social influence

Question 1

what was Asches aim In conformity.

Answer 1

To investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform

Question 2

what was Aschs procedure in his research into conformity?

Answer 2

123 male Americans
Lab experiment
Using a line judgement task
Put a participant in a room with seven confederates
Had to state which line was most like target Line answer was always obvious
Real participant gave ant last
In some trials, confederate gave wrong answers

Question 3

what were the results of Aschs research into conformity?

Answer 3

on average around one third of participants on each trial conformed on clearly incorrect
3/4 of participants conformed at least once

Question 4

what was the conclusion of aschs research into conformity?

Answer 4

conformed out of fear of being different or wrong

Question 5

what is the evaluation for Aschs research in conformity?

Answer 5

not Representative of modern day- Americans in 1950s more likely to conform did not want to be different capitalist views, nowadays people are more accepting of differences

Artificial situation and task

Low population population validity only students and only males and only from USA

Research support -
Asked to solve maths problems given answers from three other confederates conformed more when questions were harder

Question 6

what were the variations in aschs original research?

Answer 6

Size of group
Found that conformity increases as size of group increases
Change in conformity wants group size reaches four or five

Non-conforming role model one of a person does not conform conformity decreases

Difficulty of task
More difficult, more likely to conform informational social influence

Giving answers in private
Less likely to conform

Question 7

what are the types of conformity?

Answer 7

compliance- simply going along with others in public but privately not changing personal opinions

Identification - publicly change opinions and behaviour to be accepted even if you don’t privately agree- both public and private acceptance

Internalisation - when a person genuinely accepts the group norms private as well as public change of opinions and behaviour

Question 8

What are the explanations for conformity?

Answer 8

normative social influence- where someone conforms in order to fit in and gain approval or avoid disapproval

Informational social influence - where people because they are uncertain about what to do so look to others for guidance and want to be right

Question 9

what is the evaluation for the types and explanations of conformity?

Answer 9

Research support- Ash interviewed participants and sam said they conformed because they felt self-conscious giving the correct answer- afraid of disapproval

Individual differences - some people have an internal locus of control some people have an external locus of control

Research support for informational social influence - maths questions more difficult people conform more

Unclear if normative or informational and maybe both together

Question 10

which researcher looked into conformity to social roles?

Answer 10

Zimbardo- prison experiment

Question 11

What was the procedure of the Stamford prison experiment?

Answer 11

Mock prison with 21 student volunteers randomly assigned as guards or prisoners

Conformity to social roles created through uniforms and instructions about behaviour

Question 12

what were the findings of Zimbardo’s research in the Stanford prison experiment?

Answer 12

Guards took the roles up with enthusiasm and on day two the prisoners rebelled

Guard’s harassed prisoners

Prisoners became depressed and anxious and released on the fourth day some

Guards identified more than more closely with their role and became brutal and aggressive

Study stopped after six days

Question 13

what were the conclusions of Zimbardo’s research in Stamford prison experiment?

Answer 13

Participants strongly conformed to their roles

Question 14

what was the evaluation of the Stanford prison experiment?

Answer 14

Control- randomly assigned to rules increased internal validity- emotionally stable individuals were chosen

Lack of realism - participants were acting rather than genuinely conforming to role performances were based on stereotypes of how they’re supposed to behave

Exaggerated powers of the roles - only third of guards were brutal so conclusions exaggerated

Ethical issues - psychological harm of participants and deception as did not tell them they would be arrested at home

Question 15

What are the main factors of minority influence and who suggested them?

Answer 15

consistency
Commitment
Flexibility

Suggested by Nemeth

Question 16

what is the snowball effect?

Answer 16

Minority view gathers force and becomes majority influence

Question 17

what was the research into minority influence?

Answer 17

Moscovici et al-
Green blue slide study
Consistent versus inconsistent minority
Showed that more people views were changed when more consistent
Convinced that the slide was green

Question 18

what is the evaluation of minority influence?

Answer 18

Artificial tasks- in study blue green slide task was trivial no meaning

Strength of real life application - suffragettes and environmental groups consistency commitment and flexibility

Weakness as in real life - majority have more power and status than minority not just about equal people e.g. government

moscovici had gender bias and cultural bias

More people may agree with minority in private

Question 19

What is the research into social influence and social change?

Answer 19

lessons from minority influence research-
•drawing attention
• consistency
• deeper processing
• augmentation
• snowball effect
• social cryptomnesia

lessons from conformity research -
• where one Confederate gave correct Answer in ashes research broke the power of majority, could lead to social change
• normative social influence providing info about what others are doing and what the majority are doing could lead to change ‘ everyone is doing it’

Lessons from obedience research -
• mill showed importance of disobedient role model when teacher refused to give shock rate of obedience decreased

Question 20

what is the evaluation for social influence and social change?

