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social influence Flashcards

1
Q

What is conformity?

A

A change in a person’s behaviour, opinions, or beliefs as a result of peer pressure from others

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2
Q

What are the 3 types of conformity?

A

Compliance, identification and internalisation

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3
Q

What is compliance?

A

Going along with the group, publicly agreeing but privately disagreeing

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4
Q

What is identification

A

When we want to be accepted and liked by the groups so we publicly agree even if we privately disagree

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5
Q

What is internalisation

A

Genuinely accept an value the norms and values of the group, publically and privately agree, permanent change

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6
Q

What are the 2 explanations for conformity?

A

ISI and NSI

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7
Q

What is NSI?

A

Normative social influence
We copy behaviour because we want to be liked/ accepted by the rest of the group, we want to fit in

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8
Q

What is ISI

A

Informational social influence
There is a need to be right, when we are in a situation that is ambiguous, we copy the majority and assume that they are correct

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9
Q

What is a study that supports ISI?

A

Jenness 1932

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10
Q

Explain the Jenness study

A
  • Conducted one of the earliest studies into conformity
  • used ambiguous situation involving counting a glass bottle with 811 white beans
  • 101psychology students , individually estimated how much was in the glass
  • Then divided into groups of 3, were asked to discuss their estimates in a group, and then do another individual estimate a second time
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11
Q

Findings of Jenness

A

Jenness 1932
- Found that nearly all P had changed their answers, shows that conformity levels rise specifically when placed in an ambiguous situation

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12
Q

What is the study for NSI?

A

Asch 1951

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13
Q

Aschs aim?

A

Extent to which social pressure from a majority group can affect a person to conform

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14
Q

Aschs prodecure?

A
  • Lab experiment
  • 123 male students particapated in a “vision test”
  • 1 naive particapents in a room with 7 confederates
  • Real P was deceived, P didnt know that the C had already pre planned their answers
  • Each person had to say their answer out loud , real P sat at the end and said their answer last
  • 18 trials , C gave wrong answer 12 times , called critical trials
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15
Q

Aschs results ?

A

On average, 1/3 (32%) conformed
- Over the 12 trials , 75% conformed at least once
- When asked to write answers on paper, conformity rates fell by 12.5%

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16
Q

What were the 3 variations Asch undertook to see which would affect conformity more?

A

Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty

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17
Q

Group size?

A

Number of C varied between 1-15

Findings - 1 C - 3 %
2 C - 13%
3 C - 32%

Found that adding more C didnt make a difference

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18
Q

Unanimity ?

A

Added truthful C and a C who was dissenting but inaccurate

Findings - dissenting C reduced conformity
Correct answers. - Dropped 5%
Different but incorrect - Dropped 9%

Shows that if you break the unanimity position, conformity levels are going to drop even if the answer is incorrect

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19
Q

Task difficulty

A

Made line judging task harder , by making stimulus line and comparison line more similar

Findings - Conformity increased when task was more difficult, bc of ISI, situation is more ambiguous, so we are more likely to look to others for guidance

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20
Q

Disadvtange of aschs study

A

P- may not be true anymore, sa the research took place at a time when conformity was high

E - US affected by McCarthy at the time, so people were scared to go against the majority

E - Perrin and Spencer (1980) replicated Aschs study, only had 1 conforming response in 386 trials

L- suggests that conformity levels change over time and that his research could be considered as “child of its time” rather than universal phenomenon

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21
Q

Disadvtange of Aschs study

A

P - study could be criticised for lacking population validity , as no woman were included and participants were only from US

E - matters because Neto found woman conform more than men as they value social relationships more

E - Pps were only from USA , an individualist culture, smith and bond (1998) suggests that conformity rates are higher in collectivist cultures which are more concerned with group needs

L - suggests that conformity levels may sometimes be even higher than what Asch suggested, as his findings are limited to only American men

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22
Q

Advtange of aschs study

A

P - support from other studies on the effect of task difficulty

E - e.g Lucas et al (2006) asked their pps to solve easy and hard maths problems

E - PPs were given answers from 3 other students (not real students), found that pps conformed more often when the problem was harder

L- shows that Asch was correct in. claiming that task difficulty is one variable which effects conformity levels

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23
Q

what are social roles?

