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Pyschology > Social Influence > Flashcards

Social Influence Flashcards

1
Q

Conformity

A

A change in a persons behaviour or opinion as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or a group of people

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2
Q

Types of conformity - Internalisation

A

Where a person types on the majority view because we accept it as correct. Leads to a permanent change of belief even when the group is absent

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3
Q

Types of conformity - Identification

A

Moderate type of conformity
Where a person act in the same way as the group, because we value it and want to be part of it. Don’t necessarily agree with everything said in private

Temporary

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4
Q

Types of conformity - Compliance

A

A superficial and temporary type of conformity
Where we outwardly agree/ go along with the majority view, but we privately disagree with it,
This change in behaviour only lasts as long as the group is monitoring us

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5
Q

Explanations for conformity - Two process theory (what is it)

A

It is based on two central human needs, the need to be right and the need to be liked

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6
Q

Explanations for conformity - Two process theory (who developed it and what year)

A

Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerald (1955)

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7
Q

Explanations for conformity - Two process theory (The names of both)

A

Informational social influence
Normative social influence

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8
Q

Explanations for conformity - Two process theory (Informational social influence)

A

The reason people follow the opinions of the group is because they want to be right. ISI Is a cognitive process because it is about what you think.
ISI mostly happens in situations that are new to a pereonv

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9
Q

Explanations for conformity - Two process theory (Normative Social Influence)

A

Is about the norms of the groups (what is normal?)
NSI Is a emotional rather than a cognitive processess
NSI is mostly likely to occur in situations with strangers where you may feel the most concerned about rejection

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10
Q

Explanations for conformity - Two process theory (evaluation for ISI)

A

Lucas et Al, asked students to give answers to mathematical problems that were easy or more difficult. Found that people conformed more on the harder questions, then the easy ones. Proved that people conform in situations which they don’t know the answer

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11
Q

Explanations for conformity - Two process theory (Evaluation for NSI)

A

Some research shows that NSI does not affect everyone’s 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.
These people are described as nAffiliators.

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12
Q

Explanations for conformity - Two process theory (Evaluation ISI and NSI Working Together)

A

The idea is that behaviour is either one or the other, but in reality both processes are usually involved.

For example conformity is reduced when there is more than one dissenting participant in asch experiment. This dissenter may reduce the power of the NSI (provides social support) or the power or ISI (alternative source of a information)

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13
Q

Asch’s Research - Procedure

A

Test confomrity by showing two cards with white lines of them. One of the cards was called the ‘standard line’ and the other card had three different lines on them with varying length. The participants were then asked to match the line to the one on the standard card.

Each naive participant was tested with 6-8 other confederates

After the first few trials the confederates began answering incorrectly. Each participant took part in 18 trials and 12/18 the confederates gave the wrong answer.

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14
Q

Asch’s Research - How many people were orginally tested and how were they found

A

123 American male undergraduates

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15
Q

Asch’s Research - Findings

A

The Naive participant gave the wrong answer 36.8% of the time.

25% of participants did not conform to the trials

75% conformed atleast once

When interviewed afterwards most participants said they wanted avoid rejection. Support for NSI

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16
Q

Asch’s Variations - What are they

A

Asch wanted to see if their was certain factors and conditions which would increase or decrease confomity

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17
Q

Asch’s Variations - Name the three

A
  • Group Size
  • Unanimity
  • Task difficulty
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18
Q

Asch’s Variations - Group Size

A

Asch found that with three confederates conformity increased by 31.8%. Howevever after 3, it saw little change in the confomity rate.

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19
Q

Asch’s Variations - Unanimity

A
  • If the presence of a non conforming individual will change the rate of conformity.
  • If one of the confederates also said the right answer, confomrity dropped to 25%
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20
Q

Asch’s Variations - Task difficulty

A
  • Made the test harder by given them similar lengths.
  • COnformity increased under these conditions
  • ISI also plays a greater role when the task becomes harder
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21
Q

Asch’s Research Evaluation - Strengths

A
  • Carried out in a lab and was fully controlled
  • No extraneous variables
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22
Q

Asch’s Research Evaluation - Limitations

A
  • Artifical situation and task
  • The P.S knew that they were being observered and may of wanted to go along with the group to please the experimenter (demand characteristics)
  • Only men were tested
  • The men in the US so they have an individualist culture. People are more concerned about themselbes than the social group
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23
Q

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo why did he carry out the test

A
  • Following reports of guard brutality in 1960 wanted to see why do prision guards behave that way towards prisioners
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24
Q

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Procedure

A

Zimbardo set up a mock prison at Stanford University.
The students were willing to volunteer and were deemed as ‘emotinally stable’

Volunteers were randomly assigned to either Guards or Participants

Prisoners routines were highly regulated and there was 16 rules that they had to follow.

