Social Influence

Question 1

Conformity

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Types of conformity - Internalisation

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Types of conformity - Identification

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Types of conformity - Compliance

Answer 4

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

Question 5

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

Answer 5

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

Question 6

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

Answer 6

Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerald (1955)

Question 7

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

Answer 7

Informational social influence
Normative social influence

Question 8

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

Answer 8

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

Question 9

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

Answer 9

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

Question 10

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

Answer 10

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

Question 11

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

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

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

Answer 12

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)

Question 13

Asch’s Research - Procedure

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

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

Answer 14

123 American male undergraduates

Question 15

Asch’s Research - Findings

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Asch’s Variations - What are they

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Asch’s Variations - Name the three

Answer 17

• Group Size
• Unanimity
• Task difficulty

Question 18

Asch’s Variations - Group Size

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Asch’s Variations - Unanimity

Answer 19

• 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%

Question 20

Asch’s Variations - Task difficulty

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

Asch’s Research Evaluation - Strengths

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Asch’s Research Evaluation - Limitations

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

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

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Procedure

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Social roles

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Findings

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Conclusions

Answer 27

The stimulation revealed the power which influences peoples behaviour Guards, Prisoners and researches all conformed to their roles within the roles to the prisions

Question 28

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Evaluation Strength

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Conformity to Social Roles - Zimbardo Limitation

Answer 29

- 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

Question 30

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

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Obedience

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Obedience - Milgram's Research Procudure

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

Obedience - Milgram's Research Findings

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Obedience - Milgram's Research Evaluation Strengths

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Obedience - Milgram's Research Weakness

Answer 35

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 -

Question 36

Obedience - Situational Variables

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Obedience - Situational Variables What are the three types?

Answer 37

1. Proximity 2. Location 3. Uniform

Question 38

Obedience - Situational Variables Proximity

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Obedience - Situational Variables (Touch Proximity)

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Obedience - Situational Variables (Location)

Answer 40

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

Question 41

Obedience - Situational Variables (Uniform)

Answer 41

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%

Question 42

Obedience - Situational Variables (Evaluation Strengths)

Answer 42

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.

Question 43

Obedience - Situational Variables (Weakness)

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors (Agentic State)

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Autonomous State

Answer 45

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.

Question 46

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Agentic Shift

Answer 46

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

Question 47

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Binding factors

Answer 47

- 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

Question 48

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Legititmacy of Authority

Answer 48

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

Question 49

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Consquence of Legitimacy of Authority

Answer 49

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

Question 50

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Destructive Authority

Answer 50

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

Question 51

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Evaluation Strengths

Answer 51

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

Question 52

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Evaluation Weaknesses

Answer 52

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

Question 53

Obedience - Social Psychological Factors Strength of Legitmacy of Authority

Answer 53

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

Question 54

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations

Answer 54

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

Question 55

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

Answer 55

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

Question 56

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality, Adorno Findings)

Answer 56

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

Question 57

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Charateristics)`

Answer 57

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

Question 58

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality Origins)

Answer 58

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

Question 59

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality Evaluation Strengths)

Answer 59

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.

Question 60

Obedience - Dispositional Explanations (Authoritarian Personality Evaluation Weakness)

Answer 60

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

Question 61

Resistance to Social Influence

Answer 61

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

Question 62

Resistance to Social Influence (Social Support 2 types)

Answer 62

1. Conformity 2. Obedience

Question 63

Resistance to Social Influence (Social Support Conformity

Answer 63

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

Question 64

Resistance to Social Influence (Social support to Obedience)

Answer 64

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

Question 65

Resistance to Social Influence (Locus of Control)

Answer 65

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.

Question 66

Resistance to Social Influence (Locus of Control Internals)

Answer 66

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

Question 67

Resistance to Social Influence (Locus Of Control External)

Answer 67

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

Question 68

Resistance to Social Influence (Continvum)

Answer 68

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

Question 69

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

Answer 69

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

Question 70

Resistance to Social Influence Resistance to Conformity Evaluation Strength

Answer 70

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

Question 71

Resistance to Social Influence Evaluation strngth to resistiance of obedience

Answer 71

Research support the role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience

Question 72

Resistance to Social Influence Locus of Control Evaluation strngth

Answer 72

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

Question 73

Minority Influence

Answer 73

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

Question 74

Minority Influence - 3 types

Answer 74

Consistency Commitment Flexibility

Question 75

Minority Influence - Consistency

Answer 75

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

Question 76

Minority Influence - Consistency (Synchronic)

Answer 76

All saying the same thing

Question 77

Minority Influence - Consistency (Diachronic consistency)

Answer 77

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

Question 78

Minority Influence - Commitment

Answer 78

Some minaorites engage in dangerous stuff for their cause. Augementation principle

Question 79

Minority Influence - Flexbibility

Answer 79

Consistencey is not the only important factor in minority influence because it can be interpreted negativley Have to make compromise in certain areas

Question 80

Minority Influence - The process of Change

Answer 80

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

Question 81

Minority Influence - Evaluation Strength

Answer 81

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

Question 82

Minority Influence - Evaluation Weakness

Answer 82

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

Question 83

Social Influence and Social Change - What is Social Influence

Answer 83

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

Question 84

Social Influence and Social Change - 6 steps

Answer 84

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

Question 85

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

Answer 85

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

Question 86

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

Answer 86

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

Question 87

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

Answer 87

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

Question 88

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

Answer 88

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

Question 89

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

Answer 89

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

Question 90

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

Answer 90

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

Question 91

Social Influence and Social Change - EVALUATION STRENGTH

Answer 91

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.

Question 92

Social Influence and Social Change - EVALUATION WEAKNESS

Answer 92

Happens slowly,