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Social Influence Flashcards

1
Q

what is social influence?

A

process by which someone’s behaviour, belief or attitude is changed by the presence or actions of others

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2
Q

what are the three types of social influence?

A

majority influence, minority influence, obedience

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3
Q

what is conformity?

A

when people adopt behaviours, attitudes or beliefs of the majority

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4
Q

what is informational social influence?

A

-when there is no obvious answer
-we turn to others for info
-the more uncertain people are the more likely they are to conform
-e.g., copying someone else

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5
Q

how is informational social influence supported by Asch?

A

when the difficulty of the task was increased, the number of conforming responses increased, as P’s didn’t know the correct answer

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6
Q

what is normative social influence?

A

-occurs due to the need to be accepted by a group
-may not agree internally
-go along with the majority

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7
Q

how is normative social influence supported by Asch?

A

-when P’s asked individually, they got the answer correct each time as they knew the answer, no need for informational social influence
-when confederates gave wrong answer, P’s gave wrong answer 32% of time

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8
Q

what is a piece of evidence from Asch that doesnt support normative SI?

A

-26% of P’s never conformed. (dispositional factors)

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9
Q

what is identification to social roles?

A

we do what is expected of us when we take on certain roles

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10
Q

how is conformity to social roles supported by zimbardo

A

-guards wore uniforms and dark glasses; subsequently became aggressive.
-study may be showing evidence of demand characteristics due to the way P’s think they should act

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11
Q

what is compliance?

A

going along with the group. public opinion changes, private opinion stays the same

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12
Q

what is internalisation?

A

group opinion is accepted by individual, individuals public and private opinion change

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13
Q

what was the aim of Asch’s study?

A

whether the power of the group was enough to make someone give an incorrect answer to an easy task

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14
Q

what was the procedure of Asch’s study?

A

-used non-ambiguous task (obvious correct answer)
-P’s were american males
-P’s shown pair of cards
-one card= test line
-other card= 3 lines of different lengths
-P’s asked to say aloud which line was the same as the test line
-1 naive P in group with 6 confederates
-confederates gave same wrong answer 12/18 times
-naive p always answered second to last

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15
Q

what were the findings of Asch’s study?

A

-32% of trials P conformed to majority
-74% of naive P’s conformed at least once
-26% of P’s never conformed (experienced doubt)

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16
Q

what was the conclusion of Asch’s study?

A

power of group pressure made people give obviously wrong answer even though they knew it was wrong- compliance

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17
Q

why does Asch’s study lack ecological validity?

A

-judging length of line isn’t important to P’s belief systems- doesn’t generalise to real life behaviour
-crutchfield supported Asch- students conformed when agreeing with statements they wouldn’t agree with in other circumstances

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18
Q

why did Asch’s study lack population validity?

A

-androcentric- all males, can’t be generalised to women
-research shows women conform more than men

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19
Q

why was Asch’s study ethnocentric?

A

–american sample- america is individualist, cant generalise to collectivist
-collectivist conform more

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20
Q

why is Asch’s study unethical?

A

-P’s decieved- told study was about line perception, not social influence/ told confederates were real P’s
-no protection from harm- suffered stress/embarrassment

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21
Q

what are the 3 factor affecting conformity?

A

non unanimous majority- when 1 P dissented from majority to support naive P conformity levels dropped.

size of majority- when majority consisted of 2 people, conformity dropped to 12.8%. majority of 3= 32% conformity rate

difficulty of task- as difficulty increased, conformity increased

collectivist cultures conformed more

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22
Q

what was the aim of Zimbardo’s study?

A

study identification to social roles

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23
Q

what was the procedure of Zimbardo’s study?

A

-25 P’s in a mock prison set up
-either prisoner or guard
-real police recruited to help
-9 prisoners unexpectedly arrested and blindfolded at home, stripped and given smocks to wear and prison numbers
-3 guards on shift at once wearing dark glasses and uniform carrying batons

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24
Q

what were the findings of Zimbardo’s study?