Answer 20

Research of support for normative influences- in a study to see if could change peoples energy uses research a hung messages with point that everyone was doing it significant decreases in energy usage

Barriers to social change - some people resist social change and don’t want to be associated with certain stereotypes

Real life - suffragette movement use the lessons e.g. drawing attention augmentation to proof point

Question 21

What was Milgram’s research into obedience procedure

Answer 21

40 American men
Yale uni in USA
Supposedly on memory
Introduced a fake participant who was a confederate and to see who was the teacher
Experimenter dressed in white coat
Teacher had to give learner in different Room a shock high voltage with each wrong answer

Question 22

what were the findings of milligrams research into obedience?

Answer 22

Every participant shocks up to 300 V, 65% continued to 450
Findings were unexpected

Question 23

what were the conclusions of milligrams research?

Answer 23

People are willing to obey orders, even if my harm someone maybe certain factors in situations that encourage obedience

Question 24

What are the situational variables of milgrams research in obedience?

Answer 24

proximity- obedient dropped from 65% to 40% when in same room
When teacher forced learners, hand onto shock obedience dropped to 30%

Location - rundown building obedience to 47.5

Uniform - in one variation experimenter was called an ordinary member of public replaced him obedience dropped to 20%

Question 25

what is the evaluation for milgrams obedience research?

Answer 25

Low internal val- may not measure what intended to measure- many say they only did it because they did not believe the set up

High external val - relationship between experimental teacher and student was a reflection of real life situations e.g. patient and doctor

Ethical issues, participants were deceived psychological harm as harming someone else

Question 26

what is the evaluation for the situational variables in millgrams study?

Answer 26

Research support- Bickman

lack of internal val- many worked out the procedure was

Findings have been replicated in other cultures - not limited to American males done with Spanish students

Question 27

what is the agenic state?

Answer 27

Obedience to destructive authority because they believe they are acting for someone else
Autonomous - opposite to being independent or free
binding factors - aspects of situation that allows a person to minimise the effects of their behaviour e.g. shifting responsibility onto the victim

Question 28

what is the evaluation for the agentic state?

Answer 28

research support- In milgrams study when experimenter replies I’m responsible for this participants carried on

Limited explanation - does not explain some findings e.g. 16 out of 18 nurses disobeyed orders to administer dose nurses remained autonomous

Question 29

what is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 29

Societies are structured in a hierarchy
Authority of people is accepted some people granted power to punish. Learn this acceptance from childhood.

destructive authority- problems arise when becomes destructive e.g. Hitler use powerful destructive purposes ordering cruel and dangerous ways

Question 30

what is the evaluation for legitimacy of authority?

Answer 30

Explains cultural differences- different countries differ to degree of obedience in Australia only 16% of females went to 450 V but in Germany it was 85% percent, authority is more likely to be accepted

Cannot explain all disobedience - nurses most were obedient despite in a hierarchical authority structure

Question 31

what is an authoritarian personality?

Answer 31

Show extreme respect for authority
Society is weaker than it once was
Needs strong leaders to enforce traditional values
Require a little pressure in order to obey
Claim that childhood had a big affect

Question 32

what is the origin of authoritarian personality?

Answer 32

Very disciplined upbringing
Unconscious hostility - high opinions of their parents but unconsciously aggressive towards them

Displacement placed onto safe targets normally those who are weaker

Prejudiced results in prejudice views and discriminatory behaviour

Question 33

what was the study into authoritarian personality?

Answer 33

20 obedient 20 disobedient from milgrams study
completed a personality scale and authoritarian scale also asked about upbringing

Found that little difference on personality scale but higher authoritarianism amongst obedient participants and all less close to father

Question 34

what is the evaluation for authoritarian personality?

Answer 34

No cause an effect- could be coincidence and less related cannot make generalisations

Limited explanation - cannot explain obedient behaviour in majority of countries population

Political bias - scale is politically biased interpretation of AP and left-wing authoritarian is also similar- scale is not measuring what it aims to measure

Question 35

what are the two possible reasons for resistance to social influence?

Answer 35

Social support
Locus of control

Question 36

What is social support?

Answer 36

in conformity-
Pressure to conform can be resisted if another person is not conforming

in obedience-
Reduced obedience if another dissenting partner frees people to act in own way

Question 37

what is the evaluation for social support?

Answer 37

Research support- in Ash study even when decent war thick glasses and said had problems with vision resistance still not motivated by following someone else enables people to be free

Research support - found higher levels of resistance in because in groups

other explanations - personality type

Question 38

what is locus of control

Answer 38

The sense we have about what directs our lives rotter proposed concept of locus of control

Internal locus of control - believe that they control own destiny therefore more likely to resist pressure to conform

External locus - believe that there are forces that control destiny so are more likely to conform

Question 39

What is the evaluation for locus of control?

Answer 39

research support-
Holland repeated milligrams study but measured the locus of control of participants - 37% of internals did not do it. 23% of externals did not do it.

Analyse data from American obedience - study over 40 years found that people have become more resistant to obedience but also more external

Lucas of control not necessarily most important factor - only on certain situations only affects in new situations or if conformed or obeyed in the past, chances you will do so regardless of looks of control