Social influence

Question 1

conformity

what was asch’s original procedure?

Answer 1

• 123 american men each one in a group with confederates (unaware of this)
• participant shown two cards- line x was the standard line, line a,b and c were the three comaprison lines
• one of the comparison lines were CLEARLY the same length as x the other two were clearly worng
• on each trial the particiapnts had to say OUTLOUD which one of the comparison lines was the same length as the standard line x

Question 2

conformity

what was asch’s original findings?

Answer 2

• on average the genuine particiapnts agreed with the confederates incorrect answer 36.8% of the time
  75% conformed at least once
• individual diffs- 25% of the participants never conformed

Question 3

conforminty

what was the group size variable investigated by asch?

Answer 3

aim- to see whether the group size affects conformity
* varied the number of confederates from 1-15
* found- a curveliner relationship between groupsize and conformity
* conformity increased with groupsize but only up to a point
* with three confederates, conformity to the wrong answer rose to 31.8%, but more than three made little differnce to conformity ( soon leveled off)
* suggets that most people are very sensitive to the views of others because just one or two confederates was enough to sway opinion

Question 4

conformity

what was the unanimity variable investigated by asch?

Answer 4

aim- to see if the presssence of a non-confoming person would affect the naive participant
* introducted a confederate who disagreed with the other confederates in one variation (gave the right answer and in another they gave the wrong one)
* the real participant conformed less often in the pressence of a disenter- rate decreased to less than a 1/4 of the level it was when the majority was unanimous ( everyone in group in complete agreement)
* presenece of disenter appeared to free the real participant to behave more independently- even true when disenter disagreed with real participant
* suggets that the influence of the majority depends on a large extent on it being unanimous + non-conformity is more likely when cracks are in the majoritys unanimous view

Question 5

conformity

what was the task difficulty variable invetigated by asch?

Answer 5

aim- to see whether making the task harder
affects conformity
* he increased the difficulty of the line judging task by making the
standard line and comparision lines more similar
* made it harder for real participants to see the diffs between the lines
* found- conformity increased may be bc the situation is more ambiguous ( unclear) what the right answer is so naturally they looked to others for guidence and assumed they were right ( isi)

Question 6

conformity types- kelman

what is internalistaion?

Answer 6

when a person genuinely accepts the groups norms
= private + public change of opinions/behaviour
* permeant as attitudes have become a part of the person interms of how they think-continues even out of the presence of the group members

Question 7

conformity types- kelman

what is identification?

Answer 7

conforming to the opinions/behaviour of a group because there is something about the group we value
we identify with the group so we want to be a part of it
means may change publically to be accepted by the group even if we privately don’t agree

Question 8

conformity types- kelman

what is complience?

Answer 8

simply going along with others in public but not privately changing personal opinions and/or behaviour- superficial change
also means that a particular behaviour or opinion stops as soon as the group pressure stops
conforming for convenience

Question 9

conformity explanations- deutsch & gerard two process model

what is informational social influence?

Answer 9

• conforming based on who has the better info/knowledge- you or the rest of the group
• often happens when we are unsure of something
• we follow the behaviour of the majoirty (the group) bc we want to be right
• ISI= a cognitve process bc it is to do with what we think- leads to perm change of behaviour/opinion (internalistaion)

Question 10

conformity explanations- deutsch & gerard two process model

what is normative social influence?

Answer 10

• conforming to be accepted and to fit in the group ( social aprroval) so we are not rejected
• NSI= an emotional process rather than cognitive because it is to do with how we feel
• leads to temporary change in opinions/behaviour (complience)
• likely to occur in unfamiliar situations as we are concerned with rejection

Question 11

conformity to social roles Zimbardo

what did zimbardo want to find out?

Answer 11

why prison guard behave brutally- was it bc they had sadistic personalities or was it their social role ( prison guard) that created this behaviour?

Question 12

conformity to social roles Zimbardo

what was the stanford prison experiment (SPE)?

