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Social Influence Flashcards

1
Q

What is conformity?

A

A change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure. Often referred to as majority influence.

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2
Q

What is compliance?

A

The persons behaviour conforms publicly but they continue to disagree privately.

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3
Q

What is identification?

A

The person conforms publicly as well as privately because they have identified with the group and they feel a sense of group membership. Behaviour change is temporary.

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4
Q

What is internalisation?

A

The person conforms publicly and privately because they have internalised and accepted the views of the group. Both belief and behaviour are changed.

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5
Q

What is normative social influence?

A

Conforming through a desire to fit in and be accepted by the group.

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6
Q

What is informational social influence?

A

Conforming through a desire to be correct.

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7
Q

What is the deepest type of conformity? What is it a result of?

A

Internalisation
Informational social influence

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8
Q

What is compliance likely to result from?

A

Normative social influence

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9
Q

What was the aim of Asch’s study?

A

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

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10
Q

What was the procedure of Asch’s study into conformity?

A

Participants believed they were taking part in a ‘vision test’. Asch put a naive ppt in a room with 7 confederates. The participant answered last. Had 18 trials - wrong answers were given by confederates 12 times. Control = no confederates.

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11
Q

What was the sample in Asch’s study into conformity?

A

123 male undergraduate students

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12
Q

What was the result of Asch’s study into conformity?

A

Participants conformed on 33% of the critical trials.
25% never conformed
50% conformed on 6 or more critical trials
Control = wrong answer 1% of the trials
Interviews revealed most knew they were giving the wrong answer but wanted to avoid disapproval.

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13
Q

What was the conclusion of Asch’s study into conformity?

A

People will conform due to normative social influence. However, they won’t internalise it. Informational social influence could also impact because people want to give what they deem is the correct answer.

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14
Q

What are the factors effecting conformity?

A

Task difficultly
Group size
Unanimity

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15
Q

How did Asch vary group size? What effect did this have on conformity?

A

Varied groups so number of confederates ranged from 1-15.
Found curvilinear relationship between group size and conformity. Conformity increased until a point - at 3 ppts.

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16
Q

How did Asch vary unanimity? What effect did this have on conformity?

A

Introduced a confederate who disagreed with the other confederates.
Conformity decreased to less than a 1/4 of the original.

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17
Q

How did Asch vary task difficulty? What effect did this have on conformity?

A

Made the lengths of the lines more similar.
Conformity increases - answer became more ambiguous.

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18
Q

Give some evaluation points for Asch’s study into conformity.

A

Artificial task and situation/ not generalisable
Limited application/ sample bias
Research support - Todd Lucas et al
Ethical issues

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19
Q

What is dispositional explanation?

A

Explaining behaviour in terms of an individual’s personality.

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20
Q

What is situational explanation?

A

Explaining behaviour in terms of environmental factors.

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21
Q

What are social roles?

A

The position or status that an individual occupies in a group.

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22
Q

Explain conforming to social roles.

A

Adopting the behaviours expected of an individual who occupies a certain position or status.

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23
Q

What is de-individuation?

A

When an individual loses their sense of self. Eg when wearing a uniform and conforming to the social role of the uniform.

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24
Q

What was the aim of Zimardo’s Stanford Prison study?

A

To find out why prison guards behave brutally: do they have sadistic personalities or was it their social role?

