Social Influence Flashcards
Types of Conformity
Internalisation - occurs when a person genuinely accepts the group norms. This results in a private as well as a public change of opinions/behaviour. Likely to be permanent. This change also persists in the abscence of other group members with the same attitudes.
Identification - Sometimes we conform to the groups actions/behaviour because something about the group we value. This may mean that public opinions are changed to achieve this goal, even if privately opinions stay the same.
Compliance - Going along with others in public to fit in, not a change of private beliefs. Meaning that type of behaviour stiops as soon as pressure from the group/people in the group stops.
Informational Social Influence - Explanations for Conformity
About who has the better information (individual or the group). you may not be sure of an answer but after someone in class says it first you accept that answer as it is likely to be right (example). ISI is cognitive because it is what you think. Most likely to happen in new situations that are new to a person as it isnt clear what is right.
Normative Social Influence - Explanations for Conformity
Involves what is deemed the norm in a social group. Norms are what regulate groups and individuals. People do not like to appear fools and prefer approval rather than rejection. Emotional rather than cognitive. Most likely to occur in situations with strangers where you fear social rejection more. Can occur with friends as people are most concerned about social approval of friends.
Evaluation for Informational social influence
Lucas et al. asked students to give answers to mathematical problems that were easy or more difficult. There was greater conformity to incorrect answers when they were difficult rather than the easier ones. Shows that people conform in situations where they feel they dont know the answer which aligns with the outcome predicted by the ISI explanation.
Evaluation for Normative Social Influence
Some research shows that NSI does not affect everyones behaviour in the same way. For example, people who are less concerned with being liked are less affected by NSI than those who care more about being liked. Such people are described as nAffiliatiors. These are people who feel a greater need for ‘affiliation’. McGhee and Teevan found that students high in need of affiliation were more likely to conform. This shows the desire to be liked underlies conformity for some people more than others. Therefore there are individual differences in the way people respond.
The Stanford prison experiment - Procedure
Zimbardo set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University. They advertised for students willing to volunteer and selected those deemed ‘emotionally stable’ after extensive psychological testing. The students were randomly assigned the roles of guards or prisoners. To heighten the realism of the study the prisoners were arrested in their homes by the local police and were then delivered to the ‘prison’. They were blindfolded, strip-searched, deloused and issued a uniform and a number.
The social roles were strictly divided. The prisoners’ daily routines were heaviky monitered and regulated. There were 16 rules they had to follow, which were inforced ny the guards who worked in shifts, three at a time. They never refered to the prisoners by name only their numbers.
The guards had their own uniform, complete with wooden clubs, handcuffs and keys. They were told they had complete power over the prisoners and could even decide when they went to the toilet.
