Social Influence Flashcards
What are the 2 types of social influence?
Normative
Informational
NSI and ISI
What are the 3 types of conformity?
Internalisation, Identification and compliance
Explain Internalisation as a type of conformity
A genuine acception of group norms due to ISI.
It is also usually a permanent and public change
Explain Identification as a type of conformity
Conforming due to there being something about the group we value.
Public but not private change
Explain Compliance as a type of conformity
simply ‘going along with others’
A superficial change
What is a research support for ISI?
Lucas et al and his maths problems
More difficult the question the higher rates of conformity
What is a research support for NSI?
Asch
Participants said they conformed due feeling self-conscious and afraid of disapproval.
What is a research against NSI?
Every personal has individual differences
The role of nAffiliators being the type of person to confirm
Outline The Stanford prison experiment
Mock prison in university basement
21 emotionally stable men were randomly assigned to either a ‘prisoner’ or ‘guard’
Uniforms were provided for de-individuation
Encouraged to identify with their role
Meant to last 14 days but only lasted 6
What was included in the prisoners uniform for the SPE?
Loose smock
cap
number identification
What were the findings of the SPE?
Social roles highly influence individuals behaviour
One prisoner went on hunger strike
Guards overtime became more aggressive
Prisoners rebelled
Meant to last 14 days but only lasted 6
What are 3 evaluations of the SPE?
- Control
Highly controlled variables (Emotionally stable participants) - Lack of realism
Response to demand characteristics
HOWEVER,
Prisoner 416 thought it was a real prison led my psychologists rather than government and 90% of convos were on prison life
What was Milgrams baseline procedure?
40 American men
Teacher, learner and experimenter
Participant always the teacher
question getting wrong gets electrocuted
15v - 450v
What was Milgrams baseline procedure findings?
- All participants went to 300 volts
- 65% continued all the way to 450 volts
Lip biting, sweating, trembles and stutters. One had a whole seizure
What was the two research support on Milgrams baseline procedure?
French docuementary replications
80% delivered to maximum 460 volts
same quantitative behaviours
Real shocks to puppies
54% men 100% women gave what they thought was a fatal shock
(Contradicts idea of DC)
What was the research against on Milgrams baseline procedure?
DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS
The idea of play-acting
What was the 3 situational variables in Milgrams study?
Location, Proximity, Uniform
Explain location as one of Milgrams situational variables
Prestige univeristy to a run-down office block
Decreased obedience
65% to 47.5%
Explain proximity as one of Milgrams situational variables
Forces hand on a ‘electrostack plate’
Obedience fell by over a half (65% to 30%)
Explain uniform as one of Milgrams situational variables
Grey lab coat experimenter being replaced by a member of the public
Obedience fell from 65% to 20%
What is a weakness of Milgrams situational variables?
Low internal validity for uniform
Lowkey unbelievable, even Milgram said…
Would lead to demand characteristics
What are 2 strength of Milgrams situational variables?
- Cross culture replications
Dutch interview, saying stressful questions to someone desperate for a job - Research support
Field experiment
Guard, milkman, jacket and tie
Pick up litter
What are 2 situational explanations?
Agentic state and Legitimacy of authority
what is the agentic shift?
Shift from an autonymous state to an agentic state
What are 4 characteristics of someone with an authoritarian personality?
- Black and white thinking
- Society as weaker as it once was
- Importance of tradition
- need for strong and powerful leaders
What are the origins of the AP?
Conditional love and harsh parenting
Anger displaced onto those they view as weak
What was Adorno et al’s research?
White men unconscious attitudes to ethnic groups
F-scale
What was Adorno et al’s research findings?
High F-scale seemed to be more ‘strong’ (Signs of AP)
Black and white thinking cognitive style
Authoritarian and prejudice has a positive correlation
What are 3 evaluations of the dispositional explanation?
Research support
- Milgram 20 participants took part in an interview and did the F-scale. High F-scale, high obedience
HOWEVER,
not all Milgram high F-scale participants had experienced harsh parenting
Limited explanation
Not all german nazi soldiers experienced the same childhood and they all had different personalities
(Links more to SLT)
What are two types of resistance to social influence
Locus of control and social support
What is social support?
The presence of people who resist the pressures to conform or obey to show others they can do the same. They act as a model.
What is the difference between the two types of locus of control
External - ‘everything happens for a reason’, Luck and outside forces
Internal - Takes personal responsibility
Explain LOC as a way to resist social influence
Those with a high internal LOC are seen as more intelligent, self confident and achievement orientated therefore are more able to resist SI
What are the two evaluations for social support?