Answer 12

• mock prison set up in the basemnt of stanford uni
• 21 men ( student volunteers) were selcted first tested for emotional stability and were then randomlly assigned role of guard or prisoner- were encouraged to conform to social roles both through uniforms and instructions about behaviours
• prisoners- wore lose smocks and were identified by a number, gaurds- wore own uniform reflecting their status
• uniforms created de-individuation ( loss of personal identity) meaning they would be more likely to conform to the percieved social roles
• instructions= prisoners given instructions e.g instead of leaving study early they could apply for parole and guards- reminded that they had complete power over the prisoners

Question 13

conformity to social roles Zimbardo

what were the findings related to social roles in the SPE?

Answer 13

• guards - took up their roles enthusiatically. guards identified more closely with their role behaviour became increasingly brutal and aggressive some appearing to enjoy the power they had
• prisoners rebelled by ripping uniforms within two days gurads responded with fire estinguishers
• prisoners were constantly harassed to remind them of their powerlessness role, differnces were highlighted by the guards creating oppurtunities to enforce rules and administer punishment
• affter rebilion was put down, prisoners were depressed and anxious = three were released by fourth day, one went on hunger strike guards tried to force-feed him
• ENDED THE STUDY AFTER 6 DAYS INSTEAD OF 14

Question 14

conformity to social roles Zimbardo

what was the conclusions drawn from the SPE study?

Answer 14

social roles appear to have a strong influence on individuals behaviour
* guards became brutal and the prisoners became submissve
* roles were taken on easily by all participants

Question 15

zimbardos research into conformity to social roles- ao3

what is an alternative explanation that is given to conformity to social roles?

Answer 15

it ignores the guards that did not act brutally to the prisoners- social identity theory is used to explain this
the guards had to actively identfy with their social roles to act as they did- meaning not all guards actively identified with the brutal guard role

Question 16

explanations for obedience

what did milgram want to find out?

Answer 16

why many germans obeyed hitlers comands to murder over 6 million jewish people including hundreds of thousands of romani, homosexuals and black Germans during the 2nd world war
he thought one explanation- germans were more obedient than other people from diff countries

Question 17

explanations for obedience

what was milgrams original procedure?

Answer 17

• 40 american men volunteered to take part in a ‘memory’ study
• when each arrived they were introduced to another participant ( confedreate)
• lots were drawn to see who would be the teacher or learner- this was fixed so real participant was always the teacher and confederate learner
• experimenter also involved ( another confederate in lab coat)
• aim was to assess obedience in a situation where an autourity figure ( experimenter) ordered the participant ( teacher) to give strong electric shocks to the learner 450volts
• shocks were fake but participant did not know this

Question 18

explanations for obedience

what were the details of milgrams research?

Answer 18

• learner mr wallace- strapped to a chair and wired
• teacher given a small real electric shock to experience
• learner had to remeber a pair of words
• each time learner made an error , teacher delivered a shock ( labelled slight, intense and danger shock)
• at 300volts- learner pounded on wall giving no response to next question
• at 315volts- was silent for the rest of the time
• prods included- experiment requires you to continue, no other choice, must go on

Question 19

explanations for obedience

what were the original findings?

Answer 19

• every particiapnt went up to 300 volts
• 12.5% ( five) stopped at 300, 65% went up to the highest level 450 ( fully obedient)
• participants showed signs of extreme tension, sweating and trembling

Question 20

explanations for obedience

what was milgrams other data?

Answer 20

• before the study he asked psych students to predict particiapnts behaviour
• students estimated that no more than 3% of particioants woukd go up to 450- shows findings were unexpected as they underestimated
• ALL PARTICPANTS WERE DEBRIEFED AND RESSURED THEIR BEHAVIOUR WAS NORMAL - sent follow up questionare 84% said they were glad to have participated

Question 21

explanations for obedience

what were milgarmas conclusions?

Answer 21

• germans are no different- the emericans were willing to obey order EVEN when they might harm another person
• decided there were certain factors for this= variations study

Question 22

obedince- situational variables affect

what was the proximity variable?

Answer 22

• in this variation teacher and learner were in the same room obedience dropped from 65% to 40%
• in the touch proximity- teacher had to force the learners hand onto electrishcok plate when they refused to do it themself after getting it wrong obedience dropped further to 30%
• in the remote instruction variation- experimenter left and gave instructions over phone obdience dropped to 20.5% frequently pretneding to give shocks
• this is because decreased proximity alows the particiapnts to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions- e.g in the original the learner and teacher were physically seperated= teacher less aware of the harm they were causing= more obedient

Question 23

obedince- situational variables affect

what was the location variable?