A

The parts people play when they are apart of a social group

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24
Q

what’s the difference between conforming to a majority and conforming to a social role

A

Majority - to avoid rejection or to be right

Conforming to a social role - to conform to the expectations people have of us

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25
What did zimbardo believe that caused him to create the study?
Believed that it wasn't dispositional factors that caused violence but situations factors
26
Zimbardos aim?
Do people behave in a negative way because of their personality, or is it the situation that makes the behave that way?
27
Zimbardos procedure
21 male us students tested and found to be mentally/phsycially healthy randomly appointed role of guard/prisoner - P was arrested by local PD, stripped and thrown in prison, called by numbers rather than names - Guards were given uniform, handcuffs, reflective shades - guards instructed to run prison w/o violence - set to run for 2 weeks
28
Zimbardos findings
- Initially, prisoners rebelled, guards then relatilated by harassing prisoners and punishing them - had to be stopped on day 6 instead of intended 14 days , because of many of the prisoners exeperiencing psychological issues
29
disadvantage of zimbardo sfe
P - ethical issues arose during study E - zimbardo was both lead researcher and prison superintendent E- student spoke to zimbardo, wanted to leave, zimbardo responded as superintendent, worried about the running of his prison, rather then the lead researcher L - shows that that his dual roles conflicted with each other, also shows that the goals of research was put before the safety of pps
30
Disadvtange of zimbardo
P - sample not representative , using volunteer sampling means that a certain type of person can apply E - + use of only males, findings lack population validity , can't be generalised to females E - as zimbardo tried to generalise his findings for just males to everyone , could be criticised for being androcentric L - meaning that any varying levels of conformity in females maybe seen as adverting from the "norm"
31
Disadvtange of zimbardo
P - lacking validity E - argued that most pps were acting, some even said that performance was based of stereotypes and movies they'd seen "cool hands luke " E - playa acting could explain why prisoners rioted at the start L - suggests that zimbardos conclusions may be less robust and not reflect human behaviour
32
Milgrams aim
- wanted to see if ordinary people would obey horrific orders from an authority figure - because of horrific actions from holocaust
33
milligrams procedure
-40 males aged 20-50 -recruited through newspaper advert, thought it was abt memory -naive pps - teacher - conf - learner -naive- instructed by experimenter in white lab coat to give what they thought was genuine electric shocks of increasing voltage from 15-450v to learner for every wrong answer they gave -learner would bang on walls and scream to show his distress, when pps would try to leave, given series of verbal prods, by experimenter to continue with study
34
milgrams findings
100% of pps gave shocks up to 300v 60% of pps continued to highest (450v) qualitivatve data collected, showed that ppts demonstrated tension e.g nail biting, sweating and uncontrollable seizures
35
milgrams conclusion
shows that normal people are capable of performing horrific acts with obeying instructions from an authority figure
36
name the 5 ethical issues
consent, deception, confidentiality, debrief, withdraw, protection from harm
37
what is consent
the participant must know about and agree to all aspects of the study
38
what is deception
the pps must not be deceived about anything regarding the study
39
what is confidentiality
pps information and responses must be kept private unless the agree otherwise
39
what is debrief
pps must be told exactly what the study was about after and to reassure them the their responses was normal
40
what is withdraw
pps can leave the study or remove their data at any point
41
what were the variations of milligrams study
proximity, location, and uniform
42
milgram - proximity
-when L and T placed in same room , obedience rate dropped to 40% -when teacher forced L hand onto electroshock plate, obedience dropped to 30% - when E left room and gave instructions over the phone, obedience dropped to 20.5%
43
milgram. -location
changed location to run down building instead of Yale, dropped to 47.5%
44
milgram - uniform
experimenter called away because of a phone call, experimenter changed to an "ordinary person", wearing normal clothes and not that white lab coat, obedience level fell to 20%
45
all of the percentage drops for the variations - milgram
Percentage of P that were obedient. study done at Yale - 65% study done at run down office - 47.5% T + L in same room - 40% forces hand on L on plate - 30% Orders over phone - 20.5% E played by public member - 20%
46
Strength of milgram
P - further research support for situational explanations of obedience E - Bickham (1974), carried similar study using field experiment, where C wore security guard uniform, milkman's outfit or everyday clothing and gave orders to passers by E - found that people were 2x times as likely to obey the security guard then normal people L - provides further support for milgram, concludes that uniform symbolises authority and is a situational factor
47
Advantage of milligrams study
P - replicated in other cultures E - Miranda et al (1981) repeated his study on sample of spanish students, found that obedience rate was over 90%, important as it shows his conclusions aren't only limited to American men but are valid across cultures E - Smith and Bond 1998 would argue that these replications have taken place in western, developed places, so its too early to conclude that milgrams findings about situational variables can be applied to other cultures L - so whiilst it is still a strength that Milgrams research has been replicated in other cultures, it is still limited as the findings are unlikely to be generalised to non western cultures e.g china
48
Strength of milgram
