Social Influence Flashcards
What is social influence?
When your opinion/behaviours are changed by the presence/actions of others
What is conformity?
giving in to group pressure
Evaluate the Artificial task as a limitation of Asch Study
• low ecological validity
• ppts knew they were in research and may have shown demand characteristics. The task was trivial so there was no reason not to conform
• difficult to generalise irl
Evaluate the limited sample as a limitation of Asch Study?
• low population validity
• all American male students. study is gender biased and not representative of female behaviour
• results cannot be generalised to the behaviours of others
What are other strengths and limitations of Aschs study
strengths
• high control
limitations
• ethics
• cultural bias
• historical bias
• independent behaviour
How does group size affect conformity?
conformity increases with group size but only up to a point.
• levels off when majority greater than 3
• as group size increases so does pressure to conform
How does unanimity affect conformity?
• ppt conforms less often in presence of a dissenter allowing them to be more independent
• 5.5% conformity when dissenter gave right answer
• 9% conformity when dissenter gave wrong answer
How does task difficulty affect conformity?
When the task is harder people conform as they look to others for guidance
• Asch make the task harder by making it harder to find the correct line
What are some evaluations for variations into conformity
strength
• high control
limitation
• limited sample
• artificial task
• ethical
What is internalisation?
genuinely accepting the group norm in private as well as public
this is a permanent change and becomes part of your own beliefs
What is compliance?
changing your opinion to fit in with the group
do not change personal opinion
public not private change
What is identification?
• confirming to s group because they have something you value
• they identify with the group and want to be part of it
has elements of compliance and internalisation
What is normative social influence (NSI)
• Complying bc of the desire to be accepted
• We conform to a group to gain acceptance and when we think the group will reward is
• Results in compliance
Evaluate how Asch support NSI (+)
- strength of NSI
- when he interviewed ppts they said they conformed bc they were afraid of disapproval. when they wrote answers down confirmity decreased
- results show giving anonymous answers mean there was no pressure to conform
What are social roles?
parts people play as members of various social groups
they come with strong expectations
What is de-individuation
when people have a lower self awareness and weaker sense of personal responsibility for their actions
- can result from relative anonymity from wearing s uniform
Evaluate a counterpoint of Zimbardos study (+)
• ppts behaved as if the prison was real to them
• most of their conversations were monitored and they were mainly about prison life and how they couldn’t leave until their sentences were over
• strength as the study replicated social roles of guards and prisoners irl. high internal validity
Evaluate the exaggeration of the power of roles as a limitation of Zimbardos study
• Zimbardo exaggerated the power of roles to influence behaviour
• for example only one of the 3 guards behaved in a brutal manner and the rest tried to support and help prisoners. most guards were able to resist the pressure to conform to a brutal role
• limitation shows zimbardo overstated his vies that ppts were conforming to a social role and minimised the factor of personality. low validity
What is obedience?
Carrying out the instructions of an authority figure
Evaluate low population validity as a limitation os Milgrams study?
• low population validity
• ppts were American males so its not representative of all ppl. For example women could obey more
• limitation as results cant be generalised to others decreasing validity
Evaluate a counterpoint ad a Strength of milgrams study
• supported by research
• Sheridan and king conducted a similar experiment using real shocks and puppies. 54% of males and 100% of females delivered a fatal shock
• strength suggest milgrams results were valid even when the shocks caused real harm
What are situational variables?
features of immediate physical and social environment which may influence a persons behaviour
What 3 situational variables affect obedience in milgrams stufy?
Proximity
Uniform
Location
What happened to obedience when the authority figure was wearing ordinary clothes?
Obedience decreased to 20%
This is because the normal clothes reduced the legitimate authority of the researcher so ppl felt less obliged to conform
What happened to Obedience when the location changed to a run down office?
Obedience decreased to 47.5%
The location doesn’t have legitimate authority compared to Yale. This lowers peoples confidence in the authority figure
What happened to Obedience when the researcher and teacher were in different room?