Real-world research support
- preg teens resist smoking pressure
- One group with a ‘buddy’ another without
- Showed real world intervention help
Research support for dissenting peers
- Oil company running a smear campaign
- Participants in groups so could discuss
- 29/33 groups rebelled against orders
What are the 3 factors within Minority Influence?
Consistency, commitment and flexibility
What are the two evaluations for LOC?
Research support
- Milgram repeated procedure 37% but 23% E externals didnt continue to the greatest shock
Contradictory research
- Twenge did 40 year research analysis
- More people becoming external but more people becoming resistant to SI
What are the 6 stages to achieve social change
DCDASS
Drawing attention
Commitment
Deeper processing
Augmentation process
Snowball effect
Social cryptomnesia
What is the augmentation process?
Self risk
What are 2 research support for consistency in minority influence?
Moscovici blue/green slides
- consistent minority opinion made change
Wood et al
- meta analysis showed consistent minority opinions made change
What is a limitation of Aschs line task and Moscovicis blue/green slide task?
Artificial task
- Does not reflect real life situations
What is research support for NSI?
Asch
- Participants stated they felt self-conscious and afraid of disapproval
- Conformity fell by 12.5% when asked to write answer down (No NSI)
What is research support for ISI?
Lucas et al
- Maths problem (difficult) had conformed to incorrect answers
- When easy participants ‘Knew their own minds”
What is a limitation for NSI?
Individual differences
- Only predict nAffiliators
Which prisoner in the Stanford prison experiment said they thought it was real but led by prisons rather than govt?
416
How many participants went up to 300V in Milgrams baseline study?
All of them
How many participants stopped at 300V in Milgrams baseline study?
12.5% (5/40)
How many participants were in Milgrams baseline study?
40
How many participants went up to 450V (highest) in Milgrams baseline study?
65%
What was the qualitative data gathered from Milgrams baseline procedure?
Sweat, tremble, stutter
- 3 had full blown seizures
What rate did obedience fall by when T forced L to put hand on an electrostat plate?
65% - 30%
What rate did obedience fall by when E was a member of the public (uniform)?
65% - 20%
What rate did obedience fall by when moved to a run-down office block?
65% - 47.5%
What are the situational explanations of obedience?
Agentic state
Legitimacy of authority
What is an ‘agent’?
Someone who acts for/in place of another
- They experience high anxiety but feel powerless
When does an ‘agentic shift’ occur?
When a person perceives someone else as a higher authority figure
What is a limitation of the ‘agentic shift’ in explaining obedience?
Rank & Jacobson
16/18 nurses disobeyed doctor on an excessive drug dose
(disobeyed doctor)
What was Adorno et als research method on AP?
F-scale to measure AP
2000 middle class white American men and their unconscious attitudes to ethnic groups
What was Adorno et als research findings on AP? (5)
High F scale - High AP
- no fuzziness in thinking (B+W)
- Status conscious
- Respect to higher status
- Fixed stereotypes
- + correlation between prejudice & authoritarianism
What 3 things are in compliance
Superficial change
Public not private
Simply going along with others
What participant said prisoner run by psychologists in Zimbardo’s study?
Prisoner 416
What was the research support on Milgrams baseline?
- French doc tv show
Same as Milgram basically
80% gave the maximum amount of shocks of 460V to an unconscious man
What % of participants believed the shocks were genuine in Milgrams baseline?
75%
What was the field research support for Milgram’s situational variables?
Uniform
Field task with an officer, milkman and tie jacket
Asked people to do a task, litter pick up, obedience higher with the office outfit
2 evaluations of the Agentic state situational explanation
Research support - Milgram
When participants asked investigator who is responsible they said themselves so then participants carried on
Limited explanation
16/18 nurses disobeyed doctor
What evaluation can be used for both situational explanations?
Limited explanation
16/18 nurses disobeyed doctor on an excessive drug dosage
What did Adornos research test?
White american men and their attitudes towards other ethnic groups
What did a high f scale lead to?
Authoritarian leanings
What could AP not explain
Germans anti-semitism
In the smear oil campaign for SS how many groups disobeyed?
29/33
What is the research support for LOC?
Holland repeated Milgram’s baseline
Internal less likely to go to highest shock level compared to external
In all culture countries what was the same?
All countries has secure attachment was the most common
highest 75% Britain
Lowest 50% in China
What attachment was higher in collectivist cultures?
Insecure-resistant (20-25% rather than the 3% in SS)