Answer 23

• conducted in a run-down office block rather than a prestigous uni obedience fell to 47.5%
• this is because the presigous univeristy gave legitimacy and authority meaning particpants were more obedient in this location bc they percieved that the experimenter shared this legitimacy and obedience was expected
• however obedince was still quite high in the office block bc they percieved the scientific nature of the procedure

Question 24

obedince- variables affetcing

what was the uniform variation?

Answer 24

in the original the experimenter wore a lab coat- symbol of authority
* in one variation- experimenter was called away by a phone call at the start, the role was taken over by an ordinary member of the public ( confederate) in everyday clothes rather than lab coatobedience dropped to 20% the lowest of all variations
* explanation - uniforms encourage obedience bc they are widely recognised symbols of authority, we expect someone in uniform is entitled to epxpect obedience becuase their authority is legitimate, someone without uniform has less right to expect obedience

Question 25

explanations for obedience

what is an agentic state?

Answer 25

a person is an agent where they act for or in place of another- they have no responsibilty for their actions
this results in destructive obedience

Question 26

explanations for obedience

what is an autonomous state?

Answer 26

opposite of agentic state- a person in this state is independent and free to act however they want= responsible for their own actions
agentic shift= the shift from autonomy to agency
* this happens when a person percieves someone else as an authority figure- have greater power due to having higher postion in social hierarchy

Question 27

explanations for obedience

what are binding factors?

Answer 27

aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour and thus reduce the moral strain they are feeling
* e.g shifiting responsibility to the victim or denying damage

Question 28

explanations for obedience

what is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 28

society is structured hierarchically meaning that people in certain positions hold authority over the rest of us
as a collective we accept that af have to be allowed to exercise social power over others as this ensures the smooth running of society
* we learn this acceptance from childhood from parents and then teachers, and adults generally

Question 29

explanations for obedience

what is the consequence of legitimacy of authority?

Answer 29

some people are granted the power to punish others

Question 30

explanations for obedience

what is destructive authority?

Answer 30

• charismatic and powerful leaders like hitler and stalin using their legitimate powers for destructive purposes, ordering peope to behave in ways that are dangerous and evil
• this was obvious in milgrams study through the experimenter using prods to order the participants

Question 31

dispositional explanation for obedience

what did adorno think was the issue?

Answer 31

high level of obedience was a psychological disorder- the cause lies in the personality of an individual rather than in the situation

Question 32

dispositional explanation for obedience

what is the authortarian personality?

Answer 32

• extreme respect for authority
• such people view society as weaker than it once was- so we need strong powerful leaders to enforce traditional values like patriotism
• both of these characteristics make people with AP more likely to obey orders from af
• they see other people e.g ethnic groups as the reason for ill in society

Question 33

dispositional explanation for obedience

what is the origin of the AP?

Answer 33

• forms in childhood - result of harsh parenting
• parents who give conditional love ‘ i will love you if…’
• this creates resentment and hostility in a child but they cannot express this to their parents bc they fear punishment
• so they displace this onto thsoe who they see as weaker- explains their hatred towards those who are socially inferior

Question 34

dispositional explanation for obedience

what was adorno’s procedure into AP?

Answer 34

• studied 2000 + m.c, white americans and their unconsious attitudes towards other ethnic groups
• several measurement scales were developed- including f-scale
• exmaples on this scale included obedience and respect to aurthority are the most important virtues for children to learn

Question 35

dispositional explanation for obedience

what were the findings from adornos research?

Answer 35

• people with aurthortarian leanings (scored high on the f-scale) identified with ‘strong’ people and were generally scornful of the weak
• they were very cautious of their own status and others and showed extreme respect and defence to those of higher status
• also found that AP people had a certain way of perciving others- they had fixed stereotypes about other groups
• a positive correlation was found between ap and prejudice

Question 36

explanations of resistence to social infuence- social support

what is the social support arguement to resisting conformity?

Answer 36

• the presure to conform can be resited if there are other people who are not conforming- like seen in asch’s reserch the confederate not confroming may not be giving the ‘right’ answer
• simply having someone that is not following the majority= social support
• this enables the naive participant to be free to follow their own conscience

Question 37

explanations of resistence to social infuence- social support

what is the social support arguement to resisting obedience?

