were abused and tortured by American soldiers
Situational factors such as lack of training, boredom and lack of accountability present in Abu Ghraib and SPE
Zimbardo noticed similarities between soldiers at Abu Ghraib and prison guards in his experiment
Strength of SPE - control over variables
Male participants in SPE psychologically and physically screened
24 most “normal” and “stable” used in study
Randomly assigned role
Limitation of SPE - exaggeration of results
1/3 guards behaved brutally
1/3 guards keen on keeping fair prison rules
Rest actively helped and supported prisoners
Limitation of SPE - counter evidence
BBC study
Prisoners given possibility of “promotion” after 3 days from prisoners group to guards group
As result, prisoners offered no challenge to guards in first few day
Guards failed to identify with their role
Made guards reluctant to impose authority and were eventually overcome by prisoners
Limitation of SPE - investigator effects
Zimbardo gave guards general sense of how he expected them to behave
“Behavioural scripts associated with roles” were not sole source of guidance
What is minority influence?
Small change
What is social influence?
Societal beliefs change (large scale)
What is consistency?
Minority hold the same belief over a long period of time
What is commitment?
Personal sacrifice and effort, risk
What is flexibility?
Minority compromises with the majority
What is attention?
Minority group needs to get the attention of the majority
Media attention
What is deeper processing?
Minority group has to give information
Links to ISI
What is the augmentation principle?
Commitment
What is the snowball effect?
When the minority group has persuaded people
Links to NSI
What is social crypto amnesia?
Forget anyone behaved any other way
Strength of consistency - research support
Moscovici
Green/blue slides
When confederate was consistent, persuaded 8.42% of participants
When confederates was inconsistent, persuaded 1.25% of participants
Limitation of minority influence - stereotypes
Bashir
Investigated why people resist social change even when they agree it’s necessary
Reason due to stereotypes of minority
Stops snowball effect
Limitation of minority influence - opposing evidence
Foxcroft
Reviewed 70 studies which use NSI to try and change uni students drinking behaviour
Found it only produced a small reduction in drinking quality and no effect on drinking frequently
NSI doesn’t have long-term impact on social change
Limitation of minority influence - problem with deeper processing
Mackie
Minority influence will struggle to get majority to properly think about “the message”
Only once majority have same viewpoint will it cause rest of population
Forces us to think about why so many people have same belief
What is obedience?
Doing what you’re told
Is obedience implicit or explicit instruction?
Explicit
Who does obedience happen with?
People of higher status
What was the sample of Milgram’s shock experiment?
50 American male participants - gender and cultural bias
Who were the confederates in Milgram’s shock experiment?
Learner getting shocked
Experimenter wearing a lab coat
What was the procedure of Milgram’s shock experiment?
Participant was the Teacher
Gave the Learner increasingly severe electric “shocks” each time he made a mistake
Shocks increased in 15V steps to 450V
If the Teacher wanted to stop, the Experimenter gave a verbal “prod” to continue
What were the results of Milgram’s shock experiment?
No one stopped before 300V
12.5% stopped at 300V
65% continued to 450V
Participants showed signs of extreme tension - 3 had seizures
84% said glad they’d taken part
Strength of Milgram - research support
Sheridan and King
Carried out similar procedure with puppy as the Learner
Most participants gave the puppy what would have been a lethal point
Counterpoint Milgram - research support
Gender differences
100% of females
54% of males
Strength of Milgram - supporting evidence
Hofling et al
Field experiment in a hospital
Nurse called by “unknown doctor” and told to give patient 20mg of drug unknown to nurse
21/22 nurses started to give drug until nearby nurse stopped them
Strength of Milgram - real-life replication
Game of Death
Repeated Milgram’s experiment on TV audience who were asked to shock fellow contestants
Participant could see man being shocked
Crowd would cheer on participants
80% gave lethal shock to “unconscious” man
Limitation of Milgram - ethical issues
Deceived participants by telling them it was experiment on “punishment and learning”
Difficult for participants to withdraw because the Experimenter prompted them to continue
Not protected from psychological harm because many participants reported feeling very stressed and anxious
Counterpoint Milgram - ethical issues
Debriefed participants after the experiment
83.7% said they were happy to have taken part in the experiment
Limitation of Milgram - lack of ecological validity
Tested obedience in a laboratory
Unable to generalise findings to real-life situations
What are the situational variables of obedience?
Proximity
Uniform
Location
What is proximity in relation to obedience?
Physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to
What was the original proximity in Milgram’s experiment?
Teacher-Experimenter: in same room
Teacher-Learner: in adjoining rooms (couldn’t see, but could hear)
What were the proximity variations of Milgram’s experiment?
Teacher forces Learner’s hand onto a plate to shock them – 30%
Teacher and Learner in same room – 40%
Experimenter gives orders over the phone – 20.5%
What is location in relation to obedience?
The place where the order is issued
What was the original location of Milgram’s experiment?
Yale university
What were the location variations of Milgram’s experiment?
Basement – 48%
Participant said they didn’t trust the experimenter
What is uniform in relation to obedience?
People in position of authority have a specific outfit that’s symbolic of their authority, which tells us who is entitled to our obedience
What was the original uniform in Milgram’s experiment?
Lab coat
What was the uniform variation of Milgram’s experiment?