P- High levels of control throughout the study E - Milgram was able to systematically manipulate one variable at a time to see what effect it would have E- For example, he was able to manipulate the variable location, by repeating the study in a run down building rather than in Yale L - So milgram could be confident that the findings were due to specific manipulations of the variables, and means that other researchers can replicate the study the exact same way and make sure the findings weren't a one off
49
What is an agentic state
The mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour, because we believe ourselves to be acting for someone else ( authority figure)
50
what is an autonomous state
we are independent and have free will over our actions
51
What is legitimacy of authority
An explanation for obedience that suggests we armoire likely to obey people who we believe to have authority over us,
52
What are the social psychological explanations of obedience
Agentic state Legitimacy of authority
53
What is the authoritarian personality
A personality type that is more likely to obey people in authority, usually submissive to those of a higher status and dismissive to inferiors
54
What can the authortian personality be measured using
F scale, Adorno said if u score high, u have that personality
55
Adorno's aim
To find support for the dispositional explanation of obedience
56
Adornos procedure
-2000 middle class white Americans to complete a range of scales to measure their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups - one used was the F scale
57
Disadvantage of ap
P- methodological problems using self report data E - uses f scale, may lack validity due to social desirability bias , pps may give answers they dont agree with in order to appear a certain type of way to the researcher L- therefore limits internal validity of the research and therefore this explanation of obedience
57
Adornos findings
People with authoritarian leanings, identified with strong people and were generally disapproving of the weak, shows high levels of respect for those with a higher status
58
Disadvtange of ap
biased sample - only used white middle class Americans, meaning results aren't generalisable as there's issues with culture and gender bias
59
what is meant by resistance to social influence
ability of people to withstand the pressure to conform to the majority or obey to authority,
60
What is locus of control
How far a person believes that they are in control of their own lives
61
social support as an explanation for resisting influence
social support. - the presence of others who resist pressures to conform or obey helps others do the same, act as models to show that resistance is possible
62
what are the 2 types of loc
internal and external
63
what is internal locus of control
self confident, doesn't need approval from others
64
what is external loc
believes in luck and fate and highly likely to conform
65
advantage of social support
P- research support E/E = Holland 1967 repeated milgrams baseline study using ppts who either had high external loc or high internal loc, internals showed greater resistances to authority - 37% of interns did not continue to the highest shock voltage whereas only 23% of externals did not continue L- this increases validity of loc and shows that resistance is at least partly related to loc
66
what is minority influence
a form of social influence where the minority influence the majority
67
study for mi
moscovici et al 1969
68
moscovici aim
investigate minority influence
69
moscovici prodecure
-lab experiment using female students - group of 6 people -2 conf = minority -4 real p = majority - viewed 36 blue slides, asked to state the colour - in first experiment , conf consistently said that the slides were green in a ll 36 trials - in second experiment , conf were inconsistent they said the slides were green for only 24/36 of the slides
70
moscovici findings
-32% of ppts gave the same answer as the majority in at least 1 of the trials - on average, ppts gave the same answers as the minority 8.42% of the time - inconsistent minority led majority to give same answer 1.25% of the time -in control group with no conf, wrong answer given 0.25% of the time
71
moscovici conclusions
consistency is an important process in minority influence
72
what are the 3 main process in minority influence called
consistency commitment flexibility
73
what is consistency
-increases the amount of interest from others -makes others think about their own view
74
what are the 2 types of consistency
synchronic consistency - agreement between people in the minority e.g they're all saying the same thing diachronic consistency. - consistency over time e.g thieve been saying the same thing for a while
75
what is commitment
minorities engage in extreme actions to draw attention to their views, should be a risk to minority, shows their commitment then majority will pay more attention
76
what is the role of commitment also known as
augmentation principle
76
who argues for flexibility
nemeth 1986
77
what is flexibility
- as consistency can be interpreted negatively by the majority, relating the same points over and over again can be off putting
78
what does nemeth argue
minorities should be prepared to be flexible and adaptable their pov, and accept reasonable counter arguments so that the majority convert to the views of the minority
78
what is the snowball effect
when overtime more people switch viewpoints from minority to majority , more this happens, faster the rate of conversion
79
limitation of mi
P- involves artificial tasks E- moscovici tasks was saying colour of slide, far removed from how minorities try to change opinions in real life E - in jury decision making and political campaigning, outcomes are vastly more important , maybe a matter of life and death L - meaning that the findings lack external validity and are limited in what they tell us about how mi works irl
80
what is social change
when whole societies, rather than just individuals, adopt new behaviours or beliefs which then becomes the norm
80
what are the processes of social change
1. drawing attention 2 . consistency 3. deeper processing 4. augmentation principle 5. snowball effeect 6. social crypotoamnesia

social influence (8 decks)

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