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Psychology Paper 1 > Social influence > Flashcards

Social influence Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three types of conformity?

A

Compliance
Identification
Internalisation

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2
Q

What is the definition of Compliance?

A

We change our behaviour/opinions as the same geld by the majority to be accepted and fit in
Publicly - agree with majority
Privately - disagree with majority

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3
Q

What is the definition of Identification?

A

We change behaviour/opinions as the same geld by the majority to become a member of that group
Publicly - agree with majority
Privately - agree with majority whilst part of the group

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4
Q

What is the definition of Internalisation?

A

We change behaviour/opinions as the same held by thr authority as we think they’re right
Publicly- agree with majority
Privately - agree with majority

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5
Q

What is the definition of conformity?

A

A change in a person’s behaviour/opinions in response to real or imagined pressure

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6
Q

When does conformity occur?

A

When the majority influences the behaviour/opinions of the minority

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7
Q

What 3 variables did Asch look at in his conformity study?

A

Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty

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8
Q

What was Asch’s conformity study?

A

Each participant sat amongst 6-8 confederate
Shown two cards one with a standard line and the other with comparison lines and we’re asked to judge which is the same length
All the confederate gave the wrong answer

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9
Q

What were the findings of Asch’s conformity study?

A

37% of real participants conformed to wrong answers to fit in

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10
Q

What did Asch find in his group size variable of conformity?

A

Conformity increased with group size up to a point
3 other members raised conformity to 32%
Any above 3 had little impact

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11
Q

What did Asch find in his unanimity variable of conformity?

A

Participants conformed less often with a confederate who gave a different answer to the majority

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12
Q

What did Asch find in his task difficulty variable of conformity?

A

Conformity increased as task difficult increased

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13
Q

What are the two explanations of conformity?

A

Normative social influence
Informational social influence

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14
Q

What is Normative social influence?

A

We conform to follow social norms; to do what is normal for a social group
In order to avoid rejection and gain approval (emotional), leading to compliance

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15
Q

What is Informational social influence?

A

We conform because we want to be right and think others have more knowledge than us
In order to bring right (cognitive, leading to internalisation

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16
Q

What research supports the NSI explanation of conformity?

A

Asch’s baseline study- conformity must have occurred to fit in due to clear wrong/right answer, confirmed in interviews with participants

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17
Q

What research supports the ISI explanation of conformity?

A

Asch’s variation: task difficulty

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18
Q

Why does having support for both NSI and ISI explanations of conformity make it difficult to explain conformity?

A

Asch’s variation: unanimity (descentre) difficult to tell if its due to no firm group norm (NSI) or more than 1 answer (ISI) making it difficult to decide most valid explanation

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19
Q

What is the limitation of the NSI explanation of conformity?

A

Personality role - impacts on if someone would conform (e.g low self confidence would increase conformity)
Individual differences play a role

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20
Q

Who conducted research into conformity to social roles?

A

Zimbardo

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21
Q

What was the procedure zimbardo uses in his experiment into conformity to social roles?

A

A mock prison environment
24 participants randomly assigned to prisoner or guard
Prisoners: referred to only by numbers, prison uniform
Guards: uniforms, clubs, whistles, reflective sunglasses
Zimbardi as prison superintendent

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22
Q

What were the findings of Zimbardo’s experiment into conformity of social roles?

A

Guards grew increasingly tyrannical and abusive towards the prisoners, the prisoners grew passive and accepting of this
Unaware of being watched this continued
Five prisoners had to be released early
The study lasted 6 of the 14 days intended

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23
Q

What are the two situational explanations of obedience?

A

The presence of Legitimate Authority
The theory of Agentic State

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24
Q

What is the presence of legitimate authority as an explanation of obedience?

A

Obedience increases when we think it is acceptable that the person giving the order is justified in doing so, due to societal position

