social influence

Question 1

compliance

Answer 1

occurs when an individual accepts influence because they hope to achieve a favourable reaction from those around them. an attitude or behaviour is adopted not because of its content, but because of the rewards or approval associated with its adoption

Question 2

conformity

Answer 2

is a form of social influence that results from exposure to the majority position and leads to compliance with that position. it is the tendency for people to adopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of other members of a reference group

Question 3

identification

Answer 3

a form of influence where an individual adopts an attitude or behaviour because they want to be associated with a particular person or group

Question 4

informational social influence

Answer 4

is a form of influence, which is the result of a desire to be right- looking to others as a way of gaining evidence about reality

Question 5

internalisation

Answer 5

occurs when an individual accepts influence because the content of the attitude or behaviour proposed is consistent with their own value system

Question 6

normative social influence

Answer 6

is a form of influence whereby an individual conforms with the expectations of the majority in order to gain approval or to avoid social disapproval

Question 7

social roles

Answer 7

are the behaviours expected of an individual who occupies a given social position or status

Question 8

obedience to authority

Answer 8

obedience refers to a type of social influence whereby somebody acts in response to a direct order from a figure with perceived authority. there is also the implication that the person receiving the order is made to respond in a way that they would not otherwise have done without the order

Question 9

agent state

Answer 9

a person sees himself or herself as an agent for carrying out another persons wishes

Question 9

legitimate authority

Answer 9

a person who is perceived to be in a position of social control within a situation

Question 10

authoritarian personality

Answer 10

a distinct personality pattern characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority

Question 11

dispositional

Answer 11

explanations of behaviours such as obedience emphasise them being caused by an individuals own personal characteristics rather than situational influences within the environment

Question 12

F scale

Answer 12

also known as the California F scale or the Fascism scale the F scale was developed in California in 1947 as a measure of authoritarian traits or tendencies

Question 13

externality

Answer 13

individuals who tend to believe that their behaviour and experience is caused by events outside their control

Question 14

right-wing authoritarianism

Answer 14

a cluster of personality variables (conventionalism, authority submission and authoritarian aggression) that are associated with a right-wing attitude to life

Question 15

internality

Answer 15

individuals who tend to believe that they are responsible for their behaviour and experience rather than external forces

Question 16

locus of control

Answer 16

people differ in their beliefs about whether the outcomes of their actions are dependant on what they do (internal locus of control) or on events outside their personal control (external locus of control)

Question 17

social support

Answer 17

the perception that an individual has assistance available from other people, and that they are part of a supportive network

Question 18

social norms interventions

Answer 18

attempts to correct misperceptions of the normative behaviour of peers in an attempt to change the risky behaviour of a target population

Question 18

consistency

Answer 18

minority influence is effective provided there is stability in the expressed position over time and agreement among different members of the minority

Question 19

commitment

Answer 19

the degree to which members of a minority are dedicated to a particular cause or activity. the greater the perceived commitment the greater the influence

Question 20

flexibility

Answer 20

a willingness to be flexible and to compromise when expressing a position

Question 21

minority influence

Answer 21

a form of social influence where members of the majority group change their beliefs or behaviours as a result of their exposure to a persuasive minority

Question 22

social change

Answer 22

occurs when a society or section of society adopts a new belief or way of behaving which then becomes widely accepted as the norm

Question 23

explanation for conformity positive evaluation

Answer 23

normative influence supported by linkenbach and Perkins (2003), Schultz et al (2008) informative influence supported by Wittenbrink and Henly (1996), Fein et al (2007)

Question 24

explanation for conformity negative evaluation

Answer 24

difficult to distinguish between compliance and internalisation normative influence may not be detected informational influence is moderated by type of task

Question 25

evaluation points for Asch's study

Answer 25

may be a child of its time problems with determining the effect of group size independent behaviour rather than conformity unconvincing confederates cultural differences in conformity

Question 26

evaluation for conformity to social roles

Answer 26

conformity to roles in not automatic- Haslam and Reicher (2012) problems of demand characteristics- Banuazizi and Movahedi (1975) ethical issues relevance to Abu Ghraib

