Social influence Flashcards
What are two types of conformity
-compliance
-indentification
-internalisation
What describes internalisation
-the deepest level of conformity
-the beliefs of the group become part of the individuals own belief system
-individual changes his/her public and private beliefs
Informational social influence
-it occurs in unambiguous situations, rather than those where there is no obvious answer
Outline informational social influence as an explanation for conformity
-people conform because they want to be right, especially in ambiguous situations
Explain what is meant by normative social influence
People conform to fit in with the group and avoid social rejection
Outline and evaluate normative social influence as an explanation for conformity
-people conform to social norms to fit in and be liked
-leads to compliance - conform to group norms while privately maintaining their own beliefs
+studies such as Asch’s line judgement experiment provide strong evidence - participants conformed to incorrect majority answers due to fear of standing out, demonstrating desire for social acceptance
+real world applications explain social behaviours such as peer pressure, fashion trends and public health (eg Covid 19)
-individual differences, not everyone is affected by social influences, research shows people with high need for affiliation conform more than those who are less concerned for social approval
-culture variations - collectivists place greater emphasis on group harmony leading to higher conformity rates than individualists
Outline three findings of aschs research into conformity
-32% on average conformed to incorrect majority in line judgement task
-when one confederate gave the correct answer conformity dropped by 5%- shows social support can encourage independent behaviour
-conformity rose with group size
Outline how two variables investigated by Asch affected conformity
-group size - increased with more confederates
-unanimity- confederate gave correct answer, conformity dropped to 5%-social support reduces pressure to conform
-task difficulty- made lines more similar in length, increased conformity when task is more ambiguous - look to others for guidance
One limitation of aschs research into conformity
-low ecological validity
- did not reflect real life
-because the study was conducted in a controlled laboratory settings findings may not generalise to real world conformity behaviour
Two ethical limitations of aschs investigations
-deception- participants were deceived as they were told the study was about visual perception not conformity + unaware other participants were confederates - deception was necessary to prevent demand characteristics but raises ethical concerns
-psychological distress - may have experienced stress or discomfort - could have caused anxiety or embarrassment, breaching ethical guideline of protecting participants from harm
Zimbardos prison study showed
-roles affect behaviour
-behaviour is influenced by loss of indentity
-laboratory experiment + participant observation
Describe how zimbardo investigated conformity to social roles
-Stanford prison experiment
-set up mock prison, 24 male college students, randomly assigned to prisoner or guard, given uniform
-study has to be cut short after 6 days as guards became increasingly abusive and prisoners showed extreme distress
-findings demonstrated how quick they conformed to social roles , highlighting power of situational factors over personal identity
Why has his study been criticised
- ethical issues
The procedures of zimbardos research into social roles
-investigate psychological effects of perceived power and social roles
-randomly assigned to role
-set in mock prison to resemble real prison
-guards- uniform, sunglasses, batons
-prisoners- smocks, referred to as numbers, placed in cells
-initially planned to last 2 weeks, ended after 6 days
Substantial variables that can affect obedience
-proximity
-location
Mil grams investigation into effect of location on obedience
-experiment was moved to a less authoritative setting, obedience levels dropped- suggests legitimacy of location played significant role in influencing the participants willingness to obey
Methodology of milligrams research into obedience
Controlled environment- easier to establish cause and effect
- can be replicated- similar results were found - reliable
-weaknesses:
-artificial setting
-sample bias - mainly male participants- lacks generalisability
Agentic state
-people no longer feel responsible for their actions as they are acting for an authority figure
Two explanations for obedience
-agentic state - feel not personally responsible- acting on behalf of authority figure - reduces feeling of guilt
-legitimate authority- follow commands from figures in positions of power
Outline authoritarian personality as explanation for obedience
-rigid views, respect for authority
-develop from strict or harsh upbringing
-more likely to conform due to respect to hierarchy structure
Limitation of authoritarian
-does not account for obedience in all individuals
Two explanations of resistance to social influence
-social support
-locus of control - feel responsible for their choices
Flexibility as a factor in minority influence
-open minded
Outline and discuss how consistency and commitment might contribute to minority influence
-consistency- express same message or viewpoint - signals they are firm and confident in their beliefs- can lead to increased attention
-commitment - dedication - more persuasive