Guards worked in shifts 3 at a time

Guards had their own uniforms, handcuffs, wooden cub and were told they had full control over the prisoners

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25
Q

Social roles

A

The ‘parts’ people play as member of various social groups. Everyday examples could be parents or child etc

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26
Q

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Findings

A

There was a slow start, but the guards began taking their roles more seriously

The study was meant to take 14 days but was stopped after 6.

2 days in the prisoners rebelled against the harsh treatments and shouted and swore at the guards.

The guards had a divide and rule tactics. Which put prisoners against eachother

Once the rebellion was stopped by the guards, prisoners became anxious and depressef. One prisoner was released on the first day as he showed signs of psychological disturbance

On the 4th day, 2 nire men were released. One prisoner went on hunger strike and the guards attemptrd to force feed him and punished him by putting him in a hole “dark cupbaor”
The guards behaviour kept becomijng more and more agrresive

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27
Q

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Conclusions

A

The stimulation revealed the power which influences peoples behaviour

Guards, Prisoners and researches all conformed to their roles within the roles to the prisions

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28
Q

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Evaluation Strength

A

A strength is that they had control over the different variables. Most obvious was with the selection of the participants.

Good internal valiidty

Quantitive data - Showed that 90% of the prisioners talked about prison life in their conversations with over prisoners

Prisioner 416 expressed that he viewed that prision as a real ome

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29
Q

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Limitation

A
  • Lack of realism
  • Has been aargued that the p.s were based on the sterotypes of the role that they were playing,

Major ethical issues

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30
Q

Obedience - Milgram’s Research why did he carry it out

A

Wanted to find out why Nazi germany soliders followed the orders of Hitler and killed 10 million jews

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31
Q

Obedience

A

A form of social influence which an individual follows a direct orders. The person who is usually issuing the order is a figure of authority

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32
Q

Obedience - Milgram’s Research Procudure

A

Rercurited 40 male participants through newspaper ads and flyers. He said he was studying memory. P.S were ages 20-50. Offered $4.50

When they arrived at the lab they were told to pull a sheet out of the hat. It was rigged draw and Mr Wallace always ended up being the Learner. P.S were told they could leave at any time

The learner was strapped to a chair in abother room and connected to electorodes. The Teacher was told to give the learner a shock everytime the learner made a mistake in the learning pairs that was said by the teacher

The shock levels started at 15 and went all the wau tp 315. Labelled with their different severity

This happened several times and when the teacher was against pressing the shock they were promted by the experiementer

Prod 1 - Please continue
Prod 2 - The experiement requires you to continue
Prod 3 -Absoultley necessary that you continue
Prod 4 - You have no other choice, you must go on.

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33
Q

Obedience - Milgram’s Research Findings

A

No participants stopped under 300 volts

5 participants (12.5%) stopped at 300 volts

65% went up to the highest shock level

Observation of P.S many of them saw signs of extreme tension, sweating stutter, tremble

All P.s were debriefed and assured that their behaviour was completley normal adn many saod 84% that they are glad they participated

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34
Q

Obedience - Milgram’s Research Evaluation Strengths

A

Good External Validity - As it was a study about authority the lab set up made it more believale.

Example: Hofling nurses at a ward found that that Nurses would adminster high dosegs of drugs to patients under doctors adminstrator orders 21 out of 22 obeying

Replication is good

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35
Q

Obedience - Milgram’s Research Weakness

A

Low External validity - P.S guesses that it was a fake electric shock

Some of milgrams interviews p.s guesed and had doubts about the shocks

Ethical issues -

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36
Q

Obedience - Situational Variables

A

In Milgrams research he indentified several factors that he believed influenced the level of obedience shown in participants

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37
Q

Obedience - Situational Variables What are the three types?

A
  1. Proximity
  2. Location
  3. Uniform
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38
Q

Obedience - Situational Variables Proximity

A

Milgram found that obedience dropped to 20.5% when the experimenter gave orders by the phone

39
Q

Obedience - Situational Variables (Touch Proximity)

A

When the teacher forced the hand of the leaner onto the electric shock plate. Obedience dropped to 30%

40
Q

Obedience - Situational Variables (Location)

A

Found that obedience dropped to 47.5% when experiment was conducted in a local run down office instead of yale.

Places of higher authority vs lower

41
Q

Obedience - Situational Variables (Uniform)

A

Experimenter wore a grey lab coat in the orginal study as a symbol of his authority

Played is as the experimenter was played by a ‘member of the public’ obedience dropped to 20%

42
Q

Obedience - Situational Variables (Evaluation Strengths)

A

Research support - Bickman did a field experiment in 1974 on three confederates in 3 different uniforms. (Security officer, Milkman and man in suit and tie) Asked passer bys to perform tasks such as pick up litter etc. Twice as likely to listen to the security guy than suit and tie.