A

P’s conformed to roles so much that study was stopped after 6 days
-guards became aggressive
-prisoners showed passive behaviours, crying, anxiety

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25
what was the conclusion of zimbardo's study?
shows how easily P's can behave in uncharacteristic ways when given roles
26
why did Zimbardo's study lack internal validity?
-suggested P's behaviour a result of demand characteristics -one prisoner based performance off film character -though prisoners showed genuine signs of disturbance -not fully conclusive
27
why is Zimbardo's study bias?
-androcentric- can't generalise to females -ethnocentric- based on americans can't generalise to collectivist
28
why did Zimbardo's study lack ecological validity?
-no real prison -no real crimes committed -doesn't generalise to real life -though real world evidence shows behaviours similar to the study e.g. stripping P's
29
what is obedience?
behaving as instructed, usually occurs in heirachy, emphasis on power
30
what was the aim of Milgram's study?
would ordinary american's obey an unjust order to inflict pain on another
31
what was the procedure of Milgram's study?
-40 male volunteers thought it was memory experiment -lab at yale university -confederate was always learner -P was always teacher -P read out words and tested confederates memory -each error resulted in electric shock given by P -started at 15v rising by 15v each time to 450v -no shock was actually administered -learner was scripted to be non-responsive after 315v -if teacher hesitated 'please continue', 'the experiment requires you to continue', 'it's absolutely essential you continue', 'you have no other choice' -continued until teacher refused or 450v was given 4 times.
32
what was the conclusion of Milgram's experiment?
power of situation over individuals, most people obey orders that go against conscience
33
why did Milgram's study lack internal validity?
-suggested P's knew they werent giving electric shocks -clues in set up -demand characteristics
34
what evidence did Milgram give to prove internal validity?
-video footage of P's crying -post experiment interviews- 56.1% believd, 2.4% didn't
35
how was Milgram's experiment androcentric?
-male P's -doen't generalise to females -though evidence shows obedience similar for females
36
how did Milgram's study lack ecological validity?
-task of giving electric shocks too artificial -though support for MIlgram comes from nurse being asked to administer unknown drug study
37
what are 3 situational factors affecting conformity?
-proximity- teacher/learner in same room= 40% obeyed till end -location-change in venue to seedy office= 48% obeyed less legitimate authority -uniform- experimenter dressed in normal clothes= 20% conformed till end
38
what are the 3 situational explanations of obedience?
-legitimate authority- role defined by society, we accept due to way we were brought up -graduated commitment- foot in door effect -agentic state- autonomous individuals- aware of consequences of actions, agentic level- agents of others (not responsible for actions)
39
what are authoritarian personalitys?
-not all obeyed in Milgram study, must be due to personality -believe in submission to authority -more likely to obey to higher status -dismissive of those in lower status -identified via F scale
40
how did elm's and milgram support authoritarian personality?
-20 obediant/ 20 defiant P's -completed MMPI scale and california F scale -asked questions about attitude towards study/ experimenter/childhood -higher level of authoritarianism in obediant P's
41
how did changing ssituation affect obediance levels?
-location= 48% -proximity=40% -prescence of disobediant allies= 10%
42
how did Milgram study lack ecological validity?
-cant explain real life obedience -used to try and explain anti-semitiv behaviour in nazi germany -unlikely all germans had same personality type
43
what were methodological problems with F scale?
-all questions worded in same direction -all questions had same scoring scale -people who agreed may have tendancy to agree, not personality -no filler questions
44
what are situational factors explaining resistance to conformity?
-social support- dissenter makes others feel more confident in their own decision, more likely to reject majority. (Asch study dissenter=5% conformed) -group size- larger group= more pressure to conform, smaller group= easier to resist conforming (Asch- group of 2 confederates= 12.8% conformity)
45
what are situational factors explaining resistance to obedience?
-social support- if 1 person refuses to obey, gives others confidence to refuse (Milgram- 2 confederates refused to shock obedience=10%) -reducing legitimate authority- if authority is reduced we don't feel need to obey (Milgram- office=48% obeyed compared to 65% at yale) feeling responsible- teacher refused shock as thay felt responsible for learner's pain (Milgram- when learner was in same room- obedience= 40%
46
what is locus of control?