Only 21% went to 450 volts
Obedience decreased because teacher was able to psychologically distance themselves from the possible consequences from not obiding
Evaluate Cultural replications as a strength of Situational variables?
• findings have been replicated in other cultures
• Meeus et al studied obedience in Dutch ppts. They had to say stressful things in an interview to someone desperate for a job and 90% obeyed
When the person giving ppts orders wasnt present obedience decreased
• strength suggests milgrams findings arent just limited to american
Research supports as a strength of situational variables
• other studies have demonstrated the influence of situational variables
• Bickman conducted a study where he got a milkman, security guard and someone in a suit to tell bypassers to pick up litter of lend them money. People were more likely to obey the security guard
• supports validity of the claim that uniform has a powerful affect on obedience
What is the agentic state?
• mental state where the person doesn’t feel responsible for their own actions
• they believe they’re acting as an agent for an authority figure
• they know what they’re doing is wrong but feel powerless to disobey
What is the Autonomous State?
• being free to behave according to their own principles
What is an agentic shift?
process of shifting the responsibility onto someone else
this happens when people perceive someone else as an authority figure
What is a Binding factor?
aspects that allow people to minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour
• such as victim blaming
Evaluate contradictory evidence as a limitation of the agentic state
• contradictory evidence
• Rank et al found 16/18 nurses disobeyed orders from a doctor telling them to give a high drug dose to a patient. Even though the doctor was an obvious authority figure they still disobeyed
• limitation suggests agentic state can only account for some situations thus limiting validity
Evaluate how cruelty could be the reason for obedience instead of agentic state?
• limitation as people may not obey due to agentic state but because if people’s personality
• in zimbardos experiment the guards became increasingly cruel on submissive prisoners even though there was no authority asking them to do so
• limitation of agentic state as is suggest some people “obedience” may just be a reason to inflict harm upon others
What is legitimate authority?
people are more likely to obey people they perceive as having more authority over them
this authority is justified by the individual’s position of power
How is legitimate authority supported by milgram (Evaluation)
• strength of legitimate authority is demonstrated in milgrams study
• when the authority figure wore a lab coat 65% went to 450 volts but when they wore ordinary clothes obedience decreased to 20%
• suggests when they weren’t wearing somehow that gives them legitimate authority obedience decreases. strength increases validity
Legitimate authority cant explain disobedience (evaluation)
• doesnt explain instances of disobedience
• 16/18 nurses disobeyed a doctor with legitimate authority. Some of Milgrams ppts also disobeyed despite authority
• limitation as it suggests people may just me more/less obedient than others. reducing the validity of the claim
What is Authoritarian personality?
someone who is especially obedient to authority figures and submissive to them
What are some traits with people with authoritarian personality?
• show contempt for people they deem inferior
• believe we need strong powerful leaders
• believe every is right or wrong and there ate no grey areas
What causes people to have authoritarian personality?
• formed in childhood as a result of strict parents who used harsh physical punishments and had impossibly high standards
Education could determine authoritarianism and obedience (evaluation)
• level of education may determine authoritarianism
• Middendorp et al found less educated people were consistently more authoritarian than those with an education
Milgram also found those with lowered kevels of education were more obedient
• limitation of authoritarianism as education may have a greater influence on
There are alternate explanations for obedience not just authoritarianism (evaluation)
• authoritarian personality is an over simplistic explanation for obedience
• it only considers a persons individual personality and not other explanations such as milgrams situational variables
• limitation as situational variables may have a greater influence on obedience
What is an Independent role model?
someone who doesn’t conform to the group or obey they authority figure
What is a social support?
the perception that someone had assistance from others. this causes a resistance to social influence
How does social support help resist CONFORMITY?
when someone doesn’t conform this breaks the unanimous position of the majority
How does social support help resist OBEDIENCE?
pressure to obey is reduced when another person disobeys
people are able to resist the temptation to obey when they find an ally who joins them against the majority
How does milgram strengthen the idea of social support (evaluation)
• social support explains resistance to obedience
• in milgrams variation the ppts was in a team of 3 and when the other 2 refused to shock the learner so did the ppt. only 10% went to 450 volts
• strength shows a disobedient role model challenges the legitimacy of an authority figure making it easier for others to disobey
How foes Asch strengthen the support of social support?