Question 27

types of conformity

Answer 27

compliance- conforming to gain approval internalisation- conforming because of an acceptance of their views identification- accepting influence because of a desire to be associated with a group identification has elements of compliance and internalisation

Question 28

explanation for conformity

Answer 28

normative social influence- conformity based on the desire for approval more likely to occur when individual believes they are under surveillance by the group informational social influence- based on an acceptance of information from others as evidence about reality more likely if the situation is ambiguous or where others are experts

Question 29

types of conformity explanations for conformity evaluation

Answer 29

difficulties distinguishing between compliance and internalisation research supports for normative influence, e.g. smoking take-up (Linkenbach and Perkins) research support for informational influence, e.g. attitudes about African Americans (Wittenrbink and Henley) people underestimate the impact of normative influence on their behaviour (Nolan et al) informational influence is moderated by type of task (Laughlin)

Question 30

Asch 1956 study

Answer 30

procedure- participants viewed lines of different lengths and compared them to a standard line group contained confederates with participants answering second to last confederates gave same wrong answer on 12 out of 18 trials findings-conformity rate was approx 33% without confederates, participants made mistakes 1% of the time participants conformed to avoid disapproval

Question 31

variables affecting conformity

Answer 31

group size- increased to 30% with majority of three Campbell and Fairey- group size has different effect depending on type of judgement and motivation unanimity of the majority- with one dissenter giving the right answer, conformity 5.5% dissenter giving different wrong answer, conformity 9% difficulty of the task- if correct answer less obvious, conformity was higher Lucas et al- influence of task difficulty moderated by individuals self-efficacy

Question 32

variables affecting conformity evaluation

Answer 32

Asch's research 'child of its time' (Perrin and Spencer) we know very little about the effects or larger majority sizes on conformity levels independent behaviour rather than conformity- participants maintained their independence on two-thirds of trials unconvincing confederates- Mori and Arai overcame this problem. similar result to Asch cultural differences in conformity- smith et al found conformity rates high in collectivist cultures

Question 33

conformity to social role zimbardo

Answer 33

procedure- male volunteers assigned roles of either prisoners or guards prisoners referred to by numbers only, guards given uniform and power to make rules findings- guards became tyrannical and abusive with the prisoners prisoners conformed to their role with some showing extreme reactions of crying and rage

Question 34

conformity to social roles evaluation

Answer 34

conformity to roles is not automatic- Haslam and Reicher argue the guards chose how to behave rather than blindly conforming to their social role demand characteristics- Banuazizi and Movahedi argue that participants behaviour in the SPE was a response to powerful demand characteristics were these studies ethical? Zimbardo study followed ethical guidelines but participants still suffered. greater steps to minimise potential harm to participants in the BBC study the SPE and its relevance to Abu Ghraib- similarities between the SPE and prisoners abuses at Abu Ghraib zimbardo claims unthinking conformity can lead to a drift into tyranny- disputed by Reicher and Haslam

Question 34

BBC prison study (Reicher and Haslam)

Answer 34

procedure- male volunteers, matched on social and clinical measures, assigned roles of prisoners or guards findings- unlike SPE, neither guards nor prisoners conformed to their assigned role prisoners worked collectively to challenge authority of the guards, resulting in power shift

Question 35

milgram 1963 study

Answer 35

procedure- 40 volunteer participants in each condition real participant acted as 'teacher', confederate as 'learner' teacher administered increasing shock levels up to 450V findings- in voice feedback condition, 65% went to maximum 450V all participants went to 300V level

Question 36

situational factors in obedience

Answer 36

proximity- obedience levels decreased with increasing proximity location- obedience levels dropped to 48% in lower-status setting the power of uniform- people more likely to obey someone in a uniform (Bushman)

Question 37

legitimacy of authority

Answer 37

person must perceive an individual in a position of social control people accept definitions of a situation offered by legitimate authority figure legitimate commands arise from institutions, e.g. a university of the military

Question 37

agentic state

Answer 37

personals as an agent to carry out another person's wishes binding factors operate to maintain obedience, e.g. social etiguette demonstrated in actions at My Lai

Question 38

authoritarian personality

Answer 38

people scoring high on F scale raised within authoritarian family background (Adorno et al)