perception of personal control over own behaviour. -internal- great deal of personal control- more likely to take responsibility/ be obedient -external- events happen outside their control (luck), more likely to conform
47
why does locus of control affect independant behaviour?
-internals less likely to rely on others opinions -internals more likely to become leaders, take responsibility for their actions, more achievement orientated -internal are less anxious, not threatened when facing events
48
what is evidence that LOC affects conformity?
-confederates rated funniness of 10 cartoons aloud -real P said rating last -P's with internal LOC less likely to conform to confederates
49
what is evidence that LOC affects obedience?
-disobedient P's from Milgram -each P interviewed -disobedient P's had high internal LOC -also scored highly on social responsibility scale
50
what is minority influence?
minority persuades majority
51
what are the behaviour styles of minority?
consistency- if minority retain same belief over time, making others reconsider views commitment- willingness to risk harm by showing their cause will benefit flexibility- willingness to comprimise and listen to others arguements persuasiveness- attract others by providing clear arguements/evidence
52
what was the aim for moscovics study supporting need for consistency?
discover whether a minority could influence the views of a larger group and to investigate the conditions needed for this to occur
53
what was the procedure for moscovics study supporting need for consistency?
Groups of six American females, with no colour blindness. 2 groups were confederates – the minority and 4 were naïve participants – the majority. All Ps were shown 36 blue slides of different shades 2 conditions: Consistent minority (confederates)said green on all trials Inconsistent minority (confederates) said green on 2/3 of trials The number of times the naïve majority said green was measured.
54
what was the findings for moscovics study supporting need for consistency?
Consistent minority: 8% of trials showed minority influence & 32% of participants said green at least once Inconsistent minority: 1% of trials showed minority influence
55
what was the conclusion for moscovics study supporting need for consistency?
Minorities can be influential but only when consistent
56
what are criticisms of moscovicis study?
ethical guidelines- Ps were deceived as they believed it was a study on colour perception not minority influence (was necesarry to decieve) not able to give fully informed consent. biased sample of females. cannot generalise the results to males who may show different levels of minority influence. Differing levels of minority influence is quite likely to be the case as research into majority influence does indeed show a difference in conformity between men & women. Therefore, Moscovici’s research lacks population validity The study can also be criticised for using a biased sample of Americans. As America is an individualistic society, we cannot generalise the results to collectivists who may show different levels of minority influence.
57
how does social change occur?
Snowball effect when the minority slowly becomes majority. Zeitgeist – (spirit of the time) There is often a delay before the minority position becomes accepted it happens when society is ready for change to occur
58
what are 2 genral evaluation points for minorities bringing social change?
minority influence is often indirect & delayed. It is claimed that the majority will only respond to issues that are important at a given time Eg it took decades for the smoking ban & for drink drive laws to be implemented. Real world evidence can be used to support behavioural styles of minorities bringing about social change.
59
how can conformity influence social change?
Social change can occur when a majority influences a minority through the process of normative social influence. The process is relatively passive.
60
explain a supporting study for conformity in social change? (energy consumption)
A month long study was conducted in California Experimental group: messages were hung on people’s front doors encouraging them to reduce energy consumption by indicating that other residents in the area were already doing this Control group: some houses received messages about energy use but with no mention of the behaviour of other residents The experimental group significantly reduced their energy consumption showing that conformity can lead to positive change
61
how can obedience bring about social change?
in Milgram’s study when they were 2 disobedient allies who refused to give a shock, obedience dropped to 10% Obedience can also bring about social change through gradual (graduated) commitment. Once a small instruction is obeyed, it becomes much more difficult to resist a bigger one. People therefore ‘drift’ into a new kind of behaviour

Psychology (10 decks)

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