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25
What is the theory of agentic state as an explanation of obedience?
An internal state where an individual feels no personal responsibility for the behaviour as we believe we are acting for an authority figure
26
What is the opposite of the agentic state?
Autonomous state - acting independently and taking responsibility
27
What is a strength of the agentic state explanation of obedience?
Research evidence in Milgrams studies of obedience - proceeded dangerously because they believed they were acting for the researcher and had no personal responsibility
28
What is a limitation of the agentic state explanation of obedience?
The agentic shift cannot explain the findings from other studies Hoffing - 22/23 nurses administered a drug they shouldn't have by phone command- they should have acted independently but didn't, the agentic shift shouldn't have occurred due to lack of person to pass blame.
29
What is a strength of the legitimacy of authority explanation of obedience?
It can explain cultural differences in obedience as it reflects the different hierarchies in each of them e.g Australia: 16% Germany: 85% showing authority is different across cultures
30
What is the authoritarian personality explanation of obedience?
High obedience is a personality disorder and are more likely to be obedient in all situations.
31
What are the characteristics of people with AP?
Submissive to people in Authority Contempt of people of inferior status See everything as either right or wrong (black and white thinking)
32
Where does AP come from?
Childhoods involving a harsh parenting style, creating hostility in a child which they displace onto others they perceive as weaker
33
Who conducted research into the Authoritarian personality type as an explanation of obedience?
Adorno - measured AP using F scale A high score on the F scale showed a higher Authoritarian personality type
34
What 3 situational factors are identified in Milgram's study?
Proximity Location Uniform
35
How did the situational factor of proximity impact on obedience?
Teacher and learner being within the same room saw rate of obedience decrease from 65% to 40%
36
How did the situational factor of location impact on obedience?
When the experiment was carried out in a run-down office block, rather than Yale University the rate of obedience dropped to 47.5%
37
How did the situational factor of uniform impact on obedience?
When the researcher in a grey lab coat was switched out with a researcher wearing plain clothes as a member of public, the rate of obedience dropped to 20%
38
What are the two reasons individuals show resistance to social influence?
Social support Locus of Control
39
What is social support in resistance to social influence?
If other people present, who do not conform, then we can also resist pressure to conform
40
What variation of Asch's experiment showed how social support can cause resistance to social influence?
Unanimity variation - Dissenter used as a model of independent behaviour that allows us to follow our own consciousness
41
What is Locus of Control in resistance to social influence?
The extent to which we believe ourselves to be responsible for our actions- ranging from high internal to a high external
42
What does an internal locus of control mean in resistance to social influence?
Individual believes that things that happen are controlled by themselves
43
What does an external locus of control mean in resistance to social influence?
Individual believed that things that happen are controlled by others
44
Who is more likely to resist the pressures to conform/obey, individuals with a high internal locus of control or individuals with a high external locus of control?
Individuals with a high internal locus of control - do not need others opinions to make decisions
45
What is a strength of social support as an explanation of resistance to social influence?
Evidence to suggest it is a valid reason: Pregnant teens given a slightly older mentor to support them through a programme to resist the pressure to smoke - these individuals more likely to resist than those who did not have a buddy
46
What is a limitation of social support as an explanation of resistance to social influence?
Support may not always result in an individual resisting the influence of a group. If dissenters had good eyesight - 64% refused to conform If dissenters had poor eyesight - 36% refused to conform. They need to trust the individual to resist conforming
47
What is a strength of locus of support as an explanation of resistance to social influence?
Research evidence found that those who had an internal LoC showed greater resistance to authority than those who had an external LoC (37% internal did not continue to highest shock level, 23% of external)
48
What is a limitation of locus of control as an explanation of resistance to social influence?
LoC is not the only important factor in determining if an individual will resist social influence or not Role of LoC is determined by situation and if been in situation before they will likely react the same way whether or not they have a high external or internal LoC
49
What is the definition of minority influence?
When a small group converts the view of the larger group
50
What experiment looked into minority influence?
Moscovici - 6 participants and 2 confederates, blue-green gradient slides and individuals had to say whether or not they were blue or green, confederate consistently said green on 2/3rds of trials Participants gave the same wrong answer on 8.42% of trials
51
What are the three main processes in minority influence?
Consistency Commitment Flexibility
52
What are the two forms of consistency?
Synchronic Diachronic
53
What is synchronic consistency?
Agreement between people within the minority
54
What is diachronic consistency?
Minority is saying the same thing over time
55
What does consistency cause?
Individuals to rethink on their own views
56
What is commitment?
Minority performs extreme activities to draw attention to their views
57
What does commitment cause?
Risk for the minority to cause the majority to pay more attention to their cause
58
What is flexibility?
Minority must be prepared to adapt virw and accept reasonable and valid counter-arguments (open to compromise)
59
How are the applications of minority influence research limited?
Studies have a clear distinction between minority and majority but it may not be so clear cut in real life- majority isn't just numbers but power and status So many not be have external validity
60
What research evidence demonstrates the importance of consistency in minority influence?
Moscovici et al - found a consistent minority opinion had a greater effect on other people than an inconsistent opinion Wood et al - meta-analysis of 100 similar studies found minorities being viewed as consistent were most influential in converting the majority
61
Why is minority influence research being conducted using Artifical tasks a limitation?
Real-life examples usually have significant consequences such as jury decision-making being a matter or life or death for some individuals. Lack of external validity so lacks usefulness in real-life situations

Psychology Paper 1 (4 decks)

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