Social influence Flashcards

Question

What are social norms?

Answer 1

Different expectations of behaviour

Answer 2

To find out how much people conform to the social roles of prisoner or guard in a prison situation

Answer 3

-Converted basement of psychology department at Stanford University to fake prison -21 male students were selected from a total of 75 participants for their mental stability and lack of antisocial tendencies -These 21 participants were randomly divided into two groups: 10 ‘guards’ and 11 ‘prisoners’ -Prisoners were arrested by real police and then subjected to real police booking procedures (e.g. fingerprinting and mug shots). They were put in cells in groups of 3 and were confined throughout the experiment. -Guards worked in 8 hour shifts and were instructed to refer to the prisoners by their assigned numbers rather than their names. A realistic prison routine was established with meal times, etc. -The prisoners wore jackets with their number on, and a chain around one ankle. Guards wore khaki uniforms, mirrored sunglasses to prevent eye contact, and carried handcuffs and wooden batons. -The study was scheduled to run for 2 weeks.

Answer 4

-The guards became increasingly sadistic. For example, they forced the prisoners to continually repeat their assigned numbers and made them go to the toilet in buckets in their cells. As punishment, the guards refused to allow prisoners to empty these buckets, took away their mattresses and made them sleep on the concrete floor, and took away their clothes. -The prisoners became increasingly submissive. Many stopped questioning the guards behaviour and sided with the guards against rebellious prisoners -After 35 hours, one prisoner began to “act crazy, to scream, to curse, to go into a rage that seemed out of control” and had to be released. Three other prisoners had to be released for similar reasons throughout the duration of the experiment. -The guards’ sadism became so harmful that Zimbardo stopped the experiment after just 6 days instead of the scheduled 2 weeks.

Answer 5

People conform to social roles to significant extent

Answer 6

a prediction that a person's behaviour will be primarily influenced by the environment or situation they are in, rather than solely by their internal traits or personality

Answer 7

an explanation of behaviour that attributes actions primarily to an individual's internal personality traits, characteristics, or dispositions, rather than external situational factor. proposes that both prisoners and guards have personalities that make conflict inevitable

Answer 8

Practical applications: Zimbardo's study demonstrates the influence of conformity to social roles, which is an important psychological insight that has resulted in useful applications in society For example, Zimbardo's research promoted reform in the way juvenile prisoners were treated (at least initially)

Answer 9

Questions of ecological validity Ethical concerns

Answer 10

-Both the guards and prisoners knew they were taking part in a study, and so this might have affected how they behaved. -For example, they might have felt they were expected to act a certain way -This is somewhat confirmed by post-study interviews: many of the ppt said they were just acting. -As such, the findings of this study may not apply to real life situations

Answer 11

It's clear the study subjected many of the ppts to high levels of stress, as evidenced by the prisoner who "went crazy" and had to be released, as well as the other ppts who had to be released. -Further, ppts did not explicitly consent to all aspects of the experiment, such as being "arrested" at home

Answer 12

When a person complies with - obeys - the orders of an authority figure

Answer 13

To investigate the extent to which people obey the orders of an authority figure

Answer 14

40 American male participants aged 20-50 were told they were taking part in an study of the effects of punishment on memory and learning.

Answer 15

The confederate ‘experimenter’ (wearing a lab coat to create an impression of authority) told the participant that he had been randomly assigned the role of ‘teacher’ and that another participant (who was another confederate) had been randomly assigned the role of ‘learner’.

Answer 16

The experimenter told the participant the test would involve giving increasingly powerful electric shocks to the learner from a machine in the room next door (marked with different voltage levels).

Answer 17

The participant watched the learner be strapped into into a chair and have electrodes attached to his body. The participant was also given a 45 volt shock himself so that he believed everything was real.

Answer 18

The participant teacher (in the room next door) was instructed to teach the learner a list of word pairs. For each wrong answer from the learner, the teacher had to give him an electric shock. These electric shocks increased in power with each wrong answer – starting at 15 volts and increasing by 15 volts each time all the way up to 450 volts.

Answer 19

Once electric shocks reached 150 volts, the learner began to protest. These protests (pre-recorded and played via a tape recorder) increased in intensity with the increasing voltage. At 315 volts, the learner screamed in pain. After 330 volts, the learner went silent.

Answer 20

If the participant asked to stop the experiment, the experimenter would reply with one of four successive verbal prods: “Please continue” or “please go on” “The experiment requires that you continue” “It is absolutely essential that you continue” “You have no other choice, you must go on”

Answer 21

26 out of 40 participants (65%) administered shocks all the way up to the maximum of 450 volts. 40 out of 40 participants (100%) administered shocks up to 300 volts. Most participants displayed physical symptoms of discomfort at what they were doing such as sweating, twitching, and nervously laughing. 3 participants suffered seizures from the stress of what they were doing.