Answer 37

• the presure to obey can be resisted if there is another person is seen to disobey- like in milgrams variation where the real particiapnt was joined by a disobedient confederate, obedience dropped from 65% to 10%
• the disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of the af making it easier for others to disobey
• them simply being there enabels the person to act freely using their own consience

Question 38

explanations of resistence to social infuence- locus of control

what is locus of control?

Answer 38

rotter- proposed it, how much an individual believes that they have control over events in their life
* internal control - people that believe that events are largely controlled by themsleves
* external control- people believe that things that happen are outside their control e.g luck or fate

Question 39

explanations of resistence to social infuence- locus of control

what is the loc continum?

Answer 39

loc is a scale and people vary in their positon on it
so high loc internal loc is on oen and and high external is on the other
low internal and external are in the middle

Question 40

explanations of resistence to social infuence- locus of control

what is the LOC argument to resisting social infulence?

Answer 40

• people with high internal loc are able to resist presures to conform or obey- because they can take personal responsibility for their actions and experinces, they tend to base their decisons on their own beliefs rather than depending on others
• high internal loc tend to be more slf confident, acheivement oriantated and are highly inteligent- leads to greater resistenace to social infulence

Question 41

minority influence

what is minority influence?

Answer 41

situations where one person or a small group influences the beliefs and behaviour of other people
* most likely leads to internalistaion-public behaviour and private beliefs change

Question 42

minority influence

what are the three main prosesses in minority influence?

Answer 42

1. minority must be consistent in their views as this increases the amount of intrest from other people synchronic- all saying the same thing diachronic- saying the same thing for some time now
2. minority must demonstarte commitment to their cause or view may need to sometimes engage in extreme activities to draw attention to show greater commitment- this will make others pay even more attention ( augmentation principle)
3. they need to flexible with their views- adapting their view and accept reasonable valid arguements as using their own approach is unliekly to change anything

Question 43

minority influence

what is the explanation for the process of change?

deeper processing

Answer 43

• hearing something new may makes us think more deeply about the minorities view, cause or belief esspecially if they are commited, consistent and flexible
• over time people become converted switching from the minority to majority
• the more this happens the faster the conversion = snowball effect gradually the minority view becomes the majority view and change has occured

Question 44

minority influence

what was moscovici et als blue-green study?

Answer 44

• aim- investigate the effects of a consistent minority on a majority
• same as asch’s study but reversed- placed two confederates together with four real participants ( given an eye test for colour blindness)
• were shown 36 slides- clearly diff shades of blue and asked to say the colour out loud
• first part- 2 confederates said green for each of the 36 slides ( consistency)
• second part- answered green 24 times and blue 12 times = inconsistent

Question 45

minority influence

what were the findings and conclusions from moscovici’s blue-green study?

Answer 45

• results- in condition one- the consistent minority had an affect on the majority compared to the inconsistent minority
• 1/3 of all participants judged the slide to be green at least once
• conclusion- minorities can influence a majority but not all the time only when consistent

Question 45

role of the social influence process in social change

how does minority influence create social change e.g in the civil rights movement?

Answer 45

1. drawing attention through social proof- marches drew attention to the issue of segregation
2. consistency- millions took part in the marches over many years (saying same thing an dsaying same thing over time) + flexibility
3. deeper processing of the issue- people start to think about it more= realisation that situation was unfair by minority being flexible and consistent
4. the augmentation principle- commitment many risked their lives= individual truly believes in cause e.g many beaten
5. the snowball effect- gatting attention of more and more people minority grows= majority
6. social cryptomnesia- people have changed but cannot remember how, who or when it happened- content and source become disassociated

Question 46

role of the social influence process in social change

conformity

Answer 46

• environmental and health campaigns exploit conformity by appealing to NSI and by providing info on what others are doing
• social change happens by drawing attention to what majority are doing

Question 47

role of the social influence process in social change

obedience

Answer 47

• zimbardo- social change can occur through gradual commitment, once someone obeys a small instructtion it becomes more difficult to resist a larger one- ppl drift into a new kind of behaviour
• laws are brought in= influence behaviour ( ppl dont want to be punished so obey)