Question 39

authoritarian personality Elms and Milgram (1966)

Answer 39

procedure- 20 obedient participants and 20 defiant participants completed MMPI and F scale, and asked open-ended questions findings- little difference between obedient and defiant participants on MMPI higher levels of authoritarianism in obedient participants obedient participants reported being less close to fathers

Question 40

resistance to social influence social support

Answer 40

presence of social support enables individual to resist conformity (Asch) social support breaks unanimity and provides and independent assessment of reality disobedient peers act as role models obedience rates dropped to 10% when two confederates defied experimenter (Milgram)

Question 41

resistance to social influence locus of control

Answer 41

internal LOC = greater independence and less reliance on the opinions of others external LOC= more passive attitudes and greater acceptance of the influence of others high internals less vulnerable to influence and better able to resist coercion (Hutchins and Estey)

Question 42

minority influence and behavioural style

Answer 42

minority influence effective with a consistent, committed and flexible style Wood et al- minorities who were especially consistent were most influential commitment important as suggest certainty and confidence flexibility more effective at changing opinion than rigid arguments

Question 43

minority influence Moscovici et al (1969)

Answer 43

procedure- groups of four naïve participants and two confederates shown blue slides varying in intensity but confederates called them green group 1 confederates answered consistently groups 2 confederates answered inconsistently findings- consistent minority influenced naïve participants to say green on 8% of trials inconsistent minority exerted very little influence

Question 44

social change through minority influence

Answer 44

drawing attention to an issue minority creates a conflict between majority position and minority position minorities more influential when they express their views consistently augmentation principle- minorities more influential if they suffer for their views the snowball effect- an initial small effect spreads more widely until it reaches a 'tipping point'

Question 45

social change through majority influence

Answer 45

if people perceive something as the norm, they alter their behaviour to fit that norm correcting misperceptions about 'actual' norms using social norms interventions e.g. most of us don't drink and drive campaign resulted in a drop of drink driving by 13.7%

Question 46

situational variables affecting obedience evaluation

Answer 46

internal validity- Orne and Holland claim many participants saw through the deception Historical validity- Milgram's findings still as relevant today. No relationship between year of study and obedience levels found (Blass) proximity- reserve pollice battalion 101 location- high levels of obedience not surpirising the power of uniform- research support

Question 47

agent state and legitimacy of authority evaluation

Answer 47

the agent state does not explain gradual transitions found in Nazi doctors agent state or cruelty? obedient behaviour may be due to a desire to inflict harm on others agent shift is a common response when a person loses self-control (Fennis and Aarts) legitimacy can serve as the basis for justifying harm to others Tarnow provides support for power of legitimate authority in aircraft cockpits

Question 48

authoritarian personality evaluation

Answer 48

research evidence- correlation between RWA scores and maximum voltage shock (Dambrun and Vatine) social context explanations are more flexible differences- many fully obedient participants had good relationship with their parents education may determine authoritarianism and obedience (Middendorp and Meloen) left-wing views associated with lower levels of obedience (bègue et al)

Question 49

social support evaluation

Answer 49

social support in conformity studies more effective when it was from first responder in group research demonstrates importance of social support in resisting pressure to drink (Rees and Wallace) the Rosenstrasse protest showed power of social support

Question 50

evaluation of locus of control

Answer 50

locus of control related to normative but no informational influence (Spector) young people far more external than in 1960s (Twenge et al) research support- people high in externality more easily persuaded and more likely to conform (Avtgis)

Question 51

minority influence evaluation

Answer 51

research support flexibility (Nemeth and Brilmayer) the real value of minority influence is that it 'opens the mind' (Nemeth) Mackie argues that it is the majority rather than the minority that process information more tipping point for commitment- percentage of committed opinion holders necessary to 'tip' the majority was 10% (Xie et al) minority influence in none only- difficult to convince people of the value of dissent

Question 52

social change evaluation

Answer 52

social change through minority influence is gradual being perceived as 'deviant' limits the influence of minorites social norms interventions have their limitations- not all have led to social change, e.g. DeJong et al social norms and the boomerang effect, e.g. Schultz et al with electricity usage the communist manifesto- overcame issues that typically limit the influence of minorities