Answer 22

Milgram’s study was in part motivated by a desire to understand why Nazi soldiers in World War 2 acted how they did. For example, shortly before Milgram’s study, Adolf Eichmann – a senior Nazi officer responsible for deporting Jews to ghettos and concentration camps – defended his actions at trial by repeatedly saying “I was only following orders”. Milgram wanted to know if the German people had a uniquely obedient disposition that explained their behaviour. The study suggests not: American people will also obey the demands of an authority figure even if it means going against their moral compass.

Answer 23

Reliable Practical applications

Answer 24

Milgram’s results have been replicated several times over the decades, which suggests the results are reliable.

Answer 25

Milgram’s experiments demonstrate the extent to which humans obey authority – even if doing so may be dangerous. This is a valuable psychological insight that could have beneficial applications in society. For example, there are several examples of (typically junior) doctors and nurses knowingly following orders that have injured or killed patients. Training junior doctors and nurses of the dangers of obedience (as demonstrated by Milgram’s experiments) could avoid this.

Answer 26

Unethical Methodological concerns

Answer 27

Milgram’s experiments demonstrate the extent to which humans obey authority – even if doing so may be dangerous. This is a valuable psychological insight that could have beneficial applications in society. For example, there are several examples of (typically junior) doctors and nurses knowingly following orders that have injured or killed patients. Training junior doctors and nurses of the dangers of obedience (as demonstrated by Milgram’s experiments) could avoid this.

Answer 28

There have also been several methodological criticisms levelled at Milgram’s study. For example, some psychologists have argued that many participants in Milgram’s study didn’t actually believe the shocks were real. If so, then Milgram’s findings would likely not be valid when applied to real life. However, in post-study interviews, 75% of participants said they believed the shocks were real. And further, the physiological symptoms of stress observed in many of the participants suggest they really did believe they were inflicting harm.

Answer 29

"Hofling Hospital Experiment" conducted by Charles K. Hofling in 1966, where a majority of nurses readily followed orders from an unknown doctor over the phone to administer a potentially dangerous dosage of medication to a patient, demonstrating high levels of obedience to authority even in a real-world medical setting 21/22 nurses obeyed

Answer 30

Proximity Location Uniform

Answer 31

Milgram found that obedience declined if the participant was physically closer to the learner. For example, when the participant and the learner were in the same room, obedience fell to 40% from 65%. In one experiment, the participant teacher had to actually hold the learner’s arm onto a shock plate, which resulted in just 30% of participants completing the experiment (again vs. 65% in the original experiment). The proximity of the authority figure also affects obedience. In experiments where the experimenter gave instructions to the participant via telephone, obedience fell to 21% compared to the original 65%.

Answer 32

Milgram also carried out the study in different settings and found that obedience increases in institutional and official-seeming environments. For example, Milgram’s original experiment (65% obedience) was conducted at the prestigious Yale University. But when Milgram replicated the experiment in an office in a bad part of town, obedience dropped to 47.5%.

Answer 33

In Milgram’s original experiment, the experimenter wore a lab coat and instructed the teacher to increase the voltage. However, in another variation of the experiment, the experimenter was replaced mid-way through by someone wearing ordinary clothes, who told the participant to increase the voltage with each wrong answer. In this variation, obedience was 20% rather than 65%. The influence of uniform is further supported by Bickman (1974). Bickman found that 38% of participants obeyed the orders of someone wearing a security guard’s uniform compared to 19% when wearing ordinary clothes and 14% when wearing a milkman’s uniform.

Answer 34

When an individual is freely and consciously in control of their actions and thus takes responsibility for them

Answer 35

When an individual becomes de-individuated and considers themselves an agent (tool) of an authority figure and thus not personally responsible for their actions

Answer 36

Agentic state Legitimacy of authority The authoritarian personality

Answer 37

In an agentic state a person feels no personal responsibility for their actions, they are acting on behalf of another person. The shift from autonomy to being an 'agent' is called the agentic shift and happens when we perceive someone else as a authority figure and we respect their orders. This person has power due to their social position. Binding factors are aspects of a situation that allow the person to ignore the damaging effect of their behaviours and reduce the 'moral strain'. For example, denying responsibility for the victim or the damage done to them.

Answer 38

The agentic state can be supported by research evidence. Schmidt showed students a film of Milgram's study and asked them to identify who was responsible for the harm to the learner. Students blamed the experimenter rather than the participant, due to the experimenter's legitimate authority as a scientist. The students recognised the authority figure as the cause of obedience, supporting this explanation.

Answer 39

A limitation of this explanation however, is that there are some research findings that it cannot explain. In research, like Milgram's, not all of the participants obeyed. Humans are social animals and are all in social hierarchies, meaning in theory we should all obey. Additionally, in Hofling's study, the nurses should have shown anxiety whilst giving responsibility to the doctor, because they understood their role in a destructive process. But this was not the case. Therefore, the agentic shift may only account for some situations of obedience

Answer 40

Legitimacy to authority is a useful account of cultural differences in obedience. Kilham and Mann found a 16% obedience rate in Australians and a 85% obedience rate in Germans, in a study similar to Milgram's. Authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate in come cultures. This reflects how different societies are raised to perceive authority figures in different ways. By having supportive cross-cultural research, this explanation has increased validity.