Wore everyday clothes – 20%
AO3 situational variables - ethical issues
R - prodded into continuing, paid
A - kept anonymous
P - felt guilty afterwards, 3 had seizures from stress, when debriefed 98% happy to have taken part
I - didn’t shocks weren’t real, thought testing memory, thought had 50/50 chance of being Teacher or Learner
D - lied to
Limitation of situational variables (proximity) - opposing evidence
Hofling
Gave orders over the phone
21/22 nurses obeyed
Strength of situational variables (uniform) - research support
Bickman
Milkman, security guard and businessman
Security guard had highest obedience, then businessman then milkman
Limitation of situational variables - demand characteristics
Many of participants in Milgram’s experiment worked out procedure was fake
Even more likely participants realised it was fake shocks in situational variations of Milgram’s experiment (uniform)
Limitation of situational variables - obedience alibi
Milgram’s findings are an excuse for obedience - suggesting it is the situation not the perosn who is responsible
Mandel
- offensive to Holocaust survivors
- suggest Nazi’s simply obeyed orders and were victims of situational factors beyond their control
What is the dispositional explanation for obedience?
Authoritarian personality
What is conventionalism?
Conform to social norms
What is authoritarian aggression?
Feel aggressive towards people who don’t perform
What is authoritarian submission?
Must be submissive to authority
What was the sample of Adorno’s f-scale study?
2000 middle class Americans
What was the procedure of Adorno’s f-scale study?
Completed the f-scale which tested their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups and fascism
What are the reasons for an authoritarian personality?
Formed in childhood by strict rules
Absolute loyalty, impossibly high standards, severe criticisms of perceived failings
Love only given when you behave the correct way
Leads to resentment which leads to punishing those they feel are inferior
AO3 dispositional explanation - Adorno’s f-scale study
Limitations
- demand characteristics/social desirability bias
- fascism and communism are similar
Strengths
- don’t have investigator effects
Limitations of dispositional explanation - problem with sample
Cultural bias
Same class
Strength of dispositional explanation - research support
Milgram and Elms
People who shocked to 450V in Milgram’s experiment had higher score on f-scale
Negative relationship with dad
What are the psychological factors of obedience?
Agentic state
Legitimacy of authority
What is the agentic state?
When a person acts on the behalf of an authority figure/person of a higher status
Actor doesn’t feel personal responsibility or guilt for their actions
What is the autonomous state?
When you feel responsible for your own actions (feel guilty)
What is the agentic shift?
When you shift form autonomous state to agentic state because of binding factors
What are binding factors?
Reduce “moral strain”
Ignoring and minimising damage they’ve done
What is an example of binding factors in an experiment?
Participant feels the pressure to stay in the experiment because they’ve committed to the experiment
Strength of agentic state - research support
65% of participants in original experiment who shocked to 450V were arguably in agentic state
In one variation, additional confederate administered electric shocks on behalf of the teacher
Percentage of participants rose to 92.5%
Felt less responsible as responsibility was shifted (agentic shift)
Limitation of agentic shift - lack of ecological validity
Lifton
People don’t continuously shift between autonomous to agentic state
Gradually move towards agentic state and that change may be irreversible
Found in German doctors at Auschwitz
Limitation of agentic state - opposing evidence
Rank and Jacobson
16/18 hospital nurses disobeyed orders from a doctor to administer an excessive drug dose
Majority of nurses remained in autonomous state although doctor was obviously authority figure
What is legitimacy of authority?
Legitimate authority’s instruction must be in accordance with the setting
Participant will trust the legitimate authority to tell them the rules of the situation
Legitimate authority figure typically has a uniform
When a person recognises their own and other’s position in a social hierarchy
How is legitimacy of authority increased?
Visible symbols of authority
What are the three legitimacies?
Setting
Order
System
Limitation of legitimacy of authority - cultural differences
Only 16% of Australian participants shocked to 450V
85% of German participants shocked to 450V
Strength of legitimacy of authority - real-world crimes
Kelman and Hamilton
Real world crimes can be explained
At My Lai war crime in Vietnam, soldiers killed people when they emerged from their homes with hands up and bombed buildings
Defence of soldiers was they were following orders
High ecological validity
Strength of psychological factors - research support
Blass and Schmitt
Showed Milgram’s experiment to students and asked who was responsible
Stated experimenter was to blame because he had higher social position and was a scientist
What are the two explanations for resistance to social influence?
Locus of control
Social support
What is locus of control?
Whether things lie inside or outside your control
What we believe influences out life
On a spectrum
What is an internal locus of control?
Believe everything that happens to you is because of what you do
What is an external locus of control?
Believe that everything that happens to you is due to luck, fate or destiny
Are people who are resistant to social influence and disobedient more likely to have internal or external locus of control?
Internal
Strength of locus of control - research support
Looked at Milgram’s disobedient participants
Most have internal locus of control
Limitation of locus of control - lack of ecological and temporal validity
Twenge et al
Analysed obedience over 40 years
People are becoming more external but more resistant to obedience
Theory lacks ecological and temporal validity
What is social support?
People find it easier to disobey/not conform when there is a role-model of disobedience/non-conformity
How did Asch’s unanimity variation show social support?
Conformity dropped when there was a rebel confederate
Strength of social support - research support
Allen and Levine
Redid Asch’s line study but added confederate with really thick glasses
Asked them to say the right answer every time
36% of participants didn’t conform
Strength of social support - supporting evidence
Variations of Milgram’s experiment
Teacher sees two other teacher’s rebel = obedience is 10%