43
Q

Obedience - Situational Variables (Weakness)

A

Lack of Internal validity. Many of the Participants worked out the pricedure was fake

44
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors (Agentic State)

A

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure. This frees us from our demands of our conscience and allows them to obey even a destructive authority figure

45
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Autonomous State

A

Opposite of an agentic state

A person is free to act in a way accoriding to theit own principles and therefore feel a sense of responsibility for their own actions.

46
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Agentic Shift

A

Milgram believes that people switch for Autonomus to Agentic when a person perciebes someone else as a figure of authority. Has a heigher social heirachy

47
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Binding factors

A
  • Why do people stay in this agentic state
  • Binding factors allow the p.s to forget/minimise the behaviour and therefore reduces the moral strain they are feeling.

Individual may use blame such as blaming the individual or denial

48
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Legititmacy of Authority

A
  • Societies are structured in a heirchal way
  • Autheorities are parents, teachers, politce officers are agreed on by society

-

49
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Consquence of Legitimacy of Authority

A

Some people are granted the power to punish other people

Most of us accept that the pliktce must punish wrongdoers, so we are willing to give up some of our independece

50
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Destructive Authority

A

When ligit power and authority becomes destructive such as hitler or stalin

51
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Evaluation Strengths

A

Research Support - Blass and Schmitt (2010) showed a milgram study to a group of stThe sudents and asked them to indentify who they felt was respinsiblr got yhr harm to the learner Mr Wallace.
The students indetified the experimenter. Therefore proving that legitimate authority was the cause of obedience

52
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Evaluation Weaknesses

A

Limited Explainations - The agentic Shift doesnt explain the research findings. Does not explain why some p.s did not obey

53
Q

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Strength of Legitmacy of Authority

A

Cultural differences of Obedience - Many studies done in different countries show that a different degree of people are traditonally obedient to authority. Australia - 16% went to the highest shock factor

54
Q

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations

A

Any explanation of the behaviour that highlights the importance of the individuals personality

55
Q

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality, who carried it out and procedure?)

A

Adorno et al (1950) investigated the causes of Obedient personality in a study of more than 2000 middle class white americans

Created the ‘F’ Scale, for facisim and asksed dtrhem to fill it out

56
Q

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality, Adorno Findings)

A

Those who scored high on the F scale tended to be indentified with ‘strong’ people.

They were very concious with their own and others status, Weak - showed strong excessive respect

Also found that authoritarian people jad a cognitive style which lead them to have fuzzy line between categories of people

57
Q

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Charateristics)`

A

Tend to be extremely obedient to authority

They also showed contempent to people ewho they percieve to be inferior (sex,class, race)

They view soceity as “going to the dogs” and therefore believed that we need a strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditonal values such as love of country, religion and family

Everything is either right or wrong and they are uncomfy with uncertiny

58
Q

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality Origins)

A

Formed in childhood, due to harsh parenting

Those experiences cause resentment and hostility in the child leading them to displacing their feelings onto others who are percieved to be weaker

59
Q

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality Evaluation Strengths)

A

Adorno’s theory has expanded our understanding of obedience from only situational factors and highlighted individual traits’ influence on our behaviour. Combining these factors gives us a better and more holistic understanding of political and societal phenomena.

Moreover, developing a standardised scale that measures authoritarian personality traits has helped future research measure the personality dimension more reliably and validly.

60
Q

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality Evaluation Weakness)

A

Adorno used a sample of middle-class Caucasian Americans, suggesting the theory may be ethnocentric and have class bias. Although the study was later replicated across cultures, most research has been conducted in the West.

Adorno’s research is criticised for suggesting that political conservatives are more likely to score higher on the scale. These findings were later replicated by other researchers, confirming Adorno’s findings. On the other hand, some research also points out that individuals on the extreme ends of either the right or left political wing are more likely to score higher on the scale

CORELATION IS WEAJK

61
Q

Resistance to Social Influence

A

Refers to the ability of people to withstand social pressure and to conform to the majority or obey authority

This ability to withstand social pressures is influenced by both situational and dispositionaol factors

62
Q

Resistance to Social Influence (Social Support 2 types)

A
  1. Conformity
  2. Obedience
63
Q

Resistance to Social Influence (Social Support Conformity

A

Social support can help people resist conformity as the pressure to confrom can be reduced if other people are not conforming.