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25
What was the procedure of Zimardo’s Stanford Prison study?
Set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department. Controlled overt observation. Selected 21 male student volunteers who tested as emotionally stable. Randomly assigned guard or prisoner. Given uniforms: smock, cap + number or uniform, bat, sunglasses. Encouraged to identify with their roles.
26
What was the result of Zimardo’s Stanford Prison study?
Guards = enthusiastic - harsh punishments/ harassment given such as lining up and calling numbers or solitary confinement. Within 2 days prisoners began to rebel. Prisoners became depressed and guards became more brutal. Ended on day 6 of 14.
27
What was the conclusion of Zimardo’s Stanford Prison study?
Social roles influence behaviour causing conformity because of de-individuation. Roles were easily taken on by all ppts and volunteers.
28
Give some evaluation points for Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison study?
Controlled Realism - 90% of conversations were real Lack of realism - play acting Exaggerates power roles - 1/3 of guards brutal Ethical issues Participant variables Demand characteristics
29
What are the 7 ethical guidelines?
Informed consent Deception Protection from harm Right to withdraw Privacy Confidentiality Debriefing
30
Who sets the ethical guidelines?
British Psychological Society
31
What is obedience?
The type of social influence whereby somebody acts in response to a direct order from a figure with perceived authority.
32
What was the aim of Milgram’s study?
To see if people would obey an authority figure.
33
What was the sample in Milgram’s study?
40 males aged 20-50 whose jobs ranged from unskilled to professional.
34
What was the procedure of Milgram’s study?
Participant was introduced to another participant (confederate). Real participant was always teacher - drew straws. Teacher tested the learner on a list of words they had learnt. Teacher told to administer an electric shock every time learner makes a mistake increasing the voltage each time. Learner gave mainly wrong answers. Experimenter gave standard instruction when teacher wanted guidance.
35
What was the result of Milgram’s study?
65% continued to highest level of volts (450v) 100% continued to 300v
36
What was the conclusion of Milgram’s study?
Orders from authority have a strong influence on behaviour due people’s perception on who has authority.
37
Give some evaluation points for Milgram’s study.
Lacks ecological validity Ethical issues Not generalisable Reliable
38
Describe Hofling’s study.
Nurse working alone on a night shift receive a phone call from a “doctor”. Asked to administer 20mg of unfamiliar drug. Broke the rules: x2 allowed dose, taking instruction from an unknown person, acting without signed order from a doctor. 21/22 began to give medication before being stopped.
39
Describe Bickman’s study.
The male experimenters dressed as a guard, milkman and civilian made requests of passers by. People were more likely to obey the guard and least likely to obey the civilian.
40
What factors affect obedience?
Proximity Location Uniform
41
What percentage was obedience when the venue moved to office blocks?
47.5%
42
What percentage was obedience when the experimenter left the room and instructed the teacher by phone?
20.5%
43
What percentage was obedience when the teacher was paired with a confederate who pressed the button for them?
92.5%
44
What percentage was obedience when the teacher was given support by a confederate who refused to participate?
10%
45
What percentage was obedience when the experimenter was replaced by a ‘participant’ who came up with the idea to increase voltage?
20%
46
What percentage was obedience when the teacher and learner were in the same room?
40%
47
What percentage was obedience when the teacher had to force the learners hand onto the plate to receive the electric shock?
30%
48
What is the dispositional explanation for obedience?
Authoritarian personality
49
What is authoritarian personality?
Collection of traits developed from strict parenting. Obedient towards people of perceived higher status. A psychological disorder.
50
Describe Adorno et al, 1950.
Measured 2000 white middle class Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups. Complete the F-scale. People who scored highly identified with ‘strong’ people and were contemptuous of the ‘weak’. Showed a blind respect to authority.
51
What is the F-scale?
Facist scale Measures different aspects of personality: conventionalism and pre-occupation of power.
52
What is the cognitive style of someone with an authoritarian personality?
Black and white thinking Driven by stereotypes and prejudice
53
What are the characteristics of someone with an authoritarian personality?
Obedient to authority Submissive to authority- blind respect Inflexible with outlook Believe that society needs strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditional values
54
Why do people develop an authoritarian personality?
Harsh parenting - strict and expectation to be loyal These experiences create hostility and despair on the child who displaces these feelings onto the ‘weak’ (scapegoating)
55
Evaluate the authoritarian personality
Relies on self report - social desirability bias Acquiescence bias Research support- Milgram and Elms (interviewed obedient ppts who scored highly on F-scale which showed obedience was due to facist beliefs) Not generalisable
56
What is the agency theory?
A theory to explain obedience developed by Milgram. Argued people act in an autonomous or agentic state and we switch between the two.
57
What does agentic state mean?
Acting on behalf of another
58
What does autonomous state mean?
Having the freedom to act independently.
59
What is the agentic shift?
Shift from an autonomous state to an agentic state.
60
What causes the agentic state?
Markers of legitimate authority
61
How is agentic shift used to explain Milgram’s study?
Argued ppts administered electric shocks because they were acting in an agentic state on behalf of the experimenter (wasn’t their responsibility) Can explain moral strain - going against their principles
62
What explanations are there for resisting social influence?
Locus of control Social support
63
What is an internal locus of control?
A belief you can influence events and outcomes.
64
What is an external locus of control?
Blames everything on outside forces/fate
65
Which studies support LOC?
Blass (resisting pressure to obey) Atgis (resisting pressure to conform)
66
Which studies criticise LOC?
Holland (resisting pressure to obey) Williams and Warchal (resisting pressure to conform)
67
What is social support?
A situational factor The presence of other people who resist pressure to conform or obey can help others do the same. These people act as models to show resistance is possible.
68
What studies support social support for resisting social influence?
Milgram - another person adding social support the obedience dropped from 65% to 10% Asch- when dissenter agreed with participant conformity dropped from 33% to 5.5% and still dropped when dissenter disagreed with participant (9%)
69
Why does social support affect social influence?
Breaks unanimous position of majority Less likely to fear ridicule Less likely to be convinced otherwise Gives confidence to resist obeying Disobedient peers act as role models
70
Give some evaluation points for social support.
Doesn’t explain why first person resists pressure to conform or obey Valid but only when support is reliable
71
What does a minority group have to do in order to influence the majority?
Remain consistent Show flexibility Show commitment
72
What are the two types of consistency? What do they mean?
Diachronic - consistency over time Synchronic - consistency between people in the minority
73
What is snowballing?
The build up of ‘converts’. If the minority remain consistent in their message, more and more people will start to conform.
74
What must there be a balance between according to Nemeth for minority influence to work?
Consistency and flexibility
75
Describe Moscovici’s study.
Rerun of Asch’s study but with 2 genuine ppts and 4 confederates. Given eye tests. 1) confederates answered green for 36/36 slides 2) confederates answered green for 24/36 and blue 12/36.
76
What were the results of Moscovici’s study?
Consistent minority affected majority (8.42%) Inconsistent minority didn't (ppts only said green 1.25% of time) 32% of all participants in consistent condition judged slide to be green at least once
77
What did Moscovici argue minority influence was a result of?
Informational social influence resulting in internalisation. Don’t care what minority thinks of us so unlikely to be normative.
78
What is social change?
When society as a whole adopts a new belief or way of behaving which then becomes accepted as the norm.
79
Give some examples of social change.
Rosa Parks, suffragettes, climate change, smoking
80
What are the 6 steps of social change through minority influence?
1) Drawing attention 2) Consistency 3) Deeper processing 4) The Augmentation Principle (suffer for the cause) 5) The snowball effect 6) Social Cryptoamnesia (no memory of being different)

Psychology (7 decks)

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