• strength of explanation of residtance to conformity
• in one of his variations when he added an ally that gave the correct answer conformity decreased to 5.5%
• strengthens social support as it shows an ally breaks the unanimity and makes it easier not to conform. giving social support validity
What is a locus of control?
someones perception of personal control over their own behaviour
What is a high internal locus of control?
people who perceive themselves as having a great deal of control over their behaviour and take responsibility for their own actions
What is a high external locus of control?
People who perceive their behaviour as being caused by external factors or luck
LOC is too simplistic (evaluation)
• people with high internal loc are more likely to demonstrate independent behaviour that is over simplistic
• the idea is too general and inflexible and can be used interchangeably. people may only have a high loc when in education but that same person may have external loc when in romantic relationships
• limitation as it ignores the complexity of human behaviour snd doesn’t take in situational factors
How does Shute strengthen the theory of loc
(evaluation)
• research supports that people with internal loc are more likely to demonstrate independent behaviour
• Shute found people with internal loc were less likely to likely to conform to peer pressure on attitudes of drugs that those with external loc
• strength as it demonstrates how people with internal loc are most likely to resist conformity
What is minority influence?
where a minority persuades others to adopt their beliefs, this leads to internalisation
How does consistency lead to social change?
by keeping the same message overtime its harder for the majority to ignore and they’re likely to pay attention
How does commitment lead to social change?
by engaging in extreme self sacrificing activities, this draws attention to them and shows your dedication to the cause
How does Flexibility lead to social change?
minority shouldn’t be too rigid in their argument and should be willing to negotiate otherwise they may be seen as narrow minded
How does Moscovicis research support CCF? (evaluation)
• consistency increasing minority infulence is supported by research
• Moscovici showed ppts different blue coloured slides and they had to determine whether they were blue or green. Two confederates consistently said the slides were green and another were inconsistent . This shows consistency had an effect of changing majority opinions compared to the inconsistency condition.
• strength demonstrates consistency is a factor which is important when a minority is trying to influence a majority
How so real life examples support CCF? (Evaluation)
• process of ccf can be seen irl experiences
• rosa parks refused to give up her seat and was arrested this drew attention. She kept the same message overtime and the montgomery boycott lasted 381 days
• strength of commitment as it demonstrates engaging in activities which present risk influences the majority. Also a strength of consistency
How does drawing attention to an issue cause social change?
If a minority views are different to the majority this creates a conflict that they’re motivated to reduce
What is cognitive conflict?
when the minority causes a conflict between what the majority believe and what minority believe
this means that majority will think more deeply about the issues
How does Consistency bring social change
minorities tend to be more influential in bringing about social change when they express their arguments consistently
What is the augmentation principle?
(commitment)
if a minority is willing to suffer for their views theyre seen as committed and taken seriously
What is the snowball effect?
minority influence initially has a small effect but then spreads more widely as more people consider the issues raised
What is social cryptomnesia?
People have a memory that change occurred but don’t remember how it happened
How is Social change through minority influence gradual (evaluation)
• minority influence causing change is gradual
• minorities rarely bring out change quickly because theres a strong tendency for humans to conform to the majority and maintain the status quo rather than engage in social change
• limitation suggests minority influence only creates the potential for change rather than actual change
How does Moscivici support minority influence (consistency) (evaluation)
• consistency is supported by research
• Moscovici found when confederates where consistently giving the wrong answer ppts conformed in 8.42% of the trials. But when they were inconsistent conformity dropped to 1.25%
• strength of consistency as research demonstrates majority is likely to continue
