Social Influence

Question 1

What is conformity?

Answer 1

A change in a person’s behaviour or opinion caused by a real or imagined pressure from a person/group of people

Question 2

What are the 3 types of conformity?

Answer 2

Internalisation
Identification
Compliance

Question 3

What is internalisation?

Answer 3

Making the beliefs, values, and behaviours of the group your own (the change is permanent)

Question 4

What is identification?

Answer 4

Temporary/short term change of behaviour and beliefs only in the presence of the group

Question 5

What is compliance?

Answer 5

To follow other people’s ideas/go along with the group in order to gain approval or avoid their disapproval (publicly agree but privately disagree)

Question 6

What is Informational Social Influence (ISI)?

Answer 6

When someone conforms because they want to be right; so they look to others by copying or obeying them to have the right answer in a situation

Question 7

What is Normative Social Influence (NSI)?

Answer 7

When someone conforms because they want to be liked and be part of a group; when a person’s need to be accepted or gain approval from a group drives compliance

Question 8

What is a strength of NSI?

Answer 8

There is evidence supporting the link between NSI and bullying
- this suggests a real life application with an increased understanding of the different types of conformity

Question 9

What is Asch’s Study?

Answer 9

Aim: To investigate conformity and majority influence
Participants: 123 American undergraduates in groups of 6 (1 participant, 5 confederates)
Procedure: Participants and confederates presented with 4 lines (3 comparison, 1 standard)
- Asked to state which of the 3 lines was the same as the stimulus line
- Real participant always answered last/second to last
- Confederates would give same incorrect answer for 12/18 trials
- Asch observed how often the individual would give the same incorrect answers as the confederate vs the correct answer
Findings: 36.8% conformed, 25% never conformed, 75% conformed at least once, in a control trial only 1% of responses given by participants were incorrect

Question 10

What are the 3 factors affecting the level of conformity?

Answer 10

Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty

Question 11

Explain group size

Answer 11

• With 1 confederate conformity was 3% on critical trials, 2 confederates = 12.8%, and 3 confederates = 32%
• Conformity is highest when the majority is only 3

Question 12

Explain unanimity

Answer 12

When a confederate gives the correct answer conformity dropped to 5%
- If they gave a different incorrect answer to the majority it dropped to 9%

Question 13

Explain task difficulty

Answer 13

• If the task is made more ambiguous then conformity increases
• Probably due to ISI

Question 14

Asch AO3:

Answer 14

Ethics: ppts deliberately deceived as they were told it was a vision test, however, study would’ve lacked validity if aim was known
- some went under stress and psychological harm although Asch argued that he interviewed them after to overcome this

x Sample: biased sample of 50 American students was used
- cannot generalise to other cultures or to women so it lacks population validity

+ Lab experiment: extraneous variables are strictly controlled meaning that replication of the experiment is easier.
- successful replication increases reliability of the findings; reduces likelihood that findings were a one off

x Lacks ecological validity: based on peoples perception of lines so findings can’t be generalised to real life as it doesn’t reflect the complexity of real life conformity
- eg where there are many more extraneous variables and majorities exerting influence wether they’re in a large group or not

Question 15

What is Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 15

Aim: To see wether people would conform to social roles in a stimulated environment, and to investigate why good people do bad things
Participants: 24 American male undergraduate students
Procedure: Randomly allocated to guard or prisoner
- taken to mock prison in basement of Stanford university
- given uniform and numbers instead of names
- guards worked 8 hour shifts
guards were allowed to control prisoners behaviour
- no physical violence was permitted
Findings: guards behaved in brutal and sadistic manner, dehumanised prisoners
- prisoners rebelled, some exhibited passive behaviour depression and anxiety
- study was meant to last 2 weeks but stopped after only 6 days
Conclusion: this study rejects dispositional hypothesis of conformity; people will readily conform to social roles they’re expected too play in certain situations (situational explanation)

Question 16

Zimbardo AO3:

Answer 16

+ Real life application: Changed the way US prisons are run, eg. young prisoners no longer kept with adult prisoners to prevent bad behaviour perpetuating

+ Debriefing: ppts were fully debriefed about aims and results of the study

x Lacks population validity: sample only consisted of American male students so findings can’t be generalised to other genders and cultures

x Ethical issues: lack of fully informed consent due to required deception to avoid demand characteristics
- psychological harm caused to ppts as they weren’t protected from stress , anxiety, embarrassment

Question 17

What is the agentic state?

Answer 17

When a person believes that someone else will take responsibility of their own actions as they’re acting on behalf of their agent
- this is because they have shifted from an autonomous state to an agent state (agent shift)

Question 18

What is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 18

When people obey the person giving them orders due to factors like uniform, location or their credibility

Question 19

What are the 3 situational factors of obedience?

Answer 19

Uniform
Proximity
Location

Question 20

Describe uniform

Answer 20

A person is more likely to obey someone wearing a uniform as it gives them a higher status and greater sense of legitimacy

Question 21

Describe proximity

Answer 21

A person is more likely to obey when they are less able to see the negative consequences of their actions and are in close proximity to the authority figure

Question 22

Describe location

Answer 22

A person is more likely to obey someone in a location linked to a higher status and legitimacy
- eg. Milgram’s study was conducted in the prestigious American Yale university

Question 23

What are the 2 explanations for resistance to social influence?

Answer 23

Social support
Locus of control

Question 24

What is social support?

Answer 24

• those with social support can be more confident and will not fear rejection/ridicule
• this means they’re more likely to resist social influence and remain independent

Question 25

What are the explanations for obedience?

Answer 25

Agentic state
Legitimacy of authority
Situational factors: Location, Proximity, and Uniform

Question 26

Explanations of obedience AO3:

Answer 26

+ Real life application: agents state and legitimacy of authority theories can be used to explain real life obedience e.g. My Lai massacres where American soldiers followed orders from destructive authority figures and killed many Vietnamese citizens and so shifted responsibility for their actions onto them
- this authority was legitimate (justified) as those generals had a high position within the army

x Ethics: some psychologists say that these