Social Influence Flashcards
What are the three types of conformity in psychology?
Compliance (public agreement, private disagreement), Identification (conform to be part of a group, temporary), Internalisation (public and private agreement, lasting change).
What is compliance and when does it occur?
Compliance is when someone publicly agrees but privately disagrees, often due to Normative Social Influence (NSI) to gain social approval or avoid rejection.
What is Informational Social Influence (ISI) and which type of conformity does it cause?
ISI is when individuals conform because they believe others have more information; this leads to internalisation and is common in ambiguous situations.
What was Asch’s main finding in his line study on conformity?
75% of participants conformed at least once to an incorrect answer; the overall conformity rate was 36.8%.
How did group size, unanimity, and task difficulty affect conformity in Asch’s study?
Group Size: Conformity rose with up to 3 confederates but leveled after that.
Unanimity: Conformity dropped to 5% with a dissenting confederate.
Task Difficulty: Higher difficulty led to more conformity due to increased ISI.
What are the key evaluation points of Asch’s study on conformity?
Lacks temporal validity (1950s America was highly conformist), low ecological validity (artificial task), and cultural limitations (collectivist cultures show higher conformity).
What is Normative Social Influence (NSI) and what type of conformity does it cause?
NSI is conformity driven by the desire to fit in or avoid rejection, leading to compliance.
What were the results of Milgram’s study on obedience?
65% of participants administered the maximum shock (450V) when instructed by an authority figure.
What ethical issues were raised by Milgram’s study on obedience?
Deception (participants thought shocks were real), psychological harm (stress), and lack of informed consent.
How did proximity, location, and uniform affect obedience in Milgram’s variations?
Proximity: Obedience dropped to 40% when the learner was in the same room.
Location: Dropped to 47.5% in a less prestigious setting.
Uniform: Obedience was only 20% when authority wore casual clothes.
What is the Authoritarian Personality and how is it linked to obedience?
Described by Adorno et al. (1950), it is a personality type with rigid thinking and respect for authority, measured by the F-scale; correlates with higher obedience.
How does social support reduce conformity and obedience?
Conformity: Dropped to 5% in Asch’s study with a dissenting confederate.
Obedience: Presence of disobedient peers reduces likelihood of obedience, providing social proof for resistance.
How does Locus of Control affect resistance to social influence?
Internal LOC: Individuals believe they control their own fate, making them more resistant to conformity/obedience.
External LOC: Individuals attribute outcomes to external factors, making them more susceptible to social influence.
What did Moscovici’s study on minority influence find about consistency?
Consistent minority influence led to a 8% conformity rate, while inconsistent minority had little effect. Consistency is key for minority influence.
What are the steps by which minority influence leads to social change?
Drawing Attention: Minority highlights an issue.
Consistency: Persistent advocacy.
Deeper Processing: Public re-evaluates norms.
Augmentation Principle: Commitment through self-sacrifice.
Snowball Effect: Minority view gains momentum.
Social Cryptoamnesia: Society forgets how the change occurred.