Answer 41

Most societies are structured hierarchically. People in certain positions hold authority over the rest of us e.g teachers, police officers etc. The authority they have is legitimate in the sense that it is agreed by society. We mostly agree that authority figures should exercise power over others for society to run smoothly. We give up some of our independence to people we trust to exercise their authority properly, we learn this through childhood from our parents and teachers.

Answer 42

Furthermore, this explanation can help to explain real-life obedience. The army has authority recognised by the government and the law. Soldiers assume orders given by the hierarchy to be legal; even ones to kill, rape and destroy. The legitimacy of authority explanation is therefore able to give reasons why destructive obedience is committed.

Answer 43

Psychologist Erich Fromm proposed the authoritarian personality: people whose disposition makes them submissive to authority and dominating of people with lower status within the hierarchy and members of an out-group.

Answer 44

Adorno et al (1950) created the F-scale personality test to measure the authoritarian personality in people. In later research, Milgram found that people who were highly obedient in his experiments scored higher on the F-scale than those who disobeyed. This suggests that the authoritarian personality type can (at least partly) explain obedience.

Answer 45

Social support Locus of control

Answer 46

Having another person on your side (social support) greatly reduces the effects social influence – increasing both non-conformism and disobedience:

Answer 47

Solomon Asch observed that participant conformity declined from 32% to 5.5% when one of the confederates went against the group and said the correct answer. Having someone else break the unanimity of the group provided social support for the participant to give the answer he really thought.

Answer 48

In another variation of Milgram’s experiments, participants took part in the experiment with two other (confederate) teachers. When the other teachers refused to administer any more electric shocks and left the study, participant obedience dropped from 65% to 10%.

Answer 49

Rotter 1966

Answer 50

The person believes their own choices shape their life E.g. if you do badly in an exam, you blame yourself

Answer 51

The person believes their life is controlled by things outside their control – such as luck, fate, and circumstance E.g. if you do badly in an exam, you blame the exam paper or the teacher

Answer 52

A meta-analysis by Avtgis (1998) found that people with an internal locus of control are less likely to conform to group influence than people with an external locus of control.

Answer 53

Research linking obedience and locus of control is more mixed, but leans in the direction of also suggesting that those with an internal locus of control are less likely to obey an authority figure than those with an external locus of control. This may be because people with an internal locus of control feel they have control over their actions and thus are able to resist the influence of an authority figure.

Answer 54

Status: People with low status within a group may be motivated to conform to the group in order to gain status. Ironic deviance: If a person feels that the group consensus has been artificially manufactured, they are less likely to conform to it. For example, Conway and Shaller (2005) describe how an office worker who sees his colleagues all using a particular software program may infer that it is good and conform by using it himself, but if he knows they are all using that product simply because the boss told them to use it he may be less likely to conform because he will not perceive the consensus as genuine

Answer 55

Systematic processing: If people are given the opportunity to think through their actions systematically, they may be more likely to disobey unreasonable orders (e.g. Martin et al (2007)). Moral beliefs: People who base decisions on moral principles may also be less likely to obey immoral orders. For example, Milgram described how one of the participants – a vicar – disobeyed the experimenter because he was “obeying a higher authority” (God). This is further supported by research from psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, who tested participants from Milgram’s studies and found those who based decisions on moral principles were less likely to obey. Reactance: If people feel an authority figure is restricting their free will, they may deliberately go against the authority figure to reassert their free will.

Answer 56

a type of social influence where a small group or individual changes the beliefs, attitudes, or behaviours of a majority group Eventually, if enough people are converted to the minority’s beliefs, they become the new majority and establish new social norms

Answer 57

a psychological phenomenon where people forget how a social change came about. It involves the process of a minority group's beliefs becoming the majority's, without people remembering the original source of the change

Answer 58

small actions or events can grow into larger, more impactful event

Answer 59

-Drawing attention -Consistency -Deeper processing -Augmentation principle -Snowball effect -Social cryptoamnesia

Answer 60

Consistency Commitment Flexibility

Answer 61

the act of making people aware of a social issue or injustice, often through public demonstrations, campaigns, or other methods, to spark discussion and potentially lead to societal change

Answer 62

Over time increases the amount of interest from other people due to people being consistent in their views

Answer 63

Due to action, people think deeply about unjustness

Answer 64

Individual takes a risk

Answer 65

Minority turns to majority

Answer 66

People have a memory that change occurred but don't remember how it happened

Answer 67

Sometimes minorities take extreme activities and take risks to show commitment

Answer 68

People need to be able to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable counterarguments