In Asch’s research it is seen that if one of the dissenter did not conform the conformity level dripped

64
Q

Resistance to Social Influence (Social support to Obedience)

A

Help people resist Obedience,

The pressure to obey can bbe reduced if there is another person who is also seen to disobey. In Milgrams study obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the geniuine participant was joined by a confederate

65
Q

Resistance to Social Influence (Locus of Control)

A

Refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives. Julian Rotter (1966) first proposed this. Internal control vs External control.

66
Q

Resistance to Social Influence (Locus of Control Internals)

A

Believe that what happens to you, is largley controlled by themselves. You did well in an exam because you worked hard etc

67
Q

Resistance to Social Influence (Locus Of Control External)

A

Have the tendency to believe things don’t happen within your control. Such as luck or external varaibles

68
Q

Resistance to Social Influence (Continvum)

A

People differ in different ways to explain their sucesses and failures. But it isnt just a matter of internal or external.

69
Q

Resistance to Social Influence (Locus of Control, happens~0

A

People who have an internal LOC are more likely able to resist pressures to conform and obey.

Also - people witha hugh internal LOC tend to be more self confident and achievement oriented

70
Q

Resistance to Social Influence Resistance to Conformity Evaluation Strength

A

Research Support - The role of dissenting peers in resisting conformity. For example Allen and Levine (1971) found that confomity decreased when there was one dissenter

71
Q

Resistance to Social Influence Evaluation strngth to resistiance of obedience

A

Research support the role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience

72
Q

Resistance to Social Influence Locus of Control Evaluation strngth

A

Holland repeated milgrams study and found that the baseline of the study annd measured wether particpants were internals or externals.

Found that 37% of internals did not continue with the shock experiment

73
Q

Minority Influence

A

A form of social influence which a minority of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs or attitudes,

Most often leads to internalisation

74
Q

Minority Influence - 3 types

A

Consistency
Commitment
Flexibility

75
Q

Minority Influence - Consistency

A

The consistency increases overtime with hoe many people take interest in it. May be an agreement with what their message is

76
Q

Minority Influence - Consistency (Synchronic)

A

All saying the same thing

77
Q

Minority Influence - Consistency (Diachronic consistency)

A

They have been saying the same thing for some time now.

78
Q

Minority Influence - Commitment

A

Some minaorites engage in dangerous stuff for their cause.

Augementation principle

79
Q

Minority Influence - Flexbibility

A

Consistencey is not the only important factor in minority influence because it can be interpreted negativley

Have to make compromise in certain areas

80
Q

Minority Influence - The process of Change

A

Minority influence happens slowly over time and sometimes we forget how we gained that orginal belief. Called the snowball effecr

81
Q

Minority Influence - Evaluation Strength

A

Research support - Moscovis study on 36 blue/green tiles prove tgar a consistent minority opinion had an effect on the group

82
Q

Minority Influence - Evaluation Weakness

A

Artifical Tasks as identifiying thr colour of a slide is not really done every day

Lacks external validity

83
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - What is Social Influence

A

The process by which individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours. Includes conformity, obedience and minority influence

84
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - 6 steps

A
  1. Drawing Attention
  2. Consistency
  3. Deeper Processing
  4. Augementation Principle
  5. Snowball effect
  6. Social Cryptomnesia
85
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - In regards to AA in 1960 how did they draw attention

A

Through social proof, The civil rights marches drew attention to their situation by providing social proof of the problems

86
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - In regards to AA in 1960 how were they consistent

A

Many marches with many people tasking part. Due to being qa minority in the population the civil rights activists displayed a message of consistency and intent

87
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - In regards to AA in 1960 how did they gain deeper processing

A

This attention meant that people who had simply accepted the status quo began to think of the unjustness of it

88
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - In regards to AA in 1960 how did they use the augemntation principle

A

The freedom riders were a mixed racial group who got on buses in the south to challenge the segeration on them

89
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - In regards to AA in 1960 how did they have the snowball effect

A

Civil Rights activist passed legislation which allowed them to gain the attention of US Politicans and ended passing legislation to ban segregation and discrimination

90
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - In regards to AA in 1960 how did they gain social cryptomnesia

A

People in the south may have different views on their acceptence of AA. Do not remeber why

91
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - EVALUATION STRENGTH

A

Research support - for social influence is Nolan et al who put up posters around 2 neighbour hoods. One said “most residents were trying to reduce their energy usage” and the other was talking about reducing energy usage. The neighbour hood with the poster on enighbours reduing had a increase of people reducing their energy.

92
Q

Social Influence and Social Change - EVALUATION WEAKNESS

A

Happens slowly,

93
Q
A

Pyschology (8 decks)

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